For some reason, after she’d gone up in flames months before, he’d found himself feeling the most unusual urge to protect her—mostly from herself and the odd happenstances that dogged her almost every step.
He’d dwelled on his protective attitude toward her numerous times, but he’d yet to come up with a theory to explain why he’d adopted the role of her protector, or why, during the past month and a half, he’d begun wondering what was going to happen if Camilla succeeded with convincing society Adelaide was a lady who deserved to be considered in high demand. That could very well mean his protectiveness toward her might need to wane, especially if society gentlemen began appreciating the Adelaide he’d come to know and admire.
“What I’d like to know, and this is circling back to a discussion Vernon and I were having with Adelaide,” Leopold began, “is exactly how you, Gideon, became so closely acquainted with her. We spend many an evening dining with Adelaide at society events, and yet we’ve rarely noticed the two of you together. That has me wondering if there’s something you’ve been keeping from society.”
“Oh ... here we go,” Adelaide muttered before she wagged a finger in Leopold and Vernon’s direction. “Before the two of you decide to clear your schedules for an upcoming wedding, allow me to put to rest once and for all the romantic notions I know are tumbling around your minds. Gideon is not my secret suitor. Instead, he’s been pressed into service by Camilla because she decided to take me on as a new project.”
Leopold’s mouth made an O of surprise before he turned to Camilla. “You’re going to attempt to procure a match for Adelaide this Season?”
“She doesn’t want a match,” Camilla countered. “In fact, I’m not convinced she’s completely onboard with me taking her on in the first place.”
“After suffering through all the torture you’ve been forcing me to endure, I’m in full agreement with you there, even though accepting your assistance has made my mother ecstatic, when she’s not arguing with you about color choices,” Adelaide admitted, earning a bit of a grin from Camilla in return.
Leopold sat forward and settled eyes that were brimming with curiosity on Camilla. “If it’s not a match you’re intending for Adelaide, what are you attempting to do?”
“I’m going to turn her fashionable.”
“Are you really?” Vernon breathed.
“Indeed,” Camilla returned. “Although I must admit that might be more difficult than I first anticipated, given that she’s not exactly been receptive to all the changes I’ve suggested.”
“It’s not that I’m unreceptive,” Adelaide argued. “I simplydon’t enjoy being tortured for hours on end as a fiend of a dressmaker sticks pins into me.”
“Miss Ellington is not a fiend. She’s an exceptionally innovative designer who may have stuck you a few times, but only because you can’t seem to hold still.”
Leopold and Vernon exchanged rather telling looks before Leopold rubbed his hands together.
“This is wonderful news,” he began. “Vernon and I have longed to turn society’s perception of our dear Adelaide around for years but have been uncertain how to proceed. With you at the helm, Miss Pierpont, and with us to lend you any assistance you may need, success is all but guaranteed.”
Camilla blanched. “While I appreciate the offer, as the old saying goes, too many cooks in the kitchen could very well spoil the broth.”
It came as no surprise when a rousing debate erupted, Leopold and Vernon professing that their assistance was imperative for Camilla’s plan to succeed since they knew everyone in society, while Camilla countered with arguments that included more idioms such as “less is more.”
And while a part of him knew he should probably intervene on Camilla’s behalf because she was only taking Adelaide in hand because of him, Gideon was reluctant to do so because, if nothing else, the debate seemed to have distracted Adelaide from her determination to help him.
He could only hope that she’d stay sufficiently distracted until he’d had time to seek out Mr. Bainswright, procure the titles of the books that were stolen, then get right to work uncovering whatever plot was afoot before Adelaide realized he was going forward with her case without her.
Twelve
Adelaide stepped from her carriage and set her sights on Gideon, who was strolling down the sidewalk adjacent to Bleecker Street in the direction of Bainswright Books. It didn’t take a genius to realize he was on a quest to speak with Mr. Bainswright before the store opened for business, something Adelaide had known he was going to do, especially when he’d gone to extreme lengths the evening before to keep the conversation directed away from the theft she’d experienced.
He apparently had yet to understand she wasn’t a lady who was distracted easily, especially when her curiosity was aroused, and it was certainly roused now, what with how she’d somehow managed to land herself into a most intriguing situation.
Truth be told, she was feeling somewhat guilty for allowing Gideon to believe she’d been sidetracked from the situation at hand, joining in with the lively debate between Camilla, Vernon, Leopold, and even Edna, who’d decided, for some unknown reason, that Camilla needed to accept the older gentlemen’s assistance with relaunching a new and improved version of Adelaide into society.
Camilla had evidently seen that as a direct aunt-betrayal andhad insisted Adelaide and Gideon get right to their dance time, where, concerningly enough, everyone had immediately taken to critiquing her performance.
Evidently the thought had never entered anyone’s mind that shouting out suggestions to her wasn’t going to have her steps improving. She’d trampled Gideon’s feet too many times to count, which left him limping thirty minutes after they’d taken to the floor.
That was why, once she and Gideon were on the opposite end of the ballroom, far removed from their critiquing audience, she’d suggested they formulate a plan to extricate themselves from a situation that was becoming less productive by the second. Oddly enough, as she and Gideon began conspiring together to bring the evening to a rapid end, their dancing improved, something that suggested she was quite capable of dancing in a proficient manner if given a proper incentive as well as gaining control of nerves that always seemed to come into play whenever she was in Gideon’s arms.
Their improved dancing was why Camilla hadn’t put up much of a fuss when Edna begged a short reprieve from the piano, at which point Gideon, per their plan, declared a forgotten engagement he simply couldn’t miss. After sending Adelaide a wink, he’d made a speedy retreat, Adelaide following a few minutes later after Leopold and Vernon had all but shooed her toward the door, explaining they needed uninterrupted time to discuss different strategies with Camilla to ensure Adelaide would truly find herself in high demand once the Season began in earnest.
Smiling at the memory of the horror she’d seen on Camilla’s face, Adelaide reached into the carriage, retrieved the basket holding Harvey, told her driver she’d be back within the hour, then headed for the bookstore, slipping into the alley she’d seen Gideon disappear down.
“Awfully early for you to be out and about.”
After swallowing a shriek, Adelaide settled a scowl on Gideon, who was leaning casually against the brick wall of the bookstore, amusement in his eyes. “You just frightened me half to death.”
