With exaggerated patience, she repeated, “I care for you.”
Evander laughed outright. “No. I detect sarcasm. You must woo me with greater sincerity.”
Olivia seized her wine glass. “I require a drink.” She took a generous sip.
Dosia interjected with a laugh. “Come now, let us spare Olivia further torment. I fear she will finish the entire bottle.”
“Thank you, Dosia,” Olivia said with a grateful smile, setting her glass down. “Perhaps we might choose a new topic?”
Dosia glanced down the table. “I do hope your mother feels better by morning.”
Olivia waved a hand in front of her. “She has taken laudanum for her headache. She will sleep well enough.”
Richard leaned forward. “What shall we do tomorrow? A ride through Hyde Park? Or an evening at Vauxhall Gardens?”
Dosia’s eyes lit up. “I vote for Vauxhall.”
“Very well,” Richard said. “After we attend to the accounts.”
“Two things to anticipate,” Dosia said with a pleased smile.
Richard turned to Evander and explained, “Dosia often assists me with the ledgers.”
“I think it is brilliant,” Evander declared. “Why should gentlemen hoard all the enjoyment of balancing sums?”
Olivia furrowed her brows. “You do not object to a woman working on estate accounts?”
“Not in the least,” Evander said. “If memory serves, Dosia managed her family’s estate admirably before her marriage.”
“She did,” Richard confirmed with pride. “And continues to do so.”
“Eventually,” Dosia added, “I hope to entrust my sister with our family’s estate after she is released from prison.”
Evander’s expression softened. “How long will that be?”
“Four months,” Dosia replied. “She was convicted of vagrancy, though Richard intervened and persuaded the judge towards leniency.”
“That was generous of you,” Evander said.
Dosia bobbed her head in agreement. “Only with Olivia’s blessing.”
Evander turned to Olivia. “That was most gracious.”
Olivia shrugged. “Lucinda returned my dowry and sent an apology. It seemed sincere enough. I am not one to nurse grudges. Besides, I do believe four months among rats is punishment enough.”
“The rats outnumber the prisoners three to one,” Richard said grimly.
Olivia shuddered. “But I was adamant that Lucinda could not live with us upon her release.”
“Entirely fair,” Dosia agreed.
Just then, the footmen stepped forward, whisking away their plates and setting bowls of pudding before each person.
Olivia reached for her spoon and, after a moment’s thought, glanced at Evander. “You mentioned you wished to speak with me?”
Evander hesitated, then said, “I would prefer to do so in private.”
Olivia took a generous bite of pudding, swallowed, and met his gaze. “I am ready.”
