Page 37

With a thrill of delight, Lily slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow. In step, they moved toward the front door, which Thomas now held open in solemn silence.

The past few days may have been a nightmare, but now she had awakened into a lovely dream, and the joy of it was so powerful, it bubbled through her veins like spring water over sunlit stones.

Mr. Ridley led her to the waiting carriage and assisted her up the steps with practiced ease. Inside, she found Nancy huddled in a corner, wearing the expression of one unimpressed at being conscripted into a courtship ritual. Lily settled beside her while Mr. Ridley took the bench opposite.

Turning toward the still-open door, Lily blinked in astonishment. Mama stood in the entrance hall, composed and unmoving. Her mother was permitting her to depart with only Nancy for propriety?

Mr. Ridley’s footman closed the door with a firm click, and Lily blinked in shock. Her famously overprotective mama was truly allowing her to drive away with Mr. Ridley, chaperoned only by the old nursemaid.

Her heart thudded wildly in her chest.

When she looked back to Mr. Ridley, she found him smiling at her, the expression warm and assured.

“Where are we off to?” she asked.

“It is to be a surprise,” he replied. “You shall have to wait and see.”

Lily bit her lip, unable to help the delighted flutter in her stomach. She shifted toward the window, peering out as the carriage lurched into motion, the world beyond slipping past in a soft blur.

“I should like to apologize, Miss Abbott,” Mr. Ridley said quietly. “Yesterday … was an aberration. The baron interfered with my marital prospects once before, and so it has long been a sore subject. Coupled with recent events … well, I ought not to have displaced my umbrage onto you. You have been extraordinarily generous to me, and I am afraid I behaved quite reprehensibly.”

Lily turned her head to study him. “It was reprehensible, but I can understand that you have been under considerable strain. With everything that has occurred and the sheer shock of it all, any person might behave poorly when faced with so many challenges at once.”

“You are too kind.”

Her lips curved into an impish grin, and she gave a light shrug. “The alternative is to be cruel. Where is the amusement in that?”

Mr. Ridley chuckled, revealing a flash of even white teeth, which Lily observed with no small amount of fascination. He truly was a perfect physical specimen of manhood. It remained something of a marvel that he was not already married.

“I must apologize that we are confined to my carriage,” Mr. Ridley said, gesturing toward the corner where Nancy sat, unbothered and slightly slumped. “It requires the presence of a chaperon. My curricle is undergoing repairs.”

“Nancy? Do not concern yourself. She hears nothing,” she replied, then turned to the servant and added rather loudly, “CAN YOU HEAR US, NANCY?”

“I think the footman’s name was Beasley, not Yancy.”

Lily’s lips twitched with amusement. “She will be asleep before we pass the first milestone. Nancy cannot remain awake in moving vehicles.”

“Ah. Your mother and Lord Moreland exchanged words when she suggested Nancy as your companion. He was of the opinion someone else ought to attend you.”

Lily’s brows rose. “Then I suppose Mama wished for us to have an opportunity to speak freely.”

So her mother had taken measures—subtle, but deliberate—to tip the balance in her daughter’s favor, even if it came at the cost of strict propriety. Lily could only imagine her father’s disapproval at the notion of his daughter being sent out with anything less than a dragon as chaperon.

“What was it you wished to say?” she asked. If Mr. Ridley had gone to such trouble to ensure they had privacy, there must be something of consequence to discuss.

Mr. Ridley shook his head, and his chestnut curls shifted with the motion. Lily caught herself reaching and promptly sat on her hands. Sometimes they acted with a will of their own.

“In time,” he said with a faint smile. “There is something we must do first before we speak of the future.”

Lily’s heart leapt in her chest. The gentleman was going to renew his offer just as Sophia had predicted!

A dizzying rush of relief swept through her. Traveling might prove an adventure, but how much finer it would be to do so with a husband beside her and not under a cloud of scandal, where every acquaintance whispered that she was a ruined girl.

Turning back to the window, she leaned slightly to study the shops and homes flashing past. She tried to calculate their destination by the direction they traveled, but after several minutes of watching the ebb and flow of London’s traffic, she still could not determine where they were headed.

Until the carriage turned gently onto a broad, fashionable street.

“Berkeley Square!”