Page 12 of A Lady's Past
“Are you all right, monsieur?” Lady Chervil stared at him, her eyes narrowed in concern.
He shook his head and forced himself to keep his focus on Lady Chervil, even though he was tempted to look at Diana and see if she was listening. “Yes. Fine. I just was lost in thought about the holiday.”
“I’m sure you will have a lovely time. Are you in London until then?”
“I have missed my parents, and have been splitting my time between London and their estate. The weather is going to make traveling on short notice harder. It is only a day’s journey, but a sudden snowstorm can turn that into two or three.” This time he did shift his gaze toward Diana.
Mask in place, she watched him without expression. Yet something in her eyes said emotion was growing below the surface. Jacques longed to free her from the shackles of her control and see the real Diana. After all, the goddess of the hunt and moon should not be concealed in such a way.
“Miss St. Cloud and I are going to the Hampton ball on Friday. Perhaps you will be there?” Lady Chervil grinned and took a biscuit from the tray.
“I have not agreed to go to a ball, my lady.” Diana frowned.
Waving her hand, undaunted, Lady Chervil nibbled her cookie. “I have already found you a gown and you need to have some fun. A lady cannot live on science alone.”
Jacques had been in Lady Honoria Chervil’s presence on one other occasion and it had been equally amusing. She was a force of nature all to herself. She was single-minded and charming to a fault. As far as he could gather, she had more money than she could ever use after being widowed three times, yet she enjoyed being a dowager at the Everton Domestic Society, so she remained.
Middleton had told him that she’d been offered a home with the Viscount and Viscountess of Devonrose, but had chosen instead to visit them several times a year so she could continue to work. She was an interesting woman, to be sure.
The idea of Diana dressed for a ball wiggled inside him until it became a looming desire. “I shall do my best to attend if you ladies will be there.”
Honoria beamed. “Excellent. I understand Lady Hampton has erected a replica of a Roman temple in her garden. I know it shall be a sight to see.”
It would likely be an abomination of good taste, but people would talk about it and that’s all the ton cared about. It was one of the reasons he was careful about his choice of friends. He preferred to stay out of the gossip. Still, he wanted to know more about Diana, and if he needed to attend a ball to learn who and what she was, he would endure a dozen.
The more he thought about it, the more he knew he should leave town and stay away until Diana disappeared the way she had suddenly appeared. However, he knew he wouldn’t do that. “I’m sure it will be something to see.”
Francis and Diana went back to work, but before Jacques left, he found Doris sitting in the ladies’ parlor sewing a bit of cloth with fierce jabs of her needle. He could only imagine the horror she was creating.
“Mrs. Whimple, am I interrupting?”
She put the work aside. “No. I’ll have to pull it all out anyway.”
He sat on a low chair adjacent to her. “May I ask you a rather frank question that is none of my business?”
Leaning forward, she nodded.
“Do you dislike Miss St. Cloud, and if so, why?”
With a sigh, she leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. “I cannot dislike her. She’s too sweet and nice to dislike. I only wish I could do the things she can to help Mr. Edgebrook in the laboratory. I did my best. Truly, I did. He’d hardly had any fires since I started helping him. Of course, he also struggled to make any progress without the fires and explosions to tell him what was wrong. I can see that. I just wanted to help him, to be important to him.”
Diana was right.
Jacques patted Doris’s hand where it lay on the arm of the chair. “Madam, I think you underestimate yourself, and overestimate the importance of being useful as a person of science where Francis is concerned. He needs you to make sure he eats and sleeps. I think it’s possible Miss St. Cloud might need you for that as well. She seems the type to be of a single mind. If you take care of them, things will fall into their rightful place. I’m sure of it.”
Wide-eyed, she flushed. “Oh, I should have noticed if she was eating right. She’s terribly thin. Shame on me. I’ve been selfish and willful. You are quite right, sir. I must take care of them both as they are too set on this science business to take care of themselves. Not to worry. Doris Whimple will not let anyone in this house take ill.”
He stood because she did, took her hand and kissed it. “I have no doubt of that, my dear Mrs. Whimple.”
Her blush was like a young girl’s. “Thank you for pointing out my duty. I needed a friend to talk to, and Millie is so busy being a duchess. I’ve not seen her since all these changes took place.”
“It is my pleasure to be an ear for you whenever you need one. I will take my leave now. I have taken up enough of your time.”
She curtsied. “Good day to you, and thank you.”
He took comfort in knowing someone was looking out for Diana at Everton House and in the laboratory. Now if he only knew how she’d become so efficient at the sciences, perhaps he’d know who Diana was. Not knowing was going to drive him mad.
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