He forced himself to look away.
“Now then,” Alexander said, reaching for his wineglass. “You appear to have had a far more entertaining day than I.”
Lady Salford brightened instantly. “Oh, we did.”
Diana let out a quiet laugh. “Grandmother?—”
“Nonsense,” Lady Salford said firmly. “You chose the most exquisite things.”
Alexander’s gaze moved slowly toward Diana. “Did she?”
Diana lowered her eyes slightly, clearly trying not to smile. “We merely visited a few shops.”
“A few shops,” Lady Salford repeated, as though the phrase were wildly inadequate. She turned toward Alexander with obvious enthusiasm. “Your wife has excellent taste.”
Alexander leaned back slightly in his chair. “I am pleased to hear it.”
He noticed the faint pink color returning to Diana’s cheeks.
It was… fascinating. She was composed in most situations. But small moments of attention seemed to unsettle her far more easily than she wished.
“What did you find?” he asked at last, keeping his tone deliberately casual as though the question were nothing more than polite interest.
Lady Salford clasped her hands together immediately, the expression on her face brightening with unmistakable enthusiasm. “Oh, where to begin?”
Beside him, Diana groaned softly under her breath, a quiet sound of protest that carried enough amusement to make Alexander’s mouth twitch faintly.
He had the sudden impression that whatever had happened during their outing, Lady Salford intended to recount every detail of it.
“Well,” the older woman continued happily, settling more comfortably into her chair as though preparing for a proper story, “first there was the dress.”
Alexander felt his attention sharpen without quite meaning it to.
“A dress?” he repeated.
“Yes. Pale blue muslin.”
Alexander’s gaze shifted slowly toward Diana. She had lowered her eyes toward her plate with very deliberate focus, as though studying the arrangement of cutlery had suddenly become extremely important.
“It was nothing remarkable,” she murmured.
Lady Salford waved a dismissive hand at once. “It was stunning.”
Alexander leaned back slightly in his chair, considering that quiet statement while the color itself settled into his mind with surprising clarity.
Pale blue.
He found himself imagining it almost immediately. The soft fall of muslin against Diana’s figure, the lightness of the fabric catching the movement of her body when she walked, the color resting against her skin in a way that would only emphasize the warmth of it.
Alexander lifted his glass and took a slow sip of wine, using the motion as an excuse to compose himself before speaking again. “I look forward to seeing it.”
Diana glanced toward him quickly.
The movement was brief, but he caught the faint flicker of surprise in her expression before she looked away again, as though she had not expected him to say such a thing.
Lady Salford leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial tone that suggested she was enjoying this conversation far too much. “And ribbons.”
Alexander lifted one brow.
