Lady Fosberry had told her Harriett and Lord Gilbert were in love, yes, but to hear a thing, and to witness it for oneself wasnotthe same, particularly when it came to matters of the heart.
One had only to look at Lord Gilbert to see the love there— the light in his eyes, the softness in his features, the raw emotion in his voice that was reflected so plainly in his face. It was justthe same expression with which her brothers-in-law looked at her sisters.
It was a look so beautiful, so tender, so utterly touching in its purity that a rush of tears filled her eyes. Lord Gilbert was madly, deeply in love with Harriett, and why shouldn’t he be? Harriett was as sweet and kind a young lady as anyone could ever find.
As for Harriett’s feelings for the viscount…
Harriett’s back was to the door, but there was a looking glass just opposite the piano, and a glance revealed a tender smile, a sweet flush of pleasure on Harriett’s cheeks.
That smile said more than words ever could. That was the besotted smile of the lovelorn.
She hadn’t seen Harriett smile like that since that awful business with Lord Wyle.
If there was any doubt, Harriett’s reaction as the last magnificent note left Lord Gilbert’s lips banished it forever.
“Oh, Gilly, that waswonderful!” She jumped to her feet, clapping her hands together. “I’ve never heard anyone sing it so well as you!” She gazed up at the viscount as if he’d just plucked a star from the sky, and placed it in her palm.
He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You’re too kind, Lady Harriett,” he murmured, pressing a chaste kiss to her knuckles. “I’ve always enjoyed singing, but never so much as when I sing to you.”
Phee suppressed a sigh. Goodness, they were utterly charming together, weren’t they?
Who was she, to turn her back on something so beautiful, so powerful?
Why, no one. No one, at all.
Even more to the point, neither was Lord Fairmont.
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on that. The last thing she wanted was to get caught spying on them. The singing hadceased, the room beyond the door falling silent, so she pulled the music room door closed as quietly as she could, then turned back toward the library, but she hadn’t made it two steps before she smacked directly into a wall.
“Good afternoon, Miss Templeton.”
“Oh!” She jumped back, patting her chest.
“I beg your pardon.”
Large, strong hands reached out to steady her, and she found herself looking up into a pair of dark blue eyes. Ah, not a wall, then, but an earl. An arrogant, tiresome earl, with an arrogant, tiresome smirk on his too-handsome lips. “Lord Fairmont! You startled me.”
“Eavesdropping, were you? I thought better of you than that, Miss Templeton.”
Not much better, if the curl of his lip was any indication. “I thought better ofyou, my lord, than to be skulking about the hallways, sneaking up on people.”
“Gentlemen don’tskulk, Miss Templeton.”
“Do you prefer creeping, my lord? Loitering? Prowling? Do feel free to choose a verb you approve of.”
Lord Fairmont was not, it seemed, in the mood for linguistic fisticuffs, because he ignored this completely. “Have you seen Harriett? We’re meant to have a walk together this afternoon.”
“Er…” She cast an anxious glance behind her, but there wasn’t so much as a single peep from the other side of the door now.
The music room had fallen suddenly, and suspiciously silent.
Either Harriett and Viscount Gilbert had heard Lord Fairmont’s voice and wished to escape detection, or there was something else— something a trifle less innocent —unfolding on the other side of that door.
Thank goodness she’d managed to close it before Lord Fairmont came creeping down the hallway! She couldn’t permithim to find Harriett and Lord Gilbert in there alone, or he’d have Harriett packed up and on her way back to Hereford before she could draw a breath.
“Miss Templeton? I asked if you’d seen Harriett.”
She jerked her gaze back to him. “Harriett, my lord?”
