Mia nearly jumped out of her seat. “Treats? I do love treats.”
“Then treats you may have.”
Once the dessert order had been placed, Jacob answered a string of questions about his life in New York, mostly from Miss Grace and Miss Mia. Miss Parker hadn’t joined in the conversation much. She mostly sat and listened, even though he made an effort to draw her into the conversation.
When the meal ended, the sisters stood and curtseyed. “Thank you for a lovely meal, Lord Fletcher. We’lltake our leave now,” Audrey said.
Both men stood. “Good day, ladies,” Jacob said.
After watching the Parker sisters leave, Jacob turned his attention back to the solicitor. “Mr. Haggerty, I want to thank you for all your help. As you can see, I have a lot to learn about navigating the aristocracy.”
“I’m sure you’ll do quite well once you learn our customs. Now I must take my leave as well. I’ll be in touch when I hear from Lord Devon. Good day, Lord Fletcher.”
“Good day, Mr. Haggerty. By the way, what is the protocol for calling on the Parker women at their home?”
“You are their guardian and can most assuredly call upon them. Sending a note around giving them notice of your visit is an expected courtesy.”
Jacob nodded. “Of course. I’ll make sure to do that.”
What he didn’t tell the solicitor was that he was planning on calling on Miss Parker sooner rather than later. He needed to see her again. Had she been reluctant to engage in conversation with him because she was modest or because she didn’t like him? That last thought didn’t sit well with him.
Most people liked him.
Did Miss Parker?
Chapter9
By the time they leftthe hotel, Audrey’s mind was in turmoil. She’d expected the new baron to be much older or even arrogant, certainly not the most handsome and courteous man she’d ever met. Throughout the meal, she’d been tempted to brush back the dark curly lock that fell over his forehead. When he looked at her with his soulful brown eyes, it was as if he was seeing straight through to her soul. No one had ever looked at her like that, and it was unsettling to say the least. She’d retreated into herself when all she really wanted to do was engage with him more. Without knowing anything about him or his likes and dislikes, she thought the best course of action would be to remain mostly silent and just listen as Grace and Mia peppered him with questions.
Her heart was pounding, although she couldn’t name exactly why—was it excitement or trepidation? She set a brisk pace back to Gracechurch Street.
“Audrey, won’t you please slow down a bit?” Mia said. “It’s as if you’re running away from a fire.”
Mia had no idea that that was exactly how Audrey felt. A fire had been lit inside her—something she’d never felt before, and she’d never felt more alive than in Lord Fletcher’s presence. It was all so new. Why did he have to be so handsome and so kind to people he’d just met? She hadn’t seen that coming. Not everyone in thetonwas kind, and she felt Lord Fletcher had tried very hard at luncheon to be accommodating. Her sisters had seemed to warm to him quite easily.
Audrey stopped walking and waited for her sisters to catch up. “I’m sorry, sisters, my mind is in a whirlwind.”
“Would it have anything to do with the handsome Baron Fletcher?” Grace teased.
“Absolutely not. Why would you think such a thing?”
“I saw the way he was looking at you. He seemed quite taken with you.”
“Whatever you think you saw, put it out of your mind,” Audrey said. “It matters not to me what Lord Fletcher thinks of me. What’s important is whether or not he has agreed to take care of us. Mr. Haggerty wasn’t forthcoming on that point.”
“Oh, I think the baron will take very good care of us,” Mia said. “I like him a great deal.”
“You’ve only just met him. That’s awfully fast to form such an opinion,” Audrey said.
“I liked the way he listened to us and how easy he was to talk to. We’ve not had that experience with men before. Papa never wanted to carry on a conversation or even listen to us.”
“Well, I shall reserve my opinion of Lord Fletcher until we have more information about our fate. Let’s go home,” Audrey said, setting a slower pace back to Gracechurch Street.
Beckwith opened the door as the young women walked up the stairs. “Ladies, I hope you had a pleasant walk.”
“We met the new Lord Fletcher,” Mia cried. “He’s quite taken with Audrey.”
“Mia, please stop saying that,” Audrey said, exasperated with all this talk of Lord Fletcher.
