“Is everything all right, Lottie?” Lady Berkshire glanced at the two of them as they arrived together. Hopefully, being alone with him for a few minutes would not cause a problem for Miss Danvers. The last thing he wanted was to endanger her reputation.
Carter pulled out Miss Danvers’ chair. He eyed her plate with the now cold food and waved a footman over. “Please bring Miss Danvers hot food.”
The man whipped away the plate, bowed, and left.
Miss Danvers shook her head. “That wasn’t necessary. I had enough to eat.”
“No. You didn’t, and I don’t wish to be subjected to you swooning because of a lack of nourishment.”
She lifted her adorable little nose in the air. “I do not swoon.”
“Never?” His brows rose.
“Never. A proper young lady keeps control of herself at all times.”
Carter’s eyes grew wide. “You sound like a teacher or a governess. Have I guessed correctly?”
“You are quite clever, Mr. Westbrooke. In fact, I am employed to prepare a group of young ladies who will shortly make their debut into Society.”
Another footman appeared with a new glass for Miss Danvers and then proceeded to pour wine for them both. Carter raised his glass. “Here is to wine that lands in one’s stomach, and not one’s person.”
Miss Danvers offered that mesmerizing smile again and lifted her glass. “Here is to women who accidentally upend their wine onto gentlemen who do not return the favor.” After taking a sip, she said, “You don’t intend revenge, do you?”
2
Lottie could not believe she was flirting with Mr. Westbrooke. She never had the chance to flirt, but she assumed that was what she was doing. She hated to admit something about the man charmed her. And it felt quite good, actually. She had behaved foolishly in jumping from the table and running off like a skittish colt. Quite childish, in fact, and somewhat disastrous for Mr. Westbrooke’s trousers.
When she finally calmed down, she realized if he knew who her mother was, he would have said so immediately. That was not the type of thing a man kept to himself if he hoped to entice a courtesan’s daughter into his bed.
She had the feeling that Mr. Westbrooke was honorable. A gentleman, whether by birth or behavior it didn’t matter. She had acted like a lady her whole life, but she certainly wasn’t one by birth.
Far from it, as she had learned.
“Thank you,” Lottie said to the footman who placed a plate of food in front of her. She truly was no longer hungry: the little bit she’d eaten having satisfied her appetite. But considering the trouble Mr. Westbrooke had gone through, and the guilt for chasing her from her meal to which he had professed, she picked up her fork and gave it a try.
“I find I am fascinated by your employment.” His easy smile did unfamiliar things to her insides. Nice, unfamiliar things. A spicy scent emanated from him that was pleasing to her senses, and his eyes held her captive. She could be in quite a bit of trouble with this man. Hopefully, this breakfast would be the only time she spent with him.
“Are you one of the Upper Ten Thousand yourself?”
That question took her by surprise and proved he did not know her. He might know her mother, but he hadn’t made the connection, which was a possibility since she resembled her mother so much. She breathed a sigh of relief. “No,” she laughed. “Not at all, but I was educated in a private boarding school for young ladies in France.”
“Miss Danvers, you grow more interesting by the minute.” He viewed her over the rim of his glass.
Lottie shook her head and placed her fork and knife on the plate to signal she was finished. She really did need to leave some space for that delicious looking cake. “I am hardly interesting, Mr. Westbrooke.”
“I disagree. I think you are extremely interesting.”
Just then Lord Berkshire rose and addressed the group. “My friends, my lovely new wife tells me it is time for us to cut the wedding cake.” Cheers followed his announcement. Obviously, Lottie and Mr. Westbrooke were not the only ones interested in the sweets.
“Here, here,” Mr. Westbrooke shouted, holding up his glass of wine.
“Only one piece for you, Carter,” Lord Berkshire said. He turned to Addie and said sotto voce, “He would eat the entire thing if we let him.”
Addie and Lord Berkshire each cut a small piece then the cake was whisked off to the kitchen where it would be cut into helpings for the guests. Mr. Westbrooke’s attention had been taken up by Lady Pemberton, the woman on his other side who was a friend of Mrs. Mallory’s, which left Lottie attempting once again to converse with Mr. Filbert.
She had noticed Addie and her new stepson, who sat on the other side of his father, communicating by moving their hands, which she found fascinating. Addie had told her and Pamela about the method called sign language that Lord Berkshire had learned about and how it had helped his son. She wondered what it would be like for a young lady about to make her debut if she were deaf. It crossed her mind that a school to tea
ch sign language to the hard of hearing, whether from birth or old age, would be quite beneficial in Bath.