"I am sad." Turning his face, he raised his own hand to hold hers to his mouth and pressed a warm kiss to her palm before releasing it. "I'm very sad, Corinna. I cannot do this standing outside Lincolnshire's bedroom. Will you meet me at Hamilton's studio one last time?"
"Of course." She'd soothe his sadness then, show him how much she loved him. She'd kiss him and more, and…he was right: None of that could happen here. But sad as she was herself at losing Lord Lincolnshire, her heart started galloping at the thought of meeting him. "What time?"
"In an hour," he said, and then: "No. I need to stay with Lincolnshire right now. I'd never forgive myself if he—"
"I understand." He looked tortured. "James said Lord Lincolnshire wouldn't last the night, and you need to be with him until then. And I need to submit my portrait later this afternoon. How about tomorrow?"
"That's too long…but all right."
"I don't want to wait that long, either." It seemed so very long since they'd last been together. Only two and a half days since he'd last held her in his arms, but it felt like forever.
"Shall we say ten o'clock?" he asked.
"All the ladies are visiting Aunt Frances tomorrow at eleven, but I can—"
"Let's make it in the afternoon, then." He shut his eyes briefly, then opened them with a sigh. "This will probably be best," he said as though trying to convince himself. "I'll spend the morning making arrangements for Lincolnshire's funeral."
"But you won't need to play his nephew once he's gone," she said, then clapped a hand over her mouth.
He glanced quickly around, but fortunately no servants had overheard. Looking relieved, he ran his hands slowly down her arms, then linked his fingers with hers, lacing them together. "I owe him that, Corinna," he said softly. "And who else is going to do it?"
He was such a good man. And he looked even more tortured. The rush of happiness she'd felt at the thought of spending time with him seemed suddenly overshadowed by his distress.
She couldn't kiss him here outside Lincolnshire's bedroom, but she threw her arms around him, holding him tight. "This will all be over soon," she murmured against his chest, thinking much better times lay ahead.
"Yes," he said in a flat tone. "It will."
FORTY-FOUR
HALF AN HOUR later, Griffin found himself on Lady Avonleigh's doorstep again. In the morning.
The ancient butler opened the door. "Yes?" he croaked.
"I've come to call on Lady Avonleigh," Rachael said.
He cleared his throat. "She's left the house, milady."
"I don't believe this!" She turned to Griffin. "We should have come earlier."
He'd picked her up at nine o'clock, and now it was half past. "How much earlier could we have come?" He'd been sure they'd be dragging poor Lady A from her bed. In his experience, ladies slept until at least ten. Except Corinna, who slept until at least noon. "What time does Lady Avonleigh rise?" he asked the old geezer at the door.
"Six o'clock," Lady Balmforth said, apparently having overheard them and come to see what was up. She looked curious. "When you get to a certain age, dearie, you won't sleep late in the morning, either."
"Good morning, Lady Balmforth," Rachael said before swinging to Griffin again. "I told you we should have come earlier."
"We'll come earlier tomorrow." With any luck, he wouldn't receive another surprise summons from Lincolnshire.
"I'm not waiting until tomorrow. We'll wait here today."
Yesterday he'd been willing to wait, and she hadn't wanted to. Today he'd assumed she wanted to leave, but she wanted to wait. He would never understand women. "Fine," he said, "we'll wait."
"Well, maybe we shouldn't wait." She turned to Lady B. "When will Lady Avonleigh be back?"
"It was Aurelia's turn to assist our James today at his Institute," Lady B said. "Then she's accompanying Lady Corinna to the Royal Academy this afternoon."
"Oh, damn," Rachael said softly, making the older woman's eyes widen at her language. "I'd forgotten about that. The two of them planned that right in front of me, too, when we were visiting Lady Malmsey and the new baby."
Lady B briefly touched Rachael's hand. "My sister will be at home for a short while in between. She told our nephew she had to leave before luncheon." The skinny lady leaned closer. "Aurelia never likes to miss her luncheon."
Griffin had guessed as much.
"What did you want to talk to my sister about?" Lady B asked, looking very curious. "Is it important?"
Rachael nodded. "Very. But I…well…you're welcome to listen, but I'd rather wait until Lady Avonleigh is here to talk about it."
Lady Balmforth looked even more curious. "If it's that important, perhaps you ought to send Lady Corinna a note, saying she should find someone else to accompany her to Somerset House."
"That's an excellent idea," Rachael said, "but I think you need to write the note. That way Corinna won't be suspicious about what I'm doing with Lady Avonleigh."
"She's not going to be suspicious," Griffin said.
"Yes, she is. Your sisters aren't stupid, Griffin."
"Why don't you just tell them the truth?"
"I'm still not ready," Rachael said.
And Lady Balmforth looked very, very curious. "I think we'd better send for Cornelia, too," she said.
AT ONE O'CLOCK, Corinna came downstairs with a footman carrying her painting, which she'd framed—by borrowing one off a family portrait—and wrapped in brown paper. "I need a hackney coach," she told Adamson, their butler. "My brother took the carriage, and I must pick up Lady Avonleigh."
Though Adamson was a very short man, he prided himself on being quite dignified and proper. "I don't know if that's wise, Lady Corinna."
"It's necessary. Please hail a hackney."
"Lord Cainewood has been gone since the morning. He's likely to be home soon."
She was early, true. It wouldn't take an hour to reach Lady A's house, and the woman
