Edward tensed, and when he glanced over his shoulder, a mask settled over his features.
I looked too, only to find two dandies and their female companion staring boldly at me. One man had the audacity to touch the brim of his top hat, his gaze wandering over my face. Golden curls peeked from beneath his hat. Both men appeared to be my brother’s age and sported toothy grins, while the woman batted at the blond man’s arm.
“Oh, do behave, Brother. Stop staring.”
“Is that you, Mr. Grenville?” the tallest man with the golden curls called out, ignoring his female companion while waving a gloved hand for Edward to stop. My brother cursed under his breath. I paused mid-step, confused by the array of contradictory expressions playing across his face and the bright smiles of the men behind me.
“Who are they?” I asked.
Edward muttered something unintelligible as he opened the door for me.
I slipped into the shadowed interior of the bookstore, followed by Edward. Finding solace in the stacks of crisp new books, I tried not to look over my shoulder a second time, but I could sense those strangersstill staring at me through the glass. After years spent secluded in the country, any male attention felt strange. Subconsciously, I touched the tendril dangling next to my cheek. There was nothing to fix, yet my chest fluttered all the same.
“I’d like to check the astronomy section first.” My voice cracked.
“Of course you would.” Edward smiled as if to offer reassurance. He gestured for me to go ahead, which I did.
“Are they friends of yours? From Cambridge?”
My brother, uncharacteristically taciturn these days, had the audacity to grunt his answer.
I traced the spines of the books with my fingers, searching for the volume I wanted while willing my pulse to slow. The tall, dark-stained shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling. A rolling ladder stood at the far end, where a fringed red curtain divided the front of the store from the storage room.
“I don’t see theCatalogue of 500 New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars. Perhaps it’s on one of the higher shelves, but I’m not inclined to risk the climb and face Aunt Clarice’s wrath.”
Edward slanted me a wry look and began scanning the shelves in silence, his posture taut. “I’ll ask the clerk if your volume has arrived. Stay put, please.”
As soon as he left my side, the door to the bookstore opened, and the brass bell above tinkled merrily. The same voices from outside boomed at the entrance. I froze as a pair of gleaming top hats along with a feathered turban bobbed among the aisles, advancing with purpose. I edged toward the ladder, hoping they would head toward the poetry section or some lurid novels.
“I swear the resemblance is uncanny. She looks like him. Fairer, perhaps. Do you think she might be his sister?” An unfamiliar male voice drifted over the bookcases.
My hand reached up to touch my bonnet again. Those cursed pinkfeathers perched on top must be waving like a cheerful banner. I must retire this bonnet or see it consigned to the flames.
“Good heavens—her eyes! Have you ever seen such eyes and mouth?”
“I fear I was distracted. Quite the pocket Venus. Please, Chudley, grant me some introduction with that exquisite creature.”
“Me? I’ve never seen her before. But I shan’t forget those features either.”
“Gentlemen, please. It is as if I or any other woman has ceased to exist,” piped in an irritated feminine voice.
Laughter followed at the piqued declaration. “Dearest sister, who could ever forget you?”
My mouth dried at the blatant flattery, despite the female ire. Surely the men did not reference me.
The three of them rounded the corner of the nearest shelf and halted when they spotted me standing by the ladder.
A Grenville never retreats at the first sign of danger.I squared my shoulders, just as the Iron Colonel would have done.
The nearest man with the golden curls paused when he spied me. “I hope you don’t mind, miss, but my friend and I were discussing the season’s incomparable, Lady Elise Gregory, and then you strolled about the promenade with your escort, Mr. Grenville. I assume he’s your brother? He and I go way back. Perhaps he’ll allow us to introduce ourselves.”
How forward! Demanding an introduction in such a manner.
“I do mind. Your impertinence deserves a good boxing of the ears,” I said, channeling the colonel’s most frigid glare.
The woman, her silk turban a raspberry hue, narrowed her eyes as if judging my outfit and finding it wanting. But the younger man with a pug nose and round cheeks coughed into a gloved hand. I swore he hid a laugh.
“We meant no offense, miss, and you may box my ears if you like.”
