Lady Twitchard gave a small gasp while Miss Newton and Lady Georgiana burst out in inexplicable laughter. Lord Hewitt merely coughed into his napkin.
“What did I say?” Brilliance asked.
“Never mind,” Lady Twitchard said. “Another cup of tea?”
Vincent had surprisedhimself by inviting the small group of females so soon after leaving Alethia’s. And if he were honest with himself, had he been able to invite only Lady Brilliance, he would have.
That in itself bore examination. He had grown used to the lady’s company over the course of the sennight. His first day and night in his own home had felt a little lonely. That might be attributed merely to having been surrounded for a week by other people, but it was Brilliance’s presence, speaking with her, hearing her laughter, looking at her animated face — all those things he had greatly missed.
Now, seeing her in his home, he thought she belonged at Mirabel just as well as the roses in his garden, the whimsical mat of dark green ivy he allowed to climb up the eastern side of his home, and the wildflowers she’d admired.
Trying not to let emotions run away with him, still, he was determined to have a few minutes alone with her. He would have to enlist Alethia’s assistance, not to mention her permission.
Thus, when they were in the middle of the tour of his house, on the second floor where a back bedroom gave a panorama ofhis gardens and the fields beyond, he managed to hold his cousin back.
Lowering his voice, he asked her, “Would you be amenable to allowing me five minutes to speak privately with Lady Brilliance?”
She gave him a long look, her eyebrows raised.
“Give me credit, Cousin,” Vincent said. “I would hardly ask you to give me leave had I poor intentions.”
“Whatareyour intentions?”
He wished he knew. “I would simply like a moment of her time. I want to express my admiration for her and see if she might like to come visit me again.” He paused. “Withoutthe other ladies.”
“I see.”
“If I try to pay a visit to her at Bexley Hall ...” He trailed off.
“The other ladies would learn too much,” his cousin surmised, “and begin to wonder if anything had occurred over the past week.”
“Precisely,” he said. Vincent kept his gaze on the three females peering out the window. He’d told them they might be able to see the same ruins where they’d enjoyed their picnic. “Your tone is not entirely approving.”
Alethia sighed. “I wish you were speaking with her mother rather than with me.”
“It is not as if I am asking for her hand,” he said. Although he now believed they might continue along a path with an engagement as the natural progression. And then, of course, marriage.
Lady Hewitt. That sounded beyond satisfactory.
“I think she may be the one,” he heard himself saying aloud.
His cousin looked over at her three charges. “I think she’s a rare find. Just make sure you don’t ask her,notwithout her parents’ permission.”
“Of course not.”
“Then I shall help you in any way I can.” Alethia left his side to go over to the three young ladies.
He couldn’t hear what she said, but Lady Georgiana and Miss Newton answered exuberantly in the affirmative and then departed the room with Alethia. Lady Brilliance was left standing by herself.
She looked at him. “Didyoumake that happen?”
She was astute and unafraid. He admired her more and more, but he was curious.
“What did my cousin say to them?”
“Lady Twitchard asked if they wished to see your bedchamber.”
The deuce!“She did not! Did she?”
