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Theo reappeared over an hour later when she was sitting with her feet on a petit-point footstool, sipping a tisane and leafing through copies of La Correspondance des Dames. This was the sort of thing her friends Bel, Eva and Jessica did, not her.
‘Having fun?’ Somewhere along the way he had acquired a cane and a smart tall hat and his breeches and coat had been brushed and sponged.
‘No! Well, yes, in a way. But, Theo, Eva and Sebastian won’t mind us turning up with just a valise between us, not once we explain. And one of Eva’s ladies will be sure to be my size and won’t mind lending some things, I am sure.’ She looked him up and down as he stood in front of her surrounded by the shop girls. ‘You are looking very much the thing.’
‘Wait until tomorrow. Merci, madame, à bientôt.’ Theo held the door for her and ushered her out. ‘Now then dinner, a bath and an early night.’
‘Yes, but I’m not—’
‘Not tired? We’ve a busy day tomorrow.’
‘Theo!’ Elinor dug in her heels in, stopping in the middle of the square. ‘Talk to me! I thought we were going on to Grenoble tomorrow.’
‘No, we are going to Grenoble next,’ he said patiently, steering her firmly across the road. ‘Tomorrow we shop. We need clothes and I want to indulge myself.’
‘By dressing me up? Theo, how many gowns have you ordered?’
‘One or two,’ he said evasively. ‘It is a very stylish court, I don’t want either of us to feel out of place.’
Elinor set her lips tight together and walked back to the inn in silence. Theo had cajoled her into new clothes in St Père, and he had been proved right. She had looked a dowd and it was gratifying to look one’s best and have a pretty gown or two. But they were not in London, she was not attending court for social reasons and she was baffled by why Theo should want to continue encouraging her to shop.
She held her peace until after dinner, maintaining a flow of cheerful conversation that Theo obviously found disconcerting. When the waiter cleared the board and brought in a bottle of brandy he half-rose to his feet, expecting her to retire.
‘Oh, no, you don’t.’ Elinor settled down across the table where she could watch his face, pulled a glass towards her and splashed brandy in the bottom—she rather thought she might need its support. ‘Now Theo, why, exactly, did you take me to that modiste this afternoon? And what shopping are we going to be occupying valuable travelling time with tomorrow?’
He did not answer her immediately, pouring himself a glass of brandy and pushing his chair back so he was sitting at right angles to her. Elinor waited patiently while he loosened his neckcloth, stretched out his legs and generally made himself comfortable. If he thought she was going to be put off by such obvious tactics, he had another think coming.
‘I’ve risked your life, dragged you across France, made you thoroughly uncomfortable. I thought you deserved a treat. I thought I did, come to that. I thought I would enjoy buying you pretty things.’ He turned from his contemplation of the brandy to look directly into her eyes. ‘I wanted to take you to Maubourg and show you off.’
‘As your creation? You wanted to buy me things as you would your mistress?’ She thought she was angry, but the mixture of emotions churning round inside her were difficult to i
nterpret.
‘As I would any lady I was fond of, who had taste, who I thought might enjoy it,’ he said, his eyes narrowing as he tried to assess her reaction.
‘Oh.’ Put like that, it was hard to be cross. ‘I am not used to being brought presents of that sort.’ And, of course, no lady could accept any article of apparel from a man as a gift, not so much as a pair of gloves. ‘I should pay you back when we get back to England.’
‘This is a present,’ he said, his voice level. ‘I would be gratified if you would accept tomorrow as a present.’ There was emotion behind the calmness, feelings she did not understand. Unless her fear the other night had shaken him, made him feel he needed to make reparation for that terrifying time in the dungeons.
And if that was how he felt, could she throw it back in his face? She could hardly be much more compromised than she was already and it was not as though anyone need know how she had come by whatever it was Theo was determined to give her.
‘Thinking again?’ he enquired, not unkindly, as she sipped her brandy. She was not certain she liked it, but it warmed right down to her toes. ‘I love your mind, Nell, but I wish you’d let your emotions out sometimes.’
‘Yes. Yes, I would very much enjoy for you to take me shopping and buy me things, Theo, thank you.’ There, is that emotional enough for him? He loves my mind? But I don’t want him to love my mind, I want him to love me! Just how startled would he be if I showed him my emotions, asked him to make love to me?
‘Right.’ He grinned at her, suddenly looking happier than he had all day. ‘Drink more brandy, it is obviously good for you. I told them that I wanted the gowns ready for a first fitting before noon. I will go to my tailors at the same time. Then there are all the other things, the frippery things—we can fit those in around the fittings.’
‘Frippery things?’
‘Do-dads. Bits of nonsense men aren’t supposed to talk about. Absolutely nothing sensible or practical, Nell, I warn you.’ She found she was smiling back, carried away by his enjoyment of his plans for her. ‘Now, bed and an early morning.’
Theo lounged, with a total lack of concern for propriety, on the chair in Elinor’s bedchamber and watched her unpacking their purchases on the bed. Four gowns: morning, walking, half-dress and full dress; a froth of Swiss lawn undergarments and night things; gloves and stocking; fans, slippers and shoes; two shawls, a pelisse and three hats.
‘Oh, my goodness.’ She sat down on the end of the bed and looked at him, breathless, and apparently in two minds whether to laugh or cry. ‘Theo, I just don’t believe all this now I see it all together. It is so beautiful. Thank you. I have never been shopping like this before.’ She whisked off the bed and was kissing him, her hands on his shoulders, before he could brace himself.
Oh, God, the scent of her. It had been torture all day, being with her, watching her enjoyment as he coaxed and teased her into trying things on, choosing between pairs of gloves and then buying them all for her anyway, seeing an utterly frivolous, fun-loving, playful Nell emerge into the sunlight.
She had accompanied him, shockingly, into bootmakers, had insisted on checking the quality of the neckcloths he bought, dabbed cologne on the back of her hand and then on his new handkerchiefs and teased him into buying a waistcoat all the colours of autumn, which she said would go with his hair.
