Page 19 of Black and Silver

“Yes, I know,” Lawrence answered tilting his head down sheepishly.

“Yourexpectingwife?” Lady Minerva added, her tone rising an octave.

“I panicked,” Lawrence whispered, snapping his eyes up to meet Lady Minerva’s. “I could not think of anything else that would engender sympathy to the degree that we would need it to stay in the house long enough to bring up the topic of the sculpture.”

Lady Minerva’s lips twitched and her eyes danced with mirth. She cleared her throat and said, “Might I suggest asking Lady Jessica if she is still in possession of the sculpture in question and then inquiring as to whether you could have it back?”

Lawrence lowered her head again. “Er, we had a bit of a row over the sculpture when we parted ways,” he admitted. “I asked for it back then, and she told me that she would never part withit, that it was a gift, and that I was a blackguard for asking that a gift be returned.”

Lady Minerva made a snorting sound and clapped a hand over her mouth.

“And,” Lawrence added, glancing guiltily up at her again, “the, er, subjects of the sculpture are very distinctly her and me.”

Lady Minerva burst out with laughter. The sound was so sudden and forceful that the maid who had just entered the room, as if to inquire whether there was anything they needed while tea was being prepared, nearly tripped over her own feet.

“Oh, Lord Lawrence,” Lady Minerva giggled, resting a hand on his knee. “You have painted yourself into quite a corner, haven’t you. Or should I say that you’vecarvedout a difficult niche for yourself?” She continued to giggle at her bad pun.

Lawrence found her laughter contagious, even though they had landed themselves in an extremely serious situation. “I suppose I have,” he chuckled in return. He placed his hand over hers, leaned in closer, and whispered, “We should probably refer to each other by our given names, seeing as though we are married and you are with child, possibly twins.”

That sent Lady Minerva into another peal of laughter. “You do beat all,Lawrence,” she said.

There was a sparkle in her eyes that completely took Lawrence’s breath away when they met his. Of all the women he could have asked to carry out an adventure filled with subterfuge like the one they were on now, Minerva was exactly the one he would have asked for. As mad as their reasons for being at Tidworth Hall were, he was certain he’d picked the right partner in crime for the visit.

The maid cleared her throat, drawing their attention.

“If you please, my lord, my lady,” the smiling maid said, “Lady Jessica would like to send the footmen to retrieve yourbelongings from your carriage, and she would like to know what sort of accommodations your driver is used to.”

“Yes, thank you,” Lawrence said, sitting straighter, but keeping Minerva’s hand in his. “Our driver, Silas, is used to good accommodations, so if there is an apartment in the stables or a room in the servants’ quarters, I would be grateful if he could be given a place there.”

“Yes, my lord.” The maid curtsied, and as she turned to go, she said, “Lady Jessica will return in a moment, and tea will be served shortly.”

“Thank you?” Minerva turned her thanks into an inquiry.

“Prissy, my lady,” the maid gave her name with a curtsy.

“Thank you, Prissy,” Minerva said. As soon as the maid left the room, Minerva added, “It’s always best to keep the servants on your side. One never knows when they will become useful.”

“If we have to pack our things in the middle of the night and escape from a church vestry, you mean?” Lawrence asked, grinning all over again.

“Precisely,” Minerva said, giving his hand a squeeze.

Lawrence now fully believed Minerva’s story about escaping her intended on the day of their wedding. He hoped that she still had that sort of daring and ingenuity. They were going to need it if the madness he could feel was about to begin came to pass.

Chapter Seven

Minnie was surprisingly unbothered about sharing a room with Lawrence under Lady Wimpole who had transformed into Lady Jessica’s, roof. They’d spent the last few days in such close proximity inside the carriage that Minnie was already used to the quirks of Lawrence’s character. She’d grown accustomed to the way he hummed and grunted, as if having a conversation with himself, when he was thinking, the way his hands twitched like they wanted to be holding sculpting tools when he became excited about something, and about the ridiculous way he smiled at almost anything, whether it warranted smiling or not. She appreciated his consideration for Clarence, who had been brought out and placed in one of the room’s windows with a view of the front drive, as well.

What she was not at all used to was changing out of traveling clothes, bathing, and donning a gown that was suitable for supper, all while Lawrence was so nearby she could hear him shuffling around. He, too, needed to bathe and change, so Prissy and a veritable army of footmen had brought up not one, but twobrass tubs, placing one in the dressing room and one in the main bedroom.

At least they had not been asked to share a tub. Minnie was able to cast a great deal of social propriety aside to maintain their ruse, but sharing a bath with Lawrence crossed her limits.

Although, under the correct circumstances, perhaps after a bit too much wine, she could most definitely see herself bathing simultaneously with Lawrence. Bathing, in her experience, was a lovely prelude to other things.

She shook her head and muttered to herself, not unlike the way Lawrence was wont to do, as she scrubbed the travel dirt from her body, then stood from her bath as quickly as she could. It would do no good for her to let her imagination wander down those particular paths.

As much as it might have wanted to.

“I say, you are looking lovely,” a dinner-dressed Lawrence greeted Minnie when she finally emerged from the dressing room. His eyes glittered and his mouth pinched for a moment before he continued with, “Pregnancy agrees with you.”

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