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Old Alfie’s drunken confession had solidified what she, Lord Bloxley, and Lord Langton had previously surmised. She was actually Suzanne Allerton. The gentlemen had already started calling her by that name. It had been surprisingly easy to adjust to the change, perhaps because she was happy to disassociate herself from the innkeeper. She knew full well, however, that it would be considerably more difficult to adjust to the other changes that lay ahead. The very thought of the uproar Suzanne Allerton’s arrival in Society would ignite made her want to crawl back into bed and never reemerge.
A soft knock sounded on the door, and Josephine peeked inside. “If you please, miss, Mrs. Beecham wanted me to ask if you’d like your breakfast brought to you in bed this morning.”
One of the swallows flew onto the window ledge and began to sing. From the nearby beech tree, a large black crow interrupted with a loud caw. The swallow took off in fright, but moments later, it was sailing over the stables again, calling cheerily to his friend.
“Thank you for asking, Josephine,” Elizabeth said, “but I think I will start this day off bravely by going down to breakfast.”
“Very good, miss,” the maid said. “Would you like any help getting dressed?”
She looked so hopeful that Elizabeth laughed. “That would be lovely.”
***
Elizabeth descended the stairs to the dining room, her stomach clenching at the thought of the long conversations and difficult decisions that lay ahead. To her relief, neither of the noblemen was in the dining room, so she took a seat with a solitary piece of toast and a cup of tea, glad to postpone the inevitable a little while longer. Through the open doorway, she could hear the servants seeing to their daily jobs. Murmured voices, quiet footsteps, and the occasional closing of a door testified to the Langtons’s well-run house. She could not help but feel that she would be more comfortable walking the rooms with a duster in hand than she did sitting at this elegant table.
Battling her burgeoning discomfiture, Elizabeth managed to force down half her toast before abandoning her breakfast entirely. Tucking her leftover bread into a serviette, she took it with her and returned to her bedchamber to claim her bonnet before heading outside.
The sun was already warming the paving stones, and Lady Langton’s rosebushes were in full bloom. The perfume was divine, and Elizabeth slowed her pace to admire the beauty around her. She touched the petals of a peach-colored rose, amazed at its silky smoothness. Next to it, a crimson blossom matched the breast of a robin sitting on a nearby branch, observing her progress through the garden.
“Good morning, Master Robin,” she said. The cheeky bird cocked his head to one side as though it would give him a better view of the contents of her serviette. “You want to know what I have for you, do you?” Elizabeth took her familiar seat on the bench beneath the bower and opened the serviette. “There’s not as much as when the viscountess is here, I fear, but I will endeavor to do better next time.” She broke off a few pieces of toast and tossed them toward the robin. Immediately, a starling and a blue tit joined him. “Remember,” she warned. “You must share.”
A chuckle startled her, and she looked up to see Lord Langton standing not more than three yards away. Dressed in black breeches and a tan coat, with a crisp white shirt and stockings, he was the very picture of the well-dressed, dashing nobleman.
“I thought I might find you here,” he said.
“I apologize,” she said. “Have you been looking for me?”
“Yes, but not in a hunt-you-down sort of way, but rather in an I-should-enjoy-your-company sort of way.”
Elizabeth smiled. “The latter sounds far more pleasant.”
“Then may I join you?”
She tore off half her remaining bread and offered it to him. “Would you like to feed the birds too?”
“Of course,” he said, taking a seat.
The smell of sandalwood mingled with the roses’ perfume, heightening her awareness of the man beside her. She kept her eyes on the birds around her.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
“Yes, thank you. It was a rather short night, but I awoke feeling rested.”
“I am relieved to hear it.” He tossed a large piece of toast to a waiting starling that shoved it in his beak and took to the air immediately. “I’m sorry I missed you at breakfast. I thought that after all you endured yesterday, you would take it upstairs.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his lips curve upward. “I should have known better.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you, Miss Allerton, are rather remarkable.”
She turned to face him then, needing to look into his brown eyes to gauge his mood. It proved to be a trap, impossible to escape. “Re . . . remarkable?”
He nodded, and his gaze moved to her lips. “Yes.”
A magpie landed on the nearest flagstone, and the smaller birds took off in a flurry of feathers. Lord Langton blew out a short breath and looked away.
Unaccountably shaken by the simple interaction, Elizabeth brushed the remaining crumbs off her skirts and gripped the edge of the bench. She needed to say something to restore normalcy. “Where is Lord Bloxley this morning?” she asked.
“He is writing to his solicitor. The prime minister plans to present his proposal to cut import tariffs to Parliament on Thursday. Bloxley and I must be there for the vote, so he may not have time to visit his man’s office before next week. He wants his solicitor to start whatever proceedings are necessary to reinstate Suzanne Allerton’s financial holdings immediately.”
