“Besides, I like getting letters. Nobody ever sends me letters.”
Seeing her pout, Ford made a mental note to send her a letter after she went home.
Jewel perused the board. “I thought a letter might make Rowan like me.”
“He likes you,” came a voice from the doorway. Harry walked in, his florid face split by a big smile.
Suddenly Hilda’s face wore a frown. “You could tell me when you leave,” she scolded, then immediately bustled out past him.
“Women,” Harry muttered. “More trouble than they’re worth.” He turned to Jewel with a courtly bow. “Present company excepted, of course.”
Ford stared. Clearly the girl had won him over. Just as she had Rowan. She looked so innocent in her powder blue gown. So young and vulnerable. Which sat at odds with her fully developed feminine wiles and intuition.
Jewel bounced on the ancient chair so energetically he feared it might break. “What did Rowan say?”
“Well, I didn’t talk to him, you understand.” Harry relayed the details as seriously as if he were a hired spy. “But his oldest sister came out and said she would bring him after the sunset to see the stars.”
Jewel squealed and wriggled in her chair, so excited she botched her next few moves. As a consequence, Ford won the game. And Violet was coming with Rowan.
Things were looking up.
THIRTEEN
ROWAN CLIMBED into the carriage and motioned Violet after him. “Hurry, it’s dark already.”
“The sky isn’t going away.” Still shaking her head at his astonishing change of heart, Violet shrugged into the forest green velvet cloak offered by her mother. “Where’s Margaret?”
“I gave her the evening off, dear. Hilda and Harry will be there. And Lord Lakefield is a gentleman. I’m sure we can trust him to behave.”
Especially with the likes of me, Violet thought, biting her lip. That old, familiar truth seemed suddenly distressing.
“I’ve instructed Willets to come back for you at ten,” Mum added. “Two hours ought to be plenty long enough to stare at the sky.”
Violet looked up. Except for a milky blur, she’d never seen the stars. “I wonder what I might see there?”
“The stars are beautiful,” her mother said. “Like diamonds sparkling on a black velvet gown.”
Smiling at the extravagant description, Violet gazed at the heavens. She wondered if the stars really twinkled, and if she might be able to wish on one. Excitement fluttered in her stomach.
“I’ll be off, then, Mum.” She kissed her mother’s floral-scented cheek and followed Rowan into the carriage.
A short while later they mounted Lakefield House’s steps. Rowan didn’t hide behind Violet this time. Jewel opened the door before Violet could lift the knocker, but Violet had anticipated that and didn’t fall into the house.
Which was rather a pity, since Ford was there to catch her.
He was still wearing the fancy suit, making her feel underdressed in her simple cotton gown. But that was absurd—she’d only come to look at the sky.
Instead of ushering her in, he stepped outside, a bit too close for her comfort. “I have the telescope set up in the garden,” he said. “Follow me.”
For such a tall fellow, he moved with grace. As he headed down the steps, she realized she’d stopped breathing.
She commanded herself to inhale.
This was really getting ridiculous.
He was just a gentleman, nothing more. She couldn’t remember ever being so nervous around one, but perhaps that was because she’d done an admirable job of avoiding them altogether. Surely this discomfort would disappear once she got to know him better. Which she seemed destined to do should Rowan have his way.
Holding a torch, Ford led her around the side of the house and down a path toward an area so overgrown she’d be loath to call it a garden. More like a jungle, she thought, hiding a smile.
The children tagged along behind, their voices coming out of the darkness. “Are you angry with me?” Jewel asked Rowan.
He seemed to consider for a moment. “Will you help me plan a jest on my sisters?”
“Of course I will.”
“Then I’m not angry.”
Listening to the exchange, Violet made a mental note to be on the alert for “jests.” If Rowan thought gluing someone to a chair was excusable, heaven only knew what he and Jewel would come up with together.
In the midst of a tangle of vines sat a ring of scraggly hedges. Ford guided the group through an opening in the greenery. A new one, from the looks of it.
“Uncle Ford hacked at the plants with an ax today,” Jewel proudly informed them. “After Harry came back and said you would come. Wasn’t that nice?”
Violet thought she heard Ford emit a strange sound.
A circle of wooden benches looked newly uncovered as well. Apparently he’d been busy. In the center, atop a stone sundial, a long tube sat balanced on three spindly legs.
Ford gestured at it with a flourish. “The telescope.”
“How nice,” she replied, hoping she sounded suitably impressed. But the telescope wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring. It was just a skinny, tarnished thing. Her hopes plummeted. This hardly looked like an object that could work magic.
He set the torch in a nearby stand. “Quarter moon tonight,” he said, grasping the tube and maneuvering it to point in the moon’s direction.
Curious, Violet moved closer. Over the fresh scent of recently cut plant life, she could smell something spicy. And a trace of scented soap. Patchouli, she decided, recalling the aroma from one of her mother’s vials. Some years ago, Father had arranged for a number of the minty shrubs to be brought from India. He’d planted them in his magnificent garden so Mum could distill the leaves.
“A partial moon is fortunate for viewing.” Ford had closed one eye and focused the other through the tube. “A full moon can be too bright and make the stars around it fade.” He made a final adjustment. “Would you like to see?”
“Me first!” Jewel said.
Rowan jumped up and down. “No, me!”
Jewel stepped in front of him. “Me!”
“Well, normally I’d say
