"Completely unexpected," Kit agreed loudly, settling himself on the grass beside their blanket as if he'd been invited. "I had no idea anyone I knew would be here."
"No?" Clarissa said. "So what did bring you here?"
Kit kept an innocent expression, but his eyes glimmered with amusement. "The fresh air, of course."
"Ah, of course," she returned.
"Mrs. Lennox." Kit turned to her with a smile of such warmth that a less stoic woman would have melted. "A pleasure, as always. You're looking very well."
Her expression said she was not impressed. "I am looking the same as I looked yesterday, my lord."
"And very well you looked then too."
Mrs. Lennox's lips thinned. She was not charmed. Clarissa found this deeply reassuring. Not every lady in London had fallen victim to Kit's charm.
Just the majority of them.
Even now their little ensemble was the center of focus in a way it had not been before Kit's arrival. Everywhere she turned, Clarissa saw young ladies peering at them—nay, peering at Kit—over their fans, or from beneath lowered lashes.
The attention was enough to have Clarissa shifting with discomfort.
Kit turned to her next. "Lady Clarissa. What a pleasant surprise."
"You knew I'd be here," she said. No one was close enough to hear them, so she was safe in calling out his lie.
"Did I?" He pressed a hand to his chest. "I don't recall."
Her traitorous lips twitched. "You sent a note to Estella this morning asking what time we'd arrive."
"That does sound like something I'd do." He lowered his voice. "But I assure you, my delight is genuine."
Clarissa pressed her lips together. He was ridiculous. The whole charade was beyond silly. But there was something so cheerfully, unapologetically absurd about the way he committed to the performance that she fought another wave of laughter.
"Shall we walk?" Kit rose and offered his hand. "The grounds are lovely, and I've heard the lake is worth seeing."
Clarissa gestured to the food Mrs. Lennox had begun to unpack from a basket. "But we've only just arrived.”
He leaned in, his tone conspiratorial. "Perhaps you've forgotten, but we are supposed to be seen walking together. It is, if you'll recall, the entire point of this exercise."
Clarissa forced a smile. She hadn't forgotten. But she also couldn't say she was thrilled at the thought of parading around in front of an audience just looking to find more excuses to laugh at Cast-Off Clarissa.
As if he could read her mind, Kit lowered his voice until it was little more than a whisper. "Have no fear, my lady. I will ensure those watching have nothing but envy and admiration in their hearts by the time we're through."
He added a wink that was definitely inappropriate, but so unexpected it made her laugh. He held out a hand again, and this time she accepted.
Mrs. Lennox was already standing and fell into step several feet behind them. Close enough for propriety but far enough for quiet conversation, provided one kept one's voice low.
But Kit did not keep his voice low. "What a beautiful afternoon," he announced, loudly enough for a passing couple to hear. "Don't you think it's a beautiful afternoon, Lady Clarissa?"
She nodded and smiled. But he wasn't finished with his performance.
"And the company—" He beamed at her then. "The company is beyond compare."
A pair of matrons turned to stare. Kit smiled at them with radiant benevolence. They whispered to each other and hurried on.
"You're enjoying this," Clarissa muttered.
"Immensely," he whispered back. "Aren't you?"
