“You don’t say!” Miss Kinsey clapped her hands together. “How absolutely marvelous! Sothatis why you are at this dull gathering. I had wondered. But one doesn’t like to ask. Apparently, I give offense with my questions. But how else am to discover what I need to know?”
“Um, yes,” Verity agreed before lapsing into silence again.
“Are you all as fond of insects as Miss Lockhart?” Miss Kinsey asked, surveying the group, who—except for William Cole—stood in mute awe of her.
“Goodness, no,” replied Mrs. Trenton. “I have offered to play chaperone, as Miss Lockhart’s sister was unable to attend. But I take no interest in the lecture for its own sake.”
“I suspect,” said Dr. Westbridge, “I am the only other enthusiast among the six of us, unless you count yourself, Miss Kinsey. It is I who extended the invitation, knowing how rare an opportunity this might be for a young lady with such an unusual pastime.”
“And I am very grateful for it,” Verity assured him. “I only wish I could have brought my sketchbook. But my sister was adamant I shouldn’t.”
“Well, then, Dr. Westbridge, your kindness should be repaid in full,” said Miss Kinsey. “Why do you not join us at the lake? You and Miss Lockhart may regale me with stories of all the wildlife to be found at the water’s edge, and I shall have amarvelous afternoon out of doors. In fact, why do you not all come? It shall be very merry indeed!”
Lawrence Cole was the first to shake his head. “Alas, I must return to Fernbridge. I have been several weeks away from my family, and our father has need of my assistance at the bank.”
“And I cannot bear to be parted from my little ones for long,” said Mrs. Trenton. “Jane is but five months old and Clarence has just turned three. His is a very precious age and I do not like to miss even an hour of it. But your invitation is very kind.”
“What about you, sir?” Miss Kinsey asked of William Cole. “Will you be joining us?”
The strange discomfort seemed to seize Mr. Cole once more. His lips flattened their smile. His gaze was thrown to the floor. His breathing grew shallow.
“Mr. Cole?” Miss Kinsey prompted once more. “Do you have family commitments or”—her eyes rested a moment on his uniform—“military commitments that keep you from joining us?”
“I do not,” he finally answered. “However, I have another prior arrangement to attend to.”
“But I have not even mentioned a date!” said the astonished Miss Kinsey. “How will you know if you are available?”
“It is a personal matter. I do not know when it will be resolved.”
“Well, you are certainly mysterious, sir,” remarked Miss Kinsey, an opinion which Verity currently shared. “And now I wish more than ever that you would be joining us. But I shall console myself that I have two new friends to entertain. And you shall hear from them what larks we have had without you!”
William Cole bowed his head. “As you say, Miss Kinsey, the loss is mine entirely.”
A polite voice that belonged to no one in the group coughed behind them. “Pardon me. Is there a Miss Kinsey here?”
All six heads turned to find a rather nervous young man pushing his spectacles higher up on the bridge of his nose.
“I am Miss Kinsey,” said the young lady.
“Oh, mm, ah, Lord and Lady Howell ask that you take your seat with them.” He paused, then added, “Ah, yes, indeed, it would be best for you all to do the same. Our speaker has arrived and is about to present his treatise.”
Verity wanted to stamp her foot in frustration. All this chitter-chatter had taken up all her precious time in a building that she could only have dreamed of entering before. No conversation with Dr. Westbridge about why tansy beetles rarely flew, even though they had wings. No closer inspection of the minute differences in various types of flour beetles. And no opportunity to see if Arthur Westbridge might be the man with whom she could have a future.
“Oh, Miss Lockhart!” called Miss Kinsey as she swooped off to join her friend, “I will send the carriage to fetch you at two in the afternoon tomorrow. Don’t forget your paints!”
Before Verity could answer, the blonde whirlwind had disappeared in the crowd.
“I would have offered to fetch you myself,” said Dr. Westbridge, “but it seems your companion in lieu of a chaperone is to be Miss Kinsey. So, I will meet you at Munro House, if that suits.”
“I can hardly say if it will, sir,” Verity responded. “I have yet to find out if my sister approves this outing.”
“Perhaps you would be so good as to send me a message with your sister’s answer? It would not be seemly for me to attend upon Miss Kinsey on my own.”
He was right, of course. Dr. Westbridge, Verity was realizing, did everything by the book. It should have been a reassuring fact. But right now, Verity was irritated. Unlike Dr. Westbridge, she did not want to be accommodating toward Miss Kinsey. And shewished he would show a measure of disgruntlement also. Should he not bewail that this woman had stolen their time together? It was so rare a gift to find a man who shared her passion, but he had not protected their precious connection. Since he could visit this establishment whenever he chose, did he not understand the value it held for her? He hadsaidhe did. But he had not fought for it when Miss Kinsey had entered the fray. Instead, Verity had to wait for the lecture to end, praying it did not take much more than an hour if she was to walk and talk with Dr. Westbridge, meandering past displays that both educated and enthralled her. It was all very vexing.
They took their seats. Charlotte Trenton sat on Verity’s left, with Dr. Westbridge to the left of Mrs. Trenton. To Verity’s right sat Lawrence Cole, his unwed brother to his right. All very proper and correct. Bother! Verity could neither consult with Dr. Westbridge on the facts of the talk, nor could she whisper her opinions of him against William Cole’s shoulder. Double bother!
Verity sulked and fretted throughout the talk. The speaker droned on. He spoke of his travels to Egypt and Morocco, how very dangerous the Nile was, how very great the heat. He talked at length about his connection with great European naturalists and how they respected him.
