Daniel gestured to his carriage. “There is room enough for everyone.” He paused. “Even your father, if he would like to join us? After all, there were one or two things that I wished to discuss with him.”
“Just us ladies,” Phoebe replied, too quickly. “Our father is asleep and will not appreciate being disturbed.”
Daniel shrugged. “As you prefer, though I do not know that I feel comfortable without the presence of a chaperone.”
It was a simple gesture of chivalry, and one he hoped Phoebe would welcome.
Instead, her annoyance only seemed to increase. “I shall act as a chaperone.”
“But you are unwed,” he pointed out.
“Be that as it may, I am perfectly capable of ensuring that everyone behaves the way they are supposed to,” Phoebe replied sternly. “In my spinsterhood, I will suffice as a chaperone. Of course, if that is not acceptable to you, then we can dispense with the walk altogether, and you can go on your way.”
Daniel would not be beaten so easily. “No, no, that is perfectly acceptable.” He offered his arm to Joanna. “Might I escort you into the carriage?”
Joanna took his arm, grinning brightly. “Certainly, My Lord.”
He tried not to feel too offended as she shoved the bouquet of flowers at Phoebe, and practically dragged him toward the carriage. Ellen followed close behind, as excited as if she were the one being asked to take a turn about the park.
But as Daniel helped the twins into the carriage, he glanced back in time to see Phoebe remove a frayed ribbon from her hair, tying it around the stems of the bouquet to hold the flowers up. And with that same, sad smile on her face, she propped the flowers against the front pillar, a bright burst of color against the grayish-white stone. She admired them for a moment, took a visibly deep breath, and turned to join her sisters.
Her eyes caught Daniel’s, and he quickly turned away, pretending rather badly that he had not been staring, or that his heart had not been warmed for a moment by her sweet, caring gesture.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Phoebe could not stop thinking about the flowers. At the ripe age of three-and-twenty, those tulips were the first flowers she had ever received, and from her worst enemy, of all people. Moreover, they had been given as an apology for his bad behavior, and though she had soundly informed him that flowers were not going to change her mind, she could not deny that they had thawed something inside her.
Indeed, it was proving to be a bit of a struggle to try and get that mysterious, intangible part of her to freeze again.
I cannot be distracted by pretty blooms,she told herself over and over as she walked a step and a half behind Daniel and Joanna down the leafy pathways of the nearby park.
“Do you like to read?” Daniel asked Joanna.
“Not really, though I do love to hear poetry,” Joanna replied, half-skipping along the paths, her hand resting gently on his. “And I simplyadorethe theater. I cannot fathom everyone’s admiration for the opera, however.”
Daniel chuckled. “I quite understand, though if I spoke better Italian, I do wonder if I might enjoy it.”
“I cannot speak a word,” Joanna said. “I have never been very gifted with languages, though I should say I do perfectly well with English. Would you not agree?”
Daniel smiled, his handsome face lighting up in a manner that made Phoebe feel very strange indeed, as if she had been winded. “You are very eloquent, Miss Joanna. Do you write your own poetry? Perhaps you might grant me a reading, whether it be your own or not, or I could read for you.”
“I would relish that,” Joanna urged.
“Did you speak a great deal of Italian while you were traveling around the world, My Lord?” Phoebe interjected coolly. “Indeed, I imagine you have witnessed poetry and opera and even theater that would not be accepted here in England.”
Daniel looked back, that cheery smile never leaving his face. “I had nowhere to speak Italian, save for Italy itself, Miss Wilson.” There was a subtly taunting sort of tone in his voice. “I find that just gesturing wildly until you are understood is one of the finest ways of traversing the divide between languages, though French and my very poor Spanish has served me rather well.”
“Tell me of Italy,” Joanna pleaded, ignoring Phoebe entirely.
Phoebe smiled tightly. “Yes, do tell us. I hear the ladies there are very beautiful.”
“I would not know about that,” Daniel replied. “All I saw in Italy were exquisite villas and gentlemen who do not know the meaning of time. If one arranges a meeting of business matters for two o’clock in the afternoon, you can be certain that they will not arrive until at least four o’clock. Nevertheless, they are exceptionally generous and welcoming. I do not think I have eaten better in my life. I thought I would return to England twice the size!”
Joanna sighed. “Did you see a tiger when you were in India? I have always wanted to see a tiger.”
“I did, though it was rather old and had no teeth or claws,” Daniel said. “A pet, not a threat any longer.”
Joanna’s eyes widened. “A pet tiger? My goodness, I am so very jealous of you, My Lord.”
