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“That you are, but I urge you to use restraint around Lord Hawthorne.”
“Restraint?”
Mrs. Foster gave her a knowing smile. “Lord Hawthorne is a handsome man with a sizeable fortune, but there is something dark about him that I can’t explain. I just don’t want you to become enamored with him—”
“No, no, no,” Madalene spoke over her companion. “I have no interest in Lord Hawthorne.”
“No?”
Madalene shook her head. “Good heavens, no. Whatever gave you that impression?”
“He did come to call on you yesterday,” Mrs. Foster pointed out.
“Lord Hawthorne wanted to discuss something with me privately.”
Mrs. Foster lifted her brow. “What could he possibly want to discuss with you privately? You two are barely acquaintances.”
“It matters not.”
“I don’t like you keeping secrets from me,” Mrs. Foster said, frowning. “It makes me wonder what you are up to.”
“You don’t need to worry,” Madalene assured her. “It is nothing that I am unable to handle on my own.”
“It is my job to worry about you, and I do—incessantly.”
Madalene gave her a reassuring smile. “You have been my favorite companion, and I don’t know what I would have done without you these past six months.”
Mrs. Foster huffed. “I have been your only companion.”
“That makes my statement no less true.”
Graham stepped into the room and met her gaze. “Lord Hawthorne is here to call upon you, Miss. Are you available for callers?”
“I am,” Madalene replied as she reached for her cup of chocolate. “Will you show him to the lawn and inform him that I will be along shortly?”
“Yes, Miss,” Graham said, tipping his head.
After her butler departed, Madalene took a long sip of her chocolate. She returned the empty cup to the table and put her napkin on her plate.
Mrs. Foster leaned back in her chair. “I will be watching you both from the window. Try to avoid doing anything too scandalous.”
Madalene smiled. “I would expect no less from you.”
As she made her way towards the rear of the townhouse, Madalene wasn’t entirely sure which Lord Hawthorne she was going to see today. Would it be the unapproachable side of him, or would it be the pleasant side that she had seen a glimpse of in the drawing room yesterday? She found she rather liked seeing him smile, even if it was only for a moment.
She stepped outside and saw Lord Hawthorne standing on the lawn. He acknowledged her with a tip of his head.
As she came closer, Lord Hawthorne didn’t exactly smile at her, but he didn’t frown at her either. Rather, his expression held an emotion she couldn’t quite decipher. How is he able to mask his emotions so efficiently, she wondered.
“Miss Dowding,” Lord Hawthorne greeted.
She came to a stop in front of him. “Good morning, my lord,” she said. “May I ask how your nose is faring?”
“Tender,” he remarked. “I apologize for calling upon you at such an early hour, but I’m afraid my presence is required at Parliament this afternoon.”
Madalene smiled at him. “I am so pleased that you did,” she replied. “It is no imposition, as I am typically an early riser.”
“You are?”
