“That would certainly be expecting far too much of you ... at least for now,” Camilla said before she lifted the daisies to her nose. “Thank you for these.”
“You’re welcome.” Owen turned to Luella, whose eyes were sparkling in a rather un-Luella-like fashion. “What?”
“Nothing,” Luella said.
“Your smile suggests otherwise.”
“I suppose it might at that” was all Luella said before she gestured to her riding habit and gave a bit of a twirl, tripping on the overly long hem before finding her balance. “What do you think?”
“It’s very nice, although it seems a little long,” Owen said. “Might be difficult to execute any dance steps if you’re planning on wearing that to the ball come June.”
“It’s a riding habit, Owen,” Luella pointed out.
“Then it’d be difficult for you to retain your seat, as I imagine all that fabric will get in your way, or worse yet, spook your horse.”
“That’s why Bernadette will be hacking off a good foot or so of fabric for me.”
Owen frowned. “Why would Bernadette be in charge of hacking anything for you?”
“Were you not listening to me earlier?”
Owen blinked. “Should I assume that means you’ve already mentioned something about Bernadette and hacking?”
Luella released a snort. “I’ll take that as a you-weren’t-listening because, yes, Camilla and I addressed Bernadette earlier, as in we mentioned she was altering a few of my old gowns, and you were standing right beside us.” She frowned. “Didn’t you notice that the afternoon dress I wore here is vastly different from the dress Mother bought for me a few years back?”
“Are you going to get all huffy if I admit I didn’t?”
Luella tilted her head. “I suppose I could be persuaded to keep my huffiness in check if you offer to foot the bill for my new wardrobe.”
“Spent all your allowance on furniture, did you?”
“Not all of it, because Daddy increased my allowance substantially last year, no doubt due to the guilt he’s been feeling over abandoning me for Paris. However, I am running a little low on funds, and it would save me the bother of petitioning Daddy for more money if you’ll cover my purchases today.”
“I was already planning on footing your bill.”
It did not escape Camilla’s notice that Sally and Curtistine were now considering Owen with clear speculation in their eyes, as if they might very well be reassessing their views on a man who clearly wasn’t the ogre they’d thought him to be, not when he wasn’t hesitating to indulge his sister with a shopping expedition and had presented his not-quite fiancée with a bouquet of her favorite flowers.
“Forgive me for changing the subject,” Sally said, drawing everyone’s attention, “but I’ve just realized, Miss Pierpont, that you said we’ll need to round up seven gentlemen to learn the quadrille since Mr. Charles Wetzel will be the eighth. May I assume you need seven because you know Owen wouldn’t care to learn the steps?”
It wasn’t exactly a surprise when Owen and Luella immediately settled somewhat incredulous looks on her.
“What’s this about a quadrille?” Luella asked.
“I’ve invited these ladies to join us at the country house, which really does need a better name, to learn a particular quadrille to perform at the ball come June. It obviously requires gentlemen, as it’s a couple’s dance.”
Luella began looking at Camilla as if she’d taken leave of her senses, but before she could voice any of the arguments she clearly longed to voice, Owen cleared his throat.
“I think quadrille lessons sound delightful,” he surprised herby saying. “And know that I’ll be more than happy to partner you if you’re wanting to join in on the fun.”
Camilla refused to allow her mouth to drop open, but before she could decide if Owen had offered to partner her because they were supposed to be an almost-engaged couple or because he might actually want to dance with her, Luella was beaming a smile at something across the room.
The reason for the smile quickly became evident when Camilla spotted Charles strolling across the room, his gaze settled on Luella. A second later, he was stopping directly in front of her before he presented her with a bow and then pulled two small lily plants from behind his back.
“I’m afraid the pickings were slim at the flower shop when it came to lilies,” Charles began as he handed the lilies to Luella. “However, I thought it might be interesting if we were to attempt to graft these two together and see what happens, since one of them is yellow and the other purple.”
“Interesting indeed,” Luella said before she took a moment to introduce Charles to Sally and Curtistine, who took to fluttering their lashes his way.
It was rather telling when Luella put an immediate cessation to all the fluttering by handing the lilies back to Charles and smiling one of the most angelic smiles Camilla had ever seen her smile.
