nearly choked. “Excuse me,” she wheezed, covering her upper chest and lower throat with her hand.
“Did my frankness scandalize you?”
“No.”
“Pity,” he said. “I shall try harder next time.”
“And I shall have to swing harder next time,” Rae parried.
Mr. Appleton let out a howl of laughter. “A closed fist usually helps.”
Shaking her head, Rae allowed Mr. Appleton to walk her to a vacant seat on the right side of the head of the table.
Mr. Appleton sat on the end, with his wife flanking him across the table from Rae and Simon sat on Rae’s right side.
“What a fortunate man I am,” Mr. Appleton announced, grinning like a jackal. “Dining within arm’s reach of the two most beautiful ladies in London.”
“Aha, so that’s where Simon learned it,” Rae mused. She appreciated Mr. Appleton trying to include her, but he was starting to go too far.
“Where Simon gets what?” Katherine asked.
“His exaggerated charm.” Rae bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t just offended anyone.
“Young lady, you have no idea.” A broad grin split Katherine’s face. “When Walter and I first met, he tried to convince me—”
Cough! Cough! Hack! Cough! Hack! Mr. Appleton banged his open palm over his chest. “Excuse me.” He waved his free hand in a rolling gesture. “Water,” he gasped.
Katherine picked up his water glass and pulled it toward her chest. “He tried to have me believe he invented the slide rule,” she said, then plunked his water down in front of him and shuddered. “Not that I had use for such a thing.”
Mr. Appleton attempted to chug his water while coughing and sputtering. He lifted his other hand, palm out.
“I’ll have you know—” Cough, cough.
Taking mercy on him, Rae said, “My younger sisters have both trained Simon to kiss their hands—no matter what they’ve had them in—each time they see him.”
“They do?” Katherine asked through her giggles.
Rae nodded her confirmation, noting the way Simon’s face was ten shades of red. Instinctively, she reached over and patted his arm just above his wrist. He turned his hand over, his fingers intent on holding hers. A chill came over her. Was he playing a part around his parents? The magic was gone in that very moment and Rae pulled her hand back to her lap.
If his parents had noticed their exchange, neither said anything about it.
“That I should like to see,” Mr. Appleton said.
“Perhaps one day we will?” Katherine suggested, spearing a pear with the end of her fork.
“I would like nothing more,” Rae said, surprising herself at just how much she meant that.
29
Simon’s gut knotted in the most painful way, and it had nothing to do with the fact that his mother had invited Rae to spend the day with her, but more of where he currently stood…
Just us, Mother had added as soon as she’d made the suggestion at the end of breakfast.
Simon might not be the most perceptive man in all of London, but Rae’s apprehension had been as plain as day. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything he could do to spare her such a fate. If he stepped in with some excuse today, Mother would have insisted they spend the day together tomorrow. Besides, he needed to see to the business of getting his bedroom furniture moved into their new house today. Staying another night at Father and Mother’s was not an option.
Moreover, perhaps if Rae and Mother were given some time alone, Mother would recognize the spark about Rae that had drawn him in, and it’d be yet another boon if Rae returned to him feeling more confident about her place and less concerned about his parents’ opinion of him.
A man could hope, couldn’t he?
Simon made a left on the next street and froze.
Giles lived three houses down. He had a list as long as his inseam to get done before he was to collect Rae from the lending library this afternoon, but none of those things seemed overly important as the moment. Thoughts of Rae and her siblings and their undeniable love and friendship filled his head and try as he might, he couldn’t dispel them.
Could Giles be his greatest friend? They were brothers, after all. Was it possible for the two of them to set aside their differences and rough start and be friends?
He’d never know if he didn’t try, he decided as he forced his feet to carry him down the street and up the stairs to Giles’ townhouse.
Simon took hold of the door knocker and banged it twice before he lost his nerve then