Page 400 of From Rakes to Riches

“Lord Wade,” Victoria began, “I must apologize for my husband’s absence. I have no idea what is keeping him.”

Lord Wade studied her, his dimples deepening. “Thurlow forgot to mention my invitation, eh?”

She smiled and gave a little shrug.

“He does get caught up in whatever he’s working on. Must be the railway, as Parliament isn’t meeting today.”

Victoria had never asked Lord Thurlow what she was supposed to keep secret. But Lord Wade already seemed to know.

“The railway?” her mother asked in confusion. “Is Lord Thurlow going on a journey without his wife?”

Lord Wade gave Victoria an apologetic look.

“No, Mama, he invests in a railway company.”

Her mother shuddered. “I would never ride on a machine. I hear they cause milk cows to stop producing!”

“Only a rumor, Mrs. Shelby,” Lord Wade said.

“Do sit down, Lord Wade,” Victoria said. “We’ll delay dinner a bit in hopes that my husband will soon join us.”

Lord Wade rubbed his hands together and grinned. “Then I’ll have time to relate to you how Thurlow became so fascinated by trains. Wouldn’t want him to overhear, of course.”

Victoria smiled. “I’m quite interested in anything you have to say.”

“Because it’s about your husband,” he said with a sigh. “Usually the ladies like listening to me because of my way with words.”

“I’m certain I’ll be very impressed.”

“Remember to let me know,” he said with a serious expression and a twinkle in his eye. “Let’s see, it was four years ago, I think, and we were on holiday from Oxford. The Southwestern Railway had just opened the line to Southampton, which happened to run very near one of the Banstead estates.” He glanced at her mother. “No cattle were terrorized, Mrs. Shelby.”

“That’s good to hear,” she said primly.

Victoria smiled with pleasure.

“We received word at the house that a train had come to an unscheduled stop nearby, so Thurlow went racing to it, tiring a very good horse in the process.” He glanced at her mother. “The horse seemed unperturbed by the train.”

“I’m glad,” Mama said, obviously trying not to smile.

“Come to find out,” he continued, “they’d run out of coal. Thurlow couldn’t wait to be of help—all he asked was that they let him see how they run the engine. So he had the servants loading coal on every cart and wagon they had. I couldn’t evenrecognize him because he got so filthy himself. I, naturally, made myself useful by calming the ladies left stranded on the train.”

“How good of you,” Victoria said.

“Yes, they would have quite run wild. But Thurlow had his engine demonstration, and an obsession was born.”

“And did you make many new acquaintances?” Victoria asked, smiling.

“Several. Some of them were even unmarried.”

“Lord Wade!” her mother scolded.

But to Victoria’s delight, her mother seemed more amused than anything else.

They eventually went in to dinner, and Lord Wade changed the subject as a dish of turbot and lobster sauce was brought in. “Did you receive the invitation to the Duke of Sutterly’s ball?”

Victoria shrugged and smiled. “I’m not sure, Lord Wade, but doubtless we won’t be attending.”

He studied her, his smile fading. When he looked so serious, she knew an intellectual man hid behind those green eyes.

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