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“Yes, the rigours of the day. That is exactly what happened to me. I suppose it all caught up to me.” Vicky hoped her nodding wasn’t too vigorous.
“Do you feel restored from the night?”
His concerned tone was doing nonsensical things to her insides, which Vicky tried valiantly to disregard.
“Much more the thing, yes, thank you, Mr. Northcott.”
When she forced her eyes to finally leave their position glued to her plate, she almost faltered when she saw the watchful worry that was creased into his face.How can he possibly be even more handsome than usual, she wondered with despair. Perhaps, it was the unexpected intimacy of sharing the breakfast room.
Vicky finally forced her eyes away from his and pinned a polite smile to her face as she looked around at the other gentlemen and tried to include them in conversation. It was a strange pleasure to see them leaning back in their chairs as they, too, sipped their coffee. It would appear the men had finished their meal already, if the discarded plates being collected by the footman was anything to go by.
“Did Lady Crossley tell you what we’ll be doing today? I sought my bedchamber so early last night that I wasn’t present when it was decided.”
“I believe the morning was to be free for anyone to do whatever they wished, while we are to go exploring some old Roman ruins this afternoon.”
Vicky tried not to allow her amusement to show when Lord Clifton’s tone revealed his lack of enthusiasm for the expedition.
“Oh, I’m glad we’ll be doing that. I’ve been hoping to see them ever since Crossley told me about them. Have you been before my lord?”
“No, my lady. This is my first visit to Crossley. Perhaps it will be more interesting than I had at first thought.”
The young viscount visibly brightened at the thought. Vicky was glad to see that he was so easy to convince, but she wasn’t sure if she could possibly consider spending her life with someone quite that simple to please. Perhaps this breakfast experience as the only female present wouldn’t be so bad; she could learn a lot about the gentlemen this way.
She wasn’t to remain the only female, though, as Lady Crossley soon entered the room. The countess quickly gestured for the gentlemen to resume their seats, as they all stood respectfully upon her entrance.
“Good morning all,” Georgia called breezily as she sailed toward Vicky. “I do hope you all are well rested and are ready for the good times we are to have this week.”
There were murmurs of assent around the room, but Vicky could see that Georgia wasn’t really paying attention. All her focus was on trying to ascertain if Vicky seemed to be doing all right, which strangely had the opposite effect of what Georgia was obviously trying to do. Vicky hoped no one else noticed. She shook her head with a slight frown, hoping to dissuade Georgia from looking at her with such searching concern. As though light had dawned on her, Georgia’s face suddenly broke into a bright smile, and she sat down beside Vicky while a footman hurried to fill a plate for her.
“Thank you, Thomas,” she murmured as her breakfast was placed before her. “You always know which are my favourite items.”
The servant grinned with delight over the slight praise and hurried over to stand at attention to serve his mistress.
“Lord Clifton was just telling me that it has been decided that we’ll explore the ruins this afternoon. I’m very much looking forward to the excursion.”
Georgia grinned at her friend. Vicky knew full well that all the excursions that would be on offer were ones she would enjoy, as they had agreed together what sort of entertainments there were to be.
When Lord Bertram walked into the room, Vicky was glad that she had already consumed most of her meal, as suddenly her mouth was too dry to be able to chew comfortably and her stomach felt as though it were tying itself up in knots. She pushed her plate away, and the attentive footman immediately whisked it away. Vicky made sure not to meet Georgia’s gaze, as she again didn’t want her friend worrying over her. But then she felt the scrutiny of Ashford Northcott on her other side, and her stomach pitched anew.
Vicky got to her feet. “I suppose if we’re to be enjoying ourselves all afternoon, I ought to get my letters written before hand,” she said with a smile as way of an explanation. “I shall see you all a bit later.”
“I’ll walk with you,” Georgia offered, about to get to her feet.
“No need, my lady, surely you ought to finish your repast,” Vicky hurried to assure her friend. “I shall be in my chamber. If you’d like, you can visit me there when you are finished.” Even as she said it, Vicky hoped the busy hostess would get sidetracked and not come looking for more explanations from her. But she wasn’t overly optimistic that Georgia would drop her concerns. In any case, Vicky would rather have privacy for any interrogations Georgia might wish to bring upon her.
