The side of his mouth quirked. “Well enough, I suppose.”
A footman delivered the tea service, and she leaned forward to pour. “Do you still only take one sugar?”
“Yes, thank you.”
So far everything was going well. Her conversation was polite and proper.
“And your sister? I read that the ball to celebrate her wedding was the crush of the Season.” Charlotte didn’t really know what a crush meant other than it was a success.
“I escaped the moment I was allowed.”
This took her by surprise. “It was in her honor. I thought you would wish to enjoy the entire evening.”
“It had been a long Season and I was ready to be away from London, and my family, if you must know.”
As Charlotte wasn’t certain how to respond to such a comment, she held up a plate of biscuits. “I apologize that I do not have more substantial fare. I usually do not take tea unless there are guests.”
“Do not concern yourself, Charlotte. My arrival was not scheduled,” Victor offered.
She just hoped that Cook had ample time to prepare a proper dinner.
Charlotte took another sip of her tea. What did she say now? She wasn’t used to having tea and polite conversation. When she visited her friends, they were much more at ease.
Victor wasn’t speaking either and a strained silence developed between them.
Was he at a loss of what to say also? If so, then it was up to her to guide the conversation, but Charlotte was out of polite topics.
Oh, if only she had the same comfort she had when they first met. Except, then she had been a girl and didn’t know that certain things should not be mentioned. Now she was afraid to say anything for fear that it might offend somehow.
Why were ladies limited to so few topics that were polite to discuss?
“Was the weather pleasant while you traveled?”
The side of his mouth quirked. “Yes, Charlotte. The weather was pleasant.”
Was he condescending to her? She hadn’t said anything wrong.
Victor sat forward and settled his cup and saucer on the table. “I would like to see what else you have done with the house.”
Her chest tightened. What if he didn’t like her choices in design and decoration? What if it was all too much? “Would you not rather attend to estate business?”
“I just arrived,” Victor chuckled. “I do not want to sit behind a desk after riding in a carriage these past days.”
She bit her bottom lip and looked around the parlor and to the wall that she had spent weeks detailing with irises instead of applying a paper as so many others preferred.
“I would like to see the rest of the house,” he insisted gently. “This place was a deplorable mess when I left four years ago. I hardly recognize it now.”
Chapter 8
“Ifyouarecertain.”
She frowned and bit the corner of her lip. She had that habit when she was younger and nervous.
“Would you not rather rest after such a long journey?”
Was Charlotte trying to put him off, or just overcome with shyness?
“I am not tired.” He had just seen her for the first time in four years, stunned by the changes, and wasn’t about to leave her.
