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A look of admiration spread across the nobleman’s face, and Daisy quickly felt awkward and uneasy at how she had spoken to him. Yet when he spoke, he spoke with a smile, “I do not judge you harshly, Lady Lockhart.” He paused and shook his head, his smile growing as he added, “In fact, I do believe that I rather agree with you.”
Absolutely stunned by his words, Daisy opened her mouth only to realise she was speechless.
“I only wish that all young ladies were as determined to learn as you are, Lady Lockhart,” he added when she remained silent. Then, after several moments of slightly awkward silence, Philip pointed to the book in her hands and suggested, “Shall we continue?”
Chapter 7
Philip was most astonished by how quickly the tutoring session passed. Lady Lockhart was quite possibly the most fascinating noble lady he had ever encountered.
Not only was she perfectly fluent in Latin and several other languages, but she was also frank and direct, pointing out whenever she believed he had given her the wrong information or asking questions, even the kinds of questions that others might have deemed foolish or utterly idiotic. She was also unapologetic in doing so and Philip found her tenacity to learn was exhilarating.
Before they knew it, their time was at an end. They were alerted to the fact by Lady Lockhart’s maid, who at the dinging of the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, cleared her throat and finally spoke up, “My Lady, I feel I must remind you that you are due to join Lady Balfour for lunch shortly.”
Lady Lockhart seemed to jump just as much as Philip did at the woman’s words. It appeared they had both almost entirely forgotten she was even there.
“Oh, thank you for reminding me!” Lady Lockhart gasped, glancing at the grandfather clock. Absentmindedly, Philip realised that this wasn’t the first time the grandfather clock had dinged or even the second. It was, in fact, the third.
“Goodness! I have been here all morning!” he exclaimed, his cheeks instantly beginning to flush when he realised he had spoken the words aloud. Lady Lockhart looked at him with quite the expression of mischief upon her face, and the way she smirked at him and bit her lip caused his insides to twist with an odd sense of desire, the likes of which he had not felt since he was an adolescent.
“It appears so, Mr Radcliffe,” she replied sweetly, looking at him from beneath thick and heavy lashes as she stroked a stray strawberry blonde curl back from her face. Philip so longed to reach out and undo the ribbon holding her hair in its braid. He wished to unbraid her locks and run his fingers through them from roots to tip just to see if her hair was as soft and glossy as it looked.
He told himself that it was his curious and academic need to learn about everything he experienced, yet deep down, if he admitted it, he knew it was much more than that. “Time flies when you are having fun.”
“It does indeed,” Philip agreed, and a momentary flash of surprise crossed the lady’s expression as though she hadn’t been expecting him to admit that he had been having fun. If he admitted it to himself, he hadn’t been expecting to do so either. Yet the moment he had seen her, his desire to put an end to tutoring sessions at the earliest convenience had flown out of his mind entirely.
The session itself had gone better than Philip could ever have expected. It was all a blur now that it had come to an end. Still, he was almost entirely certain that they had crammed in about as much knowledge as could be put into a three-hour period where Lady Lockhart spent much of the time speaking Latin, sometimes even offering funny quips and glancing over her shoulder at her maid.
The latter quite obviously did not speak the language. Ordinarily, Philip might have found it quite in poor taste, but every word that came from Lady Lockhart’s lips was like music to his ears.
You are beautiful.He struggled to stop himself from saying the words aloud when he suddenly realised he had been staring at the lady for several moments. She was staring back at him, utterly silent and still smiling, yet, unlike when he had first arrived, it wasn’t at all awkward.
It almost felt as though they were communicating even without the need for words, and a part of Philip felt as though she was pleading him with her eyes to remain there. He felt as though he was willing her to keep him there with his own gaze and found that he could not look away from her even when they both heard the sound of knuckles rapping on the parlour door.
The door opened seconds later, and from the sound of the heavy feet and croaking breath, Philip could already guess it was the butler come to ensure that their three-hour-long tutoring session was coming to an end before Lady Lockhart’s stepmother wondered where she had got to.
Reluctantly, Philip pushed himself to his feet and bowed to Lady Lockhart. “I shan’t keep you a moment longer, My Lady.”
The disappointment that came off the young woman was palpable, and Philip longed to reach out and stroke her cheek. He longed to cup her face in his hands and assure her that he would return as soon as possible.What is the matter with me?he asked himself, relieved when Lady Lockhart pushed herself to her feet, and the movement denied him the chance to do something utterly brainless.
“Of course, Mr Radcliffe, I would hate to waste your precious time,” Lady Lockhart replied, and the mischief in her tone suggested she had not yet forgotten the comment he had made at the beginning of their session about how he was too busy to waste his time on a woman who was only trying to pass the time while she waited for a proposal. “You are a very busy man, after all.”
“I am,” Philip replied with a nod. Though silently, he thought,though I would give up all the time in the world to spend another morning with you.Mentally shaking himself, he took the hand that Lady Lockhart offered him and lowered himself into another bow to kiss her gloved knuckles.
Even through the holes in the lace, he could feel the softness of her skin, and it threatened to drive him insane with desire. Straightening up to accept her curtsey, he found himself quickly adding, “Though I am happy to return in a few days.” Lady Lockhart appeared about to say something, yet Philip couldn’t bear her to say a word until he added, “That is if you are still interested in my tutoring you?”
“I …” she paused, and Philip’s stomach twisted with the fear that she was about to tell him she had changed her mind.Just this morning, I was praying that I would get here, and she would have changed her mind about being tutored,Philip thought with some irritation in himself,and yet here I am now praying that she hasn’t!“I would like that very much, My Lord.”
Relief washed over Philip like a crashing ocean wave, threatening to knock him off his feet. Knowing that if he stayed much longer, he might never be able to work up the courage to leave, Philip again gave Lady Lockhart a smile and a bow and turned towards Everson, the butler.
“Everson, if you would be so kind as to show Mr Radcliffe out,” Lady Lockhart instructed though it really wasn’t necessary. Philip found that he admired her all the more now. Though she was rebellious and forward-thinking when it came to wanting to have her own education, she was also highly polite and well-mannered to the servants and always ladylike regarding all the rules and expectations of noble life. She was truly a sight to behold.
“Thank you again, Mr Radcliffe,” she called after him as he exited, and Philip found himself wishing she had spoken up sooner so that he might have a reason to remain. Yet he was already part way out of the parlour and did not wish to appear awkward in turning back to say something else.
Instead, he followed Everson from the room to the townhouse's front door. A part of him was quite surprised that during all their time together, Lord Balfour had not interrupted them even to check that the service he had requested of the earl’s son was being adhered to.
Even more surprising was that Lady Balfour and her own daughter had not come in to be nosey as many other ladies of the ton might have been, especially those with stepdaughters and stepsisters such as Lady Daisy Lockhart. Secretly, he was pleased that no such thing had happened. Previously he might have been relieved not to be practically alone with Lady Lockhart but upon meeting her and having spent time with her, he was glad.
“Everson, might I ask before I go, is the duke available?” Philip asked when they reached the front door. Everson stopped with his hand on the doorknob and turned to look at Philip.
