“I shall return tomorrow,” he announced, not wanting to be in the small space with these two lovebirds.
“Oh no, my lord. Please stay. Mr. Cole was about to leave,” she said. “I am more than happy to discuss your chocolate creation at present. Perhaps you had some insights after last night.”
“Last night?” asked the lawyer.
Last night, Henry whined the words in his head.What a nosey bloke!
“Miss Rare-Foure and I attended the same dinner party,” Henry told the man, not hiding the triumph from his voice.
“Really?” The lawyer turned to her. “When you said you were out for dinner, I didn’t imagine you were at a grand party with a duke.” Then the man smiled. “Good for you. I hope you enjoyed yourself. You work too much.”
Mr. Cole was being a tad too gracious. He probably didn’t mean a word of it. He was in all likelihood burning with jealousy at the notion.
“I’ll see you later,” he added, and Miss Rare-Foure nodded.
And to Henry’s intense displeasure, this ... this ... lawyer reached out and squeezed Miss Rare-Foure’s shoulder.The nerve!Naturally, Mr. Cole wasn’t jealous — he was going to see her again later.
“If you get a chance to go by Berry Brothers on St James's Street, would you bring that Spanish wine my mother likes?” Miss Rare-Foure asked him. “We shall celebrate your return.”
“I will make it my duty to get the wine,” the man assured her. “A pleasure to meet you, my lord.” With a bow in Henry’s direction, the earnest fellow departed.
Lucky chap!He would be dining with her family and was intimate enough to know Mrs. Rare-Foure’s favorite wine.
Henry suddenly felt foolish for thinking that he and the chocolatier had any type of friendship at all. And considering his own evening ahead, he even felt a little lonely. All the more reason for him to secure the hand of Lady Madeleine and take her as his wife. The sooner, the better.
During the party, they’d had a few pleasant discussions. Notwithstanding, he couldn’t remember anything too meaningful, something about her touring the zoological gardens or finding a hedgehog in a garden or some such story.
He hadn’t really been listening. He’d been too entranced with the woman across from him who now stood waiting for him to speak. His obsession — for plainly that was what it was — had to stop.
“Have you made any progress?” he asked her a little sharply.
Instead of being annoyed, she offered him her sweet, lopsided smile. “Yes, this morning, I used the flower molds to create something new. See if you can tell what I added?”
“But they’re dusty,” Henry pointed out, when she presented him with the tray.
She laughed, and there it was, the silvery sound he hadn’t heard in too long. Hours, in fact, which felt like years.
“I dusted them with cocoa powder. Try one.”
Taking off his other glove, he shoved them both into his coat pocket. Then he chose one of the chocolates, letting the bitter cocoa powder blend with the melting plain chocolate.
“I am tasting something a little like mild perfume, but very pleasant.” He realized what it was as soon as he swallowed. “Gin!”
“Very good!” Miss Rare-Foure clapped her hands. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure.” He hated to disappoint her, but it seemed terribly risky. “I don’t know how the lady feels about gin.” He didn’t know how Madeleine felt about a lot of things.
The chocolatier puffed out her cheeks and expelled her breath with a sound of exasperation. He thought it the most charming thing he’d ever seen, especially when the soft curl at her temple blew up then fell back.
“Your lady is a tough nut to crack.” She set the tray down again.
I wantyouto be my lady. That terribly scandalous thought flittered across his brain and disappeared before he even realized it. But even after it was gone, he stared at her and realized it might be true.
“Mr. Cole is your intended?” he blurted out.
She widened her eyes and quickly dropped her gaze. “He will be, in due course.” Her tone was soft, and she seemed to be speaking to the floor.
“Yet you are not formally engaged?” he pried, wondering why he was asking. “What is causing the delay?”
