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Chapter Seven
Thank God I’m well tonight, Frederick thought as he stepped squarely before the Robertsons’ front door. With all his excitement leading up to the concert, it was almost a miracle he’d been spared a megrim.
Once his feet were positioned just so, he rapped on the door with his usual rhythm. The butler, Pulley, opened the door and stepped back to admit him.
Under the circumstances, Frederick permitted his regard to focus on Molly immediately, and in truth, her standing like a vision in the center of the foyer, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his eyes off her even if this were an ordinary day.
A few dark tendrils of her hair stood out on her shoulders against the ivory cape that ended just above her shimmering skirts. Her brown eyes shone softly, though the knuckles of her joined hands were white, and one thumb tapped the other.One. Two. Three.
Mein Gott, sie ist wunderschön!
“Good evening, Molly,” he said in a low voice. He turned to the housekeeper nearby, greeting her, then Pulley.
They responded in kind, their demeanors as polite as ever, but their gazes were so watchful that they had a parental air.
“I thank you for your punctuality,” he said to Molly.
“As I thank you for yours.”
He cleared his throat. “Thank you for your most becoming appearance.”
“Thank you for your dashing appearance.” She looked at his burgundy-and-gold waistcoat and smiled. “We shall suit well.”
Nodding solemnly, he thought not of their clothing but their very future. “I think we shall, Molly. I think we shall.”
An undeniable flush crept across her cheeks as she accepted his arm, and he was confident she’d understood his meaning.
“You’ll return her straight away after the concert, Mr. Vogel,” said the housekeeper firmly.
“Yes, missus.”
“Please don’t wait up, Mrs. Taylor,” Molly said.
“Oh, no,Iwon’t be.” With satisfaction, her gaze moved to Pulley. “The butler and a footman will be waiting, just in case you need any assistance.”
“A good idea,” Frederick said with genuine approval.
It pleased him to know that Molly’s household took such care with her. It had been agreed that they would travel to and from the concert room in Mayfair together rather than Molly traveling alone at night.
Escorting her to the waiting hansom cab brought inordinate satisfaction; the simple act of courtship was divine.That such an ordinary thing feels so extraordinary! But it was a unique experience for him, as unique as the woman on his arm.
“Hanover Square,” he reminded the cabbie before assisting Molly up. The man tipped his grubby top hat and shifted in his high perch behind the closed conveyance.
At once grateful for the close quarters and privacy, yet also nervous, Frederick marveled at the sight of Molly’s iridescent skirts overlapping onto his dark trousers.Is there anything more intimate? he thought, then nearly laughed at his own foolishness.
Hopefully, there is.
Leaning close—which hehadto do in order to be heard over the horse's hooves, of course, not only because he wished to—Frederick spoke low near Molly’s ear. “With Mrs. Taylor and Pulley listening to every word, my compliments could not do you justice. ‘Becoming’ doesn’t even begin to describe how lovely you are.”
“I…thank you. True thanks are owed to Lady Clara, who gifted me with this gown. And to the modiste, who insisted that I accept this cape.”
He’d noticed the finery, but that wasn’t what he’d meant, and he told her so. When she shook her head, he thought of a way to explain how he felt. “I see no reason to hide my admiration, Molly. It’s been from afar until recently, but I’m finally free to express it. Let us not shy away from these moments any longer.”
Her gloved hand found his in the darkness. “It’s almost impossible to believe. It’s like a dream.”
“Before now, I’d thought the greatest sense of rightness in the world was achieved by bringing an instrument into tune. You’ve heard it yourself—a piano whose notes are off, even slightly, begging for adjustment. When the hammers strike the strings and a note rings true, it brings such fulfillment. Triumph! Yet now…”
“Yes?”
