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Maybe she was. Maybe she’d finally realized that Trevor wasn’t socially competent. She’d seemed determined to stand by him, but perhaps she’d taken a while to come to terms with the reality of the situation and now realized that Emerson possessed more social acumen than Trevor did, and she’d decided that he would make a more suitable husband.

No. Trevor dragged in a breath, noticing belatedly that he’d pulled away from Sylvestor and started pacing at some point. No, don’t get caught up in worst-case scenarios. Give her the benefit of the doubt. She’s earned it.

“Exactly what did you see?” he asked.

Sylvestor eyed him warily. “As I said, they were walking together, and it was clear that they hadn’t simply happened upon each other.”

“Was Seraphina smiling? Did she seem pleased to be with him?”

Sylvestor scratched his jaw thoughtfully. “I can’t recall. I was too upset to see them together, and I didn’t take note.”

“Then I’ll have to ask.” He nodded once, as if to confirm this. “I’m already on my way to visit her, so I’ll inquire as to what they were doing together.”

To his surprise, Sylvestor hugged him, holding on tightly and thumping him on the back.

When Sylvestor drew away, his expression was warm. “Good luck, my friend.”

“Thank you.”

They walked together through the entrance hall and out the front door to where two carriages awaited them. Sylvestor clapped him on the shoulder once more before striding over to the carriage that bore his family’s crest. Trevor climbed into his own carriage and watched the houses pass by as they trundled toward Seraphina’s family home.

Negative voices kept whispering at the back of his mind, trying to convince him that Sylvestor had been right to worry and that Seraphina was about to cast him aside, but he reminded himself not to catastrophize. None of those thoughts were helpful, and nor were they logical. He knew better than to allow himself to spiral into worst-case hypotheticals.

Still, it wasn’t easy to keep his fears under control until he arrived at the Dalton house and banged the knocker. He tucked his fingers into his pockets because despite the fact that it was summer, the air was crisp and cool.

The door opened and the butler smiled at him, his thick mustache even fuller than usual. “Please come in, Lord Fitzgerald. Miss Dalton is waiting for you.”

Damn, he was late.

He followed the butler into a drawing room, where a full tea service had been laid out, complete with scones, cream, and little cakes. The teapot sat in front of Seraphina, and when he entered, she prepared a cup for him, adding the milk and then the tea. Her maid—the tall girl with mousy brown hair—lingered unobtrusively in the corner.

“Won’t you join me?” Seraphina asked, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the table.

Moving closer, he glanced over his shoulder as the butler closed the door. That certainly couldn’t be usual. He didn’t understand all of society’s rules, but he was relatively sure that unmarried ladies were not supposed to be in closed rooms with gentlemen, regardless of whether a maid was present.

“Sit,” Seraphina urged.

So he sat.

He rested his hands on his thighs, his fingertips rapidly tapping against his thumb, one after the other. He thought that maybe she looked nervous. Her pupils were dilated, and she was too still, as if she was trying not to fidget.

None of that boded well for him.

“It’s good to see you,” he said slowly, ignoring the teacup she’d placed nearby. He was too anxious to eat or drink.

“And you.” Her knee bounced once but stopped abruptly. “I need to tell you something.”

A question about Emerson almost flew from his mouth, and he had to bite his tongue to prevent it from falling out. She was clearly on edge, so he needed to let her do this in her own time.

“I’m going to start at the beginning,” she went on, as if there was anywhere else to start. “My mother died from malaria.”

“I know.” He had never met her, but he’d heard that she was a lovely woman.

“Not long after her death, I began to teach myself chemistry.”

“How?” It wasn’t as if that was an easy subject to master on one’s own.

She shifted her legs from one side to the other. “At first, I obtained a copy of Conversations on Chemistry. Later, I advanced to other books. When I was growing more confident, I made the acquaintance of a woman who prepared tinctures for healing certain ailments, and she taught me more.”