standing with a group of the ladies, talking softly, and her aqua gaze lifted to him. She blushed and looked away.
He hated this. Hated that something had shifted between them and made her cower from him. Yet he also found hope in that change. She’d never been so uncomfortable around him, never blushed and darted her gaze to anything but him.
He arched a brow, challenging her, when she dared to peek at him again. Her blush deepened, but then she said something to her guests and moved across the garden in his direction. When she reached him, she smiled.
“I’m very much looking forward to our next reveal,” he said in an attempt to break the discomfort between them, and to remind her that he was her friend. “I’m certain it will be spectacular.”
“I hope so,” she mused, and glanced off with what appeared to be worry. “I was thinking we’d begin by now. But I suppose that allows me to ask you a question that has been plaguing my mind since yesterday.”
He tensed. Was she about to bring up the subject of what had happened between them right in this very garden? “If I can help ease that mind, I’m happy to do so.”
She looked over her shoulder, as if making sure no one else was able to hear her. Then she drew a deep breath and said, “Have you heard anything untoward about the Earl of Allington?”
He cocked his head. “Allington?” he repeated.
She nodded. “It seems Lady Thea is very much not…fond of him.”
“She hates him,” he corrected with a chuckle. “I saw them together the first night and he mentioned it, as well. I have no idea why.”
“Do you think it is because he is…cruel in some way? Or the sort of man I ought not match with any of the ladies in our party?”
His shoulders relaxed. Of course, she was concerned with the well-being of the ladies in attendance. That was who Emily was. It was part of why he adored her.
He shook his head. “Rake though Lord Allington may be, I would never allow you to invite someone who was truly a villain. I’ve never seen him be untoward before and I would have told you if he had a cruel streak. Whatever is between him and Lady Thea is just that—between them. It seems to be a personal matter.”
“You don’t think he might be…privately terrible?” she whispered.
He wrinkled his brow. “I…suppose that is possible. We often don’t know what is in another’s mind or what happens behind closed doors. But I’ve known the man most of my life. I’ve observed him when he might not have known I was there. And he’s never acted in a way that would give me pause, for what it’s worth.”
Emily practically sagged in relief. “I knew that to be true, of course. I can always depend on you. I only worried when she spoke of him in such strenuous terms. But if I keep them apart, I think I shall solve the problem.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Sometimes hate is awfully close to love.”
Her eyes widened, but before she could respond to that statement, her butler, Cringle, approached, a look of concern on his face. “I’m sorry to intrude, my lady,” he began, then leaned in and whispered something to Emily.
Cav watched as all the color drained from her face. “Not coming?” she repeated, her voice trembling slightly. “But…but he made the agreement. He took ten pounds for the presentation.”
“I know, my lady. But that is what we’ve been told.”
Emily glanced toward Cav, and her frustration was clear in those beautiful eyes. He reached for her and almost took her hand before he forced himself to grip his fingers at his side instead. “Trouble?”
She nodded. “I hired a local man to come and do a demonstration. He said he has trained ravens to fetch shiny buttons and dance on the air for the promise of cheese. I thought it would be charming, but…but it seems he is a charlatan and is not going to make it after all.”
Cav’s jaw set as her bottom lip began to tremble. Her upset increased, even as she fought to manage it. “Do you have another option for your four colly birds?” he asked gently.
“No. This seemed so jolly and interesting, I never thought about another plan.” She glanced around at the milling crowd. They were already restless. “What will I do? I don’t want to disappoint anyone. They expect colly birds.”
She worked her