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Hearing her name, Harriett stopped to allow her father to catch up.
A smile wreathed his face as he greeted Lily. Turning to Harriett, he asked the same question he asked every Sunday. “Will you be taking lunch at home today?”
“The Seymours have invited me to dine with them, with your permission, of course,” she answered meekly.
“Of course you may, my dear,” he said with an indulgent smile.
Though she knew his motives were less than generous—her lunching with Lily meant more Sunday roast for him—she was nevertheless grateful. Once he and Cat broke away, Harriett quickly filled her friend in on the details of the Penworth ball disaster.
“Good heavens, he actually kissed you?” hissed Lily, her eyes wide. An eager grin spread across her face. “What was that like?”
A blush stung Harriett’s cheeks, and she cast a nervous glance at Lily’s mother and father up ahead. “It was exceedingly awkward.”
“Is that all?” murmured Lily, eyeing her with open doubt. “An ass his lordship might be, but he is a most handsome ass.”
“Lily!”
“Well, he is!” whispered Lily. “Oh come, you must at least acknowledge it.”
“Yes, but that isn’t the point,” Harriett finally answered. “The point is now he has crossed the line entirely, and I’m not sure how to go about redrawing it—if such is even possible.”
Laughing, Lily shook her head. “How I wish I had your problem! Kissed by a handsome duke—I should have held on for dear life in the hope that someone would come along and witness us in the throes of passion, screamed compromise, and forced him to marry me.”
Such a thought had never even crossed Harriett’s mind, but it stood to reason that others might see him as prime husband material. “You don’t know him as I do,” she muttered. “I don’t envy the woman that ends up tied to him.”
“That much is obvious,” said her friend as they approached the house. “Even so, if I thought I could catch his eye and take him off your hands, I would. I’d find a way to tame the wild beast—after I’d bagged him,” she added in a whisper as they began to climb the steps.
Harriett glanced at her friend, saw she was grinning, and relaxed.
~ * ~
Monday dawned, and Harriett resumed her vigilant waiting. Nothing. Tuesday also passed without event. She didn’t at all miss His Obnoxious Grace—but it was always a good idea to keep one’s enemy in sight. That was what was making her lose sleep. The memory of his kiss had nothing to do with it.
Wednesday she spent at home, as was her custom. Instead of enjoying her leisure, however, she could only worry about what he might be doing while she was gone. No doubt the blackguard had been waiting for her to be away before coming back to the Hospital. What trap would she walk into tomorrow morning? What would she say to him?
The following day, however, Nurse Hayes confirmed he had not visited during her absence. When he did not deign to show himself Thursday either, Harriett finally allowed herself to wonder if he’d conceded the battle. It was a fantasy she entertained for no more than a few seconds. No. Manchester wasn’t the sort to give over.
But where was he? No matter how she longed to know his whereabouts, she dare not inquire after him. It would surely get back to him somehow, and then he would gloat. Besides, she didn’t care if the devil had fallen off a cliff.
After a Manchester-free week—a week she ought to have thoroughly enjoyed, but hadn’t—she stopped trying to figure it out. Friday afternoon found her coming home weary after a long day of dealing with an absent laundress, struggling through negotiations with a recalcitrant builder, and managing a rather vile stomach complaint running rampant among the children. She prayed God the first and last items on that list of misery never again happened on the same day.
“Harriett!” whispered Cat as the door blessedly closed on the world.
She turned to see her sister peeking out from behind the stair. “Why are you hiding like that?”
Cat waved at her to quiet down. “Shhh! He’ll hear you!”
“Who?”
“Lord Manchester.”
Harriett’s heart leaped—fro
m upset, she told herself. “He’s here?”
Her sister nodded and beckoned her to follow.
“Why? Why is he here?” Harriett asked, refusing to budge.
