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“Oh, but we must. I suppose,” she added, opening her eyes to glance at Theo. “You would like to, wouldn’t you?”
“I do admit to some curiosity as to how the house has fared. I am told Becky thinks it very fine.”
“Becky thinks what is fine?” that young damsel said, passing into the carriage and taking the seat opposite.
“Your uncle mentioned you visited Mannering yesterday,” Theo said. “If I had known you wished to go, I could have accompanied you.”
“I didn’t need you to,” Becky said, eyes on her twisting hands in her lap. “I wanted to see the place again, before, before …” Her voice wobbled.
“We shall see it again today,” Theo said, with a new surge of compassion. Was there any point in remonstrating that Becky would have benefited from having an escort? Probably not. Not when Theo decried the use of an escort herself. “Do you approve the changes there?” she asked instead.
“Oh, Theo! I do. I hope you like it too. I think that’s what …”
Her words trailed off as she shot Theo a wide-eyed glance.
Curious as she may be, Theo refused to bite, simply saying, “If you approve, then we are sure to as well.”
“I should think so,” Becky said with a small smile.
An hour later, having carefully packed two hampers’ worth of food, and the Stapleton party—save for the general, who had declined the invitation, and the Rileys, who had not been invited—were at Mannering’s front door.
Arap rap rapand Captain Balfour opened the door and swept them inside. “Well, ladies, what do you think?”
Theo’s breath caught, and she blinked back a sudden rush of emotion. He had put every one of her suggestions into place. The reception rooms had been switched around, so now the study faced the front, and the drawing room captured the views over the River Till. Furniture was perfectly positioned that the lady of the house could enjoy the space very well. Should Theo have suggested lining the windows with stained glass, she suspected he might have done so also. Such a thought that he cared so much for her opinion, that he was so willing to execute her ideas, was more than a little humbling. It was also a little thrilling. And a little daunting.
If she was given to vanity, it felt a little as though he might actually care.
Chapter 25
A peacock’s cry rent the air as Daniel studied her. Did she approve of his changes? “Well, Miss Stapleton? What do you think?”
“Oh, sir.” She placed her hand at her throat and surveyed the room with a smile. “I am amazed you have accomplished so much so quickly.”
“Once my mind is made up, I like to see things done.”
“Well …” She traced a hand along an ornate carved picture frame. “It is exactly what I would have done.”
“So you approve?”
“Most heartily.” She glanced up at him, her half smile revealing a dimple lurking in one cheek. “Of course, anyone who deigns to agree with me, I am most certain to approve.”
“Then I hope you approve of me, Miss Stapleton, for I am in complete agreement with you.”
She chuckled.
The tension lining his heart eased a fraction at the sound. “It seems too long since I have heard your laughter,” he said in a softer voice.
Her gaze was shy as she looked up at him. “I did not know that you paid attention to such things.”
“I pay attention to many things, Miss Stapleton.”
She bit her lip, as if questioning his words. “I hope you find a buyer who will appreciate the changes you have made.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“So, have you found a buyer? Does the man have a family as well? It does help to know one’s neighbors.”
“I cannot be sure as yet just what his situation is,” he confessed. “I’ve a feeling we shall know more soon.”
