‘Oh no! You mean things like that get published?’
‘It appears so.’
Elizabeth shook her head and tried to think of something other than imagining the horror of being the subject of printed words. It was then she heard voices on the other side of the shelving. The first spoke indistinctly, but she recognised the respondent instantly.
‘No, I disagree. I would give her a year off, not counting any miscarriages. I think it unreasonable to produce every year. Think of the strain upon the system. I know we put them through the risk with the births, but to wear them out young seems, well, unfeeling. Yes, I know you think me too soft, but …’
Indignation rose within Elizabeth’s bosom. How could Sir Lucius think himself considerate with views like that? ‘A year off’ indeed! How fortunate that he was not yet married. Pity the poor woman who accepted him and was then treated as some sort of …
‘And I have no intention of expanding beyond twenty.’
Twenty! Her mind reeled for a second but then Elizabeth put her gloved hand to her mouth, caught between the gasp of shock and laughter. Of course, Sir Lucius must be talking about brood mares. She coughed, and choked slightly. Sir Lucius and a shorter gentleman, some years his senior and with thinning hair, emerged from behind the line of shelves.Sir Lucius smiled.
147It was such a simple thing. He smiled. There was no mocking laugh in it, no polite greeting. It was a surprised smile that announced unashamedly that he was pleased to see her, and it sent such a tremor through her that she caught her breath. He bowed.
‘Miss Ashling, good afternoon. I regret commenting upon Lady Godmanchester’s mare was impossible unless one had developed gills this morning.’
‘Indeed, Sir Lucius, but the offer stands for tomorrow if you are free of other commitments.’
‘Thank you. Weather permitting, I hope to be there. Oh, I forget my manners. Miss Ashling, may I have the honour of introducing my good friend Mr Disley, who has bred some very successful racehorses at his home north of Cambridge. Horace, may I present Miss Ashling, who appreciates a good horse.’
There was a twinkle in his eye, and she just knew he was thinking of her adverse comments upon the Slug.
‘Indeed I do.’ She curtseyed politely and extended her hand. ‘I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr Disley.’
Mr Disley bent over her hand and murmured something, clearly ill at ease in feminine company, and when hestraightened was pink in the cheeks.
‘Is Lady Chalford not with you, Miss Ashling?’ Sir Lucius asked.
‘No, Sir Lucius, and it has given my cousin an opportunity to purchase a present for her birthday next week. At least, she says it is for my aunt’s birthday. I sincerely hope she is not buying a volume of poetry for mine! By coincidence, her birthday falls only two days before my own.’
148Amelia, who had wandered a little to the left, and had been lost in some verse, looked up. Sir Lucius bowed again, and repeated his introduction. Amelia regarded him with a wary eye, as if any innocuous comment might have deeper meaning, but his words were perfectly innocent.
‘I hope that you have found something that you think Lady Chalford will like,’ Sir Lucius commented politely. ‘On which day does your mama’s anniversary fall, ma’am?’
‘On Tuesday, sir, and,’ Amelia added in a sudden burstof confidence, ‘I have been desperate to find an excuse to come here without her.’ She paused, and then frowned slightly. ‘Do you like books, Sir Lucius?’
His eyebrows flew up involuntarily. ‘Why, yes, Miss Ashling, but surely since you find me within a bookshop …’
‘Oh no, sir.’ Amelia coloured. ‘I meant to say novels, notbooks. You have a novel in your hand.’
He had almost forgottenThe Rescue of Lucrezia, which he had found just as he had been hailed by Mr Disley, still in his hand.
‘Ah.’ He smiled again. ‘I have a mama who enjoys lurid romances. Though to be fair, she also enjoys more serious material.’
Amelia had been reduced to blushing silence, and, taking pity upon her, he spoke instead to Elizabeth again. ‘Have you come in Lady Chalford’s carriage, Miss Ashling?’
‘No, sir, for we decided to walk. After all, a little exercise is good for one, and the air is less stuffy after the rain. We have a footman in attendance, I assure you, so you can be sure we do not flout the proprieties.’ A defensive note had149crept into her voice, as if she anticipated his censure, and resented it.
‘No such thought crossed my mind, ma’am, I promise you,’ he assured her swiftly. ‘It is simply that it has come on to rain again.’
He indicated towards the front of the emporium, as Elizabeth turned her head. Rivulets of water were chasing hurriedly down the windowpanes.
‘Oh no! How depressing, and inconvenient.’
‘I regret I am without a conveyance, but permit me to hail you a hack when Miss Ashling, Miss Amelia Ashling, has selected her purchase.’
He sounded both solicitous and in an unusually good humour, and Elizabeth could not but smile and accept his offer prettily. When he handed her into a vehicle some minutes later, he did so with a cheerful farewell and, impulsively, lifted her gloved hand to his lips. Elizabeth blushed, and murmured embarrassed thanks. Amelia cast her a sidelong glance but said nothing.
