“I’m surprised that Lord Littleton doesn’t countermand her.” Humphries narrowed one eye, and she realized that he might not know the word. “That he does not tell her he is in charge.”
The servant brightened with comprehension. “Not a chance. Littleton men are smarter than that, my lady. Unlike some I could tell ye about,” Humphries said darkly, and Adeline wondered to whom he was referring. “They know keepin’ their women happy is what keeps a man happy. That’s what the old lord used to say. ’Course ye’ve got ta marry the right woman in the first place.”
That was a very forward way of thinking. “His lordship’s father?”
“Nah, my lady. His grandsire. Me da says it’s been said as long as the Littletons have been around.”
Maximus came back again, and Humphries decreed it was time to return to their respective homes. Once again, she was handed the lead.
Having warmed to the subject of the family, his tongue ran on fiddlesticks. “Take last year. We went home real fast-like after his lordship almost made a terrible wilsomeness about a lady”—she’d never heard of the word, but imagined it meant a mistake where he was from—“Nothin’ against her. I saw her a few times. Right pretty she was, and a real high lady”—he glanced at Adeline—“not that you ain’t. Yer just as fine as she was. Meybe even better.”
“No offense taken,” she assured him, wanting Humphries to continue.
He looked at her again, as if to assure himself that he hadn’t insulted her and nodded. “She weren’t the right one for a Littleton man. I coulda told him that. But a man’s got ta find out on his own.”
Adeline’s pulse quickened. Was she about to learn the whole story about what had happened between Lord Littleton and Dorie from his lordship’s point of view? “Why was that?”
Humphries looked pointedly at the dog. “Well, for one thing, she was never interested in Max, here. And every time his lordship started telling her about the estate, she’d talk about somethin’ happening in the Lords.” That sounded exactly like Dorie. “She made sure he knew she liked it here in London, a lot. Talked about how her da and ma spent most a their time in Town, and she wanted that too. Always tryin’ ta get him to those parties where they talk politics, and askin’ him what happened at the Lords that day. Not that his lordship knew.” Humphries tapped his nose. “I heard it all sitting on the back of the curricle, so’s if she wanted to get down and walk, his lordship didn’t have ta worry about the horses.” They rounded the corner into the square. “If you ask me, he shoulda paid more mind to what she was saying early on. Took him too long to make out that she weren’t the right lid for his pot.”
Adeline held back her laughter. What a way to put it. “Thank you, Humphries.”
Again, he reached up for his cap before remembering to bow. Poor man. “Will we see ye tomorrow, my lady?”
“You will. I had an excellent time walking with you and Maximus.” Until then, Adeline had a great deal of thinking to do. Fortunately, she was going shopping with her friends today. Perhaps she could discover more about Littleton and Dorie’s ill-fated courtship. Adeline wanted to feel at least a little better about liking him. Not that he could ever be anything more than an acquaintance. But maybe what he had done was not all that bad. If Dorie had not been in love with him . . . Adeline stifled a sigh and wished he was not as charming as he was handsome.
Chapter Fifteen
A few days later, Frits lounged in a chair and stared at his wine. He’d only ordered it because it was too early for brandy, and one did not drink ale at Brooks’s. He was certain that Max would bring her closer to him, but that plan had failed. Not only that, she was spending too much time with Anglesey. She had even danced the supper set with him last night. Frits needed to decide how to proceed with Adeline.
When Humphries had returned from the walk the first day, he’d told Frits how well she’d handled Maximus this morning. He wished he’d been there to see her. Unfortunately, he didn’t see how her walking his dog, and going for carriage rides with him, or even standing up with her for one, and only one, set at every ball was helping her form an attachment to him.
“Mind if I join you?” Exeter asked.
Frits pushed out a chair with his foot. “Not at all.”
Exeter hailed a waiter and pointed to the bottle of claret on the table. “I wasn’t sure. You look to be in a brown study.”
“I’m trying to figure out how to get a lady to trust me.” Yet again, Frits considered how different Adeline was from the other ladies he’d known. She was special, and she affected him in ways no woman ever before had. He knew deep in his bones that he needed her in his life. The problem, the only problem as far as he could see, was that he had made a mull of it with Lady Dorie last year.
“I know the feeling.” Exeter poured a glass of claret from the open bottle. “Sometimes I feel as if I’m treading water and I’ve forgotten how to swim to shore.”
Sitting up, Frits looked at his friend. “It is exactly like that. In fact, I’ve had almost the exact same thought.” He took a drink from his as-yet-untouched glass. “The question is what to do about it.”
His friend had been drumming his fingers on the table, but stopped. “If there was some daring deed I could perform to prove to her I care about her . . .”
“I’m afraid the days of knights rescuing damsels in distress are just about over.” As were the days of riding into castles and carrying ladies away. Although Adeline probably wouldn’t like that anymore than his several-times-over great-grandmother had. Frits had to stop thinking about that. He tossed off the rest of the glass and poured another. Remembering that Carter-Woods had saved Lady Augusta from that idiot Lord Lancelot, and she’d still left for Europe. Frits grinned. “Sometimes it doesn’t work even when one does save a lady.”
“Pity.” Exeter poured another glass as well. Fortunately, the next bottle had arrived. “I wanted ale, but when I went to The Bunch of Grapes the barmaids started to flirt, so I left.”
Frits cracked a laugh. “I did the same thing. I hope someone takes them up on their offers. I don’t want them to feel bad.”
“It’s strange”—Exeter gazed into the goblet—“how when you only want one woman, no one else will do.”
“I knew it would happen eventually. I actually thought I was prepared.” Frits drank more of the wine. “But I wasn’t.”
“I don’t know how any man could be,” Exeter mused. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I’d been told.” Glancing up, he frowned. “How did you know?”
“My father and grandfather both told me. Littleton men don’t go down easily. It goes back centuries.” Frits couldn’t stop a sigh from escaping. He was glad only his friend was there to hear it. “After learning how all their struggles to avoid falling in love had failed, I decided to just fall on my sword.”
