He motioned to Sommerset to precede him. “What that means is that they plan to talk about us.”
Sommerset bent to give his wife a kiss on the cheek before walking toward the door. “I, for one, am quite pleased about that.”
He shook his head as he followed his friend and father out of the room. Love had definitely changed Sommerset…for the better.
Chapter Six
Dory focused onher food, trying to ignore the conversation around her. She’d pled a headache as soon as tea was over, hiding away in her room. How could she have brought up childbirth? And in mixed company! Even as she thought about it for the twenty-second time, she felt her cheeks heating. No one had mentioned her terrible blunder, but they were all aware. They heard her. The only way to survive until the other guests arrived was to keep silent.
She had tried the same tactic at the Mabrys’ ball, the Worthington sisters’ recital, and the lecture at the Royal Institution—and had failed. But she was determined to remain quiet until the first guests arrived. Or maybe until the first three guests arrived. It would be easier to not draw attention to herself with many more people.
To her benefit, she had been seated between Lady Sommerset and Lord Harewood instead of next to Rose, which made it easier to keep from joining the conversation. She had found herself far too comfortable with Rose. Lady Sommerset kept Lady Enderly engaged and with Lord Harewood, though he seemed to have knowledge on almost every subject, his cool manners made it easy not to interject, though she would have liked to many times, and they were barely halfway through the meal.
Lord Harewood put down his glass. “I predict all theatres will be gaslit by the end of the next season. That type of lighting is appropriate for those venues. While walkways at Hyde Park, which are hardly used at night, should be one of the last areas to receive gaslights.”
Lord Sommerset shrugged before waiving a servant over. “I doubt there will be a logical reason for the order in which gas lighting of public places is installed. To me, it makes sense to start from one point and move outward, but that does not appear to be the case.”
Dory quickly took another bite of the salmon pastry to keep from adding to the conversation. She tried instead to listen to the conversation on her left.
Lady Enderly commented, “I believe the gardens would be the perfect place to set up an out-of-doors painting session. We can schedule it for directly after we break our fast. If you wish, Amelia, we can go there tomorrow morning at the time I was thinking. Perhaps you can suggest the best spot for the easels.”
Already bored with that conversation, Dory refocused to hear Lord Enderly declare the advent of gas lighting to be a step forward for mankind.
Thankful that his comment seemed to have ended whatever mild debate had been ensuing, she set her fork to the side, having finished her pastry, and lifted her wineglass to her lips.
“Lady Dorothea, which technological advance do you think the most advantageous to mankind?”
Having not expected to be addressed directly by Lord Harewood, she swallowed far more than she intended and quickly set her glass down as she covered her mouth with her napkin, trying not to cough. When she felt able, she turned her head to find the earl focused on her, his green gaze rather distracting at such a close distance. “I’m not sure that I couldoffer any insight, as I doubt very much that I am aware of all the great advances.”
She didn’t look to her left, but she was quite sure she heard a relieved breath come from Lady Sommerset. Proud of herself for avoiding the question, she smiled.
“Come now. Surely, you have learned of enough of them at your school to have an opinion.”
Her smile froze. This would hardly make her more acceptable to his mother. Why did Lord Harewood save her from embarrassment in one moment and then draw her out in another? “To be honest, I have not thought upon the subject before, so I doubt I can add anything of substance.”
Pleased with herself once again, she turned away and lifted her glass.
“Then tell us what first comes to mind.”
What first came to mind was that she wished she had a plum to stick in his mouth to keep him from asking any more questions of her. Slowly, she set the glass down, not unaware that everyone at the table was now awaiting her response. “Very well, then. Let me see.” She paused as she thought then turned toward him. “The first advance that comes to mind is the wheel.”
His dark brows raised over his stunning eyes. They were as distracting as if he’d had a wart on his nose. Then again, if she stared at his nose, she might appear as if she needed glasses, as that would be the wrong focal point of his face.
“Pray tell me, why the wheel? That is a rather mundane and rudimentary advancement that has been used for millennia.”
She refocused by looking across the table to Lord Sommerset and Lady Rose. “Precisely.”
Lord Sommerset lowered his brows. “The wheel, you say.”
“Quite.” She turned back to Lord Harewood. “The wheel has been used since before the ancient Greeks. It is still in use, proving its importance to mankind. Nothing has replaced it, andit is used for everything from that cheese trolley over there to the new steam locomotive. It allows items and even people to be transported great distances.”
The man’s gaze became so intense at her words that she turned her head to talk to the rest of the table. “It was simply the first item that came to mind.”
Surprisingly, everyone picked up the topic. Everyone except the man sitting next to her. Finally, unable to resist, she turned to look at him and found a sly smile on his face. She simply had to ask. “Is that what you’d hoped I’d answer?”
“No. I had predicted something else entirely. You surprise me, Lady Dorothea.”
Instinct told her that the man was not surprised often, but she couldn’t be sure if he liked being surprised or if she’d insulted him once again. If it was the latter, it would be best to make amends. “What did you predict I would say?”
