Page 30 of A Sight to Behold
When Nick stopped for a moment, out of breath, he looked up and saw Chromius wagging his tail and jumping up and down near a delicate female figure. Heaving for air, Nick blinked. It was Pippa.
Nick approached them until he was within earshot. His terrier ignored him still. Instead, he expressed joy to see Pippa more openly that Nick would ever dare. By the time he’d reachedthe two of them, Chromius lay on his back in the grass and Pippa was kneeling and rubbing his belly. He couldn’t blame the dog, he’d lie in the grass and let her do anything to him she’d want, too.
“Dr. Folsham!” She looked up and blinked at him, pushing her eyeglasses up the bridge of her sweet little nose. Nick’s body tensed at the sight of her in a bright blue dress the color of forget-me-nots with white lace sticking out from her… he shouldn’t look, but from his vantage point, Pippa had a breathtaking cleavage. No healthy man of twenty-six would deliberately miss the spectacular view. Fortunately, Chromius chose that moment to roll to his feet and begin sniffing about. Pippa got to her feet, too, and Nick was happy she hadn’t caught him staring at her like a green boy. He cleared his throat.
“Lady Pippa, what a delight to see you.”
“And you, Dr. Folsham. Even though I saw Chromius first.”
“He pulled and broke his lead and I… ahem…” Nick unwrapped the leather strap from his hand. “I’ve been chasing him. He came here on his own…” Nick didn’t admit that his feet had taken him close to the park to begin with; the dog hadn’t run to see her on his own. It was Nick’s fault they’d been close enough for Chromius to remember he had a friend to visit and snapped the leash to get there.
“You cannot walk him all the way back to Marylebone with a torn lead, Dr. Folsham. Would you like to come back to the orangery with me? I’m sure I have something suitable, a rope or a bit of twine that I’d use to tie up a vine, perhaps—”
“Pippa!” A female voice came from the distance. “P-iii-paaa!” A young lady about Pippa’s age and wearing a silky green gown walked straight toward them. Nick recognized her as the same woman who’d opened the door to the orangery for him only yesterday. “There you are!” She blinked prettily as she peered at Nick, a flirtatious smile playing on her lips.
If Nick didn’t know any better, he’d say that Pippa slumped the moment the other woman reached her side. Although she was about Pippa’s age and height, her hair was lighter, and her posture was so straight that it was imposing.
Pippa didn’t get up and continued to rub Chromius’s ears. Without looking at Nick, she said, “Dr. Folsham, this is Lady Beatrix Weatherby, my cousin. Bea, this is Dr. Folsham.”
When her cousin examined him with such a thorough gaze, Nick wished he could wrap himself in a blanket to prevent her from seeing him. He felt exposed, analyzed, and then it was over. She’d dropped him like a hot bun, as if she’d come to some conclusion that he wasn’t permitted to be privy to.
“So, you are the eye doctor,” Bea said with her chin raised as her eyes traveled over Chromius and finally sank into Pippa’s with a meaningful stare.
Pippa rose but shameless, Chromius stood up on his hind legs and put his head against Pippa’s leg, begging her to rub him more. She cast him a warm smile that warmed Nick’s heart, then bent sideways letting her hand find the dog’s ears again.
“My sincere apologies if Chromius frightened you, Lady Pippa.” Nick bowed to her and then to her cousin. “Lady Beatrix, it’s a pleasure to have made your acquaintance, but I must be off,” Nick said as he clutched his hat to his chest ready to take his leave.
“But the lead, Dr. Folsham. I thought you wanted to come back to the orangery with me,” Pippa said. Then she winced as her cousin took a clumsy step—or so it appeared—to stomp on her foot and reached to tug on her arm. Nick knew what she was doing and why, and he couldn’t say that he blamed her even though he wished it didn’t have to be so. Now, Bea gave him a forced smile that was closer to a grimace.
“Pippa, a word in the orangery?” Bea turned to give Pippa a stern look, one Pippa returned. A secret and wordlessconversation had just occurred between the two ladies, but he might as well have been able to hear what was silently being communicated. His visit would be fodder for scandal. No need to remind Nick that he mustn’t be found alone with Lady Pippa, the daughter of the Duke of Sussex. He tried to remind himself, but his heart thundered,Pip-pa, Pip-pa.
When Pippa shook her head slightly “no,” her cousin gasped, but Pippa remained steadfast.
“I’m sure the doctor has patients to look after, Pippa. He won’t wish to join you—” but before she could speak the whole sentence through her clenched teeth, Nick interrupted her.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any engagements this afternoon, which is why I thought Chromius would enjoy an extended walk.” Nick searched Pippa’s eyes for a sign of understanding and hoped she knew how hard this was for him as it was for her. Their hearts yearned for one another, but to allow anything else to happen was foolhardy. It could destroy both of them. “It was a pleasure to see you, Lady Pippa, and nice to make your acquaintance, Lady Beatrix. You know where to find me if you need the spectacles adjusted.” Nick spoke to gain time because any second longer in Pippa’s presence was worth his weight in gold.
“Wait! But your lead is torn.” Her eyes were cast down, but she gave a mischievous smirk at Chromius, intentionally giving her cousin the cold shoulder. She shifted from one leg to the other and then lifted her head to blink at Nick with her mesmerizing eyes, batting her long lashes behind the glass of her spectacles. The world escaped him, and he nearly lost his knees when realization dawned on him. He couldn’t leave. Not unless he carried his dog, something he could do. It would save Pippa from unwanted gossip, and it would save his practice as well. But she persevered.
“I have another one, Dr. Folsham. Follow me, please.” Pippa gave Chromius a gentle nudge and he followed her. Nick was astonished, for the mutt never walked by his heel as Chromius was doing with Pippa. Even more astonished was Pippa’s cousin, for she stood back, agog. Pippa gave her a look over her shoulder, raised her chin as if to say, “he’s mine” and then pivoted as if she’d brought home a trophy. Nick’s chest burst with pride as he sensed the trophy was him.
Whatever had just occurred between the two ladies, he didn’t understand, but it was momentous because Pippa’s mood had instantly lifted, and she had a lightness to her stride that made Nick chuckle. Her enthusiasm infectious and captivating, instantly lifted Nick’s mood. And she had a plan that he was part of. His heart leapt and they walked over the pebbled path and left it for the grassy area leading to a patch of dense trees. Nick made large strides, but Pippa had lifted her skirts to step over the uneven terrain, Chromius trotting behind.
Whoops!
Her glasses slid off the end her nose.
“Got them!” Nick reached to stop them from falling and he’d touched her in the process. “Oh, I am sorry, it’s a habit.”
She blinked at him, standing still.
“It’s just that, this happens sometimes. You ought to fully push the bridge of the spectacles up your nose.” He did it for her and she blinked through the lenses as if she’d just had an epiphany.
“Come with me,” she said as she grabbed his hand. She lingered for a moment, hesitating. Did she think he wouldn’t come along? Nick interlaced his fingers with hers, willing his chest to stop pounding as if he were a green boy, and let her pull him along.
They reached an old stone wall, and she pulled him out of the park at Cope Castle. He supposed she knew a shortcut.
Nick followed her willingly, with Chromius at their heels.
