She glanced back, bemused by his endearing smile. “I do. They work so hard; how can anyone not favor them?”
“My brother is going to adore you.” Nathaniel chuckled, offering his hand to help her up.
“You have a brother?”
He nodded. “He is seven-and-ten, serving the last year of his sentence at Eton.” A grin cracked his face. “If permitted, he will talk for days about bees and butterflies and flowers and trees and every bit of nature you could imagine. So, if you arenotaverse to this entire endeavor, perhaps I could introduce you?”
“Is that your wily way of trying to get an answer from me?” Leah knew she had been delaying, but with good reason—she still did not know if it was a good idea or if it would put her back to where she was three years ago in society’s eyes.
Nathaniel tilted his head from side to side. “Maybe.”
“Very well, then I… consent to this arrangement,” she said, thinking ahead to the first events of the season. “But we shall have to pause at my study to prepare that contract. It must be signed, so there can be no confusion about the nature of this.”
Nathaniel brought her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. “Let us spill more ink onto those fingertips, Lady Leah, though I hope we manage to get the majority of it onto paper this time.” He paused. “Whywereyour hands covered in ink?” She told him and he smiled, nodding in approval. “Kind as well as a savior to my cause. You are turning out to be quite a remarkable discovery, Lady Leah. I look forward to finding out everything there is to know about my pretend beloved.”
“Only what I decide to tell you,” she reminded him, feeling shy. “And, of course, the favor must be returned.”
He let go of her hand. “Certainly, though the same rules shall apply.”
“Why, are there things about you that you would not want me to know?” she teased, for aside from the occasionally flirtatious remark, there seemed to be no blemish in this man’s character whatsoever.
For a moment, his expression darkened. “I think we all have secrets, do we not?”
“Yes… I suppose we do.” She frowned, but the flicker of darkness had gone, replaced by his kindly smile once more. Perhaps, she had imagined it. “So, pertaining to our arrangement, are there any particular gatherings that will require my attendance?” She was eager to change the subject, somewhat unnerved by the flash of shadow she had seen in him.
He nodded slowly. “The Countess of Grayling’s ball. And Sir Christopher Lansdowne’s festive party. Those are the only two where my mother will undoubtedly wish to be present though it would be best if we were seen together as often as possible.”
“In that case, I shall need you to attend Mr. and Mrs. Dibney’s dinner party next week,” Leah said, remembering that she had agreed to go. “Now that Jonathan has returned from his business ventures, he will undoubtedly be in attendance, and I would very much like to eat without having to see his conceited face staring smugly at me.”
Nathaniel put his hand to his heart. “I shall not disappoint. I am an expert when it comes to fielding unwanted guests at dinner parties.”
“If you can become an expert at chasing dinner guests out of a dinner party, I shall be much obliged,” she replied, allowing herself an encouraging smile.
“I will do my best,” he promised.
Leah took a breath as she resumed her hold upon Nathaniel’s hand, and they continued on through the splendor of the winter gardens. Her heart fluttered wildly as they walked, riddled with nerves because, unless she changed her mind between this moment and the dinner party, there was no turning back. By next week, all of society would know that Leah and Nathaniel were courting… and she was going to have to brace herself for the barrage of gossip that would undoubtedly come with it.
But there was a greater worry that nagged at the back of her mind: How was she supposed to tell her friends that, for the duration of the season, she would only be half a spinster? After what had happened with Olivia, it felt like nothing short of a betrayal.
CHAPTERNINE
“Phoebe?” Leah gasped, spotting her friend in the music room of Mr. and Mrs. Dibney’s lavish apartments on the edge of Portman Square. “I did not think you were coming!”
Phoebe still looked rather ghoulish after her ordeal the previous week, but her eyes were bright, and her smile was like a hot cup of tea after an afternoon walking in the biting cold. “I did not think I was, either, but the physician essentially instructed us to retreat to London where we would be warmer and closer to help if it was required.”
“Are you residing with your aunt again?”
Phoebe pulled a face. “I know I should be grateful, but she is so unbearably stern. The girls are terrified to move in case they put a foot wrong.” She sighed. “But it will only be for a short while, until the girls are improved. And they cannot cause too much trouble from their beds.”
“Areyouimproved?” Leah took hold of her friend’s hand; it was icy to the touch.
“Despite my ghastly appearance, I am.” Phoebe laughed. “The girls are mostly recovered, too, but I do not want them falling ill again while they are weakened. So, we must endure my aunt for a few weeks at least. Indeed, the warmest thing about the awful woman is her home—it is like an oven in those apartments, so I shall not complain about a few chidings.”
Leah squeezed her friend’s hand, not wanting to ruin their greeting with news that her friend would not like. Still, it had to be explained, sooner rather than later. “There is… something I must tell you.”
“Should I brace myself?” Phoebe raised a worried eyebrow.
Glancing toward the music room door, terrified that Nathaniel would walk in at any moment, Leah knew she did not have the luxury of time. “For the duration of the season, I will be courting a gentleman by the name of Nathaniel. He is the Duke of Bergfield, and though it might seem like a real courtship, it is not.” She hurriedly explained the rest of the story and how the pair had happened to meet. “We are helping one another, that is all, but you must pretend as if it is real.”
