Henry’s eyes flickered over her face. “You must not give me too much credit. As I’ve told you before, I merely opened the door. Everything else was you.”
“Was it?” She met his eyes, and under the candlelight, she could almost forget where they were and instead imagined them both lying on the grass with thoughts of Anningan chasing Malina.
“I—” she began until a small clearing of the throat caught both of their attention, and they turned to see Nanette Keene standing before them.
“Nanette,” he acknowledged the older woman.
Nanette looked at them both coldly. ?
?Our little teacher has been invited to the soiree. So generous of dear Thea.”
“Yes. She’s very generous,” Audrey agreed. “If I’m very good and I don’t eat too much, she may not whip me after supper.”
Henry stifled a laugh.
Nanette looked put out. “Really!” she said before moving away from the couple.
Henry smiled wildly. “My mother was right about you. Your forthcoming way is a breath of fresh air here. They need it.”
Audrey clucked her tongue. “I don’t usually go out of my way to be rude. But I can tell she doesn’t like me.”
Henry rolled his eyes. “Naturally.”
“Naturally?” she asked.
Henry paused. “She still hopes I will reconcile with Della. It’s out of the question, but when she sees me with you, I think she knows it’s over.”
“Well, you aren’t with me,” she said softly.
He remained silent as she picked at her food. “There’s a concert next week. It’s at the Theatre Royal.”
She glanced at him. “What are they playing?”
“Chopin. The Nocturnes.”
Audrey felt a slight pull inside her chest. “My father loved The Nocturnes.”
“Accompany me,” he said easily.
Audrey shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Mourning allows a musical or concert.”
“I never understood why,” she said. “Music lifts the soul. I always thought mourning should be deep and serious.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll ask my mother to attend as well. She’ll be a chaperone for us.” He gave her a pointed look and added teasingly, “Well, for me. I don’t trust you.”
Audrey smiled. “Really. I can’t.”
Henry watched her for a moment. “If you keep saying no, I might think you are serious.”
“I am serious.”
“Think on it. If you change your mind, it will be next Saturday. You can tell the box office you are my guest. I’ll leave word.”
“I’ll think on it.”
She looked across the table and saw Della watching her with cold eyes, but Audrey did her best to ignore her. As more people joined the table, she was brought into a conversation about the suffragette movement by the lady seated next to her.