Lady Elinor's Wicked Adventures by Lillian Marek

Author:Lillian Marek
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc
Published: 2014-09-23T16:23:34+00:00

Sixteen

Breakfast the next morning was late, but even so, it was a quiet meal. Savelli had not yet returned, though he was expected to arrive before evening. The contessa, of course, was sleeping the sleep of the exhausted hostess. Landi was nowhere in sight. This left the terrace and the morning sunshine to the English visitors.

They did not mind.

The two servants waiting on them managed to appear cheerful and energetic, even though they could have had little sleep themselves between ball and breakfast. They brought pots of coffee and pitchers of steaming milk, baskets of oranges and baskets of rolls, bowls of butter and bowls of jam. They were rewarded with smiles and thanks by Lord and Lady Penworth.

Lady Elinor and Lord Tunbury were oblivious to everything, including the food that was placed before them. Instead of being insulted, the servants were amused. Those who hadn’t observed the scene in the library had heard about it. They rather relished the discomfiture of Landi, whose connection to the princely Savelli family was of the flimsiest. The young lady would doubtless be far better off with her English suitor, even if he failed to make una bella figura, an elegant appearance.

About the other young Englishman, the handsome one, they were not quite certain. This morning he did not seem as happy as the others. In fact, he seemed quite disturbed about something. Not the betrothal of his sister, though. He could be roused to smile at the couple, but soon he relapsed into a brown study.

Eventually there was nothing left to place on the table or remove from it. There were no cups to fill, no crumbs to brush away, and there had still been no interesting remarks, no revelations about the events of the evening, not even a mention of the cavaliere. Disappointing. The two servants looked at each other, shrugged, and returned to the kitchen.

“What on earth is the matter with you, Pip? You look as if you have indigestion.” Lady Penworth’s mothering style had never veered toward sweetness.

Rycote flushed. “I was thinking that perhaps I should return to Rome. We have been away for more than two weeks, and I can’t help worrying about Lissandra.” The sudden silence at the table made him flush more deeply. “Donna Lissandra. And her family, of course.”

“Of course.” Lady Penworth sipped her coffee.

“It’s that French fellow, Girard. I don’t like the way he keeps hanging around her.” Rycote wriggled uncomfortably.

“She is a lovely and charming young lady,” said Lord Penworth, looking at his son with some compassion. “It is hardly surprising that she should have suitors.”

“Not like him!” Rycote pushed to his feet, strode over to the balustrade, and leaned on it to stare out over the garden. The others watched him. Finally he turned back. “It’s not only that. It’s her brother.”

“I understood that he had fled with the other followers of Garibaldi some years ago.” Lord Penworth was looking cautious now.

“But he’s back.”

Lord Penworth looked actually alarmed now, but his son failed to notice this.

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