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Oh no, he didn’t want her to do that at all. It would finish the matter far too peremptorily, he realised, when he was having rather a lot of fun right now. So he was surprised at how pleased he was when she added, “Unfortunately, it would come across as rather odd for a mere shop girl to throw away such a material rise in fortune, not to mention being suddenly and completely at odds with the glowing terms I used to describe you only a few hours ago.”
“Glowing terms? Oh, I do like the sound of that. Tell me what you said.”
She tapped her forefinger thoughtfully on her glass. “You already have a healthy opinion of yourself, Lord Belvedere. And I’ve already bolstered it. I’m not sure I want to enlarge any further.”
“What if I started by telling you that I think you are the most stunning creature I’ve ever had occasion to meet, and I’m disappointed that any further association with you would kibosh my lofty intentions towards virtue. Besides which, as I’ve mentioned, I won’t be around too much longer.” He flashed her his most winning smile for he truly was impatient to know how Miss Lilywhite had described him to his aunt.
“And is that the truth, Lord Belvedere?”
“I like to tell the truth when at all possible.”
“As do I, as I’ve said. All right, I told her that I thought you the handsomest and most considerate of any gentleman who’d ever crossed my threshold—bearing in mind she thinks I work in a shop—and that I’d immediately lost my heart to you upon first sight.” She looked a little embarrassed. “And that every time you walk into a room my heart beats as loudly as a drum, and I have to exercise all my self-restraint to continue whatever polite conversation I’m involved in so as not to rush across the room and kiss you thoroughly. Oh, she did enjoy that! I could see how much she wanted to hear you talked up to the stars and I really did gild the lily. You should have seen how pink she went and how delighted to find me as ardent an admirer of your virtues as herself.”
“Kindred spirits, eh?” He grinned. “Miss Lilywhite, you said you like to tell the truth when possible. Tell me how much was merely embellishment for my aunt?”
“Very little, really. But I’ve already made it clear how much I like you. That’s no secret. Nevertheless, we’ve strayed from the matter under discussion since it seems you only want your head turned. What. Should. I. Tell. Miss Thistlethwaite?”
“What should you tell Miss Thistlethwaite?” he repeated slowly. He sighed as he smiled fondly at the thought of his aunt though Miss Lilywhite’s words were still working a considerable effect upon him. “Darling Aunt Euphemia is the world’s greatest romantic, and nothing would please her more than to see me marry. Preferably someone poor and unsuitable—yet totally ravishing, like you—if only to spite her brother, since it was he who denied poor Aunt Euphemia the husband of her choice.”
She looked tender when he said that, as if she were capable of caring, when just a moment before he’d been impressed by the flash of fire in Violet’s eyes when she’d rebuked him for changing the subject; for talking of last night. She truly was beautiful, and she appealed to his senses on all levels.
“I think the easiest is to just go along with it.”
“Just go along with it?” She looked as if he were mad. Her eyelashes fluttered and her lips pursed. Over her shoulder Max could see several other young women of similar age to Miss Lilywhite. They might have turned heads if they were not competing with the beauty in front of him. They certainly were not as adept at striking the right note. Miss Lilywhite seemed to know how to rise to any occasion with just the right degree of charm and admirable self composure. She was undeniably a talented actress.
“You’re clearly not kept under lock and key in that house of ill repute or you’d not be here. And I’ll pay you for your time, if that’s what you’re worried about?”
She blinked rapidly. “My Lord Belvedere”
“Call me Max, please. We’re engaged.”
“Alright. Max. But we’re not engaged!”
“We are for the purposes of making my darling Aunt Euphemia happy, my dear Violet. I can call you that since we are engaged. She only has a few months to live, don’t you know? You heard her cough, I suppose?”
“Yes, she coughed, but it didn’t sound as bad as all that. Not like she was at death’s door.” Violet’s mouth was pressed together into a tight line, and she was looking at him as if he’d taken leave of his senses when really, what he proposed was seeming more sensible by the minute.
“Well, I hope you’re right and she’s not going to die, Violet. I’m sure you hope that, too, since you said you liked her. But”
“Well, clearly I’d be delighted. But we can’t carry on a ridiculous charade forever. And you’d have to set a wedding date. And there’d be guests and”
“Yes, I know how weddings work. I’ve been involved in these preparations for months. I’ve been a marked man for years. Yes, for years it’s been the assumption that Mabel and I would marry, even though no one consulted us until I was prodded into making it formal.” It made him feel ill with relief at how close he’d come—yet survived. “And yes, we’ll set a date.”
“And it’ll be a second wedding for you that
doesn’t go through? With all due respect, I don’t think this is going to fill your Aunt Euphemia with the kind of joyful rapture you fondly imagine it will.”
“Of course we’ll go through with it. It’ll be hush-hush. Just you and me and Aunt Euphemia and a couple of witnesses. A sham wedding. We’ll pretend that we’re off to the Continent, only I’ll then embark for Africa and you can go back and do what you do, and everyone will be happy.”
She looked disturbed by this when Max was suddenly feeling considerably pleased and clever. What a marvellous way to spend his last three weeks in England. He’d be making the greatest gesture possible towards Aunt Euphemia, who deserved so much for her maternal care of him all these years; he’d be adding to Miss Lilywhite’s coffers in the process since she was, after all, a working girl who’d taken herself out of the marriage market by virtue of her profession so needed whatever coin she could to keep body and soul together.
“I fear it will not be as simple as you make it sound, Max.”
“Nonsense!” he exclaimed, touching her cheek as he’d been wanting to do for some time now in order to remind himself of her softness. “We simply need to ensure our stories align, as you said.” Yes, he was doing this for the happiness of his aunt, he reminded himself, as he added, “So, let’s say we find somewhere quieter and more private to do just that.”
Chapter 5
Violet was conscious of the looks they received as she swept along the pavement, Max by her side. He was tall and handsome and she, although plainly dressed, had always received her fair share of admiration.
