Vincent eyed him.What was the man about?One didn’t show favoritism when two ladies were present.
“To which of us do you speak?” Lady Brilliance asked, now looking back at him.
“Why, to you,” Lord Patterson said.
Vincent felt a niggling prickle of propriety, which he hastily dismissed. Rather than her paying him undue attention, she ought to partner with the other man. Otherwise, tongues would start to wag.
“I am afraid that is impossible,” Lady Brilliance said, “for yesterday, Lord Hewitt asked to be my partner.”
Vincent nearly groaned. She made it sound so premeditated, as if he had purposefully claimed her for himself ahead of time. In fact, Lord Patterson gave him a sidelong look that had lost its friendly demeanor.
Nevertheless, Vincent didn’t gainsay her. He was, in fact, pleased with the arrangement. And luckily, Lord Patterson showed he wasn’t an utter looby by extending his offer to Lady Martine, thereby averting an awkward moment. While the ladyaccepted, to Vincent’s eyes, she didn’t seem too keen upon the idea, either.
Lady Brilliance appeared not to notice. “Aren’t we a merry foursome? If only there was a way to know the riddles in advance. Why, we would be the champions of the charades.”
Was she openly declaring she would cheat?Vincent shook his head. He was a little on edge not knowing what she might say next. When she looked back at him once again, he cringed in anticipation.
“I, for one, would not mind seeing your home even if your furniture is sheeted and your pantry bare.”
To this bold statement, all eyes turned to him, and Vincent would gladly wring the lady’s slender neck.
Chapter Nine
Brilliance hoped Lord Hewitt would make her happiness complete. She would hate to return to London at the week’s end without having seen his home, seeing how it was so near.
His reluctance was obviously due to some worry over the estate’s inferiority.The tortured man!The hesitancy was probably stemming from the same place as his reticence over playing the piano before an audience. His lordship lacked self-confidence and self-worth, two matters from which she had never suffered despite being considered something of a shallow-pate, even a little light between the ears.
Once, as a child, she’d been called a “pig-widgeon” by a playmate. Upon asking her mother what that meant, Lady Diamond said, “It means that little girl resents your sweet nature and has no kindness in her heart. As long as you have both, then you shall always be admired.”
“I believe we should adhere to our hostess’s itinerary,” came Lord Hewitt’s measured answer.
She sighed. Perhaps she would take it up with Lady Twitchard. Mayhap there was a way to put the pianist’s home on the schedule.
The four of them rode in companionable silence, broken only when Lord Patterson spoke, mostly about himself, occasionally asking a question which only led back to another of his own stories. He was the opposite of Lord Hewitt in every regard. And unfortunately, more often than not, when Lord Patterson did wait for an answer, Brilliance realized he was speaking to her.
It was a good thing Martine had already stated her disinclination for the man. Not everyone could find an immediate meeting of the minds and emotions as she had found with Lord Hewitt.
Glancing back at him again, she was heartened by him giving her a warm nod, which she returned. Even that brief exchange had her heart pumping faster. Perhaps they would elope to Gretna Green as her parents had done.How romantic!
At the Twitchards’ manor, they found the staff ready to cater to their every need despite the rest of the guests and their host and hostess as yet being away. After Brilliance and Martine changed from their dusty riding clothes, Brilliance headed directly to the conservatory.
It was empty. She would love to have heard Lord Hewitt play again. It occurred to her that her hostess might have sheet music for the famed Castern piece, “The Hummingbird,” which Lord Hewitt had been playing the day before — the one he had denied was Mr. Castern’s.
Disappointingly, she didn’t find it in the stack of music. In less than five minutes, however, she had located the butler.
“Mr. Ramsey, how close is the nearest town?”
“There is the village of Bexleyheath, only ten minutes away by horse.”
Brilliance considered a moment, recalling it was on their schedule for a visit the following day. “Is it tiny?”
The butler nodded. “Yes, my lady. Only a single main street, although its shops are of the best quality and stocked regularly.”
“Is there a music store?”
“Are you in need of an instrument?” he asked.
“Printed music,” she explained.
