I must have been toying with my empty glass for eons, staring out the tall windows—how does one clean them?—when I admit to myself he isn’t coming. AJ isn’t coming. Has he been injured? Drowned?
His absence cuts the slender string of my security and I’m floating. Drifting.
He has left me.
The giant hole of everything I don’t know creeps closer. The busy server turns back to her work, pretending not to notice my continued abandonment.
A moment later the pianoforte music ceases and quiet folds over the room. The bench creaks, then footfalls approach directly behind me. A deep voice teases the skin on my shoulder. “Who has failed to keep an appointment with such an enchanting creature?” I exhale as a familiar voice wraps itself around me.
AJ.
“The worst sort of cad.”
“Perhaps he didn’t see you, tucked back here around the corner, and thoughtyouwere not coming.” A sigh. “I do hope he’s at least handsome.”
“Passable.” I bite back a smile.
“Hmm.” He trails a finger up my arm, and I lean into his magnetic warmth. “I hope you will not find me too forward, but I should enjoy your company, since it’s conveniently available.” He leans toward my ear. “Dance with me?”
“I suppose.”
He spins me into his arms, holding me close, and I’m swept up in his nearness. Is it him that’s so enchanting…or us together? One glance up and I’m lost in those sparkling sea-green eyes. “I must say, you’re a bundle of surprises, Ansel James Winthrop.”
“Good.” His smile flashes. “I’d hate to be boring.”
I nod toward the clothing I don’t recognize. “A dinner jacket?”
“Borrowed. Like it?”
“It’ll do.” I throw him a coy grin and admire the fine cut of clothing on him.
Just before he twirls me, I catch sight of Eleanor’s shocked face. She’s openly staring at us. At me. I laugh as AJ spins me about to the music of the lively string quartet that has replaced the pianoforte.
“You’re to have high tea, with anything you like on their menu card. I’ve spent the day rescuing them since their pianist failed to appear, busing tables too, and in return—”
“You’re not being paid.”
“They’re rather strapped at the moment, but they promised my lady the grandest time with anything her heart desires. It truly was a bargain, for only a few hours’ work.”
“I could have eaten fish and chips again, for far less effort.”
He smiles, covertly brushing his lips across mine. “Yes, but this was much more fun.”
We feast on a delightful meal of egg and cress, madeleines and fruits, then every tea imaginable. A steady stream of Darjeeling, Earl Greys, and locally crafted teas sweep across our table and we sample most everything we can lay hands on, except those containing anise, which I find I decidedly do not enjoy.
Across the table, my husband sits straight and tall in his three-piece suit. He looks like a stranger. “Ansel, you’ve told meso little of your story. The pianoforte, for example. I had no idea you played.”
“Neither did I.” His eyebrows dart up.
I laugh. “I’m serious, AJ. Tell me more about your past. What life was like when you were younger. You’ve dropped everything to come away on this wild goose chase with me, but I know nearly nothing about what you’re leaving behind.”
“Nothing worth speaking of. Odd jobs here and there, a tiny flat. You know all that. I have all I need in front of me.” A wink. “Which tea shall we try next?”
“What sort of positions, AJ? How have you kept yourself? You’ve only—”
“This and that, as I said. Something always needs doing, so I do it. You’re my match in resourcefulness, taking up with Lady St. Laurent the moment you landed on her—um—road.”
“Yes, but whatkindof things?” I steer back toward him again. My curiosity is getting the better of me, and I cannot help but think of Gould’s words earlier.Watch for people who evade answering.
