Page 34 of Long Live the Baron
“Was it her idea? The lilies?”
Mr. Ridley grimaced ever so slightly. “Not precisely. She mentioned some hothouse flowers would not go amiss, but I am afraid I quite overdid it, considering your sensitivity.”
Lily clapped her hands, falling back into her seat. “I have never been! The other debutantes speak on it incessantly. Mama visits with her friends, but we seldom go out in public, except for the theatre or fittings at the mantua-maker’s.”
“And I have never accompanied a young lady to Gunter’s, so we are on equal footing, I suppose.”
The carriage pulled to a stop in the shade of the trees. Lily could see gentlemen lounging against the iron railings, while young ladies fanned themselves perched high on curricles. Servers from Gunter’s were in attendance, delivering ices in goblets.
Mr. Ridley’s footman—Wesley, the one Sophia had interrogated on the day of the murder—opened the door and lowered the steps. Shortly, a server appeared in the doorway to request their order.
Lily’s mind raced with possibilities. The moment of reckoning was here. She would need to pick a flavor!
Mr. Ridley opened the other carriage door while the server listed off the flavors, allowing for a breeze through the small space. The fragrances of grass and oak trees wafted through the door as Lily listened intently to the choices. “… chocolate, lavender, maple, Parmesan cheese, Gruyère, and bergamot.”
Her mind reeled. This was something she had imagined many a night, and now the moment had finally arrived. What if she made the wrong choice and did not like it? She would never have another opportunity to try Gunter’s ices for the very first time!
“Um … lavender?”
“It is an excellent choice, miss.”
“Agreed. I will have the same,” Mr. Ridley concurred across from her. Lily swung her head back to find that he was staring at her with a bemused expression on his face. “Would Nancy like one?”
He bobbed his head to the old woman, who was leaning at an alarming angle in the corner. Her mouth hung open and a bleating snore was Mr. Ridley’s only response. Lily pressed her lips together not to giggle, throwing a glance at Mr. Ridley as if to say,I told you so.
Mr. Ridley chuckled before dismissing the server with their order.
* * *
Brendan watchedMiss Abbott relishing her lavender ice. He and his valet had locked themselves into his rooms the night before to prevent any nocturnal disturbances, which meant he had finally enjoyed a full night’s sleep. Now that his general outlook had markedly improved, he had to admit that the countess Saunton was right. Miss Abbott was an exuberant young woman who embraced life wholeheartedly.
He supposed he was very fortunate, because she had committed to the role of his scandalous paramour so enthusiastically that Grimes was utterly convinced that Brendan was the licentious debaucher of gently bred virgins. Under normal circumstances, he would consider it a calamity that people would believe he was a scoundrel of the highest order, but given the alternative, an accusation of patricide, he supposed he could withstand it. Soon their wedding would divert society’s whispers from his apparent perversions to whisperings about a grand passion.
He knew it was the only honorable path forward. The two of them would have to make the best of this.
But, hang it all, she is of such tender years!
Even now she scooped her ice with the focus of a child eating cake. He could not even detect the rounding of a bosom underneath all that frothy lace. If the young woman had curves, her attire did a distinguished job of disguising them. It was a mystery why debutantes dressed in a manner least likely to lure a man’s interest when their entire existence revolved around dragging him into the parson’s noose.
But it did not signify. This marriage must proceed for both their reputations. It was a matter of honor. Miss Abbott had taken a monumental risk in saving him from the ordeal of an arrest and trial. Even if he had been found innocent, rumors would have persisted that he had murdered his own father. Because of what she had done, the conversation had been well and truly shifted to the subject of seduction, and once their betrothal was announced, it would shift to talk of love matches.
Despite her obvious youth, Miss Abbott’s zeal and integrity were growing on him, so forging a strong partnership should be possible.
If only I found her physically appealing.
This was the crux of the problem. Brendan knew that once he was wed, dallying was not an option. He had witnessed too many marriages of thetonturn cold and distant, where marital partners could barely stand to be in the same room while each conducted illicit affairs. It was not a future he was willing to accept, so somehow he would need to reconcile himself to bedding this immature girl within the bonds of marriage.
When they had finished their ices, and the maid was still sleeping in the corner of the other bench seat, the server came to collect their goblets. The carriage doors were closed, but they did not depart. This was it. It was time to do the honorable thing.
“Miss Abbott?”
She turned those large brown eyes on him, and he briefly wondered how she might appear in the richer colors that Lady Moreland wore that offset her coloring so well. Miss Abbott had the same rich, brown hair framing her elfin face. Her eyes were remarkable—lively and bright—but the pale, lacy confections she wore were abysmal. He could only hope that she would order a new wardrobe with more flattering colors once they wed.
“I am deeply ashamed of my reactions yesterday, and on speaking with Lady Slight, I very much understand the depths of my misunderstanding of your character. It must have taken great courage to visit the widow and demand allegiance on my behalf.”
Miss Abbott’s eyes rounded. “She confessed to our conversation?”
Brendan nodded. “I want you to know what a great honor it would be for me to wed a courageous young woman such as yourself. If you were to do me the honor of consenting to be my wife, I shall spend every day of our lives displaying my respect for your admirable integrity in assisting me as an innocent man.”
