Nellie had lost the thread of her mother’s conversation. Something about the wedding, she merely nodded and returned to thoughts of Charles. She appreciated his expression of concern for her. He deserved her trust, as he’d done nothing to make her doubt him. He was not Nathanial. Not all men were cut from the same cloth.
“I shall place an order with Beverly’s dressmaker, Madam Ambre, to make me a crimson ballgown, Mama.”
Her mother looked shocked. “Crimson? Surely not.”
“Lady Blake wore crimson the other evening. She looked wonderful.”
“You are too young to wear such a color. Lady Blake has been married for years. She is a mother.”
“Nevertheless, it would suit me better than the beige lace Madam Bonnet has suggested.”
Seated opposite them, her father folded his arms. “You’ll set tongues wagging, Nellie.”
He looked quite sour. He was never a good traveler. She didn’t know why he always insisted on riding with his back to the horses. In her opinion, gentlemen could be silly. He would certainly disapprove of the gown she had in mind. It would feature a low-scoop neckline and be made of crimson satin with an overdress of silver like fine gossamer. She was confident such a gown would make Drusilla envious, dressed in her blacks. The pleasant thought lifted her spirits. As a married lady, she might choose to wear whatever she wished.
She shrugged off the weight she’d carried since her first Season when she’d tried to be the daughter her parents wanted and failed when none of the suitors came up to the mark. Many had bored her. They had inflated opinions of themselves, talked too much of their wealth and their stables, and were either disinterested in her, or amused that she liked to read. She couldn’t see herself spending the rest of her life with one of them.
She smiled to herself. Life as a married woman had begun to seem far more appealing.
*
Charles and Jason galloped their horses across the sun-warmed grass in Hyde Park toward the Serpentine. Thor was in an obliging mood, and Charles arrived ahead of his brother. As his horse lowered his head to feed on the grass, Charles stared into the blue-gray waters of the lake, reflecting on the previous evening. He had pulled back from kissing Nellie, although, dash it all, he’d wanted to.
He took her there because of her expression when she entered the room, for it alarmed him. She was unhappy, and he wanted to know what it was that had upset her. But once alone, the air fairly crackled between them. The bed, which they would share in a few short weeks, dominated the room and his thoughts. His questions died on his tongue as blood rushed through his veins. It didn’t help when Nellie grew heavy-eyed as she watched him and licked her bottom lip, and he feared he would return downstairs in a state of arousal.
Although some things about her puzzled him, one thing he knew: Her passion matched his. If he’d kissed her, there was a good chance they would have been caught up in something inappropriate and forgotten all about the family downstairs. Charles grinned and shook his head. He could imagine their dinner growing cold on the table, her parents and his brother, fully aware of what detained them.
He admitted he hadn’t been quite himself since Nellie came into his life. And while he wished to regain that sense of calm he’d relied on in the past, he still wished he’d kissed her.
As he gave his attention to Thor, Jason appeared and drew rein as he came up to Charles. He whistled. “That stallion you purchased from Dountry is a magnificent beast. But he has a devilish streak. He plans to unseat you.”
“He’ll get over it.” Charles gave the horse’s glossy black shoulder a pat as Thor sidled and fidgeted.
“I hope it’s before he succeeds in his aim.” Jason chuckled. “If I didn’t know what a good rider you are, I’d be worried.”
“We are getting to know each other. Let’s walk them for a bit.”
They dismounted and led the horses through the trees and onto the grass, heading for the park gates. “I must say, I like my future sister-in-law,” Jason said. “A nice surprise. As I knew her to be part of the literary set last year, I was expecting a grim-faced bluestocking, quoting poetry at me. But she’s good company.”
“Yes, she is.”
Nellie had been in fine fettle at dinner. He’d never seen her so animated. He’d always thought of her as pretty, but she grew lovelier as she became more familiar to him. He enjoyed seeing the humor dancing in her eyes. What had that earlier concern been about? Was it only her brother? He’d been distracted, too. That damn letter and the impending lawsuit. Would Nellie approve of a man who acted like a brute? He rather thought not.
“Nellie has a delightful laugh.”
“She has.” Charles recalled her husky tones with a smile.
Jason cast him a sidelong glance. “Another surprise is you.”
“Me?” Charles cocked a brow. What was his brother getting at?
“The way you behave around Nellie.”
Charles laughed uneasily. “I find her attractive if that is what you mean.”
“Yes, indeed, but…”
“But?”
“Something Beverly said. You know women, they are far more aware of these things than we are. While we are busy striving to fix everything, women quietly observe. They sense many things which tend to go over our heads.”
“That is true. What did Beverly say?”
“I’m not about to tell you, yet.”
Charles raised his eyebrows. “How annoying, Jason.” He suspected Beverly was romanticizing about him and Nellie. Imagining a passionate love match. And he wasn’t about to pour
