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Even the duke looked sympathetic as he stood beside Philip and gestured that they should both sit down. It was clear from the look on the duke’s face that he wasn’t exactly pleased with having been dragged into their study session. Yet they all settled down silently at Lady Balfour’s request.
“You know, Lord Philip, my husband and I are truly grateful for all the hard work you have been putting in with our daughter,” Lady Balfour announced, and Philip couldn’t help noticing the way Daisy cringed at how her stepmother called her daughter. Though Daisy had never said so openly, it was clear from how she acted whenever the woman was around that the two of them did not see eye to eye. “We would like to repay you somehow.”
“Oh, no, there is no need for that,” Philip responded quickly. The thought of taking anything in repayment of his time spent in Daisy’s company felt entirely wrong. He would have given her the time over and over again without a second thought. “I am quite happy to be tutoring Daisy, I mean, Lady Daisy. She is a very intelligent and dedicated student.”
Philip offered Daisy a glance, pleased to see that she was smiling at his praise. As he spoke the words, he felt his cheeks beginning to burn with slight embarrassment. He rarely offered a young woman a compliment, concerned that either she or one of her family members might get the wrong end of the stick and blow things wildly out of proportion.
More often than not, a compliment was tantamount to a marriage proposal when it came to noble ladies and their over-excitable mothers. And yet somehow, Philip couldn’t help growing hopeful that this particular lady might see it that way.
“Nonsense, what would people say if they learned you were tutoring her without any kind of compensation?” Lady Balfour demanded, though they both knew that nobody was really going to find anything out because the fact was, Lady Daisy would likely be questioned if anyone was to learn she had asked for any extra education than she had already received to become the beautiful and intelligent young woman that she currently was, let alone if they learned she wished to go to university.
Though that fact still perplexed him, Philip was beginning to see exactly why she wished to do so. The way her eyes lit up whenever she was learning something new was enough to make his heart race.
“I will not tell if you do not, My Lady,” Philip said with a smile, hoping to be endearing. Though Daisy blushed at his words, Lady Balfour did not look in the least bit convinced.
“No, I insist, as does my husband. Don’t you, Lord Balfour?”
“Indeed,” Lord Balfour said with a nod, though his expression suggested he would be happy either way.
“Lord Philip, you must join myself, Lady Daisy, and Lady Bertha Lockhart tomorrow evening,” Lady Balfour insisted, and before he could give a protest or even ask what she might have in mind, she added, “we are to attend the theatre to see Shakespeare’s newest performance. You shall join us.”
The duchess’s words left little room for protest, and Philip had to admit that he could think of worse things than spending an evening with Daisy, even if that did mean having to put up with her stepmother. Hopefully Lady Bertha’s help on previous occasions might mean she would be willing to do so again.Maybe she will keep her mother entertained so that I might share some more quality time with Daisy,Philip thought hopefully.
“Lady Balfour, I would be honoured to escort you and your beautiful daughters to the theatre tomorrow evening,” Philip assured her, bowing his head in acceptance. Though Daisy’s eyes lit with excitement, it was clear to see that she was also nervous to think of what might go wrong at the theatre.
There were far too many variables, especially when it came to Lady Balfour’s presence.It will all be worth it if you are there,Philip thought, wishing he could say the words aloud to Daisy.
“We would be most grateful, wouldn’t we, Daisy?” Lady Balfour pressed when Daisy didn’t immediately offer herself to the conversation. The beautiful young woman looked at Philip from beneath her dark lashes, and the corners of her lips twitched as if she were trying to hold back a brilliant smile.
He could feel the eyes of both the duke and duchess upon them as their eyes met, and he was careful not to give too much away, reminding himself that he was supposed to be nothing more than their daughter’s tutor.
I must continue to play the game,he told himself firmly, more certain now than ever of what Lord and Lady Balfour planned for him and their eldest daughter.They have taken such time and effort for this elaborate plan. I shall not let them down so soon.
The next night, however, Philip quickly found things far more awkward than he had anticipated. Having been invited to a private box high up in the theatre as was expected for a duchess and her daughters, Philip found that Lady Balfour was not quite so interested in his being close to Daisy as he had expected. In fact, he found that she offered every opportunity for him to spend time with her younger daughter, Lady Bertha Lockhart.
Perhaps it was some kind of ruse to put him off her plan, or maybe it was just to make Daisy a little more comfortable with the situation; Philip couldn’t quite be sure. After all, Daisy had already told him several times that she was in no hurry to get married and start having children. In fact, it was perhaps the largest reason he was so attracted to her. Knowing that marriage, children, and gossip weren’t the only things occupying her mind made her far easier to talk to.
But at the theatre, it was practically impossible to speak to her. Lady Balfour had all but made certain of it, placing herself and her youngest daughter between himself and Daisy within the box assigned to them for the evening.
Philip gritted his teeth and bore it, determined not to give Lady Balfour any ammunition that might lead her to decide he was not the best choice for her daughter after all. If putting up with her and her younger daughter was what it took to get a step closer to Daisy, he would endure it.
Every chance he got, he glanced in Daisy’s direction, hoping that he might at least be able to offer her a smile or even just catch a glimpse of her beautiful brown gaze. Several times they caught each other’s eye, smiling at each other past the heads of the other two women, and always, Philip felt the urge to draw closer to her, to find any excuse to speak to her.
But every time he opened his mouth to try and say something, he would be interrupted by Lady Balfour or Bertha. When the play was finally over, Lady Bertha asked, “Lord Philip, how did you find it?”
Distracted from his watching Daisy as she stood up to accept her shawl from the attendant who had come to help them leave, Philip struggled not to blush as he responded, “I found it most intriguing, My Lady. I do hope that you enjoyed it.”
In truth, if he had been asked to describe the play, Philip would have been unable to offer much information. All he would have been able to say was that it was a true tragedy. Luckily for him, all Shakespeare’s plays were.
“I certainly did, thank you, My Lord.” Lady Bertha smiled at him.
“Lord Philip, perhaps you might help Bertha with her shawl?” Lady Balfour suggested. “The sooner we leave, the less likely we shall be to get caught up in the rest of the crowd, and I am sure that we should all like to offer our appreciation to the performers.”
Philip would have much preferred to help Daisy, though he was well aware that both she and Lady Balfour were already being helped.
“I would be happy to,” he said through gritted teeth, unwilling to allow any of the women to believe that he was not a perfect gentleman. He could feel Daisy watching him out of the corner of her eye and wondered whether she might have something to say about how he treated her sister.
Though he was well aware that Daisy and her stepmother didn’t get on, he couldn’t say the same about her and her stepsister, and so Philip smiled and helped Bertha, remembering how she had been there to open the gate the night that he escorted Daisy home after they’d accidentally fallen asleep in the meadows.
