Chapter 10 #2
“None that have proven reliable.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “I had hoped something might have come to light.”
The words themselves were unremarkable. So why did they leave her so uneasy?
She became acutely aware of every answer she gave, choosing each word with greater care than the last. His manner remained courteous, his voice calm, yet she could not shake the uncomfortable sensation that she was being weighed. Judged.
Or perhaps questioned. Was he simply expressing concern? Or trying to discover precisely how much she had learned?
She hated that she could no longer tell the difference.
Across the room, the duchess remained almost unnaturally silent. She contributed little to the conversation, her cool blue eyes wandering lazily about the drawing room before returning, every so often, to Rosalind.
There was nothing openly unfriendly in her expression, yet the scrutiny prickled against Rosalind's skin. It felt oddly like standing beneath a painter's gaze, as though the duchess were quietly studying every reaction without ever asking a question of her own.
By the time the conversation turned elsewhere, Rosalind realized she had scarcely touched the tea that had been poured for her. Her fingers had remained wrapped around the warm porcelain cup the entire time, drawing comfort from its heat without ever taking a sip.
The duke rose. “I shall not keep Lady Rosalind from her engagement.”
Her mother smiled warmly. “How thoughtful.”
Rosalind accompanied their guests into the entrance hall. As the butler stepped forward to open the front door, the duchess slowed and turned toward her.
“Lady Rosalind.”
Rosalind stopped.
The duchess smiled pleasantly enough, though nothing about the expression reached her eyes. “I am pleased you took my advice.”
“My lady?”
“To concern yourself with finding a husband.”
The remark was delivered with just enough sweetness to make it impossible to challenge.
Before Rosalind could answer, the duchess leaned a fraction closer.
“One more thing.” Her voice dropped. “A lady in my embroidery circle mentioned yesterday that her maid heard from another servant that your father had been seen several days before his disappearance.”
Rosalind felt her breath catch. “With whom?”
“A woman.” The duchess gave the slightest shrug. “They were traveling along one of the less respectable roads beyond London.”
Rosalind frowned. “Did she know who the woman was?”
“No.”
“Or which road?”
“I fear not.”
A faint smile returned to the duchess's lips. “Servants do have an unfortunate tendency to lose the most interesting parts of a story.”
With that, she inclined her head and followed her husband outside.
Rosalind remained standing in the open doorway, watching their carriage disappear down the street.
A woman.
Seen with her father.
On a lonely road outside London.
It might be nothing more than another foolish rumor.
Or it might be the first genuine lead she had received in days.
Either way, she intended to place it before William that very afternoon.
Behind her, Nelly appeared with Rosalind's gloves. “My lady? Lord William will be expecting you.”
Rosalind accepted them absently. “Yes.”
Her thoughts, however, were already racing ahead.
If a servant had repeated the story, then somewhere, another servant might know the rest.
***
Gunter’s tea shop stood upon one of Mayfair's busiest streets, its polished windows overlooking an endless procession of elegant carriages and fashionable ladies drifting from one appointment to the next.
Rosalind spotted William almost immediately.
He waited outside beneath the striped awning, hat in hand, speaking politely with the proprietor.
The afternoon sun caught the fair strands of his hair, lending them an almost golden cast, and when he noticed her carriage drawing to a stop, a smile spread so naturally across his face that she found herself smiling in return before she had time to think better of it.
It was disconcertingly easy.
William stepped forward as the footman lowered the steps. “Lady Rosalind.”
“Lord William.”
He offered his arm. “If I may?”
She accepted it, reminding herself that the gesture formed part of their arrangement.
Nothing more.
Behind them, Nelly settled herself upon a nearby bench, entirely content to remain outside while they entered the tea shop together.
The gentle murmur of conversation, the delicate fragrance of fresh pastries, and the comforting scent of tea leaves greeted them almost at once.
Sunlight filtered through lace curtains, illuminating polished wooden tables already occupied by ladies, gentlemen, and no small number of hopeful young couples.
William glanced around the busy establishment before leaning slightly nearer. “I believe we've chosen well.”
“For the cake?”
“For the audience.”
Rosalind followed his gaze around the room. Nearly every table was occupied, and more than one familiar face had already noticed their arrival.
“Ah.” She smiled. “Of course. Our devoted courtship requires witnesses.”
“Precisely.”
“How terribly romantic.”
“I thought so.”
She laughed softly as he guided her toward a table beside the window, where they would be visible enough to satisfy even the most determined gossip.
Once they were seated and the waiter had taken their order, Rosalind settled back in her chair.
“Your brother called upon us before I left.”
William looked up with immediate interest. “Did he?”
“He brought me a watercolor to celebrate our... courtship.”
“I'm glad.”
“You already knew.”
“He told me he intended to.”
She watched him for a moment. “It was thoughtful.”
Relief flickered briefly across his face before he hid it behind a small smile. “I believe he meant it to be.”
She nodded slowly.
“He also told me he intends to assist with your father’s disappearance once he returns from estate business.” William stirred his tea absently. “I know I ask a great deal of you, Lady Rosalind.”
She looked at him.
“But I hope, in time, you might trust him as you are beginning to trust me.”
Beginning. The word lingered.
She was not entirely certain it was true. Yet she could not honestly deny it either.
“I shall try,” she admitted quietly.
“That is all I ask.”
She lowered her gaze to her cup.
She had intended to tell him the duchess's curious story.
Now, she wasn't so certain.
Perhaps she should wait until it could be verified.
The waiter arrived carrying an impressive assortment of cakes, neatly arranged upon a silver stand.
William looked at them gravely. “I fear we must behave like a courting couple.”
Rosalind followed his gaze toward another table where a young gentleman leaned forward so eagerly that he nearly upset his tea.
His companion lowered her eyes at precisely the moment he looked up.
“How perfectly rehearsed,” Rosalind murmured.
William followed her gaze toward the young couple seated two tables away. “You have noticed them?”
Rosalind smiled over the rim of her teacup. “They have not looked directly at one another for nearly five minutes.”
“And yet neither has stopped smiling.”
“They are approaching the part where he compliments her bonnet.”
William looked back at her, one eyebrow lifting. “You are predicting the future now?”
“Not the future.” A mischievous smile tugged at her lips. “Only courtship.”
As though determined to prove her correct, the young gentleman gestured toward the lady's bonnet.
William laughed. “Remarkable.”