Page 86 of Snapdragons
“Why must everything be a fight?” Penelope released a sigh. “Is it too much to ask thatsomethingcome easily?”
“If you sort out a way to arrange that,” Julia said with a smile, “do share it with the rest of us.”
Feeling a little better, Penelope found herself able to smile in return. “I swear to you I will.”
“Kester and I spoke about your need to find a companion soyou can set up house at Fairfield,” Violet said. “He has insisted that if it would help you and if you would like to facilitate that sooner rather than later, we could travel to London from here rather than make our way to Livingsley Hall.”
“That is very generous of you,” Penelope said. “I do not wish to be a burden of any kind though.”
Violet shook her head. “He has a sister in London, and we always enjoy visiting her family. It would be no burden to spend time in Town.”
Liam’s stinging accusationshad undermined so much of the faith Penelope had in herself. These dear, new friends were helping her find her footing again. And Niles, her darling Niles, had seen fit to love her when she had begun to doubt anyone would.
“In the meantime”—Nicolette looked at them all—“there is a fair in only a few days’ time. From what Henri has told me of English country fairs, we should find ample distraction from our worries.”
“Indeed.” Julia looked a bit less burdened.
Penelope hoped she did as well. “I’ve never been to an English fair.”
“Neither have I,” Nicolette said.
“They are delightful,” Julia said. “And I can only imagine the scrapes our darling Gents will get themselves into over the course of it.”
Little did any of them realize the enormity of the “scrape” Niles was actively planning to undertake. Penelope was trying very hard not to worry about him, but his opponent being known as the Bath Butcher did not help matters at all.
“I suggest we make a pact here and now,” Violet said, “that we will make certain we all have a delightful time at the fair. I suspect we all need a bit of levity.”
“Yes, let’s,” Julia said. “We will ensure each one of us enjoysherself, and we’ll give the Gents a bit of competition for who is able to make the most of the day.”
Chapter Thirty
“The important thing today isthat you enjoy yourself,” Aldric said to Niles as the Gents alighted from the two carriages in which they had ridden to the site of the Hamblestead fair. The ladies had ridden in a third.
“Enjoy yourself?” Lucas shook his head in disbelief. “That doesn’t sound like a strategy our beloved and terrifying General would champion.”
“I’m not actually terrifying,” Aldric said.
Digby tipped his hat as he stepped past the General. “Beg to differ, my friend.”
Aldric was undeterred. “The strategyisa good one, Niles. Allowing yourself to be at ease today and pass a pleasant interval will give your mind rest. So much of what you are facing tomorrow will be mentally taxing. Being keen of mind will go a long way toward surviving the bout.”
“Survivingisone of my goals,” Niles acknowledged. “But could I not have prepared for survival in my own clothing at least?”
Wilson had ridden up with the coachman, having received leave, like all the other servants, to enjoy themselves at the fair. He, however, had wanted to be present when Niles alighted to offer whatever help might be needed in putting his clothing to rights. Wilson had, after all, overseen the creation of Niles’s current ensemble.
“You’ll draw attention by fiddling with your clothes,” Wilson warned in the very moment Niles hooked a finger around the cravat tied snugly around his throat. “And that would undermine the entire thing.”
The young man wasn’t wrong. Niles simply wasn’t accustomed to wearing colors that weren’t at least a little muted. Digby and Wilson had both insisted the borrowed frock coat and waistcoatwouldn’t garner him extra notice, which he was keen to avoid. The ensemble would instead make him in many ways more invisible. He would be seen as simply another of the Quality and a gentleman far too fashionable for something as low-class as taking part in a boxing match.
“Keeping the hat a bit low will help make you less recognizable tomorrow,” Wilson added.
Niles had never known a valet with Wilson’s ease of manner around his employer’s friends and associates. He couldn’t help wondering if that would change over time, if the young man would settle into his role and take a more traditional approach. He hoped not, as he very much liked Wilson. But he also realized that Wilson would struggle to find his place in Lucas’s household and among the other servants he would come to know in London if he were seen as not knowing his place. So many people had so very many expectations. It made being oneself a tricky thing to manage.
Apparently satisfied that Niles wouldn’t make a complete mull of his efforts, Wilson wandered off into the fair.
The ladies’ carriage arrived a moment later. As unsure as Niles was about his current appearance, knowing Penelope would emerge and spot him dressed as he was made him far more nervous. He’d hardly seen her the past few days. He’d spent a lot of hours in the outbuilding, practicing and building his endurance. But he’d also been avoiding her a little. They’d ended their conversation on the island on a note of hopelessness, acknowledging the worrying likelihood that life would tear them apart in the end. He didn’t want that to happen and couldn’t bring himself to face her without some small glimmer of hope to offer.
Now he not only had to face the possibility of seeing disappointment in her eyes over all that had happened, but he also knew there was a high likelihood that she would seehow comparatively garish his current clothing was and think he looked ridiculous.
