The traffic eased, and they soon rode past the entrance. Bray guided the horses out of the queue of slower carriages and onto the deeply rutted pathway that wound around the perimeter of the grassy openness of the park. Not a fourth of a mile down, Bray looked up and saw Lord Sanburne and Mr. Mercer on horseback and riding straight toward him.
He swore silently.
Much to his consternation, they somehow recognized him among all the bonnets and the two parasols. They moved their mounts to the side and waited. Lord Sanburne would expect him to stop and chat, as it was the polite thing to do, but Bray wasn’t in the mood to be polite today. When the carriage approached, the men took off their hats, getting ready to greet Miss Prim and her sisters, but Bray surprised them. He didn’t slow the horses. He gave the stunned gentlemen a brief nod as he passed and kept right on going.
A little farther into the park, he looked at Miss Prim and said, “It’s crowded this afternoon. Do you think you will recognize them from a distance if you see them?”
“I’m certain I’ll know Gwen’s parasol without us having to get too close. I helped her choose what to wear today.”
“Are we trying to find Gwen?” Miss Lillian asked.
Bray and Miss Prim looked at each other, realizing at the same time their mistake in mentioning the reason for the ride.
“Well, you never know,” Miss Prim said to her sister. “We might see her, since we’re both out for a ride today.”
“I want to see her, too,” Miss Bonnie echoed before Miss Prim once again had to calm the girls.
Sanburne and Mercer weren’t the only fellows they passed as they rode the grounds of the park and looked for the curricle with Miss Gwen and Mr. Standish in it. They received waves from other children in the park, a few laughs from three rakes on horseback, and an occasional surprised stare because of the overloaded chaise. Bray could handle the many gawkers. They didn’t bother him, but if only the girls would stop talking for a little while and let him have silence.
Bray felt another stab of impatience, and his hands tightened on the reins. He was wishing like hell he’d told the girls an emphatic no when they asked to come—when off to his left, he saw Seaton and his family spreading a blanket for a picnic.
He pulled hard to the left and guided the horses over to where Seaton was standing by his carriage.
“You remember meeting Miss Prim last night?”
Surprise shone in the old man’s eyes. “Yes, of course I do,” he said, and took off his hat to greet her.
Bray then introduced the other girls, and Seaton spoke to them them warmly in turn before Bray set the brake and said to Miss Prim, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Bray jumped down, and he and Seaton walked a few feet away from the carriages.
With a twinkle in his eyes, Seaton said, “After knowing you for more than ten years, you still manage to amaze me.”
“Sometimes I amaze myself,” Bray mumbled. As in why in the hell had he agreed to allow the younger girls to come with them today?
“Last night you danced with almost every young lady at the ball but Miss Prim, and now here you are today with her and all her sisters in the park. In a carriage that’s much too small for the group of you, I might add, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Oh, I’ve noticed all right,Bray thought, but said, “Well, not all her sisters.”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
“Tell me, how did you manage to slight her last night and then end up in the park with her today?”
“I have no idea,” Bray grumbled, and realized how true that statement was. “All I know is that I don’t have your experience or patience with children, Seaton. You don’t seem nearly so tense as I feel right now, and it looks as if you have more children with you than I do.”
“I’ve been blessed with a lot of grandchildren in my old age.” Seaton smiled, but to Bray it looked more like a grin that said,You deserve exactly what you are getting.
“You do look uncommonly rattled, Your Grace.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Bray said, and rubbed his temple. “So are you just spending the afternoon in the park?”
“Yes, there’s a puppet show that will be starting in about half an hour over there where they are setting up that tent. My wife and I thought the grandchildren would enjoy it.”
Bray’s breath hitched as an idea came to him. “Do you think she would mind if Miss Prim’s sisters watched the puppet show with you and your family?”
Seaton’s eyes narrowed, studying over his answer before saying, “No, I don’t think she would, and we have plenty of food for them to share our picnic.”
