RECONSIDERING A REFERENDUM
Meanwhile, on the Aimsley phaeton heading toward Carlington House
“If I didn’t already tell you, you look rather fetching in that frock,” Adam Comber said as he pulled back on the reins of his matched grays. A young boy was chasing a small dog down Park Lane, the canine dodging back and forth through the traffic. “As well as out of it,” he added in a voice low enough it couldn’t be overheard by their niece. Daphne was perched on the small seat behind theirs, facing the other direction. Although she gripped the sides of the bench as if her life depended on it—and it probably did—she seemed to be having fun.
“Why, thank you,” Diana replied, beaming in delight. Her face was still flushed from their earlier encounter in the study, and she turned a brilliant smile on her husband. “Bounder,” she added.
Adam chuckled. “You’ve always made me a very happy man.”
“Are you flirting with me?” she asked with a giggle. She spun the handle of her parasol between her thumb and forefinger, which had the lacy border flinging out much like a ballgown during a waltz. The weather was especially fine, and with nary a cloud in the sky, Lady Morganfield’s garden party would probably go on all afternoon.
“I may have to pull you behind a hedgerow and kiss you senseless,” Adam warned as he had the horses maneuvering past the boy.
Diana grinned. “I have reason to believe those hedgerows are going to be quite crowded today.”
“Oh? What have you heard?”
“Well, it is the first entertainment of the Season, and Adeline is expecting a rather large turnout. She learned from Agnes, the Countess of Weatherstone, that her son Sebastian is back in town, and he’s planning to attend.”
“Viscount Cougham is back in London?” Adam asked in surprise, referring to the heir to the Weatherstone earldom. “Where has he been all this time?”
“In northern Italy. The Alps. Recovering from some sort of accident,” Diana explained. “She claims he’s reformed. That he’s no longer interested in performing feats of derring-do,” she added with a quick glance at her husband. She was quite sure that he had been much like Sebastian at one time. Back when he was known as a scoundrel.
Adam scoffed. “He still holds the record for driving a coach-and-four the fastest in Richmond,” he stated. “Took that honor from me,” he added on a sigh. “Probably wants to go out on top.”
It was Diana’s turn to scoff. “You used to drive a coach-and-four at breakneck speeds?” she asked in alarm.
“I was a member of the Four-in-Hand Club,” he acknowledged proudly.
“Do you miss it?”
Adam seemed surprised by the query. “Not a bit,” he replied after a moment of introspection. “I suppose I value my life too much now,” he added as his brows furrowed.
“Well, if you have a need for speed, you could drive a bit faster,” Diana suggested.
Shocked by her words, Adam regarded her a moment. “What’s this now?”
“I could do with a bit more invigoration,” she replied. “Add some more color to my cheeks. This is a high-perch phaeton, is it not?”
“It is,” he acknowledged, understanding her meaning. “Hang on, Daphne,” he called out. “Your aunt wishes for me to drive faster.”
“About time, Uncle,” Daphne replied with a giggle.
Adam grinned and used the crop to urge the horses into a faster trot. After a moment, he had the matched pair running, and Diana’s shriek of excitement and Daphne’s laughter could be heard by those on the pavement.
“Tell me something, my sweet,” Adam shouted over the sound of the horses and spinning wheels. “What were you trying to say yesterday when you fainted?” He had wanted to ask during dinner and then again when they had met in her bedchamber, but other matters had occupied his mind at the time.
Diana’s look of joy sobered slightly. “I reconsidered my opinion of forcing the boys to marry,” she replied.
“Why?” he asked in a shout. He slowed the horses as they approached Carlington House. There were a number of carriages and coaches already pulled up in front of the mansion, their brightly garbed occupants spilling out onto the half-circle drive.
“I don’t want our sons thinking of marriage as some sort of punishment,” she explained. “I would hate for them to take it out on their wives. To resent them for a decision they were forced to make in the name of money. At an age far too young to be considering marriage.”
Adam’s surprise at hearing her assessment had him halting the phaeton more quickly than he intended, which had the both of them pitching forward. He had an arm in front of her waist, though, which kept her on the bench seat. “That isn’t quite what I intended when I gave them the edict,” he replied.
“Then what had you thinking they needed tomarry?” she countered. “If not as a punishment for changing places?”
Adam inhaled to answer but seemed to think better of his reasoning. “I just... I wanted them to learn responsibility, I suppose,” he muttered.
