“Yes, they should,” Lady Esther acknowledged. “However, they won’t, as you and I are both aware. As you are the daughter of a duke, many eyes are upon you.”
“As I don’t wish for my grandmother to be distressed, I will enjoy your company while Lord Ferrard and I walk.”
“Oh, you won’t be enjoying our company,” Lady Joanna giggled. “You’ll be enjoying Lord Ferrard’s while my sister and I walk farther behind, so as not to be intrusive, as good chaperones should.”
The fact that they were there and within earshot was intrusive enough, and Emory knew that he’d need to keep any conversation meant only for Lady Violet’s ears low.
“One question,” Lady Esther said as she looked to the building they were before. “Why are you at the inn when you are to be staying with the Harleys?”
“My servants are within,” Lady Violet answered.
She hadn’t lied, nor had she told the full truth.
Lady Joanna smiled. “Your grandmother will be pleased that you are looking after them, and we will advise her of such.”
“We all know our duty and as I am in Laswell, it falls to me to see to their care.”
Pragmatic and far from selfish. Emory appreciated those qualities. How many ladies did he know who would react in the opposite manner and be irritated that they were without a maid or two? Of course, he also knew the true reason as to why Lady Violet had taken a room at the inn, which was for selfish purposes.
“Well, move along you two.” Lady Joanna waved them away. “This isn’t a courtship if the four of us stand on the walk and gossip all afternoon.”
“We weren’t gossiping,” Lady Violet answered.
Lady Joanna laughed. “I forget how literal you are sometimes dear.”
“Why yes. It can be confusing when one says one thing but means another, especially when interpreted incorrectly.”
Another layer revealed, and something he’d need to keep in mind.
While Violetusually enjoyed the company of the Tilson sisters, her grandmother’s dearest friends, today was not one of those times. Now she’d need to carefully guard her words, when it was something that she’d rarely needed concern herself with outside of London.
“Shall we, Lady Violet?”
Lord Ferrard offered his arm and Violet slipped her hand into the crook as they turned and walked away from the maiden sisters.
“What is your favorite part of Laswell?” he asked.
Violet took a moment to give some consideration to the question, as it wasn’t something that she’d given much thought to previously. This was her home and she’d lived here her entire life. The streets and lanes were as familiar as the corridors and passages of Forester Hall. “I’m not certain I have a favorite area, Lord Ferrard,” she finally admitted.
“Perhaps you should give me a guided tour and when we are finished, maybe I will have a favorite place.”
“I believe you may have already discovered it though I can only assume,” she answered.
“I have?”
“Yes, depending on where your chamber is within your brother’s home,” she clarified. “I’ve imagined what view he must have of the sea when glancing out above the tops of the trees.” The home was perfectly situated at the crest of the hill for an unobscured view of the bay.
“Do you have a similar view at Forester Hall? I must admit that I was not at your home long enough to admire the surrounding area, though my window looked out onto the gardens.”
“My view is the same.”
“You’d prefer one of the sea?”
Violet wasn’t often asked what she’d prefer, and her mind was usually focused on what was or wasn’t and gathering new information that might alter her opinion on any topic. “I find the gardens and the sea equally pleasant to gaze upon.” Violet wasn’t comfortable having to decide an answer for something inconsequential.
“I would have assumed you preferred gardens,” Lord Ferrard offered.
Yes, she supposed he would, given that was where she retreated at London gatherings. “There is no sea in London. Just the Thames, which does not offer the same enjoyment.”
