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Mama glanced from Louisa to William and back to Louisa. “I’m not sure—”
“I shall be fine, Mama,” Louisa said. “The drive is a short one, and we are betrothed. We won’t scandalize anyone.” She looked at William and raised her eyebrows in defiance. “Will we?”
The corners of William’s eyes crinkled just the slightest bit at her declaration. “We will maintain the highest level of decorum,” he said. “I have missed my bride-to-be, and we must take every opportunity presented to us to get better acquainted. It is my fault, I know, and I hope to remedy it in the remaining time we have before our marriage.”
Their marriage! Good heavens, Louisa thought, she’d been so focused on getting him to open up to her and getting through the reading of the banns that she hadn’t even considered an actual wedding date, though she and Mama had made a few essential dowry purchases while William had been absent. William had wanted to marry quickly; they’d be married already, in fact, had she not asked for the three weeks with the banns. He would not want much time to pass before their marriage took place once the final banns were read.
She could be a married woman within two weeks.
“Very well, then,” Mama said, shooting William a severely arched eyebrow meant to put fear and trembling into him. “Come, Ashworth, Anthony. I suppose I must eventually learn to trust Lord Farleigh if he is to become my son-in-law.”
“I will be spending time in my study this afternoon, Farleigh,” Papa said. “I expect you to join me there at some point.”
“Understood, your lordship,” William said.
Anthony said nothing at all, which was unusual for him. He’d been that way all morning, come to think of it. Alex had still been in bed when they’d left for church; no one had said anything about it, and Louisa suspected that even if he had spent the early part of the evening with the Marwoods and Lady Elizabeth, he had probably spent the rest of his night visiting gentlemen’s clubs. Anthony had been planning to go to White’s, but Alex had suggested he—how had he phrased it?—“make the rounds.” Had he learned something Louisa needed to know while he’d been out making these so-called rounds?
William extended his hand to Louisa and assisted her into his carriage. He looked tired. That came as no surprise, considering he’d ridden to Buckinghamshire and back twice in the past week, in addition to whatever he’d done there. She wondered again what his urgent business had been about.
He gave directions to the driver, then climbed in and seated himself next to her. “For the record, I do not intend to take the quickest route back to Ashworth House,” he said. “I hope that doesn’t distress you. I wished to spend some time alone with you, without your parents or brothers about, so we—I—can communicate more freely, for that is what I promised you earlier this week.”
“I am not distressed,” Louisa said.
His eyes did that crinkly thing again for just a moment, and Louisa realized it was the faintest beginnings of a smile. It didn’t extend to the rest of his face or reach his mouth, but—
She really had to stop looking at his mouth so much, she thought as she felt her face heat up.
The corners of his mouth twitched.
“Maybe I am a bit distressed,” she remarked rather lamely.
His mouth twitched again, but he didn’t say anything to her in return, which was a surprise, considering he’d caught her in the act of staring. Her brothers had teased her so incessantly over the years about absolutely everything that she’d come to expect it as a matter of course. William, however, had not subjected her to any teasing.
It was a nice change.
By this time, they’d reached the outskirts of Mayfair, and the carriage took them down a street lined with respectable houses before coming to a stop in front of one of them. “Welcome to Farleigh House,” William said. He jumped out of the carriage and set the steps for her, then gave her his hand. “You wished to learn more about me. I thought I’d begin by showing you this.”
He led her to the front door and unlocked and opened it and then allowed her to precede him inside.
Louisa’s immediate reaction was that it was a man’s domain. The wallpaper in the entry was bold, the woods dark in color. The sitting room, which was just to the left of the front entry, was similar in tone. A sofa upholstered in brown-striped silk faced the fireplace, while two leather armchairs sat on either side of it, facing each other. The painting over the marble fireplace was of a hunting scene, with men on horses and dogs in pursuit of a fox. A sideboard held an array of decanters, full of a variety of spirits, with a selection of drinking glasses nearby.
“This was my father’s domicile; his place of refuge,” William said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t even know the place existed until I went through the estate holdings with Heslop after my father’s death. It was a well-kept secret. I don’t recall my mother ever accompanying my father on a trip to London, though he traveled here frequently. My own first time in London was with school friends when I was at Oxford. We came to Town only a handful of times, usually for academic symposiums and the like—not very exciting, I know. After that, I moved to Edinburgh and remained there. Until now.” He ran his hand along the back of the chair nearest him. “Would you care to see the rest of the floor?”
Louisa nodded, trying to figure out what his demeanor and tone meant. He was still unreadable, but there was an edge to his voice now that he was unable to completely hide from her.
He showed her the dining room, which held a fine oak table and chairs with an elaborate chandelier hanging above them. Next was a man’s study with a connecting door into a decently stocked library.
Louisa wandered through each room, surprised at the level of prosperity she saw. But there was nothing personal, no pictures of family, nothing that helped her understand what William’s father had been like. Even the books in the library seemed to be more for show than anything—shelves of tomes in similar bindings that appeared never to have had their covers opened or their pages read.
They returned to the hallway. “Down those steps at the back of the house is the kitchen. There is a small apartment beyond it where the housekeeper, Mrs. Gideon, lives. According to her, when my father was here, her nephew acted as his valet. I have not employed his services—something she wasn’t particularly happy about when I first arrived.”
“Was she your father’s housekeeper here for many years? May I meet her?”
“Ten years, give or take. Assuredly, you may meet her, but it will have to happen at another time; Sunday is her day off, and she’s not here. She also gets half days on Wednesday.” He led her back to the front entry. “These stairs, as you might surmise, lead up to the bedrooms and guest rooms, but they can wait for another time, as they are essentially much the same as you see down here. Bachelor lodgings for a man who was not a bachelor. Besides, it’s past time that I take you home.”
They returned to the carriage, and Louisa pondered what she’d seen. He’d given her a piece of the puzzle, a bit of clarity, to be sure, but she couldn’t see the entire picture yet.
When they were back on their way to Ashworth House, William turned slightly, angling himself toward her on the carriage seat. “Did you learn anything on our little tour?” he asked blandly.
