Page 50 of The King's Man
He shrugged. ‘There is France, but in truth, it is the lure of the New World that attracts me.’
‘I have estates in Virginia,’ Thamsine said.
He looked down at her. ‘You are a surprising woman,’ he said.
‘My grandfather and my father made their fortunes trading in tobacco and other commodities from the New World.’
‘Kit!’ A woman’s voice came from behind them.
At the sound of his name, Kit froze, dropping Thamsine’s hand from his arm. They both turned to face a small, fair-haired woman who stood no more than five paces behind them, her arms full of parcels.
‘Lucy, what are you doing here?’
Thamsine had to bite her lip to stop from laughing. The woman he had called Lucy looked Thamsine up and down, a quizzical look on her face. From her proprietorial air and hard eyes, Thamsine did not doubt that they had encountered Kit’s long-suffering mistress.
She had not thought that Kit Lovell was the sort of man to become discomposed, but he looked distinctly flustered.
‘Well, aren’t you going to introduce us?’ Lucy’s frosty smile fixed on Thamsine.
Kit made the formal introductions and Thamsine, biting her lip to stop from smiling, curtsied. Lucy returned the compliment, made awkward by her parcels.
‘My brother served with Captain Lovell in the late wars,’ Thamsine said in an attempt to provide Kit with a reason for being caught in the company of another woman.
‘By happy chance, I encountered Mistress Granville this morning,’ Kit added.
Thamsine smiled sweetly. ‘Just pure coincidence. We were just going to the new coffee house. Would you care to join us, Mistress Talbot?’
‘I don’t care for coffee.’ Lucy’s blue eyes bored into Thamsine’s tall, slender frame. ‘What brings you to London, Mistress Granville?’
‘I have a position as a music tutor, Mistress Talbot.’
Lucy’s eyes widened. ‘Really? I have been meaning to engage the services of a music tutor. Would you be willing to take me on, Mistress Granville?’
‘Mouse, I don’t think you need to trouble Mistress Granville,’ Kit spluttered.
Lucy looked up at him. ‘On the contrary, Kit. It is something I have been meaning to do for some time. Will you be able to come to my house on Friday, Mistress Granville?’
Thamsine looked at Kit, delighted to see him flushed scarlet with embarrassment. Kit always seemed so much in control of his life and everything in it that she saw no harm in causing him some discomfiture. Besides, the thought of spending some time with his mistress intrigued her.
‘I would be delighted,’ Thamsine said.
Lucy smiled and held out her hand to Thamsine. ‘Shall we say two in the afternoon? Talbot’s Wine Merchants in High Holborn; you can’t miss it. Now, I have an appointment with my tailor. If you will excuse me, Mistress Granville.’
The women curtsied with punctilious politeness.
‘Kit, I shall see you this evening.’ Lucy smiled and held out her hand. Kit bent low and kissed it.
Lucy gave Thamsine a last, triumphant look before pushing her way through the crowd, her high pattens clattering on the cobbles. ‘So that is your Lucy,’ Thamsine said.
Kit looked defensive. ‘She is notmyLucy, any more than I am hers. I assure you, our relationship is one of pure mutual convenience, not ownership.’
‘I am not sure that she shares that sentiment,’ Thamsine observed.
‘What do you mean?’
Thamsine shrugged. ‘I’m a woman, Captain Lovell. I know these things.’
‘Then you are mistaken,’ he replied, ‘and as for this ridiculous notion of music lessons, I am asking you, as a friend, not to do it, Thamsine.’
