Hawk & the Lady - Elizabeth Stevens Page 0,41

Leah’s going to start showing any day now and it would just ruin the lines of the photos.’”

Patrick huffed a rough laugh. “Would it make things easier to tell her that?”

I smiled at him. “Well, she’d definitely not approve. Although, I can’t decide whether she’d think better of you for stepping up or just be so focussed on what kind of idiot not only has sex before marriage but doesn’t do it sensibly.”

“Your mum’s got some funny ideas.”

“Archaic,” I corrected. “They’re archaic. Not just that, but I’ll bet she was happy to throw them out the window when she was younger.”

“Human condition,” he said.

“What?”

He shrugged. “We’re destined to become our parents. It’s just kind of inevitable.”

I shuddered. “God, I hope not.”

“Your dad seems fine. Just turn into him.”

“Fine. But you’ll have to live with the pot belly and the cigar obsession,” I teased.

“That’s fine. You’re the one who’ll have to deal with me shouting at the sport on tellie when I don’t really know what’s going on and the floral tea cosy obsession.”

My nose wrinkled. “Is that your mum or your dad?”

“Both,” he admitted.

“That’s adorable.”

He shrugged and wrapped his arms around me again. “They are kinda.”

He gave me a kiss that had me tempted to go home early, but pulled away just before it really reached inappropriate potential, and led me onto the dance floor.

Later, Mrs Fortescue found me as I was watching Patrick talking to some of the other society brat boys.

“I like what you’ve done with him, dear,” she said with a nod.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well…” she indicated him. “Look at him.”

I was looking at him. I was finding it difficult to keep my eyes off him, to be quite honest. But I wasn’t sure what she meant.

“What about him?”

“Gone is the rigidity. He’s smiling more. He’s just…bigger and bolder.”

I looked him over again and tried to see whatever it was she was clearly seeing. “What?”

“Pardon,” she corrected me and I threw her a smile.

“Pardon?”

There was a glimmer of a rueful smile at her lips. “See how he talks with people.” She pointed to him. “He’s using his arms to gesture around him. He’s laughing and smiling. He’s even talking more loudly.”

“How can you tell?”

“I can see it in him, dear. You forget, I’ve spent many a night on Patrick Grace’s arm and he’s been nothing but subtle. Small gestures, tidy, quiet, keeping to himself. The very picture of prim and proper and polite. This, though…”

I suddenly worried there was something wrong with it. “It’s bad?”

“On the contrary, dear,” she chuckled lightly. “He’s got just that exact right amount of propriety balanced with a touch of being just uncouth enough to notice but not be overt.”

I looked at her, then back to Patrick. “I think I know what you mean.”

“Your mother’s certainly noticed.”

“Yes. She’s less than pleased with my fiancé.”

“I must say I was surprised to hear how quickly this particular relationship evolved…?”

I nodded; nothing got by her, but I need not admit it outright. “We clicked.”

“Oh, I see that.” She touched my arm briefly. “Good on you, dear. Good on you.”

I wasn’t sure if she did see through the charade entirely or if she was just congratulating me on being my own woman in a situation that sometimes made that difficult. Whichever it was, I was excited over the change in Patrick. We’d talked about him showcasing his less polished side, obviously, but I honestly hadn’t really noticed it in him. I didn’t know if that was because I just saw the Patrick I wanted to see, or if it I’d been so hung up on how much I’d wanted him that I hadn’t really stopped to notice the intricacies of his behaviour before.

12

Patrick

Everything except Tank went back to normal.

It had been a few weeks since Flo had divulged the news of my ‘engagement’ and Tank was talking to me as little as possible. He was even going so far as to be in the office with me as little as possible. You couldn’t call him out on it since, when we were forced to be in the same place, he was polite and nice and – outwardly – nothing different than if he just happened to have something on his mind. But his sudden growth in off-site meetings and lessons spoke volumes.

I hadn’t brought it up with anyone because that wasn’t what we did. Also, to be honest, I was a little miffed the bloody idiot was being so precious about the whole thing.