a romantic proposal.”
Phin gaped at her, then turned to their father. “Is this how you raised your eldest daughter?”
Their father made a gurgling noise that could have been a laugh. Paradoxically, that macabre sound filled Phin with joy. All was definitely not right with the world, but in that moment, he was most certainly happy with his lot. And if he played his cards right, Lenore would be happy with it too.
“I know a secret,” Amaryllis said, an impish grin on her face as she, Gladys, and Lenore joined Phin, Hazel, and their father at the side of the yard.
“Do you?” Lenore said with exaggerated interest.
Amaryllis nodded and giggled. “It’s about Phin.”
Lenore gasped, her mouth open as she turned to Phin, pretending to be shocked. “I was unaware that your brother had secrets.”
“He has loads of them,” Gladys said with a shrug, bouncing the ball they’d found off of the cricket bat as expertly as any of the lads Phin had ever played the sport with.
“And what secret do you know about your brother?” Lenore asked Amaryllis.
Amaryllis giggled, leaned closer to Lenore, and said, “Phin likes kissing people.”
A surprise burst of mortification filled Phin. He prayed to God Amaryllis didn’t know a fraction of the truth behind her statement and that she wouldn’t say anything else.
“I’m shocked,” Lenore said, pressing a hand to her chest. “Utterly shocked. I am flabbergasted and amazed.”
Phin rolled his eyes at her, his mouth pulling to the side in a wry grin.
“I simply cannot believe the coincidence,” Lenore went on, laying it on far too thick. “Because I like kissing people too.”
Amaryllis burst into laughter that doubled her over. Gladys laughed as well, missing the ball and letting it drop to the grass. Even Hazel laughed, which meant Phin couldn’t possibly maintain his stoic mien. He laughed and shook his head, clapping a hand on his father’s shoulder. London seemed a million miles away. Lady Hamilton and Det. Gleason felt like no more than fictional characters. Mr. Bartholomew Swan and the Wyoming Range Wars must have been something out of another lifetime. And Phin would have been more than happy to have all of it stay just where it was.
“Princess Lenore, would you care to have a picnic supper with me this evening?” he asked, throwing caution to the wind.
Lenore blinked, as startled to be asked the question as he was to have asked it. “Why, um, I guess I would,” she said, her smile widening.
“Good,” Phin replied, adding a saucy wink that made Lenore’s cheeks go pink.
Everything was settled, then. He would propose to Lenore under the moonlight, and as soon as she was his wife, he would stop at nothing to sweep all of the troubles out of both of their lives.
Chapter 11
It all felt wrong. Lenore shuffled through the things she’d hastily packed for the trip to Yorkshire, deciding on the perfect outfit for her evening picnic with Phineas, but everything felt wrong. Granted, it felt beautiful as well. The unseasonable warmth that the new day had ushered in made the countryside surrounding the Mercer home glow with a golden sort of magic that only autumn could bring. It felt wonderful to be surrounded by a down to earth family, even if their circumstances were far more reduced than Phin had ever let on in London. And it felt safe in a way that Lenore thought she would never feel safe again after the events of the Laramie conference well over a year before. But in her heart, Lenore knew it was all wrong, no matter how lovely it was.
“If you’re worried about soiling all of your fine clothes on a picnic, I could lend you something,” Hazel said from the doorway to the room Lenore was staying in, startling Lenore half out of her wits.
“It’s not that,” Lenore laughed, pretending her tension was nothing more than being surprised. “I don’t mind a bit of dirt on my clothes. You should have seen the messes I made back home in Haskell.” She put down the skirt she’d been contemplating and picked up the flat document box she hadn’t dared to leave in London from the bed and tucked it as discreetly as she could into her suitcase.
“What was that?” Hazel asked, nodding to Lenore’s suitcase. She reached her left arm across her chest to grasp the bit that remained of her right arm, making Lenore feel as though she were crossing her arms and demanding answers.
“It’s, er, my important documents,” she said,