Page 14 of The Meaning of Love
On seeing the carriages lining the avenue some way ahead, he murmured, “I had no idea an outing such as this was mandatory for recently engaged couples.”
Melissa threw him a cynical look. “This is the ton, after all.”
He snorted. He was in two minds over the events of the past hours; he wasn’t entirely sure he understood all the currents at play.
On following Melissa into her father’s study, with Lady North sweeping in on their heels, he’d discovered Melissa had given her parents a full accounting of what had occurred the previous evening, omitting only the intensity of their argument and any meaningful description of their kiss.
He hadn’t anticipated her being that forthcoming and had been ready to support whatever version of events she’d offered, yet he had to admit that the truth was easier to deal with, especially as the Norths seemed remarkably unperturbed by what had occurred.
The one point she’d failed to explain, at least in his hearing, was why she’d chosen to go to the gazebo with Gordon in the first place. He was more than curious about that. His memory insisted she hadn’t been seeking fresh air until after they’d noticed each other; if so, her sudden attack of breathlessness was rather revealing.
Regardless, he knew better than to press her for her reason. However, he had made plain why, knowing Gordon’s ambition, he’d followed the pair to ensure nothing untoward took place, and Melissa had agreed that, in light of the subsequent exchanges between her and his cousin before he’d arrived, that had been just as well; Gordon’s designs on her had been blatant and evident to all.
Lady North had supported Melissa’s hypothesis that Gordon had arranged for the three older ladies to discover him and Melissa in a compromising situation, but as it transpired, it was Julian who had been with her at the time.
Lord North had listened to everyone’s report without interrupting. When they’d fallen silent, he’d remarked, “I have to say that, as two people unwittingly trapped in a tangled plot not of your own making, the pair of you are handling the situation with commendable sense. I could wish certain of my junior staff would react with such calm composure.”
Lady North, Melissa, and Julian had stared at his lordship for a moment, then Lady North had explained that Melissa and Julian had known each other from weeks spent in Little Moseley years before. That, apparently, had answered his lordship’s unvoiced question; he’d nodded sagely as if entirely satisfied.
After sharing a quick glance with Melissa, Julian had seized the opening to connect their past with their current plan to use the situation foisted upon them to see if, after all, they might suit. He’d admitted he’d come to London in search of a bride, adding that, after his long absence from the ton, he’d assumed Melissa already wed.
Lord North had exchanged a look with his lady, then concisely stated, “So—through you, Carsely, rescuing Melissa from a matrimonial snare engineered by your cousin, the pair of you have been trapped into declaring an engagement, but due to your past association and your present individual situations, you are proposing to exploit the situation to determine if, in fact, you might marry.” He’d looked from Julian to Melissa. “Have I got that right?”
He and she had assured his lordship that he had.
Melissa had added the caveat that they had agreed to review their situation in early May, and if they’d discovered that they would not suit, she would cry off later that month or in early June.
Over that, Lord and Lady North had communed without words, then his lordship had declared that they were willing to support that plan.
While that had been a relief, he was still somewhat flummoxed by the Norths’ ready acquiescence; he’d anticipated more difficulties.
Subsequently, with the help of both ladies, he and Lord North had drafted separate notices forThe Gazetteand duly dispatched them to be run in the following day’s edition.
Then he’d been invited to stay for luncheon, and her parents and younger brother, Christopher, whom he hadn’t previously met, had been charming and pleasant throughout.
Thereafter, the sense of unreality had deepened, with Lady North dispatching him to fetch his curricle and return to take Melissa up for this apparently compulsory jaunt in the park. While at Carsely House, he’d seized a moment to dash off a missive to his mother and send it with a groom to go north on the night mail. His mother would never forgive him were she to hear of his supposed engagement from the papers or, worse, from some delighted friend.
Then he’d driven his matched bays to Mount Street, found Melissa waiting, and here they were.
The avenue was crowded, and they’d been inching along. As they approached the first of the carriages drawn up on the verge, he murmured, “At least being engaged allows us to drive without a chaperone.”
Melissa looked at him, then turned her head farther to glance at his tiger, perched behind them.
Julian smiled. “Trust me. Kieran’s ears might be flapping, but he’s too well trained to utter a peep about anything he hears.”
“Not sure I’d understand all them big words, anyways,” Kieran piped.
Melissa glanced at him again. “You’re Irish?”
Julian assumed Kieran nodded.
Melissa faced forward, then murmured, “How old is he?”
“I know he looks ten, but he’s actually sixteen. I found him on the streets of Dublin.”
She cocked a brow at him. “Another of your rescues?”
He smiled. “So to speak. But he’s a dab hand with horses, so my motives weren’t entirely altruistic.” They’d reached the first carriage, which contained an ancient lady and her companion; the lady peered haughtily at them through a lorgnette. “You’ll need to direct me,” he said. “How do we manage this?”
