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Placing the food upon the prep table, Rex returned to the door. An elderly man he assumed was Dr. Mayweather stood upon the small stoop.
“Good morning to you.” The man gave him a friendly smile as he removed his hat.
“Are you Dr. Mayweather?” Rex asked, standing in the doorway blocking the path to the kitchen. Jacob had gone straight to the barn so he couldn’t confirm the man’s identity.
But the other man nodded. “Jacob called for me this morning.”
Rex gestured for the man to come in.
A slight huff of breath told him Petal had joined them in the kitchen. Turning, he caught sight of her standing just on the other side of the table. She’d been lovely yesterday but today…she was a vision. Dressed in a fine wool gown and adorned as a lady of her station should be, she took his breath away.
She, however, seemed less enamored to see him. As their eyes met, her mouth turned into a deep frown.
* * *
For a moment, Daffodil looked at Rex, giving him the best glare she could muster. Now he was answering their door? What would the doctor think?
Rex was far too familiar. Scrunching her face at him one last time, she turned to the doctor. “Thank you for coming, Dr. Mayweather.” Daffodil gave him what she hoped was a genuine smile. Annoyance that was meant for Rex was still coursing through her. “I’ll take you upstairs to see Mrs. Fields.”
“Yes, my lady,” Dr. Mayweather glanced around the kitchen. “How have you fared?”
Daffodil straightened. She knew the house showed signs of their financial state. “Very well. My sister, Violette, is engaged to marry.”
The doctor gave her a genuine smile. “Excellent news. Anyone I might know?”
“The Duke of Waverly,” Rex interrupted.
“Oh.” The doctor’s eyes widened. “How wonderful.”
Daffodil fisted her hands in her skirt. Wonderful wasn’t the word that came to mind at this exact moment. Because her future brother-in-law had saddled her with a known rake. One who was skirting the very edge of propriety. “It is.” She gave a falsely cheerful grin. “Lord Casterly has come to escort us to the
wedding, but we cannot go without a proper chaperone.” She gestured toward the stairs. “Perhaps we can see if Mrs. Fields will be up to the journey sometime soon?”
“Lord Casterly?” Dr. Mayweather glanced at the other man. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“You as well,” Rex rumbled like the rake that he was.
“I’ll see myself upstairs. I know the way.” The doctor gave them a final nod before disappearing up the back stair.
“You’re upset with me.” Rex started moving around the table toward her.
She held up her hand. “Stay where you are.”
When he stopped, she lowered her arm, but only to prop it on her hip before she continued. “You answered my door as though you live here.”
Scratching his head, he raised a brow. He had to confess, she had a point. He’d been gone from England a long time and Barbados had a much less strict code of ethics. Not that he’d ever cared for rules all that much. It had been his custom to break them whenever possible. “So you’re angry about something different this morning than you were last night?”
“You say that like it’s my fault you can’t behave yourself.” She shook her head. “You had to be rescued from the wall of my garden.”
“And you had to be rescued from your own cooking.” He pointed a finger at her. “It seems to me we’re even.”
She let out a little squeak. How dare he? “I was trying to provide for us. You, however, were…what exactly were you doing?”
“Ha! You are curious.” He started moving closer. “I knew it.”
“I am not.” She was. Completely curious. “I only meant to establish that my motives were altruistic while yours…” Her eyebrows drifted up to make her point.
“I thought your room was on fire again,” he said quickly, though that was far from the truth. “How was I to know? Perhaps you make a habit of lighting blazes in the house.” He shrugged even as he moved closer.
