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“You look rather serious this morning.”
Elizabeth looked up with a start. “Mr. Siddons,” she said, her voice squeaking a bit on the first syllable of his name. “
How lovely to see you.”
He bowed. “The feeling, I assure you, is mutual.”
She smiled tightly, suddenly feeling very awkward in this man’s presence. They had dealt together quite famously the day before, and Elizabeth had even felt that they might call themselves friends, but that was before…
She coughed. That was before she’d stayed up half the night thinking about him.
He immediately held out his handkerchief.
Elizabeth felt herself blush and prayed it wasn’t too obvious. “It’s not necessary,” she said quickly. “I was just clearing my throat.”
THUMP!
“That would be Lady Danbury,” Mr. Siddons murmured, not even bothering to turn toward the sound.
Elizabeth stifled a commiserating grin and turned her head. Sure enough, Lady Danbury was at the other end of the hall, thumping her cane. Malcolm was on the floor next to her, smirking.
“Good morning, Lady Danbury,” Elizabeth said, immediately making her way toward the older woman. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’m seventy-two years old,” she retorted.
“Well, that’s unfortunate,” Elizabeth replied with a perfectly straight face, “since I have it on the best of accounts that you are no more than sixty-seven.”
“Impertinent chit. You know very well I’m sixty-six.”
Elizabeth hid her smile. “Do you need assistance getting to the drawing room? Have you eaten yet this morning?”
“Had two eggs already and three pieces of toast, and I don’t want to sit in the drawing room this morning.”
Elizabeth blinked in surprise. She and Lady Danbury spent every morning in the drawing room. And of Lady D’s many lectures, her most favorite was on the prophylactic qualities of routine.
“I have decided to sit in the garden,” Lady D announced.
“Oh,” Elizabeth said. “I see. That’s a lovely idea. The air is quite fresh this morning, and the breeze is rather—”
“I am going to take a nap.”
That announcement completely robbed Elizabeth of speech. Lady Danbury frequently dozed off, but she never admitted to it, and she certainly never used the word “nap.”
“Do you need assistance walking to the garden?” Mr. Siddons asked. “I would be happy to accompany you.”
Elizabeth jumped a few inches. She’d completely forgotten his presence.
“Not at all,” Lady D said crisply. “I don’t move very quickly these days, but I’m not dead. Come along, Malcolm.” Then she hobbled away, Malcolm trotting along at her side.
Elizabeth just stared after them, one hand clapped to her cheek in shock.
“It’s truly remarkable how well she’s trained her cat,” James said.
Elizabeth turned to him, a stunned look on her face. “Does she seem ill to you?”
“No, why?”
She waved her arms awkwardly in the direction of Lady Danbury’s retreating form, completely unable to verbalize the extent of her shock.
