Page 39 of The Bridal Quest

"I am sorry, my lady," Gideon told Francesca.

"I believe I am the one to whom you should apologize," Irene reminded him, annoyed.

He smiled a little to himself as he sat down, saying, "Ah, but what would be the enjoyment in that?"

Irene arched one eyebrow, her eyes beginning to spark, and Francesca went on quickly. "Now, to the place setting ... Irene, show him which utensils are which."

Irene cast a recalcitrant glance at Francesca, but said, "Oh, very well." She leaned closer to Gideon and reached in front of him to point out the different eating utensils. "They are in the order in which one uses them, the outermost being used first. You see? The spoon for soup is on the far right of where they will set the plate. Next comes the fish knife, matched by the fish fork on the left side, then the meat knife and fork, the pudding spoon and fork, and finally the savory knife and fork. The spoons for the ices and for the fruit at the end will be brought out with the plates."

As she talked, Irene was very aware of how close she was to him. She could smell the faint scent of his cologne, warmed by his body heat, and when she looked up from the place setting to see if he had followed her words, she found her face only inches from his. She moved involuntarily, startled, and had to put her hand briefly on his arm to steady herself. He gazed back at her, and she knew that he had been watching her face, not the utensils to which she had been pointing.

"Are you paying attention?" she asked sharply.

"Of course. But which was this one?" He indicated the small rounded knife on the little plate to the left of the place setting.

"That is the butter spreader." Irene straightened up, removing herself from such close proximity. "That is why it is put here across the bread plate."

"And which of these glasses is for the liqueur?"

"None of them. The servants will bring out the liqueur or port glasses at the appropriate time." Again she reached across him to touch the various glasses above the knives and spoons. "Sherry glass for the soup. White wine glass, with fish. Claret glass, with meat. And of course, water. But you do not really need to remember where they go. The glasses will be filled by the servants at the correct time."

"And which did you say was the savory fork?"

Irene reached across to tap the small fork that lay closest to where the silver savory dish would be placed by the servant. They continued in this manner for several more minutes, going over the uses and placement of the cutlery. It seemed as if every time he ran through a listing of them, Gideon forgot one or more, and Irene grew increasingly impatient.

With each mistake or slip of the tongue, his expression grew more stolid and his voice seemed to slip further back into his East End youth, H's dropping and A's drifting toward I's. Even Francesca began to look nettled.

Francesca sighed and said wearily, "Now, once again, Lord Radbourne. Which is the fish knife?"

Gideon hesitated, looking down at the place setting in front of him. "Well ... now, they're all startin' to look the same to me." His hand hovered over the plate for a moment. "I'd say it'd be ... this one." His index finger fell decisively to the meat knife.

Irene let out a groan. "No, no, no. Really, my lord, we have gone over this twenty times, at least."

She reached over and took his hand, forcibly redirecting his finger to the smaller fish knife. "This is the knife for the fish. It goes with the fish fork over here on the left. They are both outside the meat fork and knife, as the turbot will come before the roast joint. I cannot conceive how you can still be confused over this."

She looked at him in some exasperation. His face was set in the same blank, stony expression he had worn for the last few minutes. But there was something lurking in his eyes that made her pause.

"It must be too 'ard for me, my lady," he started. There was a faint tremor in his voice, and he stopped, pressing his lips together tightly.

Irene's eyes narrowed, and she leaned a little closer, staring into his eyes. "You are trying to gammon me, aren't you!"

"I don't know what you mean," Gideon began, trying for a wide-eyed look, but his mouth began to twitch, and he brought his hand up, pressing his fist against his lips.

"Oh!" Irene jumped up, her hands doubling into fists. "You are doing it much too brown, my lord! You cannot be so abysmally stupid and manage to run a successful business!"

Gideon began to laugh, which only served to infuriate her even more. She turned away, and began to pace up and down the room, spewing forth a litany of complaints. "What is the matter with you? Why do I waste my time? You are the most ill-mannered, inconsiderate wretch!"

As Irene continued to pace and fume, Francesca stared at Gideon from across the table, her eyebrows shooting upward. "You mean this has all been a pretense?" Suddenly she began to chuckle, and soon she, too, was laughing.

"What is wrong with you?" Irene cried, whirling around to stare at Francesca now. "Have you gone mad? We have just wasted thirty minutes teaching this fool things he probably already knew!"

Gideon turned his head toward her, grinning. "It isn't that hard, my lady. I think you put too much faith in Teresa's words last night. I did not spend my life in a hole. I have been able for some time to afford a chef—far better than the one in this drafty pile, I might add—and my butler would not have dreamed of having anything less than the perfect setting at my table. Even if I had not known how to eat when I arrived here, it merely takes looking at what everyone else is doing to learn. 'Tis not Euclid, you know, or the writings of Plato."

Irene stared at him, hands on hips, perplexed. "Why?" she asked, throwing up her hands and walking back to the chair beside him. She sat down, shaking her head, and said again, "Why would you want us to think that you know nothing? Why would you try to act rougher than you are?"

"It pleases my family so," he replied. His eyes glinted, and he added beneath his breath, "And how else was I supposed to get you so close?"

Irene's eyes widened, a sudden warmth flooding her abdomen at his words. She glanced quickly at Francesca to see if she had heard his sotto voce statement. Francesca, still smiling from her spate of mirth and shaking her head in amused disbelief, did not seem to have noticed what Gideon said, and Irene relaxed a little and turned to look at him. He was watching her, his face relaxed from his laughter, but his eyes steady and watchful. Irene felt a blush rising in her cheeks, and she turned away, suddenly flustered and confused.