which was decided weeks ago.’
‘You must go of course, Hattie. You gave your word.’ Stephanie waved a vague hand in the air. ‘I feel certain that Sir Christopher and his godson understand why I must decline. Mr Parteger told the Colonel the other day that the lecture series was looking a bit thin. And the Colonel had the temerity to blame me. Schedules are made to be altered.’
Mr Hook turned a sickly greenish-yellow. ‘I’ve not lectured before. I’ve no plans.’
‘Then you must start. How else will you get on in this world? Mr Parteger has always said that we must have educated men as Livvy’s suitors.’
‘In that case, I … I would be honoured.’ Mr Hook mirrored a tomato for colour.
Hattie curled her fists and attempted to ignore Stephanie’s triumphant look.
‘Of course, I will go on the picnic.’ Hattie turned towards Sir Christopher. ‘I would be delighted to accompany you and Mr Hook. Mr Hook can plan his lecture there.’
The flecks in Sir Christopher’s eyes deepened. ‘The picnic will be all the more memorable for it.’
Kit relaxed against the carriage seat, going over the morning events. It had unfolded differently than he’d planned, but not disastrously. After the picnic, he decided, he would send the flowers. He wanted to see Mrs Wilkinson fully blossom and realise the error of her censorious ways.
If he stopped prematurely, she would revert and cause her nieces problems. The lesson needed to be learnt thoroughly. Kit enjoyed the sense of goodness which radiated from his decision to take Mrs Wilkinson on the picnic.
‘Do you care to explain precisely what happened while I was exploring the garden, Rupert?’ Kit asked to keep from thinking about the precise shape of Mrs Wilkinson’s mouth. ‘How did you end up with a possible lecture engagement for a subject that you have never professed an interest in? Do you even know what a newt looks like?’
Rupert tugged at his neckcloth. ‘Of course I know what a newt looks like. They are a type of amphibian, have four legs and a tail.’
‘Is there some reason for Mrs Parteger to suspect that you are a world expert on newts?’
‘I needed to say something to mark me out from the crush.’ Rupert’s ears turned pink. ‘Miss Parteger is an angel. Two more bouquets arrived when you were touring the garden. I was desperate. Then I remembered how Miss James’s father dismissed me as a know-nothing. It was not going to happen again. My tongue rather ran away with me. Newts were the first thing to pop in my brain.’
‘You are now committed to giving a lecture about a subject you know nothing about. How is that going to impress anyone?’
‘But I love her! I want to be with her. I know you will think me mad, but it is how I feel about her.’ He thumped his chest. ‘Sometimes, you know in here. The instant you see her. It was as if I had been waiting all my life and she walked into the room.’
Something inside Kit twisted. Rupert had no idea about love. It was calf-love like he’d experienced with Constance, something that burned bright and fierce and vanished. And when it went, it hurt like the very devil. Every boy goes through it in order to become a man. And now he was a man, he protected that vulnerable bit of him so he would not get hurt again.
‘You don’t know what you are saying, Rupert. You hardly know her. How long will it last? Do you remember what you said about Miss James?’
‘That was different.’ Rupert flicked his fingers. ‘I was merely a boy of nineteen.’
‘You are only twenty!’
‘What were you like when you were my age?’
‘Young and foolish. Luckily your father stopped me before the folly went too far.’ Kit shook his head. Never again would he allow a woman to share his secrets. All Constance had done was to mock him about his parents’ scandalous past. ‘I thanked him for it later.’
‘Do you ever see her?’
‘Who?’
‘The woman who broke your heart? The one my father used to mention in his cups.’
‘Your father was right. My broken heart lasted until the next dance when I found another lady who welcomed my attention.’ Kit forced a laugh. His heart had been broken long before when his mother refused to look at him, despite his pleading, as she went out the door and his life. He’d settled for something less and kept his patched-up heart protected.
‘Surely your heart was truer than that!’
‘What heart? Didn’t you know I’m heartless? How many women have despaired of taming me and thrown the accusation at me when I ended the affair?’
‘My father didn’t think that. He used to say—’
Kit held up his hand, stopping Rupert’s words. ‘Whatever he said, he said in confidence. Your father had a unique way of looking at life.’
‘I wish he was here,’ Rupert whispered.
‘Your father asked me to look after you.’ Kit glanced up at the carriage’s ceiling, regaining control. ‘I’m offering my advice. You keep your word. If you are determined to give this lecture, you study. My uncle did have an interest in amphibians and his papers and books are in the library. They should be enough to enable you to give an account of yourself. And you never make a false claim again. Lying never makes for a happy relationship.’
Rupert hung his head. ‘Now you are committed to going on a picnic with The Widow.’
‘Which I plan to enjoy.’ Kit frowned. The lesson in flirtation was going better than he’d hoped. It would be one that Mrs Wilkinson would not soon forget. She might not thank him for it, but her two charming nieces might benefit. ‘I could not have arranged matters better.’
‘You and Mrs Wilkinson … but she is so old.’
‘She is younger than I am.’
Rupert screwed up his face and stared out the window. ‘I had always thought … they tell stories about you and the beauties. Mrs Wilkinson will never be a toast of London.’
Kit tapped his fingers together. He refused to indulge in speculation about Hattie Wilkinson’s beauty. Rupert would not understand that it was precisely the point. Hattie Wilkinson possessed a refreshing charm that hadn’t been powdered and primped to an inch of its life.
‘One final lesson for today, Rupert. Never discuss a lady. Ever.’
‘What precisely is going on, Stephanie?’ Hattie asked once her nieces had been otherwise occupied with refurbishing their bonnets. For the first time in a long while, Livvy had expressed an interest in improving her mind, but the suggestion had been firmly quashed by her mother.
‘Whatever can you mean, dear?’ Stephanie looked up from where she was sorting out a variety of ribbons. ‘I do hope you are not going to be tiresome, Hattie, and ruin your chances again. Simply because you had a wonderful marriage that was cut cruelly short does not mean you will not find happiness again.’
Hattie
