China and silver had been brought to the hothouse as well as cold chicken, meats, cheeses, and bread. “Have you arranged a picnic, Faith?”
She beamed with pride. “I saw no reason to allow winter to deter me when this oasis exists here at Parvus.”
“And I thought Geb had lost his mind when he built this glass monstrosity. I shall have to admit my mistake.” Nick stepped closer and pulled out a chair for Faith.
Once she was seated, he rounded the table and sat facing her. “Thank you for making such an effort. I do not deserve such fussing.”
She cocked her head. “Of course, you do. We all do, Nick.”
“Who fusses over you, Faith?” He’d meant it to tease her, but her sad expression made him immediately regret his question. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to offend you.”
Forcing a smile, she shook her head. “I am not offended. It is just that I have not warranted a great deal of pampering in my life. My greatest accomplishment was getting myself sent away to school so as not to embarrass my family beyond repair. I did have a nanny, who was quite good to me.”
Her head was cocked in thought, searching for one pleasant memory of her youth that might have been gratifying.
It was ridiculous to want to flay her parents for their negligence, but there it was along with the sudden urge to do something to make Faith feel special.
“One of the things I liked in the description of you, sent by your mother, was the fact that you had been a student at the Wormbattle School. It gave me hope that you were not conventional and might not despair at my manners.”
A long sigh deflated her. “And I was horrible from the start.”
“I should have waited for a proper introduction. Storming across the ballroom and introducing myself was impertinent. I thought myself above such conventions just because I have a lofty title. You were right to put me in my place. Perhaps if I had acted like a gentleman, we would not have come to such a pass and become estranged.” He’d thought about this many times since they first met.
Faith leaned in and placed her wine on the table. “May I tell you a secret?”
“Of course.” Curiosity had him bursting.
“I wasn’t really put off by your introduction. I was just terrified of marrying a man whom I didn’t know. Fear is the one thing that always makes me fail. I wish I was more like Poppy.”
Perhaps Faith’s notion of getting to know him through his friends wasn’t so far-fetched. He helped himself to bread and cheese. “Tell me about your Wallflowers.”
She nibbled on the bread. “Wallflowers don’t gossip about each other.”
“That seems a wise practice for maintaining a friendship, but I’m not asking for gossip, only to know them better and perhaps you as well.” He smiled, hoping it would charm her as it had charmed many other women in his past, for both pleasure and business.
“What do you want to know?” She took a chicken leg from the platter and pulled a morsel free to taste.
There was so much attention spent on one small bit of food, he realized this was part of Faith’s makeup. She paid close attention to detail in everything. The picnic in the solarium was a great example, and she had done that for him. A spark of delight ignited inside him. “How did you gain the title of Wallflowers?”
She sighed. “Mary Yates.”
“What does Miss Yates have to do with it?”
Chewing another bite of chicken, she stared out the wall of windows. The view was full white from the snow covering the garden outside, and the flowers within paled in comparison to the reflecting sun. “Mary Yates was a year ahead of us at the Wormbattle School. She had gathered her friends long before Poppy, Aurora, Mercy, and I ever arrived. They were a vicious pack of girls, embittered by their parents’ choice to send them away. I can’t really blame them for that. It turned out to be the best thing for me, but it hurt when Father announced he’d had enough of me and was sending me away.”
“I can only imagine. Of course, I was sent to Eton, but it is expected for my sex to go away to school, and I went home during breaks.” He wanted to reach out and comfort her old hurt, but it wasn’t his place, and he didn’t want her to stop her story.
“We never had breaks. It was a three-year sentence from the start. Mary resented her situation and seemed determined to make everyone around her suffer her unhappiness. She decided the four of us were the perfect targets since we had just arrived and become such fast friends.
“On occasion Miss Agatha, the headmistress, would arrange a ball with a nearby boys’ school, St. Simon’s. These balls were hugely anticipated and meant to be both educational and amusing. As soon as the young men arrived, Mary made her rounds, telling everyone that we were bores and they should keep their distance. There were some other cutting remarks, but I’ll keep those to myself. Mary has her flaws, but she also has her own set of problems as an adult.”
He marveled at how kind she was, even to a woman who did not return that kindness. Mary appeared spoiled and intolerant. Even her beauty had not persuaded Nick to like her.
Faith continued. “As a result, not one boy asked any of us to dance. After the ball, Mary called us Wallflowers.”
“I thought you all were fond of the title.”
Smiling, Faith was a bright star among the flowers. She shone brighter and with more beauty. “We love it. Even as girls we thought it a fine moniker. We didn’t care about balls and silly young men. By the next ball, we were all asked to dance and even had a few proposals before we left school. Of course, none of us took those offers seriously.
“When Aurora married and we began meeting for Tuesday tea at her home on West Lane, we added the address to our name.”
It was a show of strength and resilience to turn a hateful moniker into something grand that had held these women together through trial and tribulation. He couldn’t help but respect them. “Tell me one thing you admire in each of your friends. Surely that cannot be considered gossip.”
A wisp of a smile tugged at her kissable lips. “I will make you an offer, Nick. I will answer your query about my friends and perhaps something about myself, if you will tell me about the woman you may have done harm to.”
Suddenly Nick couldn’t breathe. “What woman?”
“The one who made you hesitate when you said that you would never strike a woman. I surmise that in certain cases you would harm a member of my sex, and I would like to know precisely what those circumstances are. I realize it is not in your nature to tell anyone anything, but we are alone here. I will not repeat anything you confide to me.” She raised one brow and used the corner of her napkin to dab at her lips.
Lord, he longed to kiss those lips until she was too breathless to ask him any more questions and no longer cared about his past. She was right about his nature, but if this was the woman he wanted, he would have to trust her. The notion made him sick to his stomach.
Chapter 6
Faith had played her hand. It
