Chapter Eleven
“Another delivery?” Mrs. Whipple gasped, exasperation plain on her furrowed brow as she opened the front door. “Oh, heavens!”
A few days had passed since Lord Gerson’s tea party, and that afternoon, Arrowfell House was abuzz with an unusual level of activity, all in the form of provisions. Deliverymen bustled in and out, their faces a mix of bewilderment and amusement.
“Whomever are these all for? I cannot find His Grace,” Mrs. Whipple cried when she returned to the foyer, wiping her brow with a towel. “Are we having a feast I do not know about? A grand party, perhaps? Is the queen coming?”
“I am sorry for the trouble it has caused ye,” Elspeth said with a small smile as she approached her from a quiet corner. “These are for me.”
“Oh, well,” Mrs. Whipple sighed, returning her smile. “Whatever you fancy, my dear. I will see to it that everything is stored properly in your chambers!”
Elspeth took a turn about the gardens before heading upstairs to her bedroom to watch the other carriages approaching the townhouse. She then surveyed the growing collection of purchases with smug satisfaction.
Bolts of silk in vibrant hues, delicate lace gowns, and enough ribbons to outfit a small army lay draped over her furniture. Boxes of bonbons, candied fruits, and exotic teas were piled high on tables. She had ordered an extravagant amount of dresses, hats, gloves, and, most importantly, sweets.
Let us hope me plan works,she thought to herself as she popped a bonbon into her mouth, savoring the flavor.He will think me a gruesome financial burden and cast me out. Then I can stay with Verity or Marion until I can think of a better solution to me unique problem.
She decided it was best to watch his reaction, so she went downstairs. She sat in the drawing room, pretending to peruse a fashion magazine, but her ears were keenly attuned to every sound. Any moment now, Hugo would appear.
She could picture it: his face thunderous, ready to confront her. She had her arguments prepared, a carefully constructed defense of why such expenditures were absolutely necessary for her to be presented properly in London Society.
Aye, I hope the damage to his pockets will be enough to convince him that it is time for me to go.
The door opened, and Hugo entered, looking as impeccably dressed and unaffected as ever. In fact, he looked downright handsome in an elegantly tailored suit with a teal ascot.
Elspeth braced herself, a defiant retort already forming on the tip of her tongue as he sat down.
“Lady Inverhall,” he began. “I trust you are settling in comfortably?”
Elspeth blinked, momentarily thrown off balance. This was not the reaction she had anticipated.
“As comfortably as one can be, Yer Grace, when one is forced to reside in a city one abhors.”
He merely raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the piles of fabrics and boxes. “I see you have been making the most of London’s shops.”
“Indeed,” she confirmed, her voice laced with a challenge. “This is but a small sample I have chosen to examine down here. There is more in me quarters. I have learned that a lady of me station, especially one seekin’ a suitable match, requires a certain wardrobe. And sustenance, of course, to keep up with all the gatherings I am to attend.” She gestured vaguely to the box of sweets open on the side table.
Hugo walked further into the room and picked up the box of candied violets. He opened it, sniffed, and then popped one into his mouth.
“Most delicious,” he murmured, before turning his gaze back to her, a faint, infuriating smirk playing on his lips. “Is there something else that you wish to discuss, Lady Inverhall? You seem expectant.”
Elspeth’s carefully constructed composure began to crack.
“I hope ye’re nae angry with the expenses I have incurred? I assure ye, these are all quite necessary! I also?—”
“Angry?” Hugo laughed. “Why would I be angry, Lady Inverhall? Money is merely a tool. I have more than enough for you to entertain your most ridiculous ideas.” He took another candied violet and popped it in his mouth before licking his full lips. “Spend what you wish. It hardly makes a dent in my coffers. It is nothing to me.”
Her jaw dropped. “Hardly a dent? Are ye implying that I am being frivolous?”
“Frivolous, perhaps. Predictable, certainly,” he countered, his smirk widening. “Did you truly believe that such a paltry sum would upset me? Or were you hoping for a different reaction entirely?” His blue eyes, sharp and knowing, pierced through her carefully constructed facade. “Were you perhaps hoping to draw my attention, My Lady, rather than merely annoy me?”
For a moment, Elspeth was speechless. The truth of his words, so casually spoken, hit her smack in the face. She had wanted to annoy him, yes, but beneath that, a part of her—a foolish, desperate part—had wanted to see a reaction,anyreaction, that wasn’t this infuriating calm.
She dropped the magazine down on the side table.
“That is absurd,” she finally managed, her voice high-pitched. “I merely wish to be appropriately attired.”
Hugo took a step closer, his eyes never leaving hers. “Are you certain that is the entirety of it, Elspeth?” he murmured, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper. “Because your eyes tell a different story. There is much in the emerald depths that betrays your words, Highland temptress.”
