“It is muggy and smells,” Mr. Drew complained.
“That is its charm, I’m afraid,” Charles joked.
Mr. Drew didn’t appear amused by his attempt at humor. “I’m afraid I do not see the allure of London.”
“You must give it time,” Charles encouraged.
“I have no desire to do so,” Mr. Drew replied, clasping his hands behind his back. “Once my business has concluded here, I plan to return to the countryside straightaway.” His words were clipped.
Miss Henrietta glanced between them with a slight frown marring her features. “I think it might be best if we depart now.”
Lady Finsbury smiled at her daughter. “Do try to have some fun, my dear.”
“I shall,” Miss Henrietta said.
Charles offered his arm and was pleased when she readily accepted it. “I will return Miss Henrietta shortly.”
After they departed from the drawing room, Miss Henrietta leaned into him and lowered her voice. “I do apologize for my cousin’s behavior back there.”
“There is no need to apologize,” he assured her.
“We were having the most delightful time together today, but his mood seemed to sour when you stepped into the room,” she explained.
“That is odd.”
“It is,” she agreed.
Charles assisted her into the barouche and sat down across from her. As they merged into traffic, he asked, “Why did your cousin decide to visit London if he detests it so?”
A playful smile came to Miss Henrietta’s lips. “My mother sent for him because she decided that we should be wed.”
“Pardon?” Charles asked, hoping he’d misheard her.
“My mother wants Mr. Drew and me to be wed,” Miss Henrietta repeated. “Fortunately, my mother’s plan failed, because it turns out that Mr. Drew already has an understanding with another young woman.”
Charles’s jaw clenched. “Then why is he here?”
“He didn’t dare disappoint his mother,” she shared. “We have already decided that we will spend some time together and then mutually agree that we don’t suit.”
“Don’t you think that is odd, that he traveled all the way here to meet you if he already had an understanding with someone else?”
She cocked her head. “Not really, since he wasn’t ready to make his relationship with the woman known to his parents.”
“Why is that?”
“She doesn’t have a dowry.”
“But you do,” he pointed out.
She eyed him curiously. “I do, but Mr. Drew has no interest in me.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I am.”
Charles bit his tongue, knowing it was not his place to speak on this subject. Miss Henrietta had a right to associate with whomever she wanted to, especially when it came to her family. So why did it bother him that Mr. Drew came to visit Miss Henrietta? It shouldn’t. But it did—greatly.
Henrietta couldn’t seem to decipher the mood that had come over Lord Charles. They had been conversing politely, but it all changed once they started discussing Mr. Drew. Lord Charles’s eyes had grown guarded and he had stopped speaking.
