Page 24 of Impetuous

Olivia looked slightly taken aback by her sister’s sharp response to her words. “I only mean that I think he is interested in you. Whatever is the matter?”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Liv, I should not have snapped at you. My nerves are a bit on edge this morning. The excitement of being so close to actually finding the treasure, I suppose.”

There was a tap upon the door, and Cassandra and Olivia exchanged triumphant looks. The parlor maid, Janie, opened the door at Cassandra’s bidding and stuck her head in.

“Mrs. Moulton requests your presence in the drawing room, Miss Verrere.” She spoiled her formal announcement by grinning hugely and adding, “A certain gentleman’s been asking for you, I hear.”

“Thank you, Janie.” Cassandra exchanged a glance with her sister and rose to go downstairs.

Sir Philip stood up with a look of relief on his face when Cassandra walked into the drawing room a few minutes later. “Miss Verrere. I am glad to see you looking well.”

“Why, yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Your aunt feared you were feeling ill this morning,” he replied, his tone laced with irony, as he came forward and bowed over her hand.

Cassandra directed a sweet smile toward her aunt. “Why, no, Aunt Ardis, though it is most kind of you to be worried about me. But I have been feeling quite as well as I did at breakfast this morning.”

“I was just telling your aunt and cousin how intriguing I found Chesilworth yesterday,” Sir Philip continued as Cassandra sat down in a chair at some distance from him, the other two women having carefully planted themselves in the spots closest to his chair. “I should very much enjoy going to see it again.”

“Would you? Then perhaps we should make another expedition this afternoon,” Cassandra suggested.

“Nothing could be more delightful.”

Joanna let out a forced twitter of laughter. “Oh, my, Sir Philip, I can assure you that there are any number of places much more interesting to visit than that musty old house. Why, as you could see, it is falling down.”

“Yes. I admire antiquities,” Sir Philip replied smoothly. “Nothing intrigues me more than things that are old.”

“It has quite a history,” Cassandra added. “Perhaps you would like to look at some of the books about it? The ones we were speaking of yesterday?”

“Yes, of course. I would be most appreciative.”

“Cassandra…” Joanna tittered again, casting a dimpled smile toward Sir Philip. “I am sure Sir Philip is not interested in reading those silly old books of yours.”

“On the contrary, Miss Moulton, I am indeed interested. Miss Verrere and I spoke about them at some length yesterday. We share a mutual interest in history, you see.”

Joanna clenched her jaw and had to force herself to ease her facial muscles into a smile. “I am sure that there are several excursions that you would find far more enlightening and pleasurable.” She went on to list every possible attraction that she could think of in the area.

Sir Philip hung on to his polite smile grimly. “Indeed, Miss Moulton, you offer a veritable feast of options. I had not realized that Dunsleigh had so much for the visitor. However, this afternoon I am committed to going to Chesilworth with Miss Verrere.”

Joanna’s eyes flashed, and Cassandra thought that she was about to deliver a dressing down to the intractable Sir Philip, but Aunt Ardis jumped in before her daughter could speak. “If that is where you wish to go with Joanna and Cassandra, then that’s where you shall go. We shall all go—you cannot be unchaperoned with two young ladies, you know—” She waggled a playful finger, at him as if he had suggested something naughty. “A picnic. That is just the thing. I shall have cook prepare us a hamper.”

Now it was Sir Philip who looked as if he might lash out. Cassandra cut in hastily. “How wonderful! I would not have expected Cousin Joanna to want to explore with us. You shall have to wear something old and worn, you know, for it will be quite likely to ruin your dress.”

“I don’t want to explore those old ruins!”

“Then what will you do while Sir Philip and the children and I are exploring?”

“Yes, do think, dear ladies,” Sir Philip had recovered his charm with some effort, and he smiled now at Joanna. “You would not want to get that beautiful hair of yours all covered with dust—and the thought of grime on your clothes, your porcelain skin, why, ’twould be a travesty.”

Cassandra could barely keep herself from rolling her eyes at his blandishments, but the honeyed words seemed to work, for with a few more remarks about how wonderfully refreshing it would be to return to Moulton House and find Joanna in her usual beauty, both she and her mother agreed that the excursion was one more fit for children.

“Now, dear ladies, if you will excuse me…” Sir Philip rose from his chair. “I have a few matters to attend to before I go to work at Chesilworth this afternoon, though I hate to cut our visit short.”

Joanna and Aunt Ardis both urged him to stay, but he smiled and persisted in bidding them adieu. Finally Joanna made a coy little moue and said, “Well, all right, but only if you will consent to come to our party tomorrow evening.”

“Party? What party is that?”

Cassandra had to press her lips together hard to keep from laughing at the faintly ill expression that crossed Sir Philip’s face as he said the word.