“Lady Eugenie invited me to accompany her and Lady Margaret to the village,” Elsbeth replied. “I might acquire a new hat.”
“Wonderful,” he said.
Thankfully, the dining room doors came into view, sparing her from further awkward conversation.
As they stepped inside, her mother looked up from her tea, surprise evident in her features. “I had not expected you two to arrive together.”
Alfred moved to give his wife a kiss on the cheek. “Elsbeth and I had a most pleasant conversation.”
“Did you, now?” her mother asked, her tone tinged with incredulity as her eyes flickered between them.
Elsbeth moved to sit down and placed a napkin onto her lap. “Yes, we determined we both slept well last night.”
“Well, that is a start,” her mother responded.
Alfred took his place at the head of the table. “I have business that I need to attend to in the next village over today,” he announced. “But I should be home late this evening.”
Her mother frowned, her teacup pausing midway to her lips. “You know I do not like you traveling the roads at night, especially not with that highwaywoman terrorizing travelers.”
Her stepfather chuckled softly, his demeanor as calm as ever. “You need not fear for my safety, my dear. I have been traveling these roads for many years. They are perfectly safe.”
“Still, do be careful,” her mother pressed. “I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”
Alfred smiled at his wife reassuringly. “You have my word.”
Elsbeth felt a bitter twist in her stomach. The man was hiding something, and her mother, blinded in her adoration, couldn’t see it. How could her mother be so oblivious?
Elsbeth knew precisely what she had to do. She would rob her stepfather’s coach tonight and retrieve the key.
Her mother’s voice broke through her thoughts. “I am going to the dressmaker’s shop today. Would you care to join me?”
“I would, but Lady Eugenie invited me to accompany her and Lady Margaret to the village for some shopping,” Elsbeth replied.
“How wonderful!” her mother exclaimed. “You will have such fun. Will Lord Westcott be joining you?”
She hoped not.
“I doubt it,” Elsbeth replied. “I imagine he has much more pressing matters to attend to than shopping at a haberdashery.”
“You make a good point. He doesn’t strike me as the sort who would concern himself with ribbons and fabric.”
A footman approached, carefully setting a plate of food before Elsbeth. As she ate, she truly hoped that Lord Westcott wouldn’t make a nuisance of himself by joining their outing. Surely as an earl, he had far more important matters to tend to.
Niles sat stiffly in the haberdashery, suppressing the urge to groan aloud. Of all the ways he could spend his time, watching Eugenie select ribbons was not at the top of his list. She stood at the counter, holding up an assortment of ribbons, each seemingly identical to his untrained eye. He had never quite understood women’s fascination with such fripperies.
His gaze drifted towards Lady Elsbeth, who was admiring herself in a straw hat adorned with a poppy. His thoughts unexpectedly wandered to their conversation the night before, a rare moment when they had both let their guards down. Vulnerability wasn’t something Niles was accustomed to showing. It was far easier—and safer—to keep people at a distance. Yet something about Lady Elsbeth’s candidness had unsettled him.
Eugenie approached him and lowered her voice. “Must you glare at Lady Elsbeth like that, Brother?”
“I wasn’t glaring,” he muttered, shifting his focus to his sister. “And why do you insist on being her friend?”
“Perhaps it is my nefarious attempt to make you go mad,” Eugenie replied with a mischievous smile.
He glanced at the stack of ribbons in her hands. “Did you buy out the entire shop?”
“Why not?” she asked. “You are rich.”
“Being rich doesn’t mean I should squander money on frivolities.”
