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“I am glad you think so.” Chloe returned to her seat, finishing the hem as Leo shifted through his papers.
“Do you think Lord Gloucester is likely to court Rosaline?”
“After seeing your client, the Duke of Suffolk, marry your sister, yes, I think courtship can cross any boundary,” Chloe said with confidence. “I hope for Rosaline’s sake that Lord Gloucester sees things the same way. I have never seen her so excited as she is in his presence, and for Rosaline, who is always excitable, that is a big statement.”
“Courtship,” Leo murmured, as if distracted, looking down at his papers. Chloe glanced in his direction, managing to catch the needle with her silver thimble before continuing with her stitching.
“What of it?”
“I was just wondering . . .” Leo suddenly seemed especially interested in his papers, bending down over them. “You have never mentioned a gentleman, Chloe.”
Oh, I have.
Chloe concentrated on her sewing, with only one gentleman on her mind. The one before her.
“Are you interested in courtship or does the shop keep you too busy?” Leo said, a smile curling his lips, clearly in jest.
Chloe chewed the inside of her mouth, knowing she could not speak the truth.
What if I did utter the truth? What if I had the courage to tell him the only gentleman that I could ever imagine courting was him!?
An imaginary scenario played out in her mind, one where Leo was so shocked that he would shuffle his papers together and leave at once. He would not come back the next day. Out of fear of that her imagining could become reality, Chloe knew she did not have the courage to speak her mind.
Instead, she tried to follow Leo’s lead and continue in jest.
“Courting? Do I look like I have time for courting?” she asked with a laugh. “I spend my entire life here, in this shop. I am far too busy to think of such things.”
Silence descended on the room. Chloe began to realize that Leo had not joined in with her rather forced laughter. Instead, the quiet stretched out. She paused with her needle and thread, looking up to him.
“Leo?” she murmured.
“I have just seen something in the papers that needs attending to.” He gestured down to the papers in front of them and gathered them together. “If you would excuse me, Chloe, I think I will head home for the night.”
“Now?” she said in surprise. The pocket watch she had given him was still face up on the table. She could see that the time had not yet reached nine. The night before, he had stayed closer to ten. “But . . .” She didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence, for Leo was on his feet, gathering the papers together and pushing them hurriedly into a bag.
He took hold of the pocket watch, stuffed it into his waistcoat pocket, then picked up his tailcoat, hurrying to put it on so fast he didn’t bother to pull down his sleeves.
What just happened?
Chloe felt her stomach begin to knot as she stood to her feet, not wanting Leo to depart just yet.
“Leo? Is all well?” She approached him, still holding the gown between them.
“Perfectly,” he said, with a rather quick smile that soon faded. “Business to attend to, that is all.”
“At this time? Were you not the one telling me the other day that we all needed to make time to rest?” Chloe was baffled as he walked around her, reaching for the door.
“Indeed, I did. We are both tired and some sleep will do us good. I will see myself out.” He reached for the door. “Goodnight, Chloe.”
“Good—” Chloe hadn’t even finished the word when the door to the room shut behind him. She stood perfectly still, blinking a few times, with the gown hung loosely in her arms, the white material shimmering in the orange candlelight. “What just happened?” she asked the air, as if it could respond to her.
Had he really seen something in the papers to make him leave so quickly? Or was it something else altogether?
An errant thought entered her head.
Was he offended at what I said . . .?
Chloe dropped the gown to the nearest chair and stumbled forward, thinking of going after Leo, when a firm knock came to the shop door downstairs.
