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‘You don’t know what you are saying, Rupert. You hardly know her. How long will it last? Do you remember what you said about Miss James?’
‘That was different.’ Rupert flicked his fingers. ‘I was merely a boy of nineteen.’
‘You are only twenty!’
‘What were you like when you were my age?’
‘Young and foolish. Luckily your father stopped me before the folly went too far.’ Kit shook his head. Never again would he allow a woman to share his secrets. All Constance had done was to mock him about his parents’ scandalous past. ‘I thanked him for it later.’
‘Do you ever see her?’
‘Who?’
‘The woman who broke your heart? The one my father used to mention in his cups.’
‘Your father was right. My broken heart lasted until the next dance when I found another lady who welcomed my attention.’ Kit forced a laugh. His heart had been broken long before when his mother refused to look at him, despite his pleading, as she went out the door and his life. He’d settled for something less and kept his patched-up heart protected.
‘Surely your heart was truer than that!’
‘What heart? Didn’t you know I’m heartless? How many women have despaired of taming me and thrown the accusation at me when I ended the affair?’
‘My father didn’t think that. He used to say—’
Kit held up his hand, stopping Rupert’s words. ‘Whatever he said, he said in confidence. Your father had a unique way of looking at life.’
‘I wish he was here,’ Rupert whispered.
‘Your father asked me to look after you.’ Kit glanced up at the carriage’s ceiling, regaining control. ‘I’m offering my advice. You keep your word. If you are determined to give this lecture, you study. My uncle did have an interest in amphibians and his papers and books are in the library. They should be enough to enable you to give an account of yourself. And you never make a false claim again. Lying never makes for a happy relationship.’
Rupert hung his head. ‘Now you are committed to going on a picnic with The Widow.’
‘Which I plan to enjoy.’ Kit frowned. The lesson in flirtation was going better than he’d hoped. It would be one that Mrs Wilkinson would not soon forget. She might not thank him for it, but her two charming nieces might benefit. ‘I could not have arranged matters better.’
‘You and Mrs Wilkinson...but she is so old.’
‘She is younger than I am.’
Rupert screwed up his face and stared out the window. ‘I had always thought...they tell stories about you and the beauties. Mrs Wilkinson will never be a toast of London.’
Kit tapped his fingers together. He refused to indulge in speculation about Hattie Wilkinson’s beauty. Rupert would not understand that it was precisely the point. Hattie Wilkinson possessed a refreshing charm that hadn’t been powdered and primped to an inch of its life.
‘One final lesson for today, Rupert. Never discuss a lady. Ever.’
* * *
‘What precisely is going on, Stephanie?’ Hattie asked once her nieces had been otherwise occupied with refurbishing their bonnets. For the first time in a long while, Livvy had expressed an interest in improving her mind, but the suggestion had been firmly quashed by her mother.
‘Whatever can you mean, dear?’ Stephanie looked up from where she was sorting out a variety of ribbons. ‘I do hope you are not going to be tiresome, Hattie, and ruin your chances again. Simply because you had a wonderful marriage that was cut cruelly short does not mean you will not find happiness again.’
Hattie sighed. Her decision not to tell anyone about the full extent of Charles’s betrayal did make for awkward moments. Stephanie refused to believe that her marriage was anything other than breathtakingly romantic. And this was the second lecture she had received today about making more of her life. Why didn’t anyone understand that she was content as she was?
‘This is Sir Christopher Foxton! Are you aware of his reputation? Marriage won’t be on offer, if he has anything beyond mere politeness in mind.’ Hattie clasped a hand to her chest and tried to regain control of her emotions. ‘There, are you satisfied? I’ve said it. He is notorious in the extreme. He will be after more than an innocent conversation.’
‘Why did he visit me and take pains to be correct?’ Stephanie rolled her eyes. ‘He brought the flirtation out in the open rather than hiding it behind closed doors. No man wants to remain a bachelor for ever.’
