Page 18 of The Meaning of Love
Melissa reached out and tweaked Julian’s sleeve. When he glanced at her, she nodded toward the pit. “There’s a man down there, staring at us.” She paused, then amended, “Or at least, I thought it was us, but it might just be you. Do you know him?”
Julian scanned the masses and saw the man, still staring up at the North box. “Dark curly hair, dark suit?”
“That’s him.”
He squinted, but in the increasing gloom, couldn’t make out the man’s features. “From this distance, I can’t be sure, but I don’t think so. I don’t recognize him.”
At that moment, the lights snuffed out and the curtains swept back, and the bright lights on the stage cast the pit into Stygian darkness.
Julian pretended to follow the action on the stage, but most of his mind was wondering about the man. Whether the man’s attention had been on Melissa and Julian or just Julian, there’d been an intensity in his unwavering regard that suggested something more than mere interest. Julian trawled through his memories, but couldn’t place the fellow.
He waited for his eyes to adjust to the gloom and, during a well-lit scene when the stage lights cast a glow over the pit, searched for the man, but his dark head was no longer where it had been. As far as Julian could see, the fellow had gone.
Hmm.
Melissa shifted on the chair beside him. “At least this is more believable.”
He returned his gaze to the stage, where a lady of dubious virtue was creeping toward a window beyond which a gentleman was about to be murdered. After two seconds of watching the actress inch forward, he murmured back. “In real life, creeping along bent over like that, she’d probably trip on her hem and crash forward, and our putative murder victim and the would-be murderer would come rushing to the window to see.”
She smothered a laugh. “That would certainly rewrite the plot.”
“Well, if the shoe fits.” In a barely breathed exchange, he and she proceeded to do just that; as their inventiveness knew few bounds, they entertained themselves very well.
The play finally ended, and the curtain came down. As the applause faded and the lights came up, he turned to Melissa. “I have to admit I enjoyed the play far more than it deserved.”
She returned his smile. “I confess I did, too. I’ve never tried reinterpreting like that before—it was certainly more engaging.”
Julian helped all four ladies don their cloaks, then gave Melissa his arm, and they followed Lady North and Melissa’s aunts—Catherine, Lady Osbaldestone and Margaret, Mrs. Osbaldestone—from the box.
“Keep close behind Mama,” Melissa warned, “or we’ll be besieged.”
By dint of remaining tightly within the older ladies’ wake, they managed to descend the stairs, cross the foyer, and pass through the doors and onto the theater’s raised porch without being detained for more than a few seconds at a time. They halted on the porch and waited for the carriages to roll up; the queue of carriages along the front of the theater was moving very slowly.
Julian glanced at Melissa. “What’s next on our schedule?”
She hesitated, then said, “As the notice of our engagement will appear inThe Gazettetomorrow, I absolutely have to go into Surrey to see Mandy and her husband, Rufus Sedon, and explain the situation to them. If I don’t, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“I’m surprised Mandy isn’t in town.”
“She normally would be, but she’s expecting their first child in a month or so, so is confined to Sedon Hall.”
“Ah, I see. Where in Surrey is Sedon Hall?”
“Not far from Farleigh. The fastest way is via Croydon.”
“If you like, I’ll drive you down.” He caught her eyes as she looked up at him. “We should go down together, shouldn’t we? Especially as it’s Mandy.”
She smiled in clear relief. “I didn’t know if you would have the time.”
“As an affianced gentleman, I’ll make the time.” He smiled back. “At what hour should I call for you?”
They settled on half past ten the following morning.
Catherine’s carriage drew up, and Catherine and Margaret said their goodbyes and departed.
Melissa turned to her mother and filled her in on their plans for the next day.
Lady North nodded approvingly. “An excellent notion. Aside from all else, that will save you from the heightened attention bound to be running rabid in the park tomorrow.”
