“May I escort you to lunch?” he asked, holding out his small arm to the young woman.
Miss Elwood looked first at Neil, who shrugged and looked at Albert. Then, she looked at the man who was supposed to be accompanying her. The innocent question in her eyes melted his heart. She truly seemed concerned that it would bother him if she were to dismiss him to walk with the child. Albert gave her a smile and a slight nod, just out of sight of Henry.
With the unanimous approval, she took the boy’s arm and smiled sweetly at him.
“I would like that very much,” she said, taking his arm gently.
The boy was very pleased that he had gotten the young woman to agree. He held his head high and began leading the way toward the picnic area. Albert and Neil fell into step behind them, and at the rear was Miss Elwood’s lady’s maid.
When Miss Elwood and Henry were just out of earshot, Albert moved closer to Neil.
“Henry is quite the charmer,” he said, winking at his friend. “At this rate, he’ll be married by the age of fifteen.”
Neil rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. Then, he shrugged.
“He’s simply a good judge of character,” he said.
Albert looked at his friend, puzzled.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Neil gave Albert a cryptic look.
“I mean that he has taken a strong liking to Miss Elwood,” he said. “He doesn’t do that with just everyone. He likes her for a reason, Albert. Maybe courting Miss Elwood isn’t such a bad idea, after all.”
Albert bit his lip, wondering if he should mention the gossip. He didn’t know if Rachel and Neil had seen it yet. And if they hadn’t, he didn’t know if he wanted to put a damper on their afternoon. But before he could say anything, Neil held up his hand.
“Yes, we saw, Albert,” he said, barely whispering. “But who cares?”
Albert’s shoulder sagged. If they had seen it, Miss Elwood surely had, even though she wasn’t giving off any indication that she had. He left his thought unspoken, even though it was shouting loudly in his head. Icare…
Chapter Twenty-three
Martha giggled with delight at the little boy who was escorting her to the picnic spot. He was very polite and gentlemanly, and he had made her feel good when he asked if she was a princess. And he also seemed to be taking his task of escorting a lady someplace very seriously. His posture was perfectly straight, and he held onto Martha’s arm with surprising strength and confidence, especially considering how much shorter he was than Martha. She found him positively delightful, immediately taking a fierce liking to the boy.
When they reached the picnic spot, the boy began bouncing with excitement. He tugged Martha up to the woman, releasing her arm to rush up to the woman and point toward Martha.
“I helped escort Miss Elwood from the carriage, Mama,” he said.
The woman raised her eyebrows in impressed surprise.
“Did you, now?” she asked, putting her arm around the boy as she gave Martha a small wink. “Well, how very grown up of you.”
Henry beamed at his mother, wrapping his arms around her neck.
Meanwhile, Lord Billington and Mr. Smith had caught up to her and the boy, and the viscount stepped forward.
“Miss Elwood, I’d like you to meet Rachel,” he said. “This is Neil’s wife, and young Henry’s mother. Rachel, this is Miss Martha Elwood.”
Martha curtseyed.
“It’s wonderful to meet you,” she said.
Mrs. Smith beamed at her with the warmest, friendliest eyes that Martha had ever seen outside of her own family.
“Likewise, dear Miss Elwood,” she said, patting her distended belly. “Forgive me for not rising to curtsey all proper. I’m afraid that it would take me the entire length of the picnic to get off the ground. But I want you to know that I’m just so glad that you could join us today.”
Martha shook her head, giving the pregnant woman a sweet smile.
