Page 35 of The Scholar's Key
“Oh, I love phaetons,” Elizabeth said. “You will have such fun.”
“You will,” Rebecca said.
“Not tomorrow,” Percy said hurriedly, trying to shush her cousins. “Perhaps next week.”
Lord Stephen looked between the three of them before focusing his expression on Percy.
“If I didn’t know better, I would say you were avoiding me.”
She just lifted a brow as Elizabeth and Rebecca filled the silence for her, denying his words. Percy didn’t argue, for that would cross the line, even for her, but the truth was, she didn’t care what he thought.
For if he thought the truth was anything else, then he was either not particularly intelligent or so certain of himself that he would never suspect a young woman would not be interested in his courtship. Her gaze, however, was on another man, one who, right now, was farther from her than she would have liked.
Noah’s gaze narrowed in on them, his expression troubled, likely when he saw not only that extra people had been invited, but that Lord Stephen was among them.
Percy had hoped to capture a few moments alone with him. How was she to do that now?
She took matters into her own hands and crossed the room, greeting him and his aunt, all politeness, although she hoped her stare upon him told him that she had much more to say. As they all made their greetings, Percy found that the awareness that she had noticed before showed no signs of dimming as she had hoped. Instead, it seemed that it was only growing. But why, oh why?
Percy finally found she couldn’t deny it any longer.
She was attracted to Mr. Noah Rowley.
And she had no idea just what she was supposed to do about it.
CHAPTER13
Noah could feel Percy watching him. He knew why – she wanted to know whether or not he had achieved his goal of finding the necklace. He waited through the drinks they shared in the drawing room before the dinner. He waited through the dinner itself, all of the five courses, each that were progressively more delicious. He waited through the after-dinner drinks the men took in the dining room while the women retired to the drawing room.
During dinner, he listened to Miss Elizabeth chattering away in his ear, and he nodded his head and made the appropriate “hmms” and “ahhs” when necessary.
After dinner, he watched Lord Stephen tell lecherous jokes, exchanging a glance with his uncle, who appeared to be equally annoyed by the crudeness with which the man spoke. Lord Fairfax, himself, did not appear to be particularly pleased, which made Noah wonder just why he thought the man might make a match for his daughter.
Perhaps he was starting to wonder if he had made the right decision.
They began their walk into the drawing room just as Percy was stepping out of it.
“Percy,” her father rumbled. “We were just coming to join you.”
“I will be but a moment,” she said with a small smile as she entered the corridor.
Noah lingered just behind the other men as they walked into the drawing room, and she looked behind her as though sensing his pause. She glanced about from one side to the other before tilting her head toward another door and he followed after her, unable to do anything but answer her request.
“We do not have long,” she said softly as she shut the door behind them after they entered the small parlor. She stepped closer to him, wringing her hands in front of her. “You must tell me what happened.”
“I saw the necklace,” he said, enticed by the cherry blossoms that seemed to envelop her. “She keeps it locked in a box in her wardrobe. The key was also in the wardrobe, in a small bag within its depths. I convinced her to show me the necklace, but I had only the opportunity to hold it for the briefest moment, not to examine it.”
“How did you convince her?”
“I told her that I recalled the necklace from the night I had met her and that the woman I was courting was interested in rubies.”
“Did she ask who you were courting?”
He paused. “She did.” Goodness, was he going to have to tell her?
“Well, who did you say it was?” she demanded, and he sighed.
“She guessed it was you, and I confirmed her suspicion,” he said, his face warming as he scratched his head, almost surprised when he didn’t find the long hair on the side that had been there for so long. “I apologize, Percy. I never meant for you to become involved.”
