“Why?” asked Lady Susanne. Her sweet open face was now frowning. “I don’t recall anything special there.”
He couldn’t look at Lady Beasley. She was an astute woman and might see the truth.
“I was teasing,” he said at once, “since the garden there was nothing more than a strip of lawn and a few shrubberies. Nothing in comparison. Merely a jest.”
“I see,” Lady Susanne said, but her tone declared she didn’t.
“And not a funny one,” he muttered.
“Where were you going?” Lady Beasley asked, and from that question, Adam learned a small kernel of information. Mrs. Malcolm lived with them, elsewise the question would be impertinent, even for an employer.
“To purchase a new string for my violin and more sheet music for Pauline.”
“Truly? Has she mastered the last piece?”
“No, my lady. It was too difficult for her. I must find something more basic.”
“Tut-tut,”Lady Beasley said. “Is she hopeless?”
“She had a late start is all,” Mrs. Malcolm said. “That lazy piano teacher did none of your daughters any favors.”
Lady Susanne laughed. “He was dreadful. His snoring was louder than the piano notes.” Then she gasped. “You enjoy music, don’t you?”
Mrs. Malcolm appeared startled. “Yes.”
She said it as if she didn’t wish to disclose anything personal, maybe not in front of him. Adam wondered what would be disclosed next.
Lady Susanne looked at her mother. “Please let Mrs. Malcolm come to the concert as my chaperone. She will so enjoy it, and she was such fun to be with the other night.”
Lady Beasley raised a brow, and her daughter laughed.
“Not thatyouaren’t fun, Mother, but Mrs. Malcolm is more like being with a friend.”
Adam thought this conversation would have been better conducted indoors and in private. Moreover, he wondered if he should quickly bow and leave so they could continue. Yet he was decidedly curious as to how it would conclude, so he remained where he stood.
Mrs. Malcolm glanced at him again, and he was sure she would say no, which was a pity.
It wasn’t that he wished to see Mrs. Malcolm dressed again in a form-fitting evening gown. Nor because he wished to have her seated close beside him, so he could catch the intoxicating scent of her perfume. Yet both were true. Her floral fragrance had warmed and caught in his clothing when they’d kissed, and now, he thought he could detect it once again on the slight breeze.
How had a governess got her hands on something that smelled expensive and French?
More than anything, he hoped she would accept the task of chaperone in order to hear a concert if music made her heart happy. For she seemed a rather serious young woman otherwise, and he would like to see her smile.
“I believe your mother would like to hear the concert as much as I would,” Mrs. Malcolm said finally. “But I thank you for thinking of me.”
Lady Susanne sighed her disappointment. And then Lady Beasley gave in and addressed the governess.
“We all know your love of music,” she began. “I am sure you would enjoy it, and I have been to many concerts recently.”
Adam didn’t think Mrs. Malcolm looked particularly grateful, and he had a feeling it was because he was attending, too. But he couldn’t simply change his mind, for then Lady Susanne wouldn’t need the chaperone at all. They would all miss out.
Instead, he watched while the governess warred between wanting to hear the music and not wanting to be in his company.
“Please say yes,” Lady Susanne said, and that tipped the decision in his favor.
“I shall be your chaperone,” Mrs. Malcolm said, giving Adam the swiftest of wary looks, before turning to her employer. “I thank you for the opportunity to attend, my lady.”
“But no new dress this time,” Lady Beasley said, making Lady Susanne shake her head.
