Page 36 of The Lord Next Door
He sighed. “I hope you do not feel like I’m intruding on you.”
She blinked her eyes. “Why…no, my lord. I promise I will not burst into noisy tears if you look at me crossly.”
He held back a grin. He liked her spirit—but then again, hadn’t he always?
At the dressmaker’s shop on Bond Street, David descended first then helped Victoria down. Inside, several customers were being waited on by the dressmaker and her assistant. Glass cabinets displayed lace and ribbons and garters. Since he was the only gentleman present, he found himself being watched and giggled at by two young ladies, obviously sisters by their resemblance. Then their mother turned around at their behavior and saw him.
He knew the moment she recognized him.
“Lord Thurlow, how good to see you again,” she said, curtsying, followed quickly by identical curtsies from her daughters. The three were as colorful as peacocks, done up in pink, blue, and yellow satin.
“Lady Augusta, it is a pleasure,” he said, bowing. He turned to the daughters. “Lady Alice, Lady Athelina.”
Their three identical gazes bore in on Victoria.
“And this must be your new bride,” Lady Augusta said, oozing kindness and an underlying fascination.
“May I present my wife, Lady Thurlow. This is Lady Augusta Clifford, and her daughters Lady Alice and Lady Athelina.”
They all curtsied together, and Victoria performed hers with simple grace.
“How clever of you to surprise us all with your marriage,” Lady Augusta said. “Never quite gave the other ladies a chance, you young rascal.”
He understood that for the snide insult it was.
David smiled. “One’s heart shall always lead in the right direction, Lady Augusta.”
Victoria watched the scene unfold with a morbid fascination, even as she was trying hard to think of something to say. One’s heart?
“The good of the family should also be a concern in marriage decisions,” Lady Augusta said.
And Victoria knew that Her Ladyship was implying that this marriage was not good for the Banstead family. It was good for my own family, Victoria thought, but she was hardly going to say that. Everyone must already know that she brought nothing to the marriage. Even the earl himself was quick to point that out.
Her husband watched the lady and her daughters, saying nothing, leaving that rude statement just hanging there uncomfortably.
Lady Augusta was the first to back down, and she turned to Victoria with a sweet smile. “Lady Thurlow, how lucky you are to have a husband who takes an interest in your clothing. Or is it that you can’t be separated so early in your marriage?”
“I am fortunate, my lady,” she said. “I tried to tell Lord Thurlow that he did not have to accompany me today—”
She felt her husband’s arm slide about her waist, and she kept her smile frozen on her face, as if this happened all the time. But even Lady Augusta looked surprised at such an intimate gesture.
“And I told my wife,” he interrupted smoothly, “that to be with her is the highlight of my day.”
Oh, now he was lying to people, Victoria thought worriedly. Why? He was only reinforcing to Victoria that appearances mattered more than the truth. And if she didn’t live up to the necessary “appearance,” what would happen? “Appearances” would matter little if he discovered the truth about her father’s death.
Lady Augusta looked her up and down, still smiling. “Then Lady Thurlow, you should have your husband escort you to the milliner’s just down the block. You may tell the proprietress that I sent you.”
Lord Thurlow released her.
Victoria assumed that Lady Augusta was only insulting her choice of bonnet, but any mention of a milliner reminded her of Miss Lingard. Was Victoria actually jealous of something that had happened before she’d married Lord Thurlow? What did that say about her feelings for him?
“Thank you for taking such an interest in me, my lady,” she said, wishing she could let her sarcasm show.
The older woman nodded. “A good day to you, Lord Thurlow. And do consider attending my breakfast on Saturday, Lady Thurlow. You would be the center of attention as the new bride. Come along, girls.”
Victoria sighed as she watched them leave the shop, understanding exactly why she’d attract attention at such an event.
“And she wonders why I never attend,” Lord Thurlow said.
