Passions of a Gentleman (Gentlemen of Honor #3) - Rose Gordon Page 0,27
very thing she’d accused him of being.
“And how do you suppose I do that?”
“I don’t know yet,” he admitted, standing. He offered her his hand. “Where to now?”
“Mr. Edwards,” she said softly.
To their good fortune, Mr. Edwards had four pair of trousers and two shirts that only required mild alterations. Adding a few pair of stockings and a cravat to his order, Simon was satisfied. Surely, Lord Drakely’s staff could iron the wrinkles out of his coat and waistcoat. They were in a little town in the country that didn’t even warrant a dot on the map, for heaven’s sake. That didn’t require being dressed impeccably at every hour of the day.
“Anywhere else?” Simon gestured toward the little shop in front of them. Hair ribbons and reticules were on display in the window. “Do you need anything?”
“No, thank you,” she said, placing her hand in the crook of his arm. “We should get back to the carriage before Juliet thinks we’ve run off to Scotland.”
Chuckling, Simon steered them in the direction of where the carriage was parked. He might not understand how Rae could be so infatuated with Mr. Fisher, but her statement had convinced him now more than ever that she had no plans of trapping Simon into marriage.
And he couldn’t tell why, but the realization was a fraction disappointing.
11
If curling up in a ball and declaring she was never stepping foot outside of Crumbles again for as long as she lived was an option, Rae would consider declaring those were her plans.
Unfortunately, Juliet had other plans.
“Why don’t the two of you go visit Mama and Papa?” Juliet suggested at breakfast the next morning.
The last thing she wanted to do was to go visit her parents with Simon in tow. “I don’t think that would be proper,” Rae pointed out.
“No,” Juliet agreed. “But since you two—”
“Actually, I think that’s a brilliant idea,” Simon cut in. “I’d like to meet your parents.”
Rae doubted he’d be so excited about going when he got there and met her seven younger brothers and sisters. A wide grin stole over her face. “Indeed. Well, then we shall be off as soon as we finish breaking our fast.”
Three sets of curious eyes flew to her, which she promptly ignored.
“You will be taking Charlotte with you,” Juliet said quietly a few minutes later.
Rae nodded her understanding. With or without her maid, it made no difference to Rae.
“What do you have up your sleeve?” Simon asked bluntly while waiting for Charlotte to join them in the carriage.
“Nothing,” she said sweetly, narrowing her eyes on him. “What’s up yours?” She gripped the fabric of his coat sleeve. “Besides your arm?”
Simon feigned shock. “Should a proper young lady be naming body parts?”
“Probably not,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t know. Juliet is the one who went to school.”
“Is that something that bothers you?” Simon asked slowly, quietly.
Rae tore her eyes away from Simon’s. What would he think of her if he were to know she was illiterate? “Charlotte! Thank you so much for joining us.”
Charlotte, an older woman of Irish descent, bobbed her head once and braced herself for the bumpy ride that was about to begin. “Whatever the lady wishes.”
The ride to her girlhood home was, in a single word, unnerving. But not as unnerving as the moment when the carriage stopped in front of the ramshackle house where she’d grown up.
Rae didn’t know how many times Juliet and Drake had tried to encourage her family to move elsewhere and had even offered to build them a new home. Father was too proud, however, claiming he’d borrowed money from Lord Drakely once and had lost his daughter in the exchange, he wouldn’t be indebted to the man again.
Rae understood pride, but she also understood stubbornness and being unreasonable. Were it up to her, she’d have accepted their funds and moved the family to a nicer home.
But it wasn’t up to her, and her only option was to go live with Juliet at Crumbles when she’d extended the invitation.
“This is it,” she said, forcing a wobbly smile to her lips and holding her breath in anticipation of Simon’s reaction.
“Cozy,” he said, easing all the tension in her shoulders with a single word.
“Wait until you see the inside,” she said, steeling her spine. She might not like having to show this off as her once home, but the fact was Simon’s opinion didn’t mean a mound of custard to her.
“The anticipation of it is nearly killing me,” he said dryly.