Juliet threw herself back on the pillows and stared at the ceiling. “Just remember, when it is my season, I will seek out my poet. I shan’t go willy-nilly changing my mind. I shan’t think well, now, that fellow has just insulted me to my shoes, I think I’ll decide to likehim.”
“Nobody said anything about liking anybody,” Cordelia said.
Though, shewasgrowing rather to like Lord Harveston. It was a strange idea, but there it was.
*
The drawing roomhad emptied out and Percival had taken a last glass of wine before the sideboard was cleared.
Makepeace surveyed the footmen at their work and said, “I have become a shell of a man. I am living inside a nightmare. I am awake and it simply unfolds all around me. There is no escape!”
The footmen turned their heads and Percival was certain they were laughing. He said, “Come now, your evening could not have beenthatbad. My aunt can be rather a lot to manage, but I will hardly believe she has reduced you to a shell of a man living inside a nightmare.”
“You have little imagination if you do not think so,” Makepeace said. “Every time we attempted to discuss the matter at hand, it was right back to Shakespeare! A whole catalog of Shakespeare’s heroes judging their own case and coming out on the wrong end of the stick.”
“It is a valid argument, I suppose,” Percival said.
“But it was not the argument posed for the evening,” Makepeace said. “Oh, and then, what did Lady Agatha and Mrs. Robinson have to add? Apparently, one is to wonder over every idea and claim it deserves further thought. How can there be further thought when there has been no thought to begin? I really wished to ask that question.”
“But you did not, I pray,” Percival said.
“I was the model of restraint,” Makepeace said, “though I was tempted to march right out the door to express my displeasure, just as I noted Haventops did, that lucky sot.”
“That was not why he left,” Percival said.
This seemed to give his butler pause. “Why else would he leave?”
“He left because he was being petulant, ungentlemanly, and spiteful, which Lady Cordelia very forcefully pointed out to him. She was quite marvelous.”
“Marvelous? That seems rather far-fetched. I do not suppose she had anything particular to add to the actual debate.”
“She did, rather. She claimed that a man cannot be a good judge of himself and would be well served to have a wife or sisters in the house for good counsel.”
“Didn’t she just. Well, if ever there were a heavier hint dropped, I am sure I don’t know about it.”
“Hint?”
“Surely, you did not fail to perceive that boulder of a bon mot dropped on your head? A lady of marriageable age hints that you ought to have a lady in the house?”
“Certainly not,” Percival said.
Lady Cordelia had not been hinting about his particular situation. At least, he did not think so.
No, definitely not.
Though, he could not escape the fact that it was an intriguing idea. He was mightily attracted to Lady Cordelia. There really was nobody prettier. And then, what a mind!
He’d been so mistaken in the beginning; he saw that with all clarity now. Really, he thought he’d been, well as Lady Hightower had said, insufferable. It certainly gave evidence to her ideas about the tone of a house.
Lady Cordelia perceived things other people, or him in particular, did not perceive.
But even if he considered a pursuit…well for one, he was not at all certain he was interesting enough for Lady Cordelia. She was looking for a Corinthian and he could not be further from that. For another, this Lord Darling character was living in her house, no doubt making himself amusing.Hewas probably a Corinthian.Hewas probably polishing his sword and talking about boxing all the day long.
At least, he supposed that was what Lord Darling was doing.
For all he knew about it, an announcement of an engagement might be in the offing.
He would like to know more about this Lord Darling and his plans.
