“Oh, yourcarriage,” she said, finally understanding. She added in a clear voice, sufficient to be heard a good ten feet in any direction, “I would be delighted to take a ride in your carriage, Lord Tarrant.” And then she realized the possible interpretations of that statement and blushed rosily.
James hid a smile. His beloved was not built for deception. Duplicity of any kind was simply not in her nature.
“Good,” he murmured, “my horses are raring to go.”
Her blush deepened.
“In that case, I will call for you at nine.” He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “Pack a bag. We will stay overnight.”
“Overn—?” she squeaked and tried to turn it into a cough.
“Possibly longer.”
Her eyes widened, but she said nothing as they took their places. James was delighted to see that there were both crab and lobster patties, and plenty of both. Alice just picked at her food. She was nervous, but he could do nothing about that. Not until Thursday.
“What about Lucy?” she asked in a low voice.
He served her a slice of lemon curd cake. Her favorite. “What about her?”
“I can’t just go off and leave her.”
“Why not? Much as I like your goddaughter, she’s not coming with us.”
She spluttered over a mouthful of wine. “No, but it would be most improper to leave her on her own in my house.”
He wanted to laugh. But he saw her point. “What if Nanny McCubbin and my daughters came to stay? That would be adequate chaperonage, would it not.”
“Y-es. Or perhaps I could ask Lady Peplowe to invite her to stay a few days. Lucy and Penny Peplowe get on very well together. I’ll give it some thought.”
***
To James’s amusement, Alice raised it with Lucy going home in the carriage that evening, telling her that she’d heard this evening that an old friend of hers was ailing and Alice had decided to visit her.
No, Lucy couldn’t accompany her because... because her friend was quite poor and lived in a very small cottage. There was no room.
Who was this friend? An... an old school friend.
Her name? Mary—yes, that was it. Mary.
James leaned back against the carriage squabs, enjoying the tangled story Alice was attempting to weave in order to have an excuse to get away for a couple of days. He had no doubt the darkness inside the carriage hid a positive battalion of blushes.
The possibilities of Penny Peplowe or Nanny McCubbin and the little girls were debated. Then Gerald leaned forward and said, “Actually, I have been thinking of taking Lucy to meet my grandmother, who lives outside Aylesbury.”
“Your grandmother?” Lucy exclaimed. “But I can’t—”
“She’s heard so much about you already.”
“I just bet she has,” Lucy muttered.
Gerald laughed. “I promise you’ll like her. She’s not at all like my mother. In fact, she’s been heard to say—when provoked—that Mother was a fairy changeling, and not the good sort. Grandmama would love to meet you.”
“What an excellent idea,” James said.
“Yes, and you can take my maid, Mary, with you,” Alice agreed.
“Yes, I’m sure Lady Charlton will manage perfectly without the services of her maid,” James said in a provocative voice.
A small foot kicked him on the ankle. Alice said with dignity, “Thank you, Gerald, that’s the perfect solution.”
