He leaned against the pillar with maddening ease. His arms folded loosely across his chest, and one dark curl had escaped across his forehead.
To Charlotte’s irritation, she felt a bizarre urge to smooth it back into place.
‘How did you enjoy the picnic?’ he asked.
‘It was very pleasant,’ she replied coolly.
‘And your dinner companion?’ His tone sharpened slightly. ‘I trust Wolverton behaved himself. There was a moment during supper when you looked rather pale.’
‘Not at all, my lord. He was perfectly gentlemanly,’ she lied, though his blue eyes continued scrutinising her expression.
‘You look as though you are plotting something.’
Charlotte resisted the urge to sigh dramatically. She did not think he had noticed anything, given how thoroughly his attentions had been monopolised by Miss Pearson.
‘Of course not, my lord.’
Without warning, he plucked the teacup directly from her hands—the very cup she had only just poured for herself—and gave her a sardonic smile.
‘Next time, I would rather see you in the corner with old Mrs Hill and her trumpet than conversing with Wolverton.’
With that, he strolled away as though he had not just confiscated her tea, returning directly to Miss Pearson and her infuriatingly perfect smiles.
Charlotte gave an undignified scoff.
As though she wished to mingle with the odious man. Miss Hill, trumpet and all, was infinitely preferable company. But at least one of them ought to be investigating instead of devoting the entire evening to flirtation, she thought viciously.
At least her troubles had yielded her some results. Wolverton’s clandestine meeting in the library tomorrow night—and spoken in such anxious tones.
Who had he been speaking to?
When she looked again, both Wolverton and the mysterious figure behind the pillar had vanished.
Cursing beneath her breath, Charlotte scanned the room until she finally spotted Lord Wolverton near the pianoforte, now conversing with Mr Hamilton and Miss Payne as though nothing had occurred.
Determined not to lose sight of him again, she crossed the room—
‘Ah, Miss Lucas!’
Charlotte stopped short.
Mrs Wilberforce beckoned enthusiastically from a cluster of ladies gathered near the fire. ‘Come, sit with us.’
Before Charlotte could escape, Mrs Wilberforce launched into unexpected praise.
‘Miss Lucas is a miracle governess,’ Mrs Wilberforce declared. ‘Tom has improved beautifully since her arrival.’
Several guests turned towards Charlotte with renewed interest.
‘How ever did you manage?’ Lady Susan asked with a contemptuous smile. ‘Last time I visited, the boy put salt in my tea!’
Charlotte bit her tongue and merely smiled.Well done, Tom.
‘I do my best,’ she replied modestly.
Fortunately, their attention soon drifted towards governesses in general and how difficult it had become to find proper help these days. Charlotte, now largely forgotten, lingered quietly at the edge of the group, a plan already beginning to take shape in her mind.
Wolverton was meeting someone in the library tomorrow night.
