Unlacing Lady Thea

‘And the shops by the sound of it.’

‘But, Rhys, this is Lyon. Silk! Surely you do not expect me to ignore the finest silk in France, if not in Europe?’

‘I expect Benton to return virtually on his knees, staggering under the weight of your purchases.’ He addressed Giles earnestly. ‘I recommend you take at least one sturdy footman with you unless you wish to set back your recovery by days.’

‘I will follow your advice, Denham, but I confess to finding industry of any sort of interest. I intend to take notes while Lady Althea makes her purchases.’

‘I would have thought you better employed advising her on the best green to suit the colour of her eyes,’ Rhys said, surprising Thea into silence and earning a startled look from Giles.

* * *

After Rhys’s haste to reach Lyon, he had slowed their journey to what seemed to Thea to be a crawl by contrast. At first she could not understand it, but after the first day from Lyon, as they set out for Valence and she quizzed him about it, he confessed with reluctance that he was feeling sore and battered and preferred to take it easy.

‘If you did not ride, you would be more rested,’ she said, wishing she dared ask him to let her check his back, or call the doctor. This willingness to admit weakness was so unlike Rhys.

‘You want me to act as gooseberry?’ he enquired.

‘Whatever do you mean? You are most welcome to ride in the chaise! I hardly feel that I am on such terms with Giles as to lead you to think you would be intruding upon anything.’

‘Whoa!’ He held up a hand to ward off the vehemence of her protests. ‘I am not suggesting you have set up a flirtation with Benton and require a chaperon.’ He studied her face and Thea felt her colour rising under the scrutiny. ‘Hmm...on second thought, are you perhaps protesting too much?’

‘Ridiculous man,’ Thea muttered. ‘Of course I am not flirting with Giles, merely enjoying his conversation and company. I do not flirt and, even if I did, Giles is too serious for that. Thank goodness,’ she added.

Giles was indeed rather serious and, although intelligent, he lacked Rhys’s sharp wit, but she was coming to like him very much. But surely neither man thought she was falling for Giles? She shot Rhys an anxious look from beneath her lashes. How could any woman fall for Giles Benton when there was Rhys Denham riding beside their carriage? Though she could hardly put forward that argument.

‘You are blushing,’ Rhys remarked. ‘I will say no more. I have no wish to squash up in the chaise with you. The couple I was referring to are your maid and my valet—I foresee a wedding in the offing. At least, I trust one will be forthcoming.’

‘Polly and Hodge? My goodness.’ How had she not seen that developing? ‘It would probably be a good idea if they were not alone for so long, in that case.’ Hypocrite. Why can’t my maid enjoy a flirtation—it is what I want for myself after all. Flirtation and rather more. But how reliable was Hodge where women were concerned?

‘You may go and chaperon them if you wish,’ Rhys said with a shrug. ‘But I prefer the fresh air. Besides, my back may be stiff, but the exercise is good for it.’

* * *

Rhys’s teasing made Thea self-conscious for a while, but Giles appeared not to find any awkwardness in being alone with her, and the unrolling countryside and the drama of the Rhone flowing beside the road were so engrossing that she forgot to be distant with him.

‘À Valence le midi commence,’ Giles said as they clattered though the gates of the town. ‘That is all I recall from my lessons, I am afraid, but it is true—I think we are finally in the south. Look how shallow the pitch of the roofs is now—no need to shed the snow here.’

‘And the air is warm, even though it is evening.’ They climbed down and waited for the coach to pull up alongside in the inn courtyard. Thea drew a welcome breath of warm, scented air deep into her lungs and watched Rhys with what she hoped was well-concealed anxiety, but he swung down out of the saddle without any sign of discomfort.

‘I cannot wait to explore,’ she said as he walked across. ‘There is the river and a Roman amphitheatre....’ The joy of this freedom to experience new things, to form opinions, to share impressions, made her feel like a hot-air balloon, soaring free. I am never going back, I am never going to accept I am fit for nothing but blind convention and obedience.

‘Fascinating, I am sure, but I have a letter of invitation from an old friend of my family, a French émigré who returned once things became stable. I was going to drop in and see if I could take pot luck on dinner. Why don’t you and Benton explore the town this evening?’

‘Of course, if Giles would like to do that.’ Thea did her best to sound enthusiastic, but it was a disappointment. She and Rhys never seemed to spend any time together now. Since Paris, he had ridden, and it was almost as though he was using Giles as an excuse not to be alone with her.

But she had promised not to expect to be entertained, not to want to be taken about in the evening. No doubt Rhys was delighted she had some company and a reliable escort.

‘If I could have a word with you before you go out, Denham,’ she heard Giles say as Polly came up with her dressing case.

‘Let us go in,’ Thea urged her. Probably Giles wanted to discuss paying his share of the expenses. He had mentioned it in the carriage and she knew he felt awkward about accepting Rhys’s hospitality to this extent. She just hoped Rhys had the tact to allow him to pay a share.

* * *

Giles was unusually silent that evening as they made their way along the riverbank under the spreading lime trees. Thea hugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders against the cool breeze from the water and hoped Rhys had not snubbed Giles’s efforts to pay his way. Perhaps she should say something. ‘Rhys can be a trifle...lordly,’ she began and then wondered how to go on.

‘I have not found him so,’ Giles said. ‘He has surprised me by how encouraging he has been.’

Thea had not noticed any encouragement. Perhaps the two men talked into the night after she had retired. ‘Indeed?’ she said with what she hoped was an encouraging intonation.

‘Normally I would not presume...certainly not after such a brief acquaintance.’ He stopped midsentence in front of a bench. ‘This may be too soon and yet... Perhaps you could sit down, Althea. Let me brush these dead leaves away.’

Mystified, she did as he asked, although a hard wooden bench after hours sitting in the carriage was not what she had hoped for. ‘Is there a problem? Forgive me for mentioning it, but is it money that is concerning you?’

‘Money?’ He seemed completely thrown off his stride. ‘No indeed. I am more than capable of maintaining a wife and a household. As well as my salary I have a private income sufficient to keep a separate household from Lord Carstairs. Lord Palgrave was quite satisfied about that.’

‘A wife? Lord Palgrave satisfied?’ A horrible sinking feeling took possession of Thea’s stomach. There could be no mistaking Giles’s intent: this was a proposal of marriage. How on earth had she not realised Giles had become so attached to her? And how, without wounding him, was she going to get out of this?

Chapter Eleven

‘Why, yes, a wife. Let me start again. I am making a dreadful mull of this,’ Giles said with a rueful smile. ‘Lady Althea, you cannot be unaware of the esteem in which I hold you. Both you and Lord Palgrave have shown me the greatest trust in admitting me into your confidence, and I am aware of your difficult circumstances.’

‘My—?’

‘You having left home without your father’s consent, I mean.’ He cleared his throat and embarked on what, through her state of befuddlement, she supposed was a prepared speech. ‘My birth, although not the equal of yours, is respectable. I believe my prospects are good, and you already know my sisters.’ He went down on one knee and took her unresisting hand. ‘Lady Althea, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? I will ensure that not the slightest scandal attaches to your name as a result of this journey and—’

‘No! I mean... Mr Benton. Giles. I regret if anything I have said or done has aroused expectations which... I am sorry. I hold you in the highest regard and I am sensible of the honour which you do me by your proposal.’ That is what one says, isn’t it? ‘But I cannot accept you. Do, please, get up. Look, someone is coming.’

A couple were strolling along the bank towards them, a small dog at their heels. Giles sprang to his feet and assumed a rapt interest in the water tumbling over rocks at the waterside while Thea fiddled with her reticule and tried to make sense of what had just happened.

As soon as the couple had passed she asked, ‘What led you to imagine I would accept a proposal of marriage? I realise my behaviour in travelling alone with you in the chaise is unconventional, but I hope I have done nothing to give you the impression that I expected a display of...affection or that I consider that you have in any way compromised me.’

‘Certainly not.’ Giles looked appalled. ‘Your deportment has been, in every way, that of a lady of breeding. But I am aware of your circumstances, and Lord Palgrave was so encouraging when we spoke of this—in fact, he urged me not to waste time in securing your affections.’