“Lip balm,” she said.
“You taste delicious.”
That brought a smile back to her face. “What’s your favorite color?” she asked in return.
“My lady?” came the maid again.
“Why?” he asked.
“I simply want to learn more about you. If I come away with a little nugget of information after each meeting, eventually, I’ll know you.”
“At this rate, I will need a cane before you get through my likes and dislikes.”
“I must go,” she said. “Tell me your answer.”
Without hesitation, he said, “Your hair. That is my favorite color.”
Her cheeks pinkened, and she turned to leave.
“And yours?” he asked quietly.
She glanced back at him. “Blue,” she said, gesturing at her own gown. “Like your eyes.”
And then she was gone.
Chapter Six
Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens were as Caroline remembered them — bustling, loud, and thrilling. And this time, she knew Geoffrey Diamond was awaiting her.
Unfortunately, her mother had taken to the idea so readily because both she and Caroline’s father would enjoy the evening. Also, Lord Mangue would be there. Lady Chimes had fixed herself upon the idea that if only Caroline spent more time with the viscount, then she would find herself developing atendrein no time at all.
Caroline ignored the knowledge that he would be thrown in her path that night. At the very least, if she gave Lord Mangue a modicum of attention, it would keep her mother from watching her too closely. Moreover, her best friend, Daphne, had responded to an eager request for her presence, agreeing to come since her husband was away overseeing their country estate.
Daphne, whom Caroline had known in Bath, had fallen wildly in love, married young, and she and Lord Hollidge already had a dear little boy. Caroline could only hope for similar happiness.
Thus, she and her parents along with Daphne, whom they had collected at her home, stepped off the ferry boat that carried them swiftly from Westminster to the south bank of the Thames. After climbing the Vauxhall steps, asthey’d been dubbed a century earlier, the four of them entered through the proprietor’s house. Out the back door, they spilled into the wondrous acreage known as the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.
Immediately, the excitement of the spectacle took hold of Caroline. It was impossible not to feel a thrill when taking in the long walks, dining pavilions, groves and grottoes, colonnades and music, and twenty thousand oil lamps hanging from every branch and structure. Add to that the myriad entertainment and crowds of revelers, and it was impossible for one’s heart not to pound a little more quickly.
After they were assigned one of the supper boxes on the left side of the garden by the Chinese Temples, she and Daphne were ready either to stroll toward the orchestra or to tour the grounds with her parents.
As if it hadn’t been planned by Lady Chimes, Lord Mangue arrived, expressing delight upon seeing them.
“Well met,” he said all around.
Thwarting his hope to monopolize her company, however, Lord Trent also appeared. Thus, after a few minutes of prattle with her parents, the four single people went to the area where couples danced by the so-called Gothic Orchestra, a two-story structure housing the musicians on the open-air second floor.
Lord Mangue took her in his arms without asking.
As soon as the dance ended, Lord Trent smoothly suggested he and Mangue switch partners.
“You did that expertly,” Caroline told him.
“My dance steps?” Lord Trent asked innocently.
“You know what I mean,” she said. Then feeling like an English spy in Paris or a Bow Street detective, she asked, “Where is Lord Diamond?”
“Down the Grand South Walk near the third Triumphal Arch,” Lord Trent responded. “You know, he is a good chap. It’s a pity about your parents and his.”
