a claim and come away with me?’
‘Must you sound like a villain in a penny novel?’
‘Why are you casting me as one?’ A muscle jumped in his jaw. ‘Shall I force you to be alone with me? Or are you scared about what you might discover? When shall it be? This afternoon?’
‘Unfortunately, I must decline.’ Louisa kept her voice even. ‘I must visit the chemist later this afternoon. Miss Daphne finished her tincture this morning. And without Miss Daphne’s tincture, the world stops.’
‘Ah, our old code.’ Jonathon’s eyes deepened to a storm-tossed green. ‘Shall we meet inside the chemist? What shall I say that I am searching for? A hair restoration tonic?’
Louisa’s stomach tightened. She should have remembered about the code and the visit to the chemist for a hair restoration tonic. How they accidentally met to have a proper conversation. And the other times she had pretended to have to get more ink or blotting paper so that she’d get a glimpse or stolen moment with him as he solemnly carried her packages.
She had thought at the time that the code and themeetings made what they shared more special—keeping it private and between the two of them. But now she saw it for what it was—a means to keep the relationship clandestine until it was far too late for anyone to intervene. And when it had ended, she had been ruined, in the gutter, but he had remained a pillar of society.
‘You are misconstruing my words and their meaning.’
‘Am I?’ He raised his eyebrow higher and she felt the heat begin to gather on her cheeks.
‘Yes, I sought to explain why it would be impossible to meet.’ Louisa regained control of her body. She refused to be attracted to him. ‘I will send you the letter. There will be no need to meet after that. I will return to Sorrento and our lives will go on as before, our paths never crossing.’
‘A forlorn hope, Miss Sibson,’ Jonathon said. ‘You will not get rid of me that easily.’
‘Watch me.’
‘A challenge.’ He put his tea cup down. ‘Good. I love it when you issue challenges. Watch and learn, Miss Sibson. Afterwards, and in private, we can discuss how easy I will be to dissuade.’
Louisa shifted slightly on the sofa, feeling that she had played into his hands.
‘Miss Elliot,’ Jonathon said, giving a loud cough.
The entire room went still. ‘Yes, Lord Chesterholm?’
Silently Louisa prayed that Jonathon was not going to do anything untoward, not with Mrs Blandish in the room.
‘I understand that you spent some time in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Did you manage to collect anyRoman cameos? My late great-uncle had a collection and, since his death, I have developed an interest and I am eager to learn more.’
Louisa stared at Jonathon. Since when had he become interested in cameos? He had been far more interested in racing and placing bets, living the life of an overly indulged son. She doubted if he could even name any of the Roman emperors.
‘My sister was a keen collector. It was how we first met Arthur Fanshaw.’ Miss Daphne waved an arm. ‘I am afraid I did not have the head for it. All Latin and Greek. Louisa is the woman to speak to about such things. In her last years, my late sister relied on Louisa’s eye.’
‘Miss Mattie and I travelled to inspect the diggings at Pompeii and Herculaneum.’ Louisa’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Jonathon had miscalculated. She could easily turn the talk to her travels. The days she and Miss Mattie had spent in Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius gently billowing smoke in the background had been some of the most pleasant of her life.
‘Are the ruins as good as they say?’ Miss Nella Blandish asked, sticking her face between Louisa and Jonathon. ‘Miss Milton told me all about them. How you can walk the streets. And how they have put the skeletons that they found in various places just as they would have been.’
‘With Herculaneum, you have to descend stairs and go underground,’ Louisa
‘Must you sound like a villain in a penny novel?’
‘Why are you casting me as one?’ A muscle jumped in his jaw. ‘Shall I force you to be alone with me? Or are you scared about what you might discover? When shall it be? This afternoon?’
‘Unfortunately, I must decline.’ Louisa kept her voice even. ‘I must visit the chemist later this afternoon. Miss Daphne finished her tincture this morning. And without Miss Daphne’s tincture, the world stops.’
‘Ah, our old code.’ Jonathon’s eyes deepened to a storm-tossed green. ‘Shall we meet inside the chemist? What shall I say that I am searching for? A hair restoration tonic?’
Louisa’s stomach tightened. She should have remembered about the code and the visit to the chemist for a hair restoration tonic. How they accidentally met to have a proper conversation. And the other times she had pretended to have to get more ink or blotting paper so that she’d get a glimpse or stolen moment with him as he solemnly carried her packages.
She had thought at the time that the code and themeetings made what they shared more special—keeping it private and between the two of them. But now she saw it for what it was—a means to keep the relationship clandestine until it was far too late for anyone to intervene. And when it had ended, she had been ruined, in the gutter, but he had remained a pillar of society.
‘You are misconstruing my words and their meaning.’
‘Am I?’ He raised his eyebrow higher and she felt the heat begin to gather on her cheeks.
‘Yes, I sought to explain why it would be impossible to meet.’ Louisa regained control of her body. She refused to be attracted to him. ‘I will send you the letter. There will be no need to meet after that. I will return to Sorrento and our lives will go on as before, our paths never crossing.’
‘A forlorn hope, Miss Sibson,’ Jonathon said. ‘You will not get rid of me that easily.’
‘Watch me.’
‘A challenge.’ He put his tea cup down. ‘Good. I love it when you issue challenges. Watch and learn, Miss Sibson. Afterwards, and in private, we can discuss how easy I will be to dissuade.’
Louisa shifted slightly on the sofa, feeling that she had played into his hands.
‘Miss Elliot,’ Jonathon said, giving a loud cough.
The entire room went still. ‘Yes, Lord Chesterholm?’
Silently Louisa prayed that Jonathon was not going to do anything untoward, not with Mrs Blandish in the room.
‘I understand that you spent some time in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Did you manage to collect anyRoman cameos? My late great-uncle had a collection and, since his death, I have developed an interest and I am eager to learn more.’
Louisa stared at Jonathon. Since when had he become interested in cameos? He had been far more interested in racing and placing bets, living the life of an overly indulged son. She doubted if he could even name any of the Roman emperors.
‘My sister was a keen collector. It was how we first met Arthur Fanshaw.’ Miss Daphne waved an arm. ‘I am afraid I did not have the head for it. All Latin and Greek. Louisa is the woman to speak to about such things. In her last years, my late sister relied on Louisa’s eye.’
‘Miss Mattie and I travelled to inspect the diggings at Pompeii and Herculaneum.’ Louisa’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Jonathon had miscalculated. She could easily turn the talk to her travels. The days she and Miss Mattie had spent in Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius gently billowing smoke in the background had been some of the most pleasant of her life.
‘Are the ruins as good as they say?’ Miss Nella Blandish asked, sticking her face between Louisa and Jonathon. ‘Miss Milton told me all about them. How you can walk the streets. And how they have put the skeletons that they found in various places just as they would have been.’
‘With Herculaneum, you have to descend stairs and go underground,’ Louisa
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