Page 62 of A Baron's Disguised Lady
Lavinia gave a weak smile, knowing the task before her would not be an easy one, even as she knew it had to be done.
***
“Webster, Wedlowe, Wefton… where is it?” Lavinia said out loud, running her fingers along the spines of the books on one of the shelves of the library.
Sarum Lacy House was possessed of a fine library, and Lavinia had come to find a volume of poetry she wanted to read in bed that night. She enjoyed reading poetry. It had been one of her discoveries, given what her grandfather referred to as her “idle time.” As a maid, Lavinia would never have had time for poetry, but as a woman of leisure, she now found she hadtoomuch time.
“Were you looking for something?” a voice behind her said, and Lavinia startled, looking up to find Archie standing behind her.
She had not heard anyone come in, and now he looked at her questioningly as she straightened up, clearing her throat and nodding.
“Yes… a poet named Wedgwood. He’s not well known, not at all. But his poems are a delight,” she said.
The baron nodded.
“I know. The book’s on my bedside table,” he said, and Lavinia smiled.
“Oh, I see… that’s… very good to hear. Well, when you finish it, perhaps I could borrow it,” she replied.
There was an awkwardness between them, a sense of the air still to be cleared. He was behaving with curt formality, while Lavinia would far rather he simply told her what he thought. But she had become used to those of her new found rank and class not saying what they were really thinking. He would keep his feelings to himself, brooding over them, even as it would have been far better to reveal them and be done with it.
“Yes, I’m nearly finished with it. It won’t take me long. I rather liked them. I’m sure you will do, too,” Archie replied.
He had changed for dinner, though Lavinia had assumed he would not be joining them. He was handsome. She had thought so from the first moment she had laid eyes on him, and in his evening dress, the white tie, the jacket, the pressed shirt, and black breeches, he was every bit the aristocratic gentleman. Daisy had taken out a red dress for her, one her grandfather had bought her for her first ball, her “coming out” as he had called it.
She had danced in it, and now she thought back to being in Archie’s arms, to the smile on his face as they had whirled and twirled in the waltz. Lord Bath had watched them, and she had known then his jealousy would be roused.
But things were different now, and Lavinia feared his jealousy had taken a new direction. Would he return that night to Sarum Lacy House? Now, she wondered what Archie thought of her, what he really thought of her, after they had shared what his mother had called “intimacies.”
“Yes, I’ve read one of his volumes before. But I noticed one I hadn’t read here the other day. How strange we should both think to read it,” Lavinia said, and the baron nodded.
“Yes, it is, rather. But… you obviously have good taste,” he said, and Lavinia blushed.
“Well… I know what I like,” she replied.
An awkward silence now descended again, and Lavinia glanced back at the shelves, wondering what she could say to break the atmosphere between them.
“I’m glad the magistrate agreed to investigate things further,” Archie said, and Lavinia nodded.
“Yes, so am I, for your sake and your mother’s,” she said.
“And for Gwendolene,” he said.
“And that’s who this is all really for, isn’t it?” Lavinia replied, and the baron nodded.
“It’sallfor Gwendolene,” he said.
Lavinia gave a weak smile. She was still just as determined to help Archie as she had been before. She wanted to know the truth, and the truth was still to be discovered. But the thought of arguing further, of repeating the angry words of earlier was not something she wished to entertain. Instead, she changed the subject, hoping to draw him out of the obvious melancholy into which he had sunk.
“Your mother told me about Penelope and Michael earlier,” she said, and Archie looked at her in surprise.
“Penelope and Michael?” he asked, as though the names were a reminder of something he had entirely forgotten about.
“Yes, Gwendolene’s friend, and your friend. They’re to be married, she said. Although, it sounds as if they’re not finding their betrothal easy. Your mother suggested I might call on Penelope tomorrow. She lives in the lodge at the end of the east drive, doesn’t she?” Lavinia said.
The baron nodded, though by the look on his face, Lavinia wondered if she had said something wrong again.
“Yes, she does, but I’m not sure… well, you can visit her if you want. She has her version of the story, he has his. She and Gwendolene were very close. But they drifted apart in the last few months of Gwendolene’s life. I’m not sure Penelope found it easy to cope with the fact of my sister’s illness,” he said, shaking his head.
