“That’s true,” I told Uncle Harold, while in the back of my mind, I wondered what on earth he was on about. Crispin was his only son; shouldn’t he want him to have whatever he wanted? I was fairly certain that Uncle Herbert would never have said such a thing had I been talking about Christopher.
Of course, there was no reason at all why Christopher would worry about women finding him attractive, but for purposes of this conversation, that was beside the point. Uncle Herbert would have wanted every woman on the face of the earth to find Christopher irresistible if that was what Christopher wanted. It was strange that Uncle Harold didn’t feel the same way.
On the other hand, I was certainly violently opposed to Crispin getting whatever he wanted, especially today, so I could hardly quibble.
“I hope he wasn’t impertinent?” Uncle Harold asked.
I gave him a tight smile. “No more than usual.” Crispin was usually impertinent, or rude, or smug or sarcastic or snide, but I wasn’t about to tell his father that.
“My apologies,” Uncle Harold said, with the semblance of a bow.
A bow! And to me, of all people.
“There’s absolutely no need for you to apologize,” I told His Grace graciously, while next to me, Christopher looked as astonished by this sudden affability as I was. “And if I want Crispin to say he’s sorry, I’ll make sure he does, never fear.”
Uncle Harold chuckled. “I don’t doubt that at all.”
He patted my shoulder approvingly before turning to Christopher. “I’m going to take my leave. If you would tell my son to make his way home when he has extricated himself from Miss Long and Miss Schlomsky?”
“You don’t want to tell him yourself?”
He flicked a glance at me. “I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be interrupted, Miss Darling. I’ll see him at Sutherland Hall tonight.”
He gave me a nod, and gave Christopher another, and then he vanished into the foyer without sparing another glance for his son and heir.
CHAPTERTEN
One of usshould have shown him out, of course. It was our flat, and it would have been proper etiquette to show a visitor to the door. But I was frankly so astonished by the whole conversation that all I could do was stand there and gape, while Christopher seemed to be in much the same state.
“Is it me,” I asked when we’d heard the front door shut, “or did something very strange just happen?”
“I’d say so. Did Uncle Harold just pat you like you did something right?”
He had. “I’m floored,” I said. “I thought Uncle Harold and Aunt Charlotte disliked me.”
“I don’t think it’s that,” Christopher said fairly, “so much as it’s the fact that Crispin…”
He trailed off when the latter turned around at the sound of his name and arched a brow. “Telling tales, Kit?”
And then he seemed to register the absence of Uncle Harold, because he looked around the sitting room. “Where did my father go?”
“Back to Wiltshire,” I said. “He said to tell you that he’ll see you at home.”
Crispin nodded. “I suppose that’s my prompt to leave. Sorry, ladies.”
He shared a charming smile between Flossie and Gladys, who both looked disappointed.
“When will you be back in London, St George?” Gladys wanted to know. “We’re having a treasure hunt next weekend. Will you come?”
She peered up at him with limpid, blue eyes.
“If Father doesn’t keep me chained to the old grindstone,” Crispin told her, “I’d be delighted.”
Gladys looked triumphant as she shot a sideways look at Florence. Not to be outdone, Flossie asked, “Will you be coming back to the Essex House Mansions then, Lord St George?”
“I would be delighted to come back to the Essex House Mansions,” Crispin said with a flicker of a glance at me and Christopher; Gladys looked angry, Flossie triumphant, “although if my father is going to come haring up to London to look for me if I don’t show up at Sutherland House, I suppose I had best go there instead.”
“Your clothes, St George,” I said, and handed him the bundle of evening kit from last night. “You’ll just have to put one of the maids on to getting the lipstick out of the collar, I’m afraid. I didn’t have time to try to do anything about it.”
