Eliza’s eyes widened. She glanced in her aunt’s direction, clearly worried she’d overheard them. But their aunts were conversing with one another and paid them no mind.
“Yes.” A smile teased her lips once more. “But I shall deny it to the ends of the earth if you tell anyone.”
“Never. I won’t share it with yours if you don’t with mine.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate her,” Eliza began. She seemed to regret she’d said anything.
“Trust me. There’s no need to explain. I appreciate my aunt’s assistance as well. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“Exactly.” She relaxed at his words.
“But sometimes—” His aunt chose that moment to look directly at him, cutting off his words.
Philip smiled blandly, doing his best to look as innocent as possible, though he wasn’t certain the attempt was successful.
Eliza turned away, but he noted her shoulders shaking with laughter out of the corner of his eye.
Aunt Eleanor returned to her conversation with Eliza’s aunt, and he released a relieved breath.
“That was nearly unfortunate,” he whispered.
Eliza regained her composure and met his gaze, the amused sparkle in her eyes a lovely sight. “We shall take better care in the future.”
“Indeed, we will.”
“Surely, we can think of something better to share other than our aunts and Winston.”
“I’m certain we can. We must give it additional thought.”
Her attention shifted to take in the rest of the room. He followed her gaze only to see several of the guests looking in their direction before whispering to one another. Apparently, tongues were already wagging about the attention he’d paid her.
It made her request for the favor seem more logical even if he didn’t like the idea of helping her gain another man’s notice.
The thought broke their moment of connection. Such a feeling was rare at events like this and with the people who frequented them.
He watched as her aunt asked a question, pulling Eliza into their conversation and the fragile link they’d shared ended. His attention was taken by another acquaintance and soon after, Eliza and her aunt took their seats near the middle of the rows of chairs.
Disappointment speared through him. He’d rather hoped they’d sit near him and his aunt. He liked Eliza. Her positivity and warmth were a ray of light he hadn’t known was missing from his life.
He spoke with several other acquaintances and soon, the music began.
Philip didn’t care to count the number of times he had to force his gaze away from the back of Eliza’s delicate neck and shoulders. That was only because there was little else to look at, he told himself. But not for a moment would he deny how much he appreciated the beautiful distraction she offered.
Did he dare speak with her again after the performance?
Eliza hadn’t planned on seeing Philip at the musicale, and it was a pleasant surprise. A thrill, in truth. She’d been careful not to spend too much time with him, not wanting to stir gossip. And she certainly didn’t want him to realize how attracted she was to him.
As the music went on and on, it required all of her will to quell the urge to turn and look at him. If only they had sat behind him rather than in front.
She nearly smiled at the thought of their shared secret of how they felt about their aunts. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only one with mixed feelings about a relative, although his aunt seemed very nice.
“Perhaps they should’ve spent more time tuning their instruments,” Aunt Frieda whispered.
Eliza’s face heated as she looked out of the corner of her eye at the other guests seated nearby, hoping they hadn’t heard her.
“How many more do they intend to play?” her aunt asked after the next piece ended.
Eliza tensed, certain the lady two seats away was staring at them in disapproval. “I think they’re quite good.”
