Anna gave Vivian a strange look she could not decipher. “Absolutely.”
Not many minutes later, in fact, a great deal sooner than she had expected, the gentlemen joined them. Each man found his wife, and Lord Stanstead came over to her. That made sense as they were the only unmarried ones present.
“What did you and Rutherford discuss?”
She told Lord Stanstead about the program. “I think it is a wonderful idea.”
“As do I.” He took two glasses of wine from Lord Evesham, handing her one.
Vivian could still not bring herself to call Phoebe’s husband by his first name. There was something about his demeanor that made her think he didn’t quite trust her. “Thank you.”
For what was left of the evening, Lord Stanstead managed to remain with her most of the time. He’d placed her hand on his arm, cupped her elbow, and in small, seemingly insignificant ways, driven her to distraction. His large body seeming to hover, ever ready to refill her glass of wine, or bring tea to her when it was served. His fresh but masculine scent wended its way around her, and his presence made her feel protected.
By the time Phoebe’s carriage delivered Vivian home, her senses were raw. She was exhausted and more confused than she had ever been in her life. She knew she should arrange to stay as far away from Lord Stanstead as possible, but her heart and body longed to spend more time with him. If only she knew how to fulfill her wishes and protect her heart at the same time.
Rutherford came up to stand beside Rupert as Phoebe’s coach pulled away from the townhouse, carrying its precious passenger. “Thank you for the hint.”
“I thought you might need some help. Staring meaningfully at a lady is all well and good; engaging her interests and mind is, at times, more productive.”
“Is that what you did with Anna?”
“That was my mistake with Anna.” His friend’s lips tightened. “I almost lost her because I failed to understand that she required more than my love.” Rutherford paused for a moment. “Allow me to restate that: She required to be her own person as well as my love. At the time, I took it as a rejection of me instead of her need to be herself.”
Robert had also had to learn something of the sort, and that was exactly what Rupert had ignored about Miss Manning. By the same token, he loved how Vivian came alive when discussing social issues and politics, and he would not want to take that away from her. Rather, he wished to encourage her interests. “Thank you for telling me.”
His friend gave a sardonic grin. “I am merely attempting to keep a friend from groveling the way I had to.”
Surely, that wouldn’t happen to him. What did he have to grovel about? Thus far, he had done all that he could to attach Vivian’s feelings, and this time he was right: Her emotions were as engaged as his were. Each time he’d touched her, she had responded. Sometimes there was a quickening of her pulse, or an intake of breath. At other times, she leaned into him slightly. She blushed so easily when he caught her looking at him.
Now that he was certain of her, there was no time to waste in fixing her affections in a more permanent fashion.
To-morrow when he escorted her to the museum would be the perfect time to begin. More flowers were in order, but not roses this time. Something in light blue, as that appeared to be her favorite color. Hmm, the lupines would be almost gone, but his delphiniums should still be in bloom. Old Gregson wouldn’t throw a fit about them.
His town carriage pulled up and a footman asked, “My lord, do you plan to walk home?”
That was what he had intended, but riding would enable him to send to his estate for the flowers more quickly. “No”—before his footman could jump off the coach, he pulled open the door and climbed in—“drive on.”
In only a few minutes, the door to his residence opened and his butler bowed. “Good evening, my lord.”
“Evening, Harlock. Send to the stables and have one of the grooms awoken. I have a missive to send to Gregson.”
“As you wish, my lord.” The butler closed the door, took Rupert’s hat and cane, then spoke softly to one of the footmen still on duty.
Rupert strode to his study, pulled out a piece of foolscap, sat behind his desk, and wrote out his order for as large a bouquet as could be managed to be delivered to Lady Beresford in Mount Street no later than ten o’clock the next morning. He was about to ring for Harlock when a sleepy-looking groom was ushered into the room.
“Take this to Miss Gregson and have her give it to her father.” Gregson was an old fussbudget, but he wouldn’t go off on his daughter, who was the second housekeeper. She would have to read the letter to him in any event. Rupert handed his groom the missive. “Remain there for the rest of the night, and return with the flowers.”
“Aye, my lord.”
He poured a glass of brandy as Harlock closed the door, leaving Rupert alone. Although not as busy as the regular Season, the Little Season still had plenty of entertainments. Getting up a party for the theater or the opera shouldn’t be difficult. Unless he had to invite Lady Telford and Miss Corbet along with Vivian. That gave him pause. The number of single gentlemen he knew was rapidly shrinking. There was, of course, Hawksworth, but he needed someone older as well. What Rupert really wanted to do was find a way to have Vivian attend the masquerade. Yet how to arrange it escaped him at present.
He leaned back against the soft leather of his chair and swirled his brandy, watching as the colors changed from lighter to darker amber. The real question was who did he know who was closer to Sudbury than Rupert was, and old enough to be in a party with Lady Telford? He’d have to give that some thought. In the meantime, he would invite Vivian for a carriage ride during the fashionable hour in the Park and discover which entertainments she planned to attend.
He drained his glass, placing it on the desk. To-morrow couldn’t come soon enough. He could barely wait to see Vivian again.
A knock came on the door and Harlock entered. “This came for you along with a message that it was urgent.”
Rupert opened the sealed letter. “Is someone waiting for my answer?”
