“The truth is Simon had met me many times, and I hadn’t made an impression. It was his guilty conscience that drove him to seek me out and apologize for my overhearing you. And it was that conversation that drew us together and planted the seeds of friendship.”
Scrunching her nose, Mina winced and shook her head, dropping her gaze to the floor. “And whatever your faults, I have been unkind in my own right, and I apologize as well. Perhaps we might agree to forget the past and start anew?”
When she met his eyes again, Mr. Finch stood like a statue before her. His expression was muted, but his eyes shone with a desperate hope that made it impossible to hold onto any lingering resentment.
“It has been pointed out to me many times of late that I can be quite the dunderhead, and I am trying to do better,” he said. “But I cannot guarantee I won’t say something unintentionally, like laughing at your horse’s name. Which I haven’t apologized for yet. And I am sorry for it. I truly thought it was meant to be witty—”
Mina held up a hand before the fellow talked himself into another gaffe. “And I am far too sensitive at times. Like you, I am trying to be better at it. Perhaps we might both try harder.”
Dipping into a low bow, Mr. Finch swept off his hat and said with a smile that was equally joyful and relieved, “Madam, if I were a Catholic, I would nominate you to be the patron saint of gentlemen who mean well but are too dense for their own good.”
There was just the right hint of humor and earnestness so that Mina laughed out loud and motioned for him to join her as they strolled back to the house. Offering his arm to her, Mr. Finch guided her home with all the courtly air of a king.
“If nothing else, my good lady, I would adore you forever for freeing my dear friend from the clutches of that siren,” he said with a slanted look. His eyes warmed as he added, “And I am truly grateful to see you are genuinely happy together.”
She patted his arm with a smile before turning to his first statement. “I do not understand her appeal, Mr. Finch. She is wretched, yet men fall over themselves when she’s around.”
Mr. Finch chuckled. “I am at a loss to explain it.”
And with that, Mr. Finch launched into a lively discussion of all things wrong with that woman, and Mina laughed silently to herself. They now had two subjects on which their opinions aligned: their love of music and their distaste for Susannah Banfield. That was a start.
Chapter 26
“Why are you not playing, Mr. Finch?” Aunt Imogene jabbed the ground with her cane, leveling an imperious glare at the fellow. “I have fed you, and now it is your duty to entertain me.”
Felicity turned her wince to the wall. Lady Imogene Lovell was known for her forward manner, and the behavior was tolerated by most because of her rank and fortune. For those who truly knew her, they welcomed it because it was steeped in humor, as though the lady found great ridiculousness in her elevated status, both as the widow and mother of a baronet and as an elder of the village.
There were times when Felicity suspected that Aunt Imogene spouted audacious things simply to see if she could raise eyebrows. And normally, Felicity found great fun in watching sycophants feigning indifference when their inner thoughts were gasping and gaping, but the evening had already been so discomforting, which was the crowning event of a difficult week.
“Surely your refined tastes would find my musical offerings paltry, my lady,” said Mr. Finch with a lazy grin.
“Nonsense,” came the reply, punctuated by a snap of her cane. The poor maids would have to polish the floor tomorrow at this rate.
“As you command,” he said, giving her a gallant bow.
“And you’d best prepare yourselves, ladies, for I will expect the same from you.” Aunt Imogene gave both Felicity and Mrs. Kingsley a pointed look, and though the lady did blush, Mrs. Kingsley smiled at the older lady’s antics.
Aunt Imogene leveled yet another gimlet eye at her niece, and Felicity sighed. It was the lady’s prerogative to invite whomever she wished into her home, but there was no mistaking the motive behind the dinner invitation she’d extended to the Kingsleys and their