Page 18 of Tutoring a Lady into Sin
Uncle Felton pulled his jacket tighter and fiddled with one of the buttons. He extracted a handkerchief from his pocket and coughed loudly into it. “We could never truly be at odds, my boy.”
“If you wish to speak to me about using this wedding as an opportunity to seek out my own wife, then we will be on opposing sides. For I have no compulsion to do any such thing. I was thinking earlier today that the sooner this whole affair was over, the better.”
Uncle Felton nodded pensively as he coughed once more. “If you said that a few days ago, I might have believed you were in earnest. But now…today…”
“What do you mean?” Phineas asked as he turned to look at his friend squarely.
“Well, you profess to wish this whole event would reach its conclusion, and yet I have noticed that you are being far more sociable than I would have guessed.” He folded his handkerchief and tucked it back into his pocket, then glanced at the blue sky overhead.
A pair of starlings chirped as they darted from one tree to the next. “On a day like today, if you truly found this sort of soiree detestable, you would have retreated to the library. But here you are…out with the rest of us.”
“And?” Phineas prompted. “Am I not supposed to make merry with all the others?”
“Oh, do not misunderstand, my boy. I am quite relieved to see you outside, without your head stuck in a book. I just think it is curious that you are here, and yet you refuse to join in the fun and games with your brother and his friends.” Uncle Felton nodded toward the area of the lawn where Percy was playing Blind Man’s Bluff.
Phineas guffawed. “We both know the only reason Percy is engaged in such a game is because he is having fun chasing after the young ladies.”
“And do you not think that would be rather diverting?” Felton pressed.
“When have you ever known me to chase after a woman?” Phineas retorted as he arched his eyebrow cynically.
“I just think if you allowed yourself to relax and enjoy this event, you might find one of the young ladies does, in fact, strike your fancy. And, if you let your guard down long enough, you might even be tempted to chase her about the lawn,” Uncle Felton said quietly.
“Then, I am sorry to disappoint you, too,” Phineas said.
“You have not disappointed me,” Uncle Felton returned. “I only wish to see you happy, my boy.”
“I am happy,” Phineas replied as his eyes floated around the lawn. He stopped his perusal when he happened upon Christianna.
She was standing next to her Auntie Mary-Anne. The two women were engaged in conversation with a pair of gentlemen. But Christianna was not looking at the gentlemen. She wasn’t even gazing back at Phineas. Instead, she stood there very simply, watching Percy. The anguish she felt was printed clearly on her face, and Phineas felt compelled to do something to help her.
“Excuse me, Felton,” he murmured as he took a hasty step in Christianna’s direction. “I see someone who…” But he did not finish his sentence. He did not know how to describe what he saw on Christianna’s face. While it was evident to him that Percy was behaving like a buffoon and hurting Christianna’s feelings in the process, he was not sure it was his place to point out this slight to others.
“Lady Christianna,” Phineas said as he came upon the small group. Her eyes swung toward him, and a relieved smile flickered onto her face.
“Doctor Radcliff,” she said, referring to him formally as they were in the presence of others.
“Excuse me,” he said as he nodded his head respectfully to the others, “but I was hoping I might ask the lady to accompany me on a short walk. We were discussing the healing benefits of peppermint the other day, and I found some growing near the lake.”
“Did you?” Christianna enthused. “I should like to see that very much.” She took her leave of her companions, and a moment later, the two of them began walking away from the party. “So, where is this patch of mint?” she asked as she dipped her chin and looked down at their feet.
“It is this way,” Phineas replied as he offered her his arm. She hesitated for just a moment. “What is wrong?”
“I was wondering…I mean…should we be going off by ourselves?” Christianna asked as she cast a furtive glance backwards at her aunt.
“We do not need a chaperone for this expedition,” Phineas returned as he gave her an encouraging smile. “We are not going far, and that means we will still be in view of all the others.”
“Oh…yes…of course,” Christianna whispered, then she reached forward and laced her hand through his proffered arm.
Phineas paused for a minute.
There is something amiss. I am not sure what it is, but I feel as though she wants to say something and yet is reluctant to speak. I will just give her a moment to gather her thoughts.
But that was quite a challenge. Their conversation had been so natural in the past and to not say a word to each other now felt most unsettling. Phineas wanted to prompt Christianna to ask what was on her mind, but he told himself to remain quiet and allow her the space she needed to speak.
“Phineas,” she said after a lengthy pause. “Why were you not playing any of the games back at the party?”
He laughed lightly. “I am not very athletic, Christianna. I do like nine-pin, and occasionally I will play a round of shuttlecock and battledores, but garden parties are not really my forte.” He paused before asking, “And what about you? I noticed you were not engaged with the others. Do you not like participating in the games?”
