the drawing room, both reading. Henry smiled to see their easy companionship. They were a very well-suited pair.
“Papa,” Marianne said, looking up. “Did you have a good day?”
He smiled, joining her on the small sofa. “I suppose so,” he said. “I met with my solicitor and… dealt with some other business.” His smile felt strained. “What about you?”
“Oh, I’ve been perfectly idle,” Marianne said happily. “I stayed in bed all morning and spent all afternoon reading. It’s glorious having an excuse not to pay calls—or accept callers for that matter.”
Henry laughed. “I thought that was why you liked living in town!”
“It is,” Marianne said. “Only not so much now that I’m size of a house.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jeremy said. “You’d barely make a gazebo!”
She laughed. “Wretch!”
“Only a dainty, charming little gazebo,” Jeremy said. “Barely big enough for one, standing!”
“You are an absurd person,” Marianne told him, blue eyes twinkling and lips twitching with humour. “Isn’t he, Papa?”
Before Henry could reply, she exclaimed, “Oh, I almost forgot! I had a letter from George today. I’ll let you read it later—it’s in my bedchamber.”
“How is he?” Henry asked.
“He sounded in reasonably good spirits,” Marianne replied. “But you know George—he’s not exactly one for those sorts of confidences.”
That was certainly true. Marianne shared her every thought with everyone, but George was quite the opposite.
“It sounds as if he’s been going round the estate with Mr. Holland quite a bit,” Marianne said. “And reading lots of his old Greek stuff.” She rolled her eyes.
“Different people enjoy different things, Marianne,” Henry said mildly.
Just then the door opened and Freddy entered.
“I’m starved,” he announced, flopping into a chair. “Can you ring for some tea and cake, Mari?”
“We’ll be having dinner soon. Can’t you wait?” she replied irritably.
“I’ll eat both, easily enough,” Freddy replied. “I missed luncheon, on account of my adventure.”
“Adventure?” Marianne echoed, interested now.
“A small one,” Freddy said, shrugging. “I had to rescue a lady in the park.”
Marianne gasped. She closed her book and set it aside, leaning forward. “What happened?”
Freddy proceeded to tell them that he’d been walking through Hyde Park when he’d spotted a man attacking a woman from afar. When he’d shouted and begun running towards them, the man had taken off, leaving the lady lying on the ground.
“Was she badly hurt?” Marianne asked worriedly.
“Thankfully, no,” Freddy said, “but she was terribly shaken. I escorted her home—she’s a widow who lives with her brother.”
“She was an elderly lady?”
“Not at all, perhaps only four- or five-and-twenty, though her brother was older.”
Pride warmed Henry’s heart. “Well, I think you’re a veritable Sir Galahad,” he said. “I daresay she was very relieved you came along. Her brother too.”
Freddy flushed a little, ducking his head. “It was nothing. Just what anyone else would have done. But I admit, I’m glad I was there. Goodness knows what would have happened if I had not been.”
“Do you have any engagements this evening?” Marianne asked, changing the subject.
“Percy and I are going to Sharp’s.”
Marianne frowned. “That’s a gambling hell, isn’t it?”
Freddy rolled his eyes. “It’s not a hell,” he said. “It’s a very respectable club.”
Marianne carried on doggedly, “So, you won’t be playing cards then? Or gambling at all?”
Freddy rolled his eyes at that. “I don’t plan to. Percy’s been asked to make up a table with Skelton, Tavestock, and someone else. I shall probably just watch.”
Henry frowned. “Skelton?” he said sharply. “Not Lionel Skelton?”
Freddy visibly bristled at the disapproval in Henry’s voice. “What’s wrong with Lionel Skelton?”
“He’s a scoundrel,” Henry said flatly. “His reputation is appalling, and Nigel Tavestock’s isn’t much better. I suggest you stay away from them, Freddy.”
Freddy blinked. “I beg your pardon?” he said. He sounded disbelieving and his cheeks had reddened.
“My advice to you is to stay away from Skelton and Tavestock,” Henry said firmly. “I can assure you that if they are being friendly to you and your friend, it will only be with a view to fleecing you.”
“I’m not a child,” Freddy said, getting to his feet. “I’m perfectly able to make my own judgments on the people I come across.”
“Whilst I would like to think that’s true,” Henry said, “your choice of companions lately rather suggests otherwise.”
Freddy opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, but his expression told Henry everything he needed to know about his state of mind—there was resentment in his gaze, and his jaw had a stubborn thrust to it.
“I’m going to change for dinner,” he said flatly, and left the room, shutting the door