“I am all in favor of supporting women’s rights,” Phin said, meaning it genuinely, even though he suspected saying so would improve his standing in Lenore’s eyes.
“I knew you would be,” Lenore said, sending him a fetching, sidelong look. “What sort of a musical evening is it?” she asked Lady Diana. “Will there be dancing and carousing?”
Lady Diana laughed. “No, this is more of a recital. Various people will be performing in my family’s conservatory.”
“It sounds delightful,” Lenore said.
If Phin read her eyes correctly, it wasn’t half as delightful to her as an evening of dancing and carousing would have been. His imagination was suddenly filled with images of her dancing in her petticoats, the way he’d seen some women do in photographs and engravings of saloons in America’s Wild West.
“We’ve managed a coup in securing Mrs. Helena Olson for the evening,” Lady Diana went on, her eyes bright. “She’s been taking the West End by storm this year. It’s an honor that she would step off the stage long enough to perform for us.”
“Then I simply must be there,” Lenore said, all smiles and good grace. “That is, assuming I’m invited?”
“Of course, you are,” Lady Beatrice said, clapping her hands together as though her world were as perfect as it could be. “And you must come as well, Mr. Mercer,” she added, though more as though it would have been rude of her not to invite him, since he was standing right there when Lenore’s invitation was issued.
“I would be delighted,” Phin said, nodding regally and adjusting his glasses as he straightened.
In fact, he was certain he’d find more than enough material for the next issue of Nocturne by attending. His day was turning out to be far more productive than he could have imagined.
“Are you looking forward to the festivities?” he asked once he and Lenore had moved on, continuing their stroll along autumnal garden walks lined with trees in full color.
“I’m sure it will be entertaining,” Lenore said, not sounding convinced. When she caught Phin giving her a scolding stare, she grinned and said, “The last truly exciting party I attended was the one hosted by Lady Phoebe and Danny Long. Now that was a party.”
“I take it you prefer invigorating entertainment, then?” Phin asked, again infusing his question with every sort of suggestion he could manage.
Lenore’s answering grin was enough to heat his blood to boiling. “I like to enjoy myself,” she answered cryptically.
“Then I hope that the musical evening lives up to your expectations,” he said, squaring his shoulders and turning his face up to the sun.
The beauties of Nature weren’t what he truly enjoyed about the walk, though. He couldn’t have been happier walking with Lenore on his arm. Mostly because of all the things he indulged in thinking about the two of them doing together in the future, if he played his cards right. He’d known there was a spark between the two of them months ago when Lady Phoebe drew them into her plans, and he could feel that spark ignite into something more now. One thing was certain to him above all others, though. It was only a matter of time before he had Lenore Garrett in every way he wanted her.
Chapter 3
Lenore had never been so excited to walk into a virtual stranger’s home to listen to a bevy of amateur musicians make a hash of music she was indifferent to in her life. Lord Pickwick’s house was lovely, she was sure, and decorated in a surprisingly modern style with several works of the Impressionists displayed prominently in every room. The pretty young woman who sang in the corner—Helena Olson, if Lenore remembered correctly—while Lady Diana’s guests visited with each other, speaking almost too loud for the poor woman to be heard, was perfectly delightful. But from the moment Freddy escorted her through the Pickwicks’ front hall and into the conservatory, all Lenore could do was crane her neck this way and that and stand on her toes in an effort to see through the crowd of guests.
“Looking for someone in particular?” Freddy asked with a wry grin.
Lenore held his arm, like any good fiancée would upon entering a social event, but she smacked him with her folded fan all the same. “You know very well who I’m searching for.” She winked up at him.
Freddy chuckled, his amused expression likely giving anyone who happened to glance at them the erroneous but convenient impression that the two of them were madly in love. He leaned closer to Lenore to ask, “So Mr. Mercer has been invited to this event, has he?”
“I received Lady Diana’s invitation while Mr. Mercer was standing right next to me in Hyde Park the other day,” Lenore whispered back, catching the approving grin of a matronly woman who, like so many others in London, likely believed it was high time that Lord Frederick Herrington marry, like he was supposed to. “She couldn’t very well issue an invitation to me while leaving him out.”
“And I would wager that suits you just fine,” Freddy said, strolling around the perimeter of the conservatory with her and helping her to search Phineas out.
“I am always happy to see my friends,” Lenore answered with a coy grin.
She was beyond grateful to have found such an understanding friend in Freddy. Freddy was probably grateful to have found such an understanding faux fiancée in her. She was perfectly at ease with his proclivities and his bond with Reese, having known men like him back at home in Haskell. But just because she was willing to play her part in protecting his reputation with their engagement didn’t necessarily mean he had to be willing to let her eyes and heart wander to someone who might be more suitable for her.
It was just a crying shame that she couldn’t do a damn thing about it, even if she did find someone more suitable. Even if that man was Phineas Mercer.
Lenore’s mood
