Cecily gave a dismissive wave. “Of course I will, if you ask it. And as long as they understand they are not serious suitors.”
Rose put down the quill and took off the spectacles. “Cecily.”
“What?”
“Who is he?”
Spot of pink blossomed on Cecily’s cheeks, but she tried to look nonchalant. “Who is who?”
“The gentleman who has caught your eye.”
“I don’t know that anyone—”
“Christian name.”
“Tristan.” The pink spread down her sister’s neck, and Rose bit her lower lip to keep from laughing as Cecily glowered at her. “You are wicked.”
“Tristan. That would be Lord Philby. His father is a viscount. That Tristan.”
The glower darkened. “Yes. That one. Do you have everyone in Debrett’s memorized?”
“Only the living ones who currently reside in London.” Rose rested her forearms on the desk. “You saw twenty-six men yesterday. You danced with ten the night before. What made Lord Philby stand out?”
Cecily looked up, as if gazing into the recent past, and released a long dreamy sigh.
“He’s that good, is he?”
The glower returned. “Rose!”
She grinned. Rose remembered seeing the same expression on Abigail and Beatrice when they had finally crossed paths with the men they would marry. Even their brother, James, a hopeless romantic himself, had turned into a puddle of distant gazes and long sighs when he met his future wife. Only Albert, the earl’s heir and a pragmatist since childhood, had chosen the traditional route of marrying for status and lineage. He and his wife were well suited, but neither had ever walked around looking like a puppy lost in the rain. “So tell me about him.”
“He was my last dance at the ball, and the third one to show up here yesterday. He sent that lovely arrangement of peonies and grape hyacinths.”
“Interesting combination.”
Cecily’s eyes lit with enthusiasm. “That’s just what I told him. He said he wanted to get my attention with something besides the usual roses or tulips.”
“Hm.”
Cecily mouth pursed. “Must you criticize every little thing?”
“It’s my job. Do not pout. Makes you look like you have been sucking lemons.”
The pout vanished. “May I finish?”
“Please do.”
“He’s handsome.”
“Of course.”
“Comes from a good family.”
“As we have established.”
“He has the most astonishing green eyes.”
“Comes under the ‘handsome’ part of the conversation.”
