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“Fine!” She sighed and marched from them.
I stepped away from the stairs, not wishing to go down now, but after insisting, I had no choice.
What sort of misery was this?
Theodore
This was the very worst kind of misery.
The royal menagerie was meant to show all of the ton how greatly beloved the prince regent was by showcasing the numerous animals gifted to him by rulers and peoples of the world.
“This is a lion too?” Miss Parwens gasped, the greatest of the expressions I had seen from her, as she stared up at the creature within its tiny cell. “Why does it not have a large mane like Edward there?”
She pointed to the other lion in its cage beside it.
“A lioness, a female lion, does not have a mane, Miss Parwens,” I answered, as her brother was far too busy looking over at the gathered nobility. Searching for whom, I knew not; I could only guess it was his beloved.
“And that beast there, why does it have black spots? I was not aware lions could look as such. Is it a different breed?” she pressed, pointing once more.
“No, Miss Parwens, that is a leopard,” I replied, staring as it roared and banged its head against the bars only for the guards to beat it away with clubs to the jeering amusement of the gathered crowd.
“It is quite ferocious. I thought the lions were the greatest of all beasts. Yet all these ones do is lie here.” She giggled, looking back at the lions before us. “They are nothing but big cats, like Miss Peggy, is that not right, Henry?”
“Yes, exactly. Only those in there could eat you whole, Amity. But other than that, surely there is no difference.” Henry scoffed, still searching.
“Excuse me for a moment,” I said to them both, already walking away before Henry could question why.
As I did, I could not help but watch the people more than the animals. How much joy this brought to them and how excited the children were as they built the courage to approach the animals, only to run back giggling at the slightest roar or rumble. Everyone was having such a splendid time, and I did not wish to be the one to turn it sour. However, as I walked by, I could not help but see an elephant; its keepers threw fruits at it to pick up with its long nose. And the thought came to me once again.
“This is horrid.”
But it was not I who said it. I turned to the voice beside me to see none other than…
“Lady Verity?” I gasped out in surprise. She was dressed in a soft lavender dress with a matching hat that had white flowers on the side, a pair of short gloves covering her hands.
She tore her gaze from the elephant and looked at me, her brown eyes widening in surprise.
“Dr. Darrington, you have ventured out into the wild as well?” the marquess questioned from behind her, and there I saw the entire Du Bell clan in attendance. They truly did move as one organism.
“Yes, good day to you, your lordship,” I replied, bowing my head to him. “Henry and his sister extended the invitation, as Lord Fancot and his wife could not be in attendance.”
“I am not surprised. Lady Fancot cannot even stand the sight of a parrot,” the marchioness said as she stepped forward.
“And it is only by God’s grace my sister’s cat has lived so long,” Henry said as he and his sister somehow managed to find us. There were hundreds of people here and yet somehow, I managed to run into the one creature I feared the most.
My eyes shifted to hers once more only to see the intensity of her gaze still upon me. Clearly, she had not forgotten what I had said to her. How could she? It had been but a handful of hours ago.
“Well, since you are all here, there is no harm in joining us as we venture.” The marchioness smiled and then looked to her daughter Hathor.
The plots of mothers. I expected Henry to seek his method of retreat so I might go as well, but instead the blasted fool agreed with her.
“Lady Hathor, how are you enjoying the exhibition?” he asked as he moved to her side.
What on earth?
Just like that, we all began to walk again, and once more I was left beside…Lady Verity. She stared back up at the animals with a deep frown upon her lips.
I kept my arms tucked behind me and sought not to distract or annoy her in any fashion whatsoever. If she had asked me to grow wings and fly away from her, I think I could have managed it.
“I thought I was going to enjoy this?” she said softly, and I was not sure if she was speaking to me or herself so I said nothing. However, when she turned to me, her eyes sober, I found myself speaking.
