Rose Gardner's Florist (The Providence Street Shops #2) - Bonnie Dee Page 0,38

that I hesitate to ask what I am about to. I had hoped to invite you to the country this Sunday. I thought it would be lovely to get away from the city’s heat. There is a stream at the edge of which we might picnic. Naturally, Miss Sweet is welcome to come with us.”

“That sounds heavenly, and since I’ve never been out of London it would be a grand adventure for me. It might help poor Miss Sweet get her mind off her troubles for a bit. I would love to go.”

Will bathed in her pure joy and enthusiasm. Having Miss Sweet as an additional guest may not have been his original plan, but he would gladly host both young ladies for an afternoon of leisure.

“Excellent! I will let Mother know we’ll be out this weekend. She will have Cook make up such a picnic it will be a struggle to carry the basket.”

Her smile froze. “We’ll be picnicking on your parents’ land. I hadn’t considered that. But how will you explain our acquaintance?”

“I have no need to explain anything to anyone,” he informed her blithely. But mentally he added, Mother had better not dare question it or, for once, she will not find me such an agreeable son.

Chapter Thirteen

Rose bit into another of Candace’s truffles, the bittersweet chocolate charged with sugar melting on her tongue. It was her second, no, third treat that day, but she kept compulsively eating as she waited for Will to pick her up in his motorcar.

An automobile ride—the first in a day of firsts as she would be leaving London’s foul air behind for a country interlude and meeting nobility as well. Her beau’s parents were Lord and Lady Carmody of Carmody Hall, for God’s sake.

“Are you certain you won’t come, Candace? I will be without a chaperone.”

“You’ll certainly enjoy the day more if you’re alone with your gentleman.” Candace nudged the plate of chocolates out of Rose’s reach. “And his family cannot be so very terrifying.”

“But you’ll have nothing other than worrisome thoughts to keep you company all day. What if…” Rose trailed off. She refused to plant the idea that one of Mr. Merker’s agents might be watching the place, awaiting the perfect opportunity to take her away without a fuss. The chances of that were slight.

“Don’t you worry about me. Have a last tidy up, so you’re ready to enjoy your day,” Candace insisted.

Rose did as she was told, primping in front of the mirror until she’d gotten her Gibson roll even and the curls at her temples artistically placed. At the roar of an approaching automobile, she fastened her traveling hat with pins and tied the gauze in a bow beneath her chin.

“An automobile ride. Imagine! It will be like flying,” she exclaimed to Candace before she left.

“Have a wonderful day,” her friend encouraged.

Rose hurried downstairs to meet Will before he even knocked at the door. He made a handsome figure in a long tan duster that swept the tops of his boots. Goggles were pushed up onto his riding cap although he still wore spectacles. A scarf wound jauntily around his neck completed the picture of a motorist ready to roar down the open road.

“What a pretty ensemble,” he complimented her, his gaze saying more than words as he scanned her white dress and wide-brimmed hat. “But you should put this on lest you ruin your gown.”

He held out a duster similar to his own while Rose slipped her arms into the long sleeves. Then he offered his gloved hand to help her onto the running board. She took a breath and placed her shoe on the metal step that vibrated beneath her foot. The purring engine hummed into her very bones as she slid across the leather seat. Every inch of this finely crafted automobile bespoke wealth from the gleaming chrome to the tooled details of the dashboard and the luxurious seats. It was far beyond any motorized conveyance Rose had ridden in before.

Rose sat back, hands clasped in her lap, as Will put the auto into gear and sped away from Prospect Street. The noise on the busy thoroughfare made it impossible to carry on a conversation, but soon they were beyond the city and passing neighborhoods then farms. The world she’d always known disappeared in the blink of an eye. She drank in the view of fields and meadows dotted with sheep or cows peacefully grazing, and she felt herself a mere speck hurtling along