“Thank you, Mother,” Samuel said, smiling. But it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“I am glad someone appreciates my efforts.” She sat back down, smoothing her gown with hurried movements. Father only looked out the window.
“So,” she said, deigning to speak to Leonard, “is there anything we should know about this young woman?”
Nothing he wished to share with them.
Leonard was starting to worry about his foresight in inviting Honora to the theater this evening with his family. But they needed to meet her if Leonard intended to pursue this, and he thought it better to have it be somewhere public where Honora wouldn’t have to converse with them much.
“She is very pretty,” he finally replied.
His father seemed to find some amusement in this, huffing out a laugh.
“Pretty is nice,” his mother continued. “But what else?”
There were many things about Honora that Leonard admired. Her quick wit. Her tenacity to rise above her circumstances. The way she wanted to love people even though she had hardly been shown such love herself. But those weren’t things one shared lightly in a carriage, especially while a thread of strain remained between its occupants.
“She is very smart,” he said instead.
“And she seems capable of managing Stoneside?”
Leonard’s gaze flicked to Samuel, who in turn looked at his lap. “I don’t think we need to worry about something we don’t even know will happen.”
When they arrived at the theater, Leonard walked beside his brother, allowing his parents to go ahead of them. The pace was a bit slower as Samuel used his cane, but he didn’t mind. “Let’s wait here,” Leonard said, stopping beside a Corinthian column near the edge of the room. “I’d prefer to speak with Honora before introducing her to the wolves.”
“So, I am looking for a pretty girl who is very smart.” Samuel feigned searching the room. “However shall I miss her with those details?”
Leonard smirked. “She is a rather stunning blonde. And she is extremely cunning and sly. I would not doubt for a second that she is already here and watching us at this very moment.”
“Oh?” Samuel turned to him, his brow furrowed and the corner of his mouth turned up. “That helps a bit, I suppose.” After a few minutes with no fruit to report from their search, Samuel leaned closer to him. “So, what made you finally decide to settle down? Am I looking so ill that Father put even more pressure on you?”
Leonard shook his head, eyes still searching the crowd. “Not even remotely. I hadn’t even been looking. She just stumbled into my life one day, and I found I could not be rid of her.”
“Could not, or had no desire to be?”
Leonard smiled, raising his voice to be heard over the growing crowd. “Both.”
Just when he feared Honora would not make it before the show began, a light touch on his shoulder caused him to jump. While he could feel embarrassed about her getting the best of him, he only grinned. He took her by the hand, bringing her in front of Samuel and himself.
Honora looked stunning. She wore a gown similar in hue to an emerald, the cut along her chest a bit daring, and the entire gown covered in something that caused it to sparkle. He was not good with women’s fashion, otherwise he was sure there was a name for it.
“Samuel,” Leonard said, gently dropping Honora’s hand. “I am pleased to introduce Miss Honora Gillingham.”
Samuel bowed, and Honora dipped into a curtsy. “How nice to meet you, Mr. Stanton,” Honora said. “I have heard nothing but great things about you.”
“And I you,” Samuel said, his teeth showing beneath a wide grin. “The woman who finally won the heart of my brother. A rare feat indeed.”
“I do not know that I can claim such a prestigious title, but even catching his attention is something I will accept as a grand reward.” She leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. “He is a bit cantankerous.”
Samuel threw his head back with a laugh. “I like you already, Miss Gillingham.”
Honora looked at Leonard with a lift of her shoulders, smiling at him like the little minx she was.
“Shall we go to our seats?” Leonard asked, holding an arm out to her.
“I think I need two escorts.” Honora waved Samuel over to her other side and took his arm as well. “Now, what shall we be viewing this evening?”
Samuel leaned forward, as if to see if Leonard would answer.
