Dancing With the Gull (Revenge of the Wallflowers, #14)

Chapter Sixteen

With the social season in a fallow period, it had been a fortnight since he’d seen Lady Penelope. They’d exchanged two letters of pleasantry. His mother inquired after her every day. He thought of her constantly, and not only because of the pleasure of their last meeting.

How was he to convince her to stay with him? To marry him? He’d not admitted to Kit that the relationship started as a farce, a distraction, so none of Kit’s advice had considered that challenge. It was clear that Lady Penelope was still attached to the idea that their romance was temporary.

Kit was still in Town, which surprised Henny. Time in Town required Kit to spend time with his mother and brother, and that usually meant very short visits. Kit didn’t hate his brother, but the two were very different. Although at least now that his brother had a son, Kit was relieved from being the heir to the earl’s title. Kit said that reduced some of the strain.

Henny spent his mornings either at the training barns near Town, the ones run by Mac McTavish, or with his own horses. Mac had taken on training Knox two years ago and the horse had done well for it. Henny had recently moved Knox back to his own barns on his father’s land, but the horse trainer he’d planned to hire had fallen through and he was beginning to regret it.

He supped with his parents, who were more attentive than usual. They asked after the plans Henny and Lady Penelope had. Whether they would live in Town, whether they would continue to attend social events. Questions he had no answers for, but fortunately they only seemed to want to consider the possibilities, not make him commit to one way or another.

In short, he attempted to act as though everything was normal, but it didn’t feel normal. It felt as though an itch just below his skin was driving him mad. As though everything was somewhat off kilter, unsettled. He hated it.

He didn’t know what to do about it.

Late morning he received a small note addressed to him in handwriting he didn’t recognize.

Dear Lord Henry,

Pardon me for being presumptuous, but I would very much appreciate it if you could attend me at Baxter House this afternoon.

Regards,

Mrs. Baxter

How was he expected to respond to this summons? Should he ask Kit? He didn’t think it prudent to ask either of his parents. War was so sour on the topic of Mrs. Baxter that he would undoubtedly say to avoid her.

Did this pertain to Lady Penelope? He could tell that Lady Sarah had become something of a friend to her, and it was clear that Lady Sarah and Mrs. Baxter were close. Thinking that it could have something to do with Lady Penelope made the decision for him. He wouldn’t want to involve anyone else, in case there was some news he wouldn’t want to share. For instance, had she decided to have the redoubtable Mrs. Baxter deliver the news that their relationship was broken before they’d even officially been betrothed? It was hard to imagine Lady Penelope relegating that duty to another, as she always seemed so straightforward, but his mind was spinning with possibilities.

Rather than agonize and consider all of the things that could happen, he brushed his favorite saddle horse Sunflower’s pale coat to a fine gleam. He made sure her saddle and bridle were as she liked them, and headed into Town. Baxter House was easy enough to find, even though he’d not been there before. It was ostentatious in that way that the newly rich favored. He left Sunflower with one of Mrs. Baxter’s grooms, tipping the man generously to ensure proper care.

Even though he hated situations where he didn’t know what to expect, he knocked on the door and gave his card to the austere butler who answered. He was made to wait in the front hall while the butler determined if the lady was ‘in residence’. The nonsense phrases of polite society always drove Henny slightly mad. Of course she was in residence, she’d just sent him a note a few hours past.

Eventually the man came back and escorted him down a hallway, knocking briefly at a door and then opening it wide.

“Lord Henry Greer,” he intoned, and then stepped away.

Henny entered the room and was surprised to see Lady Penelope standing to receive him, instead of Mrs. Baxter. He’d never wished so much that he was better at understanding people, at knowing their thoughts from their expressions. Some things he could read very well, such as the dilation of pupils that signaled attraction, but other people seemed to understand so much more.

She took a step toward him, then paused. “I’m sorry, I wanted to see you.”

He realized he’d frozen in the doorway and took a few steps toward her as well before stopping. He didn’t know why she wanted to see him. Perhaps it was precisely what he feared, only she would deliver the news herself instead of asking Mrs. Baxter to do so.

Her brow furrowed. “Are you angry at me?”

His own brow rose. “No. What makes you think that?”

“You’re so stiff, with your hands clasped behind your back.”

He was amused by her description, especially as getting any closer to her would have him stiff in an entirely different way. “I just don’t know what you want, Lady Penelope, so I am waiting to find out why I’m here.”

“Oh, well, I thought... I mean, I hoped,” she looked down to where she was twisting her hands together.

He clung to the word hope. It would be an odd word to use when breaking a union. “You hoped?”

“That we could talk. About our future.” She looked up at him again through her lashes. “And regardless of what we decided about that, we might kiss again.”

He took another step forward. Now he kept his hands clasped behind his back merely so he wouldn”t reach for her and haul her against him. Ravish her the way his desire burned to do. “You would like for me to kiss you again?”

“Yes,” she said in a gust of a sigh.

“Where would you like for me to kiss you, Lady Penelope?”

She tilted her chin up and met his eyes. Oh yes, her pupils confessed her attraction. “Anywhere,” she said huskily. “Everywhere.”

He needed to know whether she would marry him, but right now he needed to feel her pressed against him even more. He buried his hands in her hair and kissed her avidly. She responded in kind, her hands clutching the linen of his shirt. He kissed and bit at the line of her jaw, her throat. She moaned softly and arched against him.

“Are you sure you want me to kiss you everywhere, Lady Penelope?”

She made a pleased sound and nodded her head.