“He and his wife prefer the quiet of the country,” her mother said. But there was a very faint edge to her voice. A firmness meant to indicate that she did not wish to discuss the matter any further.
At least not in front of Gareth.
Gareth tried to recall if he had ever heard some sort of scandal attached to Benedict Bridgerton. He didn’t think so, but then again, Gareth was at least a decade his junior, and if there was something untoward in his past, it would probably have occurred before Gareth had moved to town.
He glanced over at Hyacinth to see her reaction to her mother’s words. It hadn’t been a scolding, not exactly, but it was clear that she’d wanted to stop Hyacinth from speaking further.
But if Hyacinth took offense, she wasn’t showing it. She turned her attention to the window and was staring out, her brows pulled slightly together as she blinked.
“Is it warm out of doors?” she asked, turning to her sister. “It looks sunny.”
“It is quite,” Daphne said, sipping her tea. “I walked over from Hastings House.”
“I should love to go for a walk,” Hyacinth announced.
It took Gareth only a second to recognize his cue. “I would be delighted to escort you, Miss Bridgerton.”
“Would you?” Hyacinth said with a dazzling smile.
“I was out this morning,” Lady Bridgerton said. “The crocuses are in bloom in the park. A bit past the Guard House.”
Gareth almost smiled. The Guard House was at the far end of Hyde Park. It would take half the afternoon to get there and back.
He rose to his feet and offered her his arm. “Shall we see the crocuses then?”
“That would be delightful.” Hyacinth stood. “I just need to fetch my maid to accompany us.”
Gregory pushed himself off the windowsill, upon which he’d been leaning. “Perhaps I’ll come along, too,” he said.
Hyacinth threw him a glare.
“Or perhaps I won’t,” he murmured.
“I need you here, in any case,” Lady Bridgerton said.
“Really?” Gregory smiled innocently. “Why?”
“Because I do,” she ground out.
Gareth turned to Gregory. “Your sister will be safe with me,” he said. “I give you my vow.”
“Oh, I have no worries on that score,” Gregory said with a bland smile. “The real question is—will you be safe with her?”
It was a good thing, Gareth later reflected, that Hyacinth had already quit the room to fetch her coat and her maid. She probably would have killed her brother on the spot.
Chapter 11
A quarter of an hour later. Hyacinth is completely unaware that her life is about to change.
“Your maid is discreet?” Gareth asked, just as soon as he and Hyacinth were standing on the pavement outside of Number Five.
“Oh, don’t worry about Frances,” Hyacinth said, adjusting her gloves. “She and I have an understanding.”
He lifted his brows in an expression of lazy humor. “Why do those words, coming from your lips, strike terror in my soul?”
“I’m sure I don’t know,” Hyacinth said blithely, “but I can assure you that she won’t come within twenty feet of us while we’re strolling. We have only to stop and get her a tin of peppermints.”
“Peppermints?”