I frowned.
“He’s come calling, miss, the morning after he met you,” she said. “So he must have romantic inclinations and wants to be the first to stake his claim.”
Of course. Why was I so naïve?
“What should I do?” I asked her.
“You can meet with him, or I can send him away and tell him you’re not receiving callers.”
I worried my bottom lip. I couldn’t accept Mr. Vanderbilt’s pursuit, because I was destined for Europe. The only reason to meet with him was to practice my flirting, but that might lead to other problems and the last thing I wanted was to break his heart as Annabelle had done to Alec. Yet he had come all this way—and hewasa Vanderbilt. I didn’t want him rebuffed by one of the servants.
What would Aunt Maude want me to do? Should I disturb her? I hadn’t made an important decision alone since I’d entered her house. Surely she would want me to accept his call, if forno other reason than his sister-in-law, Mrs. William Kissam Vanderbilt, was hosting a party she wanted me invited to.
“I’ll receive him,” I said as I rose from the chair and smoothed my morning gown. It was a lovely dress made of mauve cotton with layers of material drawn up and bustled at the back.
“You’ll need a chaperone,” Gallagher said. “It should be your aunt.”
“I don’t want to disturb her. Can you do it?”
She nodded, though it wasn’t generally the job of a servant. The task often fell to a family member.
We left my room, and I tried not to look for Alec, but I found my eyes wandering through the gallery and down the stairs. Was he home?
The front parlor door was open, so I took a deep breath and was about to enter, when I heard Alec’s voice.
I paused, causing Gallagher to pause, as well. If Alec was in the room, then I wouldn’t need her, so I motioned for her to leave.
She nodded without hesitation and left.
“I’ve been busier than usual,” I heard Alec say.
“Is that why you haven’t been at the club?” Mr. Vanderbilt asked. “Rumor is that you’ve been preoccupied with a young woman.”
Was the rumor true? Had Alec been talking about another woman last night, and not me? Pain sliced through my chest as the possibility took shape into a dozen different thoughts.
Alec was quiet for a moment and then said, unconvincingly, “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”
I didn't want to hear another word on the subject. Lifting my chin, I entered the room as if I had been walking steadily toward the parlor without stopping to eavesdrop.
“Mr. Vanderbilt,” I said, pretending to be surprised.
Mr. Vanderbilt was sitting on the edge of a chair and Alec was standing near the hearth, almost exactly as he’d been standing last night.
They both turned at my entrance, looking concerned that I had heard them, but I would set their minds at ease and give them no foothold to feel uncomfortable because of me.
“Good morning, Miss Hill,” Mr. Vanderbilt said as he rose from his chair, a bright smile on his handsome face. “You look lovely.”
His compliment didn’t warm my cheeks as Alec’s would, but it pleased me and was an honor. Two months ago, if he’d passed me on the street, he wouldn’t have looked twice.
Today, he’d come to call.
“Thank you.” I didn’t acknowledge Alec—I couldn’t. But I wasn’t sure if it was because of the kiss he’d given me last night or the rumor Mr. Vanderbilt had heard concerning him. “To what do I owe this visit?”
Alec remained standing near the hearth, waiting for Mr. Vanderbilt’s response.
Mr. Vanderbilt looked uncertain as he glanced from Alec to me. He should have expected a family member to chaperone us, but perhaps he had been anticipating Aunt Maude. It was a little easier courting a woman without another gentleman present.
“I enjoyed myself immensely last evening,” Mr. Vanderbilt said, “and was hoping to continue our acquaintance today.”
