Eli blinked.Will I?“Maybe.”
*
An hour ormore passed before the two men emerged, sober but silent, and Lucy returned to the drawing room. A tea tray followed. Conversation seemed stiff to Fanny, but she put that off onto her own somber mood.
“Do you suppose a stroll would be acceptable on a Sunday afternoon? We’ve been cooped up all day,” Lucy asked.
Rob brushed crumbs from his hands and gazed at his wife. The naked longing sent heat up Fanny’s neck. The warmth traveled lower, if she was completely honest.
“The physic garden will be closed,” Fanny sighed.
“All gardens are,” Rob said. He turned to Eli with a wink. “It is the law, isn’t it, my solicitor brother?”
Eli cleared his throat. “An Act for Preventing Certain Abuses and Profanations on the Lord’s Day Called Sunday, alas, does indeed cover Sunday strolls through public gardens, even ones with medicinal purposes. And it is enforced.”
“I, for one, will never understand the logic behind denying people simple pleasures on the Sabbath,” Lucy said.
“They hope the lack of choices will drive the heathens into the churches,” Rob said.
“Not that it works with all heathens,” Lucy said tartly. She had accompanied Fanny and Wil to church without her husband that morning. He’d claimed he had work.
“An Act for Preventing, etc., etc.wouldn’t stop us from having a dignified and somber stroll along the river,” Eli said, lips twitching. He cast a glance Fanny’s way that raised her spirits.
“Unfortunately, I have a little person to feed,” Lucy said.
Rob grinned wickedly. “Even better. That is one of my favorite activities to observe. I’ll join you,” he said, causing his wife’s face to flame red. “But the two of you should enjoy what is left of this fine day. You have plenty of time to get to the river and back.” He glanced pointedly at Eli. “Take Reilly.”
Fanny’s heart sank. She did not want a chaperone; she wanted Eli.
