“I see,” he said with a faint smile. “You’re trying to push me out the door now.”
“If that’s what it takes,” Mother said.
“And I know it hasn’t been a whole week,” Rosy added, “but since I’ve had thirty visits in four days, I should think you still have every reason to go there and pay them double their fee.”
“How do you figure that?” he asked. “Not that I mean not to pay it—I already told Lady Diana that I would, because I was so impressed by their efforts. But technically four days is not a week.”
“The number of visitors averages out to five a day.”
He lifted a brow. “Five times seven is thirty-five.”
“You said a week. I assumed you meant six days because no one pays visits on Sunday.”
When she shot him a triumphant smile, Geoffrey couldn’t help it—he had to laugh. “You are going to lead some poor fellow a merry dance, poppet. Now, I have to go.”
“To see Diana?” she asked hopefully.
“That will have to wait until tomorrow, I’m afraid. I have to meet with some of my investors at the Old Goat Tavern. The meeting has been scheduled for weeks.”
In the meantime, he had some thinking to do about how to manage a shifting world where more people knew of his father’s issues than he’d realized. Not to mention he needed to consider everything Diana had said. He began to think she had a point. There might be a middle solution to his problem.
Or they might have to just wait it out. And if she was willing to wait it out with him, as his wife . . . “But tomorrow,” he said to Rosy and Mother, “I will put on my best clothes and march right over there.”
After which he hoped he could coax Diana somewhere they could be together for a while. Four days of not seeing her or touching her was too many days by any calculation.
* * *
Diana sat at breakfast, alone as usual, but this time because Eliza was at a client’s house looking over the woman’s pianoforte and harp while Verity consulted with the woman’s cook. Clothes were not the issue in this case. Lady Sinclair had exquisite taste in that respect and always had.
Diana had expected Geoffrey to take a day or two to think through all that they’d said to each other. Butfourdays? It made her despair.
Norris walked in. “His Grace, the Duke of Grenwood, to see Lady Diana. Shall I send him away, my lady?”
She rose, her heart thundering in her chest. “You mean he didn’t follow right on your heels as usual?”
“No, my lady. He was very specific that I should announce him and wait to see if you were at home to him.”
Who said a boorish duke couldn’t learn from his mistakes? The very fact that he was following a few societal rules for a change was taking her breath away. At least he was here at last. “Please show him up.” When Norris lifted a brow, as if to question her lack of chaperone, she said firmly, “Now, Norris.”
“Yes, my lady.”
That gave her just enough time to make sure her gown was straight, her hair in place, and her cheeks pinched sufficiently enough to pinken them. Thankfully, her courses were over. She’d always been blessed with courses that lasted only a few days. Then he was there before her, and she lost the power of speech.
He looked magnificent in a brown coat and light blue trousers, with a cravat that couldn’t have been any more starched or masterfully tied. If they did ever marry, she would make sure he never got rid of his valet. The man was well worth his salary.
But she was getting ahead of herself. “You look well.”
“You look beautiful,” he said in a tone of such seriousness that she knew he was here for more reason than just to pay them or some such. “Then again, you always do.”
The way he was looking at her made her nervous. “Have you had breakfast? You’re welcome to join me with mine.”
“I could eat something, I daresay.”
She laughed. “I do believe you could always eat something. Indeed, I would assume you were ill if you couldn’t.”
“You know me well. Better than I expected, actually.”
They took seats at the table, and Diana sent Norris for more food, mostly just to gain a few moments alone with Geoffrey. She had to tell him one thing privately.
