Page 46 of A Convenient Fiction

It was a courtly gesture. Not at all the sort of thing a modern gentleman might do. But it made her heartbeat quicken and the butterflies in her stomach soar to life.

“Good night, Laura,” he said.

She drew her hand away as soon as he released it, conscious of Yardley’s presence on the other side of the gate. “Good night.”

Monday morning, Alex and George arrived at Edgington Park on horseback in answer to a summons from Henrietta, only to find their young hostess in a temper fit. She stormed about the fashionable drawing room in a flurry of French silk, a crumpled note held in her hand.

“I sent for Laura to join us over an hour ago,” she said, “and have just received this message from her aunt. She says Laura is out all morning. That she won’t return until the afternoon. Out where, I ask you? What could possibly take all morning?”

“Maybe she’s gone to the village?” George suggested. “Or back to London to visit that solicitor of hers?”

Henrietta fumed. “I begin to regret lending her that money. If I knew the result would be her ruining my plans—”

George gave Henrietta a sharp look. “What money?”

“I don’t believe she’s gone to London,” Alex said before Henrietta could answer.

“Where is she, then?” Henrietta demanded.

“Does it matter?” George asked. “You’ll see her later, won’t you?”

“But I need her here now. I wanted to tell all of you about the excursion I have planned. I’ve put so much effort into arranging it.” Henrietta flounced down on the sofa. She looked very near tears.

Alex felt a flicker of annoyance. She was spoiled and pettish. A young lady used to getting her own way. It shouldn’t irritate him. He’d recognized what she was from the first day they’d met. Recognized it and accepted it. If he wanted Edgington Park, he was going to have to continue to accept it.

He schooled his features into a mask of polite concern. “Why don’t you tell us about it?”

“Yes, do tell us, Hen.” George went to sit beside her. “You can tell Laura later. She won’t mind if we hear it first.”

“Oh, very well.” Henrietta gave a dramatic sniffle. “I’ve arranged for all of us to go to Margate. Papa is coming, too, and I’m to invite Laura’s aunt and her brother. I’ve already booked rooms at the York Hotel.”

“Margate?” George looked dubious. “By rail?”

“We’ll leave Friday morning and have a whole two days ahead of us at the seaside. Papa says we must return on Sunday. That’s when all the rabble come down from London on their weekly excursions. But still, we shall have two nights there in a beach hotel, and there will be music and dancing and all manner of fun.” She turned to Alex. “Doesn’t it sound a treat? The weather is perfect for bathing.”

“It sounds…” Alex was at a loss. He had no desire to go to Margate. The sea brought nothing but bad memories.

Then again, Laura would likely be overjoyed at the news. He was sure he could muster some degree of enthusiasm for her sake. Margate was, after all, a long way from the beaches of North Devon.

“It sounds splendid,” George finished for him. “Especially in this heat. Don’t you agree, Archer?”

“Wholeheartedly,” Alex said.

Henrietta brightened. “I knew you would both approve.”

For the better part of the next hour, she chattered happily about their impending excursion as she served them tea and chocolate-covered biscuits. There was little else for them to do in Laura’s absence, and Henrietta seemed reluctant to enlist anyone else as her chaperone.

When at last Alex and George rode away from Edgington Park, it was with the promise to return later that afternoon. It was already half past eleven, the sun blazing in the sky.

“Lord, but I need a drink,” George muttered. “I’ve had enough tea and lemonade this past week to float a steamer ship.”

“I’d have thought you’d drunk your fill last night.”

“At the Park? God, no. Henrietta’s taken to being as ruthless as the village barman. She cut me off after the first glass. Probably for the best, now I think of it. I had to keep all my wits about me making excuses for why you weren’t available to join us.”

Alex sighed. This whole affair was becoming a tedious ordeal. “I trust she believed them.”

“Who knows? Can’t say it’ll make much difference in the end. It’s only a matter of time before she discovers you were dining with Laura Hayes—and then the claws will come out.” George chuckled. “You should have seen the look on her face when she learned that you drove Laura and her aunt home after church.”