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Miss Stapleton’s gaze met his then fell. “May I introduce Mrs. Seraphina Riley.”
Her sister, the hellion, placed a hand on her hip and said smugly, “We are not much alike, are we?”
No. One was all humble charm and consideration, the other like well-dressed trouble.
“Whoisthis man, Theo?”
Theodosia raised one brow as if inviting him to speak.
He nodded. Glanced at the blonde whose hauteur reminded him too much of the kinds of ladies he’d met in London, ladies only too quick to show consideration for a person they’d ignore if not for the medal he’d been awarded. “My name is Daniel.”
“As I said before,Mr.Daniel came to escort Miss Mannering to London. He has broken his leg and has been unable to move from this room for several weeks now. Hecannotbe moved—” Theodosia cut off a sound of protest from her sister. “Not until the doctor gives consent, which is unlikely to be for a while longer.”
“But who is he?” Mrs. Riley complained.
He peeked at Theodosia, but she gave little clue as to what to do. Should he own his true name to her sister? How could he not? “I … I am a relative of Miss Mannering’s.”
“A relative of some distance,” Theodosia hastened to clarify, lips lifting to one side, green eyes seeming to plead with him. “You have come quite a way, have you not, sir?”
“Yes, that is so.” Amusement tweaked his own lips. Now this game he could play. “Hundreds of miles, in fact.”
“You have even sailed seas, I believe.”
“Many times.”
“Are you a sailor, Mr. Daniel?” the sister asked.
“Not by choice,” he admitted. Heaven forbid. “I much prefer land to the sea.”
“Hmph. Well, I really don’t know why a sailor has been charged with such a task, or why you have broken your leg, but I find your sense of timing most inconvenient.”
“It was most inconvenient timing to break my leg,” he admitted meekly.
“Agreed,” she snapped.
“I should have written of my intention to come.” He watched her from under hooded lids. “Writing is the polite thing to do, is it not?”
“Surely.”
“But Mr. Daniel,” interposed Theodosia. “You must have forgotten.Youcertainly did write to let us know of your planned visit.”
He caught the sidelong look the sisters exchanged and the way the blonde’s cheeks pinked. The glitter in her blue eyes suggested he’d best take a care to himself.
And that he might need to have a care for what her defeat today might mean for her sister on the morrow.
When he next encountered Theodosia on the following afternoon, Daniel was shocked by the change in her countenance. Gone was the light and life and sparkle, replaced by a dreary weariness he expected resulted chiefly from the woman who’d hurtled back into her family’s lives so recently.
He shouldn’t have been surprised. Last night, while helping Daniel wash, Robert Brigham had admitted some more details about the force that was Miss Seraphina, “though I s’pose I best rightly call her Mrs. Riley now.”
“She seems most determined,” he’d said carefully, not wishing to offend the sensibilities of loyal servants.
“Pigheaded also works,” the man muttered. “The day that girl was married was the day half the storms left this house.”
No prizes for guessing who was responsible for the other half.
“I don’t mind saying, sir, it was a blessing for all concerned. Well, not Miss Theo, of course.”
“She missed her sister?”
