“Very well,” Mr. Tidmore said, sounding a bit annoyed. “Come in and sit in the drawing room and wait, and see that you don’t touch anything. I’ll send someone to see if we can locate the duke and tell him you are here.”
“Thank you,” Louisa said.
They settled themselves in the drawing room and waited and waited. Louisa was happy that the girls didn’t seem to mind sitting so quietly for so long. When it grew dark, Bonnie and Sybil became restless. A servant came in and lit a fire and the lamps. Mr. Tidmore came in and asked to speak to Louisa alone, so she joined him in the corridor.
“The dinner hour will be approaching soon, Miss Prim. Would you like for me to have our cook prepare something for you and your sisters, or will you be leaving to dine in your own home?”
Louisa’s stomach jumped nervously. Should they leave and return another time? She had no idea what Bray might say or do when he came in and saw them waiting for him. “We’ll be staying, Mr. Tidmore. Dinner would be lovely, if it’s not too much trouble for the cook.”
An hour later, Mr. Tidmore showed them into the dining room. Louisa and Gwen sat on one side of the table, and Lillian sat between Sybil and Bonnie on the other side. The first course was a bowl of chicken and vegetable soup. To begin with, the girls were quiet in the elaborately decorated room, but by the time the servant had picked up the bowls, they were chatting as if they were in their own home.
Suddenly from the front room, Louisa heard Saint barking. Her back stiffened.
The duke was home. Had she made a mistake coming to his house?
Moments later, she heard boots stomping down the corridor. She thought about jumping up, gathering the girls to her, and running from the house. But she sat there with her gaze fixed on the doorway.
If Bray didn’t want them there, he would have to throw them out.
Chapter 28
Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.
—Twelfth Night,act 3, scene 1
Bray strode through the front door, taking off his gloves. He threw them and his hat onto a side table. He heard barking and looked up to see Saint heading toward him. The dog jumped into his arms. Bray rubbed the top of his head and was happy to see Saint for about three seconds. Then it dawned on him,What is the spaniel doing here?
Was Louisa so outraged with him that she took Saint away from the girls and brought him back?
Did she hate him so much that she would punish her sisters and not let them keep the dog? This went beyond the pale, even for Louisa. He would not have it. He kept Saint in his arms and picked up his hat and gloves. He would show her who was in charge. He was taking the dog back to the girls, whether she wanted him to or not. Saint was their pet, and she might as well like it—because the spaniel stayed with the girls.
“Your Grace,” Mr. Tidmore said, rushing into the vestibule. “I’m so glad you are home.”
“Not anymore, I’m not. I’m heading right back out.”
“But, Your Grace, didn’t you get my message?”
Bray opened the door. “No, but whatever it was, it can wait. I’m taking Saint back to the Prim sisters.”
“But the sisters are here.”
Bray quickly turned back to his butler. “What did you say?”
“The Prim girls are here—all five of them. They are in the dining room, having dinner. They arrived about midafternoon, and when it neared dinnertime and they made no attempt to leave, I didn’t know what to do except prepare for them.”
“Here? In my dining room?” Bray asked again, just to be sure.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Bray stuffed the dog, his hat, and his gloves into the butler’s arms. His mind was swirling with different possibilities as to why Louisa and her sisters might be at his house, but he was too stunned at the moment to make sense of any of them.
He walked into the dining room, and the most inviting and welcoming feeling he’d ever felt flowed gently over him like a pail of warm water, covering him from head to toe.
The girls immediately rose from their chairs and stood silently beside them. Flames crackled in the fireplace. A white cloth, lighted candles, and beautiful china, silver, and crystal sparkled on the table. Bray had never seen his dining room set for dinner.
His gaze lighted on Louisa’s face. She looked beautiful and wary, almost frightened, as if she thought he might throw them all out.
“Please, sit down,” he said. “Finish your dinner.”
