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She wasn’t in the least daunted. “I could still box your ears.”
He laughed again. “Finish your ginger cake, you impertinent girl. I’ll escort you home. And that’s another thing, what are you doing here on your own?”
She blushed. “It was wicked of me. My parents think I am out shopping with a friend. Well, I was. But my friend dropped me off in front of your home.”
“And then left you stranded here?” He frowned, genuinely concerned. “What if I weren’t at home? Or refused to let you in?”
“I wasn’t traipsing around London on my own. And I hardly think Belgravia is a den of iniquity. Lady Withnall resides around the corner from you. I would have gone to her and asked if her driver could take me home.”
“Blessed saints, is that little snoop still alive? How old is she now, one hundred and fifty?”
“At least that,” she said merrily, “and still wreaking havoc on everyone with secrets to hide. Do you have any secrets to hide, Innes?”
He shrugged. “One would have to care what others thought in order to have them be proper secrets.”
She nodded. “I suppose.”
“Have you got secrets, Hyacinth?”
She was brightening the room once again with her smile. “Ugh! No. Unless you count this visit, which I suppose could ruin me if anyone found out I’d been sitting here alone with you.”
“Your secret is safe with me. I have no wish to be descended upon by either the Brayden men or the Farthingale ladies and hauled before a minister. Have you finished your tea? I’ll take you home now.”
“Yes, thank you.” She rose and watched him as he crossed to the bell-pull to summon Holmes. “It is nice to see you again, Innes,” she said softly, sending a surge of regret through his bones. “You look very well.”
“So do you. I suppose everyone tells you that you resemble your mother. You have her dark hair and striking violet eyes.”
“Yes, I’m told that quite often. However, I inherited my father’s singing voice, which means I sing like a bullfrog. My mother still has the voice of an angel.”
He nodded. “I remember the first time I heard her sing. It was at an important charity event held at the Royal Society. She truly has the voice of an angel. That night, she ended the recital with a hauntingly beautiful song of the sea. Something about a sailor in love with a selkie. One could feel the waves gently lapping the shore and see the beautiful selkie on the rocks. I could breathe in the salty, sea air. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house by the time the song ended. The sailors in the audience, including your father, were openly sobbing.”
She hung upon his every word, her expression one of utter fascination. “My father? Weeping like an infant? How wonderful! I’m going to tease him about it at supper tomorrow.”
“Oh, no. Don’t you dare. He will toss me out of your house and blame me for giving you this bit of fodder for your cannons.”
“Then you will come for supper? I’m so glad. And will you also join us for Christmas eve?”
“Hold on there, Hyacinth. Why don’t we take it one invitation at a time? You may decide I am boorish company after all and regret ever finding me.”
“Never, Innes.” She placed a hand lightly on his arm. “I shall never regret seeing you again.”
The girl took his breath away. He was grinning again, unable to hide his idiotically besotted look even when Holmes marched in with her cloak, scarf, and muff. “Miss Hyacinth, if I may say, you are a gentle summer breeze in this cold house.”
She graced him with an angel’s smile. “Thank you, Holmes.”
The man, who was in serious need of proper butler training, broke into a jovial smile.
Really? Would she next invite Holmes to supper as well? Innes resolved to give his butler a serious talking to. He was supposed to be aloof and always wearing a stoic expression, not behaving like a proud, matchmaking mama. “Holmes, order my carriage brought around.”
“Yes, my lord. At once.”
Hyacinth watched him scuttle off. “What a pleasant man.”
“He’s just my butler and not a very good one at that,” he muttered, assisting Hyacinth with her cloak and scarf.
Holmes had Innes’s cloak and gloves at the ready by the front door as he strode out of the house.
“You’ve bought yourself a beautiful residence,” she said, stopping a moment to look back at the structure. “But it does need warming up. You are in desperate need of holly boughs and mistletoe. This will be my next project.”
