He made a noise in his throat to remind his mother why they had come. She turned in his direction. “Don’t mind Lucien. He thinks the world should adhere to a steady schedule.”
“Things run so much smoother,” he replied.
The older woman rose and glided to the tea tray. Lucien noticed Harriet watching him with the corners of her perfectcupid-bow lips slightly curved up. He had to tamp his thoughts down. In front of his mother wasn’t the place to have thoughts of kissing this woman. It had been on his mind quite a lot. Probably more than it should be, but Harriet was the first woman in a long time to stir his male lust.
“Lucien. Lucien,” a voice said. He cast his head in the direction of the sound. His mother with a cup of tea. Harriet was now grinning with a teacup in her hand.
“What?”
His mother handed him the cup of tea, which he nodded his thanks for and put down on a table next to him. “I’m sorry, my mind drifted to that blasted rail car of the prince’s.” He wasn’t sure either woman bought into his explanation but they didn’t say otherwise.
Accepting a plate of cake, Lucien thought he’d just have to sit and listen to the women talk amongst themselves, but they kept dragging him into their conversation. He really had no knowledge of what they were speaking of in the first place.
“I was telling Harriet there’s going to be a falconer at Hyde Park later in the week. He’s supposed to be quite well known and has trained them for royalty all over Europe. You two should go see him.”
“Would you be interested?” he asked Harriet.
She nodded and took a sip of tea. “Yes. I’ve never seen a falcon up close.”
“Really? Very well, it’s settled. You need to see these majestic animals at least once in your life,” Lucien replied.
They continued to discuss falcons and their history for several more minutes. Lucien glanced up at the clock sitting above the fireplace. They’d been here about an hour. It was time they said their goodbyes and left.
Lucien stood and glanced fondly at Harriet and then his mother. “Thank you for having us, Mother. As much as we’dlove to stay, Harriet and I thought we’d walk in the park near Jameson House.”
“You should,” she said and turned towards Harriet. “If you have time, there are some nice shops on the far side of the park.”
“Thank you for telling me,” Harriet replied.
His mother and Harriet stood. “It was very nice to finally meet you, my dear. I look forward to our next meeting,” the duchess said.
A few minutes later they were in Lucien’s carriage headed to the park. He turned towards Harriet. “My mother really likes you.”
“Really? How can you tell?”
He smiled slightly. “If she didn’t, we wouldn’t have spent as much time as we did with her. She would have ended tea earlier.”
“That’s good to know. I’ve been so worried about whether she’d like me,” Harriet said.
He leaned over and patted her hand. “You worried for nothing.”
“I suppose I did,” she replied shyly.
The carriage turned onto a side street and stopped. The park they were going to walk in was right across the street. The door opened and Lucien descended, holding out his hand to help Harriet down. Once she was safely on the ground, he whispered to her and walked over to the driver. The carriage then headed away, leaving Harriet and Lucien in front of the park.
“I dismissed the carriage to one of the entrances to the park. It’s such a beautiful afternoon, I thought we could walk back that way.”
“That sounds wonderful,” she replied, noticing her maid, Rex, was standing an appropriate distance away. She would walk behind them at that distance in the park. Since she was being called on by a gentleman, the rules slightly bent now for Harriet.
Lucien led them into the park and onto one of the walking paths. He took her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm as they walked silently at first.
“Are you excited about seeing the Italian opera singer tomorrow evening?” he asked quietly.
She nodded. “Yes, I am. I couldn’t believe it when Arthur told me the news.”
“I look forward to accompanying you with Arthur and Daphne.”
“It’ll be our first public outing together,” she replied smiling.
