quiet on the street as she was in the house. Millicent had made several attempts at conversation by commenting on how beautiful the day was and how lovely the flowers were in the various parks, but Mrs. Brown had responded with only a brief “Yes, miss,” to absolutely everything Millicent had said.
Giving up on conversing and content simply to enjoy the drive, Millicent fell silent, too. This was her first venture out into the streets of London since she’d arrived in Town and she intended to enjoy every minute of it.
The sky was a vivid blue and the temperature pleasant as they drove past the rows of town homes and the green areas of the squares. Millicent was comfortably attired in a carriage dress of lightweight muslin with a matching three-button pelisse in faille. Her straw bonnet was trimmed with tiny flowers at the crown and banded with stiff muslin the same cinnamon brown as her kid gloves. Her half boots would make any strolling easy.
Millicent found the traffic in the streets shockingly busy for midafternoon. She had never seen so many gigs, phaetons, drays, and other types of conveyances in her life. Some of the carriages were quite ornate with elaborate trim and gold crests on the doors. Those were pulled by two or four well-matched horses that were driven by coachmen in handsome livery. As they continued down Oxford Street toward the City, the congestion was further complicated by the addition of street sweepers, the throng of pedestrians going about their daily business, and the rough barrows of the numerous street vendors.
Millicent noticed they passed several shops that sold fabrics, lace, and sewing notions, but obviously none of them were their intended target.
The housekeeper was taking Millicent to Aunt Beatrice’s favorite place. Her aunt had told her the quaint shop would be the perfect place for Millicent to buy her mother a length of lace, a bit of ribbon, embroidery thread, or any number of other things that could easily be sent to her by mail coach.
Millicent had not had much time to think about her mother since arriving in London. She had posted only one short letter to her. Millicent hoped to make up for her lack of attention by purchasing her mother a small gift.
The moment they walked in the shop Millicent saw that Mrs. Brown and the shopkeeper knew each other well. When asked about her employer, Mrs. Brown discreetly told the clerk that her employer’s recuperation was progressing as expected, and then she introduced Millicent.
Millicent smiled at the clerk and insisted she needed no help in picking out her purchases. She left the two at the front of the shop and went immediately to the table that held lace and carefully looked over the intricate patterns. From there she walked over to the ribbons, which came in so many different colors and widths Millicent didn’t know how she would ever be able to make up her mind.
She heard the door open and close two or three times while she looked over the beautiful fabrics in the shop but paid it no mind. The shopkeeper offered again to help her, but Millicent assured her she would rather take her time and look over everything before making a decision.
The clerk and Mrs. Brown continued to talk as if they were long lost friends who hadn’t seen each other in years. Millicent would have sworn that Mrs. Brown wasn’t capable of saying so much to anyone, but Millicent had just been proven wrong.
Wanting to give Mrs. Brown time to finish her conversation, Millicent slowly made her way to the rear of the store where the fine fabrics were located. She was pressing her palm over a length of blue velvet when suddenly a hand pressed her back, gently ushering her forward. Her head snapped around and she saw Lord Dunraven at her side. She gasped, but allowed him to maneuver her to the end of the aisle, where large bolts of dark velvets were stacked high.
“Stand here and look at these fabrics,” he said as he quickly stacked several bolts of cloth on top of each other. Within moments he had two piles of cloth tall enough for him to stand behind without being seen by anyone in the front of the store.
When he was finished he turned to her and said, “There. That should hide me from your chaperone.”
“What in heaven’s name are you doing in a fabric shop?”