“Hmm. Maybe because you haven’t worn your spectacles since our return to Bath.” He grinned at her, hoping to restore some calm. “I assume you don’t need spectacles to see.”
Lottie attempted to pull her arm free, but he held on tight. “Don’t be upset, please.”
“I am not upset. However, I need to return home. I have a student due soon.” She continued to tug on her arm, and he continued to hold on.
“Let me help you, Lottie. Please.”
Lottie shook her head. “I don’t know what you are talking about. Everything is fine. I am fine.”
Time to retreat once again. If he kept this up, he would push her further and further away, which was certainly not his intent. “Then I apologize for upsetting you. That was not my intention.”
“Nonsense. As I stated, I am not upset.” Her flushed face and trembling hand on his arm belied her statement.
“Let us return to you home, then, so you may meet your next student.” He turned them so they headed back the way they had come. He had to find a way to calm her before he let her go or he would most likely find a slammed door in his face the next time he attempted to call on her.
Her pace was considerably faster than before his challenge, but by the time they arrived at her building, she was a bit calmer. He even got her to smile at one of his very lame jokes.
“May I call on you soon? Perhaps you would enjoy a visit to the Holbourne Museum.”
The regret on her face twisted his insides. It was obvious she did not want to say no, but for some reason was about to do just that. “I am afraid I simply don’t have the time for visits and strolls, Mr. Westbrooke.”
He reached out and touched her chin, raising her head so he could look in her eyes. “It would do you well to understand that I do not give up easily, Lottie. I am very interested in you, and I want to court you. I can also assure you I am a gentleman and would never do anything to harm you. In any way.”
When she began to shake her head, he continued. “I know you said no before, but as I said, I am quite tenacious. Unless you tell me unconditionally that you have no interest in me at all, I will try very hard to persuade you to allow us time together to get to know each other.”
To his shock, tears filled her eyes. “You do not want to get to know me, Mr. Westbrooke. Of that I am certain.”
Before he could stop her, she raced up the stairs, and after a quick knock, the door was opened and quickly closed behind her.
Two days later, Lottie and one of her newer students, Lady Edwina, the daughter of Viscount Monroe, climbed into the viscount’s carriage for a ride to Milsom Street. There they would take tea at the tearoom in Jolly’s Department Store, one of the finer stores in Bath.
They chatted for a while, then fell quiet, just the rhythmic sound of the horses’ hooves on the cobblestones reaching them, leaving Lottie with her own thoughts. Thoughts that always returned to Carter. She liked him. Truth be known, quite a bit. It was obvious he cared for her, too. But every time her useless daydream of them being together snuck into her thoughts, she pushed it firmly away.
Even more troublesome were the nighttime dreams that she had no control over. She was disturbed at some of the things she had dreamed about doing with Carter. Things that involved naked bodies and a great deal of touching. Maybe she was her mother’s daughter.
The day was not as pleasant as it had been when she and Carter had taken their stroll. The sun was hiding behind the clouds and there was a bit of a breeze. A reminder that even though the year was entering spring, it was still chilly at times.
Thinking back on their time together the other day, she was chagrined at him noticing she only wore those fake spectacles in London. It was probably a stupid thing to do anyway. Having her mother’s looks and coloring, it would take more than a pair of eyeglasses to disguise her from someone who knew her mother well.
She didn’t realize how much she had been woolgathering until Lady Edwina said, “Miss Danvers? I believe we are here.”
Lottie moved the window curtain aside and glanced outside. “Oh, dear. Yes, we are. I apologize for my inattention.”
Just then the door opened, and the driver helped her down first, then Lady Edwina. They made their way into the tea shop and were directed to a table against the wall.
There were quite a few patrons in the shop, but since this was Lady Edwina’s first foray to a tea shop as a student, Lottie gave her complete attention to the girl.
They ordered tea with cucumber sandwiches and biscuits. Lottie explained the correct way to pour tea, and how to keep up polite conversation while she did so. Although Lady Edwina was only a year away from her debut, she hadn’t had much in the way of Polite Society instruction since her mother was deceased and her governess hadn’t encouraged her to learn the more refined arts that young ladies needed to know.
“Miss Danvers, how lovely to see you.” Lord Sterling stood next to their table, a look in his eyes that frightened her. Before she could react to seeing him, he leaned in next to her ear. “Or should I call you Miss Danforth?” He stood back and grinned not knowing, or perhaps not caring, that he’d just crushed her entire world.
Lady Edwina looked toward her as if she expected Lottie to introduce her to his lordship. All Lottie could think of was getting out of the tea shop without bringing any notice to herself.
She called on all her years of training to stiffen her back and glared at the man. “I am sorry, my lord, but I am instructing this young lady in the finer art of Polite Society and I must ask you to leave us alone.”
Sterling threw his head back and laughed, loud enough to attract the attention of just about everyone in the room. “You are instructing a young lady on Polite Society? How very amusing. Does your courtesan mother know this?”
“Miss Danvers?” Lady Edwina looked back and forth between her and Lord Sterling with confusion.