Page 14 of The Risk of Rogues
Before he could answer, Anne replied, “I asked Captain Lord Hartley to show me the way to the farm where he saw some peacocks, so I could obtain more feathers for my hats. But then I remembered that I was supposed to be in the ballroom helping all of you. We were returning there now.”
When Delia looked suspicious, Anne removed the peacock feather she’d stuck into her hat. “He found this while out walking this morning, and I asked about it at breakfast. He was kind enough to give it to me, but I just had to have more.”
“Old George in the valley keeps peacocks,” Hart added helpfully. He’d promised Anne to keep their re-courtship private for now, so he would.
“Oh, right. Warren mentioned that.” Delia turned to Anne. “Well, if you don’t mind, Clarissa and Yvette are in some confusion about whether we use the red or the purple ribbons on the crowns of the simple hats. And there’s some question about the ostrich feathers—”
“Of course.” Anne gave Hart a sketchy bow and a secretive smile. “Thank you for the feather, sir, but I must go.”
“I understand. Thankyoufor the conversation, madam. I shall look forward to more of it at dinner.”
Anne turned to head off, and Delia said, “You go on. I’ll be along shortly. I just need to speak to my brother-in-law about a pressing matter.”
Damn. And he’d thought he’d escaped detection.
The minute Anne was out of earshot, Delia turned to him. “Walk with me.”
“All right.”
As they followed Anne at a more leisurely pace, he could feel Delia’s eyes on him.
“So,” she asked, “what are you up to with my friend?”
“I have no idea what you mean.” Not for nothing had Fulkham trained him to prevaricate, evade, and outright lie when necessary.
“Hartley Corry, I daresay you have never in your life picked up a peacock feather. Why on earth would you do so now?”
He shrugged. “I thought I might use it as a quill pen. What of it?”
“No one uses peacock feathers for pens.”
“I don’t see why not. They’re big enough.”
“And that’s all there was to it? You fancied using it as a quill? Then offered it to Anne on a whim?”
“Once she admired my feather, I could hardly resist giving it to her.” He grinned. “I am nothing if not gallant to pretty young ladies.”
“Hart,” she said in a warning tone, “take care with Lady Anne. Don’t youdaretoy with her affections. She’s respectable, you know. Not the sort of woman you can have a quick tumble with.”
That sparked his temper. “By God, do you really have so low an opinion of me?Still?”
Delia sighed. “No. You tend to be all bark and no bite. Or all tease and no tumble.” She tapped her chin. “All flirt and no fornicate?”
“I get the point,” he said dryly.
“Anyway, she might not understand that you aren’t serious.”
And if I am?“Duly noted.”
At the house now, he followed Delia into the ballroom, curious to see what the ladies were up to. Apparently their first order of business was chatter; he couldn’t even think with the noise of their talking. The dance floor now held a variety of tables, each being decorated and covered with objects of all sorts: embroidered braces for men, beaded reticules for women, needlepoint pillowcases and slippers, and God knew what all.
Behind the tables, footmen were stringing wires the length of the room so that pictures could be hung from them: oil paintings, watercolors, pen-and-ink drawings, and even framed samplers. It was a veritable buffet of women’s work.
“Good God,” he said to Delia. “You organized all of this?”
“Really, Anne did most of it. I was too busy getting married and overseeing the renovation of our nursery.”
“Right. Warren told me I’m to be an uncle in about four months.”
