“He won’t notice their attempts to attract his attention.”
“Which will only make him more of a challenge to them.”
“A challenge he’ll ignore since I’m of the belief he’s turned an interested eye your way.”
“An interested eye because he enjoys my company as afriend.”
“I imagine that friendship could turn into much more if you’d let him know, subtly of course, that you would welcome his affections, and not affections of strictly the friendship sort.”
Gertrude smiled. “I’ve heard rumors about people who’ve recently found the love of their life. Those rumors have it that lovestruck couples soon turn their thoughts to securing love matches for anyone in their direct vicinity who may not be otherwise engaged. And, while it is very sweet of you to even think Harrison would welcome the idea of a relationship other than friendship with me, I’m a realist at heart, and that realist knows that a gentleman like Harrison is far above my reach.”
“Of course he’s not.”
“Have youseenhim?”
Permilia grinned. “I see him on an almost daily basis since he’s so close to Asher, and because of that, I’ve gotten to know him well. That is why I think the two of you would suit each other admirably. He’s a very giving man, you’re a very giving woman, and together, well, you’d make a charming couple.”
“I am not the type of lady to attract the attention of a gentleman like Harrison. My face is nothing special, my figure is a touch plumper than is considered fashionable, my hair, while a somewhat nice shade of gold, is usually ridiculously styled, a victim of Mrs. Davenport and her handy curling tongs, and ... I have no wealth to speak of, which makes me less than a prize—all things Miss Flowerdew was trying to bring to my attention in a less than subtle way.”
“Your generous heart makes you more of a prize than any of the beauties of the day, but just so you know, your face and figure are quite pleasant. Why, if you’d simply allowmeto style you, you’d look very fashionable indeed.”
“That would hurt Mrs. Davenport’s feelings. You know she fancies herself a stylist.”
Instead of looking bothered by the refusal, Permilia smiled. “And that right there proves my point about your generous heart. Harrison, if you haven’t noticed, is not concerned with matters of fashion, beauty, or anything of that nature. He also seems to enjoy spending time in your company, asks about you frequently, and even told me you’d promised to go sailing with him at some point this summer, a promise he recently mentioned you hadn’t bothered to keep.”
“He only asked me to go sailing because it’s an offer that’s expected of a man who owns an entire fleet of ships.”
Permilia shook her head. “You need to have more confidence in yourself. Harrison adores you and not simply as a friend.”
“He might rescind his friendship if I don’t find Mrs. Davenport soon, especially if she’s up to her usual shenanigans.”
Permilia blinked. “Goodness, I somehow managed to forget all about Mrs. Davenport being missing. How long has she been out of sight?”
“Over an hour.”
Straightening, Permilia squared her shoulders. “Which is undoubtedly concerning and means we have to get you unstuck sooner rather than later. And, while I’m certain you’re not going to like what I’m about to suggest, I don’t see that we have another alternative to your dilemma.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“I’m afraid it is, because the only way I believe we’re going to get you free is for us to strip you straight out of that dress and abandon that bustle once and for all.”
Chapter
Three
Being herded into the small confines of a storage closet, while over a hundred guests mingled on the aft deck of his yacht, was not exactly what Mr. Harrison Sinclair had been expecting when his sister Margaret had insisted they remove themselves from the crowd to have a little chat. However, since Margaret was not a lady to stoop to such dramatics unless that drama was warranted, he pushed aside the argument he longed to make regarding their surroundings, and waited to hear the matter of great urgency she needed to discuss.
As the seconds passed and Margaret didn’t bother to speak, he leaned closer to where he thought she was standing, not that he could see her in the total darkness that surrounded them, releasing a grunt when his head connected with the top of hers.
“Ouch! Honestly, Harrison, that hurt,” Margaret said in a voice that was no louder than a whisper.
Lowering his voice as well, even though he thought that might be taking the whole cloak-and-dagger routine a little far since they were well removed from where the guests were gathered, he rubbed his smarting forehead and straightened.
“Forgive me, Margaret, but if you hadn’t insisted on having your chat with me in this storage room, we wouldn’t currently be sporting throbbing heads. Was there something wrong with any of the other rooms on the yacht, such as the library, perhaps, or the cardroom?”
“I couldn’t take the chance of us being overheard.”
“Don’t you believe it may draw undue attention if someone observes us slinking out of the closet after we’re done with our chat?”
