Page 88 of A Fearless Heart
“Darling Cady. Excuse me!” he said, stopping when he reached her. “I should say my Lady Arcadia, now that we are in the city with all its manners and customs. I had no idea you had left Calderwood.”
“It was a rather sudden decision,” she admitted.
“A wise one,” he told her, smiling. “Far be it from me to offer any chastisement, but I am glad you have transplanted yourself here. London is brighter for it, and I daresay the new surroundings will do a world of good. You are not meant to be hidden away.”
“You are too kind, sir. And what brings you to London this time?”
He smiled. “I was asked to assess the specimens for a rose garden at Kew Park and make recommendations for new roses. Isn’t that wonderful? I’m sure they only asked me because someone else couldn’t oblige, but it’s an honor all the same.”
“Mr Addison, clearly what happened is that your expertise has been recognized. Who else would know better in all of England?” She was delighted to see him, and got an idea. “I’m hosting a very small dinner later tonight. If you have no other plans, would you come? It would be like a little bit of home here in London.”
“It would be my pleasure,” he told her.
After that, Judith nudged Cady to remind her that they should continue on the rest of the errands, which would occupy most of the afternoon. When she finally got home, Cady found the town house gleaming and already prepared for guests. Fresh candles stood ready to be lit in all the rooms, and she could smell something divine wafting from the kitchen.
Cady had been perfectly willing to host a dinner party in the abstract, but she grew increasingly nervous as the hour drew near. In a departure from the morning wear, Bond had dressed her in a stunning pink gown, and added delicate pink roses from the gardens to Cady’s headdress, which was otherwise a few simple twists of ribbon serving as a headband. She gave Cady long white lace gloves to wear.
“Oh, Lord, I’ll stain these immediately,” Cady fretted.
“You own more,” Bond told her, while selecting the jewels Cady would wear. “Coral, my lady? Or is that too young?”
Cady considered the necklace Bond presented, which was beads of coral carved to look like little flowers. Cady had received the necklace and the matching bracelet on her twelfth birthday, coral generally being considered a girl’s stone.
“I’ll wear the coral,” she said. “My mother gave me those. Well, I suppose Papa paid for them. But Mama picked them out.”
When Cady went downstairs, she found that Trevor had (astonishingly) arrived early, and was now talking to Gabe in the parlor, not quite spilling his drink as he gesticulated, but coming near to it. Gabe did not have a drink in hand, and he moved very slightly back whenever Trevor made a particularly grand gesture.
Gabe was resplendent in his evening attire and his newly golden hair. He looked like the lord of the manor, in fact, and Cady got an odd chill. What if that was his real plan? To take Calderwood from her through all this subterfuge?
That’s a ridiculous thought, she told herself. But her mind had a way of reacting badly to even less rational ideas, and once a thought needled its way into her brain, it would stay there and fester.
“Good evening,” she said quickly, to distract from the feeling.
Trevor lifted his glass to her. “Cady, you’re so darling in that pinky stuff! Doesn’t she look darling, Gabe?”
“Darling,” Gabe agreed with a little quirk of his lips. His appreciative eyes scanned her top to toe. Cady felt a warmth spreading through her, though it didn’t quite cut the chill of her previous, absurd thought.
And then the other guests began to arrive. Cady put on her best, most polite smile and went to greet them. Then Mr Addison came through the door, and all at once, Cady remembered that not only had she failed to tell Gabe she invited Mr Addison, she’d also completely forgotten that Mr Addison already met Gabe…as her gardener!
She looked at Gabe with wide eyes, alarm coursing through her. How could they possibly handle this?
* * * *
Gabe had about two seconds to register Cady’s distraught face when the next guest walked through the door.Addison.
Well, this was an unpleasant surprise. Fortunately, Gabe spent half his life lying to people. The man gave him a strange look when they were “introduced” by Trevor.
“Have we met before, sir?” Addison asked. “There’s something about you that seems so familiar.”
“I’ve heard that from others before,” Gabe returned easily. He reminded himself that when he was working at Calderwood as a gardener, he’d had the black hair and the scraggly beard, not to mention his laborer’s wardrobe. “I must have quite a common face.”
Trevor snorted, but rather unexpectedly offered, “Gabe here is the younger brother of Viscount Nyle, but he’s much more diverting. Have you ever met Nyle? Dreadfully dull man.” The casual comment worked to establish Gabe firmly in the upper ranks of Society…far above a garden bed. Trevor was really a very clever person.He’d make a good agent, Gabe thought.
“Are you at all involved in gardening?” Addison pressed.
“Couldn’t tell one end of a shovel from the other,” Gabe said with a laugh. “Though Trevor tells me that his sister is quite taken with the hobby.”
“Hobby?” Addison murmured with disapproval in his tone.
