Page 110 of Lady Edith and the Registry Office
Chapter Thirty-Six
Nathaniel handed LadyLouisa out of the coach. When he assisted Lady Edith from Cecil’s carriage, he held her gloved hand a moment longer than necessary. “It has been a long day. Thank you to you and Lady Louisa for aiding in the search for our veterans.”
“Thank you for letting us help. Do keep us updated on their condition.” She squeezed his hand before withdrawing her own, color rising in her cheeks at her boldness.
“Shall we go inside?” Louisa asked archly when neither he nor Edith moved.
Once the women were safely inside the house, he turned to see Cecil grinning down at him from the coach box. “When will you speak with her father?”
“You’re awful cheerful about the possibility of my getting leg-shackled.” He shook his head and climbed up next to the viscount. “What has happened to you?”
Cecil flicked the leads, and the coach started forward. “I am relieved to see you happy. You have been depressed for what seems like years, and Lady Edith has breathed life back into you.”
“You have described it exactly! I feel as if my life is just beginning.” He sobered. “I won’t ask her to marry me until the registry is sorted. We need to speak with Taylor and Porter.”
“I’ll speak with them tomorrow morning while you’re checking on our veterans in Greenwich. I imagine you’re going to send a missive to Ashford?”
“As soon as I return home. We need to decide what to do with the registry office. It’s hard to believe that Mrs. Stafford and Black Jack were working with the RA.” He sighed. “All I want to think about right now is a hot bath and supper.”
“In that order?” Cecil asked lightly.
He clapped his friend on the back. “If you’re wrangling for a dinner invitation, you’ve got one.”
“Excellent. A bath can wait when faced with a meal cooked by your excellent chef.”
* * * * *
“His lordship wouldlike to speak to you and Lady Louisa in the drawing room before dinner,” Edith’s maid informed her as she helped her mistress dress.
“Thank you, Mary.” Edith studied her reflection in the looking glass over her dressing table. Was it her imagination, or did her eyes sparkle and her cheeks look rosier than usual?
“You look to be in high spirits, my lady.”
“Do I?” Edith held back the laugh bubbling inside. Despite the problems associated with the registry office, she felt light as air.
Her father and Louisa were already downstairs when she entered the drawing room.
“It sounds as if you ladies had an eventful day,” her father said drily from his place near the drinks tray on a low dresser.
“Louisa told you all about it?” she asked once she was seated near her friend on a settee.
The other girl nodded. “All of it.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Her father poured a glass of port, swallowed most of it in one gulp, and turned to face her. “If I hadn’t been preoccupied with my own concerns... Well, to be truthful, I don’t know what I would have done. Warning you to stay out of danger is a moot point now.”
She nodded. “Very true. May I ask after Lady Sandhurst?”
“Don’t change the subject, my girl.” Her father took a seat in a nearby chair. “What is this about your having feelings for Lord Harbury?”
Edith felt her cheeks warm. She glanced at Louisa before replying simply, “I love him.”
“Louisa tells me the man cares for you despite allowing you to accompany him on his adventures across half of England.”
“Oh, Father!” She couldn’t help but giggle. “Woolwich and Greenwich are not so very far away. Lord Harbury and Lord Wycliffe were with us, protecting us from danger.”
