“Ah ... well ... as to that,” he began, relieved when Permilia apparently took pity on his less than stellar attempt to explain the situation and spoke up.
“Gertrude had a mishap with her bustle, Mrs. Davenport, but not to worry. We’ve successfully gotten her parted from that bustle and from the couch, although we had to part her from her clothing to achieve that success. Besides suffering a few scrapes from a bustle that appears to be crafted from an honest-to-goodness birdcage, she’s in fine form—if you discount that she’s not exactly dressed for company since her gown, along with the bustle, are still stubbornly attached to the fainting couch.”
Mrs. Davenport took a single step backward and pinned Harrison under a stern eye, as if he’d somehow contributed to the mayhem in his library. “Do not tell me you got a peek at Gertrude while she’s in a state of, shall we say, dishabille?”
“I always thought the termdishabillewas reserved for describing a lady when she was at her leisure,” Harrison said, those words sounding somewhat ridiculous even to his own ears. “If you ask me, Gertrude is anythingbutat her leisure,” he continued even as Mrs. Davenport began to watch him as if he’d taken leave of his senses. Not wanting to prove her right, he pressed his lips together and vowed to not say another word unless he was certain that word could not be considered ridiculous.
“Dishabillemeans scantily dressed,” Mrs. Davenport finally said, reaching out to pat him on the arm in what could almost be called a motherly fashion. “And while I’m sure youweretaken by surprise when you walked in on Gertrude, I’m afraid the rules are clear about what must happen next.” She paused and eyed him expectantly.
“Ah ... what must happen next?” he forced himself to ask.
Mrs. Davenport took a second to tuck a strand of black hair that was escaping its pins behind her ear before she patted his arm again. “You’ll have to marry her.”
Harrison’s mouth went a little slack. “Marry ... her?”
“Quite right. And by my encouraging you to marry Gertrude, I hope this puts to bed the idea I’ve somehow dissuaded other gentlemen from pursuing her to keep her as my companion.”
Harrison shook his head ever so slightly. “I don’t recall suggesting that you purposefully dissuaded anyone.”
“I distinctly recall you did,” she countered.
Feeling quite as if he’d lost all control of a conversation he was having difficulty following, Harrison opened his mouth, relief flowing through him when Gertrude took that moment to clear her throat—loudly.
“I’m certain you’re merely suffering a misunderstanding with Harrison, Mrs. Davenport, because he’s not a gentleman prone to suggesting opinions that would distress a lady.” She cleared her throat again. “As for the matter regarding him having to marry me, I’ll not hear another word on that. Harrison is not to blame for stumbling on me dressed in such an unforeseen manner, because one hardly expects to find a woman parted from her gown during an engagement celebration due to a mishap with a bustle.”
“I thought that part about the bustle was simply a jest,” Mrs. Davenport said before she brushed past Harrison and marched her way across the library.
The next sound to reach him was a bit of rustling before Mrs. Davenport gasped. “On my word, it would seem as if this bustle was not as sturdy as I believed. I’ll make a note to myself at a later date to reinforce the cage with stronger metal on my next attempt to avoid such a disaster in the future.”
“You’ll make a note to never try your hand at one of those monstrosities again,” Gertrude countered. “But since we’re on the subject of that bustle, I need to point out that I’m afraid the upholstery is ruined on the couch. Do know, Harrison, that I will send you the funds to cover the cost to replace it tomorrow, and do accept my most fervent apologies for damaging your delightful piece of furniture in the first place.”
Resisting the urge to turn to her, Harrison kept his attention focused on a bug that was crawling slowly up the wall of the companionway. “You’ll do no such thing, Gertrude. In all honesty, I’ve never liked that fainting couch, finding its putrid yellow color far too dull for my tastes.”
“It’s a lovely peach color, filled with delightful daisies sprinkled throughout the upholstery,” Permilia said, causing Harrison to jump ever so slightly when she materialized right next to him.
He fought the urge to turn again, even though he was beyond curious to inspect a couch he was all but convinced didn’t sport so much as a single daisy on it. “Peach, you say, with daisies?”
Permilia grinned. “Yes, it’s peach, a color remarkably similar to orange if you didn’t know.”
“I like orange,” Harrison said right as an image of Gertrude sprang to mind, an image from the time she’d been dyed orange.
Pretending not to see the sudden knowing look Permilia sent him, although why she was looking that way, he had no idea, he gestured to her dress. “Would I be correct in saying you’re wearing a delightful gown of blue?”
“It’s lavender, but because I’ve come to the conclusion you don’t see colors like most people see colors, you may call my gown blue if you so desire.”
Harrison smiled. “That’s very kind of you. Now if we can only convince your soon-to-be husband that there’s simply no hope I’ll be able to match up my clothing choices to his satisfaction, he’ll spend less time grimacing and I’ll spend less time defending what he considers my peculiar fashion sense. But, speaking of Asher, we seem to have neglected to remember this evening is a celebration of your engagement. And I’ve planned a surprise for the two of you, with the help of a good friend of mine, Mr. Gilbert Cavendish.”
Permilia’s eyes sparkled. “What kind of surprise?”
“It would hardly be a surprise if I told you.” He pulled out his pocket watch and took note of the time. “According to my calculations, we should almost be to our destination, which means we need to repair to the upper deck as soon as possible.”
“There’s a destination?” Permilia asked.
“Indeed.”
“How lovely, but I’ll need to see to Gertrude first.”
“You go on ahead, Permilia,” Gertrude called. “You can’t miss your surprise. Besides, I can’t very well join everyone because I now have nothing to wear. And, not that I want to disclose this next little bit because I have been embarrassed sufficiently enough tonight, but ... I’m afraid I may be stuck again. This time between the couch and the wall.”
