Esme hesitated.“It is not marked, Mama."
Harrison's gaze sharpened."Esme?—"
She broke the seal.
Lady Esme,
It occurs to me that founding a society and then allowing its membership to languish would be wasteful.I am therefore resolved to prevent such a tragedy.
Woodmere House is expected to drive in the Park today, is it not?You may rely upon my presence.
Yours in efficient wickedness.
P.S.Miss Moreland has already accepted a position as Minister of Chaos.I fear we must find you an equally impressive title.
Heat rose in Esme's cheeks.She could almost hear Redford’s voice.
She folded the note quickly and slipped it beneath her plate before Harrison could demand to see it.The maneuver did her no good.
"Who is it from?"he asked.
"No one," she said.
His brows rose.
"An invitation to enjoy the weather."
"From whom?"he repeated.
She met hisgaze."Does it matter?We are going to Hyde Park regardless."
Her mother nodded."We are.It will be crowded.People must see you.They must remember you are available."
"Like a house for let," Esme murmured.
Woodmere chose not to hear."Wear the blue muslin.It makes you look very sweet."
Sweet was the opposite of what Esme wished to be seen as.
She reached for her tea and thought of Redford’s, and of the way her heart had betrayed her at the sight of his hand on the paper.
It changed nothing, she told herself.
Except it did.Because for the first time in a long while, the prospect of an afternoon in Hyde Park did not feel like another chore.
It felt like a possibility.
James had never been more insulted by a slice of toast.
"It looks smug," he told Magnus, Earl of Langley, flicking the crust."Positively self-satisfied.It knows I have done something reckless and intends to judge me for it."
Magnus looked up from hisegg."It is bread, James.Bread cannot judge you."
"Primrose disagrees," Alexandra, Countess Langley, put in, stealing the toast."Bread absolutely judges.Especially the morning after a ball.It sees everything."
They were breakfasting in the private parlor at Langley House, an arrangement James increasingly suspected had been contrived to allow Alexandra, Countess of Langley, daily access to his worst decisions.
She bit into the toast."Besides, you deserve judgement.You looked almost sincere last night."
