“I—” He broke off and looked down at the bear again, shaking his head as if in disbelief. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, he started to laugh.
The sound of his throaty chuckle caused Delia’s aggravation to fade away as pure astonishment took its place. “You’re laughing,” she said, her surprise making her words seem almost like an accusation.
“Sorry,” he apologized in a choked voice. “It’s just that—”
Another chuckle escaped him, and he pressed a fist to his mouth to smother it, staring at the bear.
“All this amusement out of you in one day?” she murmured, jerking her chin. “I had no idea I was such an excellent source of entertainment for you.”
Giving a cough, he let his hand fall and lifted his head. “Yes, well,” he said, “there are times when all one can do is bow to the absurd. And seeing you carrying an enormous toy bear through the corridors of the laundry is one of those times.”
“Maybe you think so,” she countered, “but I don’t find being accused of illicitly obtaining things for free something to laugh about.”
His amusement faded and a hint of what might have been regret crossed his face. “Forgive me. It seems I have jumped to an unwarranted conclusion.”
“Yes,” she said, not quite ready to forgive, “you have. But that doesn’t surprise me. You are always ready to think the worst of me. I just wish I knew why.”
She waited, but he did not explain. Instead, he held his hand up, palms toward her in a gesture of truce. “I made a presumption thatwas both unfair and untrue, and I have no explanation or excuse to offer. But if it’s any comfort to you, I now feel like a prize fool.”
She sniffed, slightly appeased. “That’s some consolation, I suppose.”
“My assumption was unwarranted, and my behavior terribly rude. I can only ask again that you accept my sincerest apologies.”
No one could ever accuse Delia of not taking advantage of heaven-sent opportunities.
“Hmm…” She bent down, pretending to consider his request as she wrapped the toy for Lizzie’s baby back within the protection of its cloth bag. She took her sweet time tying the strings into a bow, quite happy to relish his discomfiture.
At last, however, she put the baby’s gift to one side, straightened, and returned her attention to him. “I just might see my way to forgiving you,” she said. “That is, if you agree to do something for me.”
“I suppose I should have seen that coming,” he muttered, giving another laugh. “The answer is no.”
“How can you say no to my request already?” she demanded. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”
“I’m not giving the Pinafore Room to Lady Kay.” As if that were the end of the matter, he turned, gesturing to the doorway of the service lift for her to precede him inside.
“The Pinafore Room?” she repeated over her shoulder as she walked into the lift. “Oh, but I’m not asking you for that.”
“You’re not?”
“No, no.” She turned to face him. “I’ve quite given up trying to persuade you there. Aren’t you coming?” she added in surprise, noting he hadn’t followed her.
He shook his head. “So, if you’re not going to try to change my mind about the banquet room,” he added as he grasped the handles of the steel lattice doors and began to close them, “what do you want?”
She smiled at him through the doorway, her widest, prettiest, most persuasive smile. “I want you to have dinner with me.”
The doors stilled, and he stared at her through the gap, understandably surprised. “Dinner?”
Not even the sunniest optimist could have thought he sounded enthusiastic. Still, she could hardly take back her invitation, and if she wanted to help Kay, the staff, and the hotel, she had no choice but to persuade him. “Yes, dinner.” Noting his expression, she made a face, taking refuge in teasing. “Don’t look so delighted by the notion, or it’ll turn my head.”
At once, the dismay on his face vanished and an expression of polite regret took its place. “I seem to do nothing but offend you,” he murmured. “But—”
“Well, then…” She forestalled the obvious refusal he’d been about to utter. “To make it all up to me, you really have to come. Would Friday night suit you? Are you free?”
“Actually, no. I’m off to Dover for the rest of the week, and then I was planning to go straight to my country house from there. I haven’t been home for over a month.”
“You could come back here after Dover, have dinner with me, and then go to your country house on Saturday, couldn’t you? There’s an early train to Berkshire out of Charing Cross. You’d arrive home before noon.”
“Delia, I’m not at all sure the two of us having dinner together is a good idea.”
