his head. In one hand, he carried a pair of gloves, flicking them gently against one thigh.
His lips curving, he stopped directly before her.
'I had wondered, my dear, if you are free tomorrow afternoon, whether you might care to drive to Richmond? We could take tea at the Star and Garter and return in good time for dinner.'
The poor light on the stairs hid the flash of happiness that lit Antonia's eyes. It also hid the faint blush that succeeded it. 'I…' Lifting her chin, she clasped her hands before her. 'I wouldn't wish to disrupt your normal routine, my lord-I'm sure there are other claims on your time.'
'None that can't wait.' Philip hid his frown. 'Are you free?'
She met his gaze but he could read nothing in her eyes. 'I can't recall any other engagement.'
Philip tightened his grip on his gloves. 'In that case, I'll meet you in the hall at…shall we say half past one?'
Gracious but determinedly distant, Antonia inclined her head. 'I'll look forward to the outing, my lord.'
What, Philip wondered, had happened to his name? 'Antonia-?'
'Will you be dining with us this evening?' It took all Antonia's courage to ask the question; she waited, breath bated, for the answer, dismally aware she was only making a rod for her own back.
Philip hesitated, then forced himself to shake his head. 'I'm dining with friends.' He was, at Limmer's. As if from a distance, he heard himself say, 'I often do.' The shadows hid her eyes, too well for him to be sure of her expression. Few men of his age, married or not, dined frequently at their own board; it was a fact of fashionable life, not a situation of his own choosing.
'Indeed?' Determinedly bright, Antonia flashed him a brittle smile. 'I'd better go up or I'll be late. I wish you a good night, my lord.' With another fleeting smile and a nod, she went past him and on up the stairs. She was, she sternly lectured herself, being foolish beyond permission. To feel rejection when none was intended, to feel downhearted just because he was behaving as he usually did. This was, after all, what she had come to London to learn-how she would fit into his life.
She reached the upper gallery and all but ran to her room.
Philip listened to her footsteps fade. Slowly, he resumed his descent. By the time he reached the hall, the planes of his face had hardened. She had said not a word out of place, said nothing to make him suspect she was wishful of his company. Not once had she made the mistake of trying to make him feel guilty; she had made no demands of him whatever.
Why, then, did he feel so dissatisfied? So certain something was, if not precisely wrong, then very definitely not right?
Chapter Eight
At half past one the following afternoon, Philip stood in his hall and watched Antonia descend the stairs. She was wearing a new carriage dress delivered that morning from Madame Lafarge's workshop, a creation in leaf- green twill that emphasized her slender shape and set off the gold of her hair. The bodice and skirt were edged with forest green ribbon, the same shade as the parasol Philip held furled in one hand.
It, too, had come from Madame Lafarge, expressly chosen on his instructions and delivered by one of Madame's lackeys at precisely one o'clock.
The parasol held behind his back, Philip strolled forward, taking Antonia's hand to help her down the last steps. 'You look positively enchanting.'
Buoyed by the confidence stemming from her first London gown, Antonia returned his smile. When Philip's gaze dropped, shrewdly judging, she obhgingly twirled, her skirts flaring about her. 'Madame's skill is beyond question.'
'True.' Philip recaptured her hand. 'But as I am sure she would tell you, perfection can only be attained when one works with the very best of raw materials.' His eyes met Antonia's; her heart skittered alarmingly.
She lowered her gaze and bobbed a curtsy. 'I fear you flatter me, my lord.'
A frown fleetingly crossed Philip's face. 'Philip.' He held up the parasol, then presented it with a flourish.
Antonia put out a hand to the carved wooden handle, her expression a study in surprise. 'For me?' Taking it, she held the parasol as if it were glass. Mesmerised, she stared, then threw Philip a wavering smile. 'Thank you.' Her voice was husky. 'I'm sorry-you must think me a fool.' Blinking rapidly, she looked down. 'It's been a long time since anyone gave me anything like this-for no real reason.'
Philip's mask slipped. It took effort to wrestle it back into place, to hide his reaction to her words. 'I would gladly give you more, Antonia-but until we make our relationship public, I'm reduced to such trumpery to win your smiles.'
She gave a shaky laugh, then held the parasol against her gown. 'It's a perfect match.'
'Indeed.' Philip smiled. 'Obviously an inspired choice.'
Antonia's expression immediately turned suspicious. Philip laughed. Taking her arm, he guided her to the door.
Once in his curricle, bowling along behind his greys, the awkwardness Antonia found herself all too often a prey to evaporated. Unfurling the parasol, she deployed it to protect her complexion, then hit upon the notion of asking Philip's advice on how to most elegantly dispose it. His suggestions were half serious, half teasing. She enjoyed the drive, and his company, relaxing enough to let her pleasure show.
The outing passed off without a hitch; Philip returned well content.
Thereafter, he made a point of spending some part of every day by Antonia's side, trying with all the skill at his command to ease the reticence he sensed behind her smiles. He escorted both Mannerings to Astley's Amphitheatre, spending most of the performance in pleasant contemplation of the emotions flickering across Antonia's face. The following afternoon, he yielded to their entreaties and took them on a tour of St Paul's and the city, surprising himself with how much he remembered of the history of the town.
Throughout, Antonia appeared serenely content, yet her underlying hesitancy disturbed him. Aside from anything else, she frequently reverted to addressing him as 'my lord', something, he had noticed, she only did when trying to keep him at a distance.
Then came the first of the informal parties.
Philip had already changed for the evening but had yet to quit the house. He was in the library, idly flicking through the stack of invitations on his desk when he heard voices in the hall. Lifting his head, he identified Geoffrey's voice raised in a bantering tone; Antonia answered with a laugh, gayer than any he'd heard in a long while.
Intrigued, he strolled to the door.
The sight that met his eyes as he paused in the doorway locked the breath in his chest. Antonia stood in the centre of his hall, her hair burnished guinea gold by the chandelier above. Bright curls clustered in artful disarray on the top of her head; a few gilded wisps wreathed about her delicate ears and nape, drawing attention to her slender neck. Her shoulders, warmly tinted ivory, were quite bare, entirely revealed by a stunningly elegant gown of the palest green. Lafarge's hand was easily discerned in the long, flattering lines, in the smooth sweeps of the skirt, in the subtle way the bodice emphasized the contours beneath. Tiny puffed sleeves were set well off the shoulders, so small they in no way distracted from the long, graceful curves of Antonia's arms.
Her face was uptilted; as he watched, she laughed, responding to Geoffrey, out of sight up the stairs. Deep inside, Philip felt something tighten, harden, clarifying and coalescing into one, crystal-clear emotion. Antonia's cheeks were delicately flushed, her eyes alight; her lips, rose tinted, parted as she smiled, raising her hands, not yet covered by the regulation long gloves, palms upward.
'I assure you I am very definitely your sister-if you come down here I'll demonstrate that my unique technique for boxing your ears is very much intact.'
Geoffrey answered; Philip didn't register his words. Compelled, he moved slowly forward, out of the shadows that had thus far hidden him.
Antonia heard him; she turned and her eyes met his. His gaze held her as she held his attention, absolutely, completely.
He sensed the swift intake of her breath, saw her eyes widen then darken. Her arms slowly drifted together, as
