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Eliza pulled a face. ‘Do you suppose all this ‘mysterious Miss Courtney’ business may cause him concern? It has carried on in the most annoying fashion.’

‘I can’t imagine so. If Lady Hannah is good enough for the heir to the Ellice fortune, then Miss Eliza is surely good enough for a second son, so to speak.’

Eliza nodded and nibbled at her lower lip. ‘Perhaps he is just waiting for the right moment.’

Chapter 48

ELIZA

London

A week later, after a lovely luncheon that Charles and Mary had hosted, inviting both the Ellice brothers, Eliza felt a little more reassured that all was well between her and Robert. They talked a lot over dinner because he had been away and she had not seen him for several days. There was much to catch up on. There wasn’t long to go until the end of the season, but she refused to worry.

As the afternoon was bright, the guests moved outside into the warmth of the sunshine. Robert asked her if she might like a walk, and she slid her arm into the crook of his elbow, feeling happy to be close to him again.

He matched his stride to hers, and they wandered about the ornamental gardens down to the arbour, which was not visible from the house. He paused and took both her hands in his. ‘May I kiss you?’ he whispered.

She nodded, and he took her into his arms, kissed her, and then held her tightly to him. He lay his cheek against her temple, and she could feel the thundering of his heart against her.

‘I’m terribly glad I met you,’ he murmured against her hair. His hands moved gently up and down her back.

‘And I you. It made my season perfect.’

He kissed her again, then looked down at her. Dark eyes oddly anxious. ‘May I ask you something? Something personal?’

‘Of course.’

‘Are there many suitors left on your list?’

Eliza looked up at him. She could feel the tension in his body. ‘What?’

‘The list you had of potential suitors. You said you wouldn’t add me because I told you I wasn’t looking for a wife.’

Eliza laughed. ‘Oh, that list. Would you like to see?’

He frowned at that. ‘Oh, well… probably not… I… It’s presumptuous of me to ask…’

Eliza fished in her reticule and pulled out her notebook. She handed it to him.

He glared at it in response.

‘Go on. Look.’

He sighed and took it from her, handling it as though it might explode, opening it with visible reluctance. When he read the first page, he flicked through the rest of the empty pages and looked back at her. A smile hovered.

‘Just me?’

Eliza nodded. She wondered if perhaps she should dissemble, not be quite so forward as Mama has advised. But she couldn’t do it to him. ‘Just you.’

‘I… I thought you were considering.’

‘I was. I considered lots of people. Hart, Lord Ormsby, and a couple of other very nice gentlemen.’

‘But they are not on the list?’

She shook her head. ‘They were never on my list’.

He seemed to struggle with something, so she waited.