The Chaperone's Secret by Donna Lea Simpson

Author:Donna Lea Simpson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: jane austen, second chances, traditional regency, british historical fiction, clean and wholesome, reformed rogue
Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing

Twelve

The first part of the ride was accomplished in silence, if a ride through the London streets at the height of the Season and in lovely weather could ever be called silent. The din precluded much in the way of conversation anyway: wheels of the open carriage clacked as the hooves of the horses clopped; drivers swore at each other over close calls on the narrow streets, disputing whose fault it was; children screeched, hawkers yelled and horses whinnied and neighed. There was no end to the noise and dust of the street, and it was a relief, Amy thought, when they finally reached the park. It was crowded, but at least the pace was slow. She breathed deeply and more free, having green space around her just beyond the fringe of the crowded walkways and lanes of Hyde Park at the perfect hour for promenading.

She had been reliving, on their silent journey, the humiliation of knowing how little she was wanted as a companion, judging by Lord Pierson’s evident disappointment when he found she was to accompany them. He should have expected it. He was only recently, it appeared, trying to mend his soiled reputation. She would not even allow him near Lady Rowena if it were not for the fact that the young lady seemed to fancy him, and any acceptable beau was to be welcomed, even one with a shady reputation. But Amy was not going to abdicate responsibility so easily, for she would not just hand Rowena over to the man if she decided he was in any way vicious or unprincipled.

He and Rowena were chatting over the side of the carriage with a mutual acquaintance in another carriage for the nonce. Amy examined Lord Pierson. He looked familiar somehow, still. Or perhaps it was just that if she was to design the perfect gentleman to her own taste, it would be him.

She had seen many men in her weeks immersed in the London Season so far. Handsome and plain, tall and short, thin and fat and in between. And so, though the physical was only one small part of a man, she knew, it amused her, during the boredom of a chaperone’s role at the balls, to design her own ideal gentleman.

Short herself, she did not want a gentleman to tower over her, so a man of medium height would be fine. And she rather found the men of a darker cast to be attractive. Black or brown hair and darker of complexion. Lord Pierson embodied those characteristics. His hair was a dark chocolate brown and curled on its own, it seemed, and his skin was rich-toned, as if there was a gypsy ancestor somewhere in his background.

He was smiling and describing something to Rowena that was making her and the lady in the other carriage smile, and he used his hands as he spoke. That was another thing she found attractive, she mused. He had an eagerness of spirit that bespoke a warm heart.

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