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Chapter Eighteen
Dance by dance, kiss by kiss, Thaddeus thought he was winning over Perdie. When they met, she outwardly brightened, her smile as radiant as he felt beholding it. She’d even taken to accepting his escort whenever he happened upon her in the street on her way to or from Berkeley Square. Sometimes, he wondered if she continued to walk in the hopes of seeing him. He continued to eschew the men’s clubs in favor of seeking her out, always hopeful even on days of inclement weather.
This looked to be one such day. The air was cloying, not yet blustery, with signs of a storm, but the heavy clouds overhead hailed a change in the weather. For that reason, he chose not a curricle open to the air to drive past Berkeley Square, but a closed carriage. If he happened upon Perdie while it was raining, perhaps she’d finally accept his invitation to step into the bloody vehicle.
Not that he didn’t enjoy their walks, chaperoned by Felicity, but they were achingly brief. A carriage ride through the city, perhaps even taking a circuit or three of Hyde Park, would give him more time to spend with Perdie. More time to make her laugh. More time to convince her that their future together would be a happy one. How he missed those days on the road, when they were two people who didn’t know each other’s identities. Their interactions had seemed simpler then.
Of course, he hadn’t been wooing her then. He’d been doing the gentlemanly thing and seeing her safely to her destination. She hadn’t been as guarded regarding the topic of marriage, though she had made her thoughts regarding her broken engagement clear.
Somehow, he hadn’t expected convincing her to enter into a new engagement with him to be so difficult. Not that he didn’t relish a challenge, but he’d rather do it when he didn’t have to sneak around strangers’ houses in the hopes of stealing a kiss.
The driver of the coach, well-versed by now in the search, slowed as they reached Berkeley Square. Thaddeus peered out the window. He was in luck. Two figures stepped out of Number 48, bonnets and shawls in place and not a carriage in sight. Thaddeus rapped on the roof of the coach.
Not that his driver needed the reminder. The man was already slowing the horses to pull alongside.
As Thaddeus stepped out, not bothering to wait for the steps to be lowered into place, Perdie struck a pose. Her hand rested on her hip, a curve he was intimately reminded of. She cocked her head with a sultry smile.
“Lord Sherburn, what a surprise to see you here today.”
Her smile belied her words. She wasn’t at all surprised to see him. Perhaps she’d even waited to exit the house until she’d glimpsed his carriage.
“I was in the vicinity and thought it looked like rain. Can I offer you the use of my carriage, Lady Perdie? There’s room enough for three.”
He nodded to Miss Felicity, who inclined her head in response. There was something sly about her smile as she waited for her friend’s response.
Perdie didn’t seem to notice. She tilted her head back, squinting up at the sky. “You know, you might be right. It wouldn’t do for me to catch a chill. Felicity?”
Her smile growing, Miss Felicity took a step back. “Since you look to be in safe hands for the escort home, I thought I’d stay a moment longer. Lady Charity was just about to tell me more about…um…chemistry.”
“Chemistry,” Perdie repeated, her voice dry.
Her companion colored but stuck to the obvious lie. “Yes. Chemistry. It’s not a subject I am familiar with, and she has some rather fascinating things to say. I’ll entrust her safe return to you, Lord Sherburn?” She curtsied.
Thaddeus bowed in response, despite the difference in their stations. “It would be my honor. You know how seriously I’m wont to take the safe escort of a lady.”
“Oh, I know very well,” Perdie said. The color was high in her cheeks, but she offered her hand to Thaddeus.
Fortunately, when it looked as though she was likely to accept this time, the driver had wasted no time in fixing the stairs into place. He opened the door for them both as Thaddeus turned with Perdie’s hand in his and offered her up into his carriage. He turned to Felicity. “Are you certain you won’t join us?”
“I have business here, I’m afraid. Besides,” she winked, “there’s no one about to peek into your carriage windows. I’ll see you at home, Lady Perdie.”
Thaddeus wouldn’t refuse the unexpected gift. He climbed into the carriage and shut the door before someone saw them together unchaperoned. Not that he would mind if the entire ton was gossiping about them. He fully intended to marry Perdie—months or a year from now, he would wait on her. However, he didn’t want her to feel forced into the marriage. When she agreed to be his wife, he wanted it to be of her own free will.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t take advantage of the privacy. As he slid into the seat alongside her, he cupped the side of her face and kissed her soundly. Her body turned pliant against his. He pulled away to rap on the roof, signaling to the driver to pull onto the street.
Perdie’s eyelids were heavy when she opened her eyes. “That is a point in favor of this carriage.”
He grinned and rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. “If I knew you’d be more likely to accept my escort in a closed carriage, I would have driven one days ago.” He kissed her again, long and slow. “It’s lovely to be able to give you a proper hello.”
“Hello to you, too.”
Her voice was husky. The sound made him shiver with anticipation.
Much as he would have liked to take advantage, he removed his hands. “Are you expected home straight away? I thought we might take a ride to Vauxhall Gardens or Hyde Park.”
Her eyes were dark in the shadowy carriage interior. She ran her tongue over her lips. “I’m not expected home.”
He rapped on the carriage roof three times, a pre-arranged signal to his driver. The poor fellow was probably stunned that Thaddeus had actually used it. His aunt’s staff—his staff, now—were discreet. At the next street, when they would have turned toward Perdie’s townhouse, the carriage moved in the opposite direction instead.
