“I would like to go see Onyx and what sort of progress he’s made,” Lucien said. “A day or two would be all we’d need.”
“Then we’ll go,” Harriet replied.
Sitting in their own parlor later in the evening, Harriet sighed. “Did you have any idea they were going to do this?”
“None,” came the reply.
“I think they thought it would help ease any tension with my mother. Your mother is right; it’ll give everyone a better chance to plan out any balls they might want to give us.”
“I like the idea of being away from all of this,” Lucien said.
“As do I,” Harriet replied. “Have you been to any of these places?”
“I have been to Paris of course, and Belgium, but nowhere else. That’s always been for business.”
“You didn’t spend your grand tour on the Continent?”
“I never had a tour. If I had, I would have gone somewhere exotic like Egypt.”
“Why didn’t you have a tour?” Harriet asked with a grin.
“I had no interest in going,” came Lucien’s reply.
“I understand it’s a time for the male sex to go wild before they have to return and begin their adult lives.”
Lucien threw his head back and laughed. “You’re one hundred percent right.”
“Not hard to figure out, and besides I’ve known sons of my parents’ friends who have said that.”
“It’s a well-known fact,” he replied.
“When do you want to go to the country?”
“Day after tomorrow? I thought it would give you and my mother time to go for a dress fitting. We’ll leave and stay a couple of days before coming back to London. I’m sure Onyx is progressing nicely. Otherwise, I would have had word.”
“You need to see him with your own two eyes,” Harriet replied. She knew what the horse meant to him and wanted to encourage him spending time with Onyx.
“Thank you for understanding,” he said.
“It gives me time to make notes of what I might want to change when we return.”
“Like what?”
“Our bedchamber. That’s our space, and it’s personal. I’d like to redo it to reflect our tastes. Perhaps new paint and wall covering. New draperies, things like that,” Harriet replied.
“Blue. I like shades of blue. Would you have any objections to using blue?”
“Not at all. We could use a couple shades of blue and use white to accent,” she replied.
There were so many things Harriet wanted to do, especially since the estate had not been in Lucien’s family. He’d bought it as an investment, and because he wanted his own place close to London. The dukedom’s other estates were too far away for a simple trip to the capital.
“I wonder if I should see my mother before we leave for the Continent. I don’t want her to be upset in any way about this change of events. She was so looking forward to being able to host a ball in our honor.”
“I believe my mother’s already spoken with her. Mother mentioned she seemed to be relieved she would have more time to prepare.”
She hoped this was the case. Her mother sometimes got ahead of herself if an idea popped into her head.
“Good, though I’m surprised she was so agreeable. Then, she wouldn’t let anyone know otherwise.”
