The Lady and the Duke_A Dangerous Season by Penelope Redmont

Author:Penelope Redmont [Redmont, Penelope]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penelope Redmont
Published: 2018-01-14T00:00:00+00:00

"Tea! How wonderful," Catherine said heartily. "And Sir Oliver too… You've called to visit Felicity — she will be saddened that she missed you. She's still paying calls with Mother and Anne. I had to come home. Three calls in one day is more than enough for me." She stripped off her gloves, and set them on a side table.

Elaine saw that Cormac had closed the doors, and was standing at the side of the room. Although he looked calmly into space, she sensed that all his attention was on Sir Oliver. That gave her courage.

Sir Oliver bowed to Catherine. "Mrs. Grove."

"Sir Oliver feels that Felicity is carrying on a flirtation with Count Volkov," Elaine told her sister. "He does not approve."

Sir Oliver looked startled at Elaine's plain speaking. He might be willing to bully Elaine, but he wouldn't dare try that with Catherine, Elaine knew.

"Is she? How enterprising of her." Catherine poured a cup of tea, and added a slice of lemon to it. "A Russian nobleman." She smiled at Sir Oliver, and then chided Elaine playfully. "My dear sister, she's showing you how you must go on — you should be collecting beaux too."

She sat at a chair close to the tea table, and waved at Sir Oliver to sit down again. "Seed cake, Sir Oliver? Or perhaps some bread and butter?"

She set a couple of slices of bread onto a plate, rose, and offered the plate to him.

Startled, he took it, and she smiled in approval. "The butter's from Gostwicke Hall, I can recommend it… Now, I can see that Felicity's flirting with Volkov concerns you. And very proper too, it shows that you have a nice concern for young Felicity." She took a large bite of her own slice of seed cake, and ate with obvious enjoyment.

"Do eat, Sir Oliver," Catherine said after a few moments, and took another sip of tea. "Otherwise I feel so greedy."

He stared down at the plate, shrugged, and ate.

Elaine forked a mouthful of custard tart, watching her sister in admiration. Catherine looked lovely, in an expensive walking gown from Paris, with her red-gold tresses enticingly curled underneath a tiny confection of a hat.

Catherine soothed away Sir Oliver's temper effortlessly, and Elaine wished that she had that ability. Hiding her smile, she allowed herself to relax for the first time in almost half an hour.

She felt Lilly relax beside her as well, and slipped the dog a piece of pie crust.

Catherine set down her plate when she'd finished the cake. "Delicious," she said. She took another sip of tea.

"You should be proud of Felicity," Catherine said to Sir Oliver finally, her tone confiding. "A young girl, on her first season, catches the attention of a Russian nobleman." She sighed. "The girl's showing you how to go on, Elaine — I wish that you would follow her example."

"Mrs. Grove, you're making a game of me." Sir Oliver smiled in reluctant admiration. "You're bewitching, just as the major says."

Elaine blinked. He was smiling? Her gaze met Cormac's.

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