"Oh, for shame, sir," Theo said, flushing slightly. "You should know you're a farmer after my own heart. A man of great sense."
"You do me too much honor, Lady Stoneridge," Lord Praed said solemnly. He raised her hand to his lips. "I'll do myself the honor of calling upon you, if I may. I'd like to show you the pamphlet I was talking about."
He offered his arm to his wife. "Gabrielle, I believe you said you wished to visit the supper room." They made their farewells and strolled away arm in arm.
"I need some dry bread," Gabrielle said as they entered the supper room.
"What?" Nathaniel looked at her, startled. And then his expression changed. "Dry bread? Gabrielle, you're not…?"
"It's the only time I crave dry bread," she said with a tranquil smile.
"Oh, lord," he muttered.
"I wonder if it'll be twins again," Gabrielle mused, examining the offerings on the long table with a critical frown.
"Knowing you, there'll be three of them," Nathaniel said, offering her a basket of rolls. "You always improve on your performances, my love."
Gabrielle laughed, breaking off a piece of cast. "Six children in the house?"
"A daunting prospect for a man who didn't think he wanted one." Nathaniel shook his head, but his mouth curved in a smug little smile. "Come, I find I want you at home immediately." He put his arm around her shoulders, directing her toward the door.
Gabrielle made no demur. When her husband's eyes burned in that fashion, she wasn't about to argue.
Theo watched them leave, frowning slightly. "I don't think I offended Lord Praed. You're not vexed, are you, Mama?"
"It would be a lost cause, dear," Elinor said. "Have you seen Clarissa?"
"She was dancing with Lord Littleton, the last I saw. But she's not going to be happy coming to Almack's if we can't manage to acquire vouchers for Jonathan Lacey. Couldn't you ask Lady Jersey?"
"He seems a perfectly pleasant young man," Elinor said. "If somewhat vague on occasion. But I should wish to meet his mother. What's your opinion, Stoneridge?"
"Since I've been informed that Clarissa has found the love of her life, ma'am, I daren't offer one."
"That may be true," Elinor said matter-of-factly. "But I shan't give my blessing until I've met his mother."
Theo's frown deepened, and she turned to the puzzle uppermost in her mind. "We weren't expecting you, Sylvester."
"No, but I thought I'd drop in and see how you were doing," he said smoothly, reading the riot of questions in her eyes. "It's not so unusual for a husband to do such a thing."
"No," she said, her frustration clear in face and voice.
"Sylvester, may I beg the honor of an introduction to Lady Stoneridge?"
Neil Gerard glided up to them, his question breaking into the baffling whirligig of her thoughts.
Sylvester's eyes were hooded, although his mouth smiled as he made the introductions. "My dear, allow me to introduce you to a very old friend of mine. We've just met up again after some considerable separation."
Theo found herself looking into a thin-featured face, sharply aquiline nose, flat brown eyes, smooth brown hair; tall, athletic figure. There was something oddly familiar about him, and she took an instant dislike to Neil Gerard, although she tried to conceal it as she smiled and shook hands.
Neil bowed over her hand, amusement and surprise warring in his mind. So that vibrant creature who'd marched into the Fisherman's Rest hadn't been Sylvester's mistress? It had been the Belmont chit.
No, he amended. This was no chit. Young, certainly, but no flummery about her. No simpering miss, this. He remembered how he'd been struck by the brazen sensuality of the woman who'd smiled and touched the Earl of Stoneridge, and taken a disgusted sip from his drink, and had her hand slapped for her pains.
"I'm delighted to make your acquaintance, Captain Gerard," Theo was saying. "Were you in the army with my husband?" She examined him covertly, looking for a reaction. Did this man know of Vimiera?
"We were also at school together, Lady Stoneridge," he said, answering the question by default, and giving Theo no clues in the process. "We've stood shoulder to shoulder in many a ticklish situation, isn't that so, Sylvester?" He turned with a hearty laugh toward the earl, who merely inclined his head, his eyes unreadable.
There was a moment's pause, but before Sylvester's silence could become noticeable, Neil continued with another hearty chuckle. "Ah, yes, Lady Stoneridge, your husband and I have known each other since we were grimy lads of ten."
"Grimy?" Theo raised her eyebrows, casting her husband an arch glance as she played along with the banter. "I find it hard to imagine Stoneridge as anything but immaculate."
"But, then, when I was ten, my dear, you were hardly in a position to know me," Sylvester said.
He could feel Gerard's interest in Theo like a pulsing heat.
He must have recognized her from the Fisherman's Rest, but there was a quality to his interest that went beyond the merely curious. There was a hunger to it; the man was aroused by Sylvester's wife.
On the thought Sylvester briskly tucked Theo's arm in his. "Forgive us, Gerard. But my wife expressed a wish to be escorted home without delay."
Neil Gerard took his leave, promising to call upon the countess at her earliest convenience.
"No, I didn't," said Theo.
"No, but I wish to take you home," her husband said. "Indulge me in this."
Theo glanced up at him. The strong mouth curved in a smile of pure masculine intent, his eyes glittered with sensual promise, and she knew that he was going to ensure she asked no questions of him tonight.
Chapter Twenty-two
"Is Lady Theo in, Foster?"
"I'm afraid not, Lady Emily." The butler held the door as Emily and Edward walked past him into the hall.
"Then we'll wait," Emily said. "We're probably a little early."
"Her ladyship was expecting you?" Foster sounded doubtful.
"Yes, we're engaged to call upon Mrs. Lacey. Lieutenant Fairfax is going to escort us."
"Did she say what time she'd be back?" Edward asked, tossing his hat onto the pier table.
"No, sir. Will you wait in the library?"
"Yes, and bring some tea, please," Emily said. Foster might be officially employed by the Earl of Stoneridge, but the Belmont girls continued to treat him as their own personal butler, just as they treated Belmont House and Stoneridge Manor as their own.
Foster bowed. "Claret for Lieutenant Fairfax, perhaps?"
Edward smiled. "Thank you, Foster. Did Lady Theo say where she was going?"
"No, sir." Foster backed out of the library and went off to fetch the required refreshments.
"Don't you think that's a little strange?" Edward said, going over to the window looking out onto the street. It was a sunny afternoon, and a small girl was bowling an iron hoop along the pavement under the eye of a nursemaid.
"Not to tell Foster where she was going?" Emily frowned. "Not necessarily. Theo's always going off on her own business."
"This isn't Lulworth, Emily. Theo doesn't have business to do here." He remained at the window but turned back to the room as Foster came in with the tea tray and the claret decanter. "Did she go on foot, Foster? Or in the barouche?"
"On foot, I believe, sir." Foster poured a glass of claret.
"With her maid, or with a footman?" He took the glass with a smile of thanks, reasoning that if Theo was going for some serious exercise, she'd take the footman.
Foster frowned. "I don't believe anyone accompanied her, sir."
Edward whistled, an uneasy sense of foreboding building as he turned back to look out the window, hoping to see Theo hurrying up the street. "Stoneridge won't be pleased to hear that."
"What won't I be pleased to hear?" Sylvester inquired from the doorway. His many-caped driving coat was dusty, a handful of whip points were thrust into the top button hole, his long driving whip was curled in his gloved hand.