Page 76 of Love ad Lib
‘Yes. Being a living history performer. You get to spend all day in an incredible place, bringing the past to life and telling kids that the Romans used Portuguese pee as mouthwash.’
He looked horrified. ‘They did?’
‘Yup. And you’ll never guess what they used to clean their backsides...’
15
Bath was undeniably a beautiful city, but seeing it through Libby’s eyes awakened a deeper sense of appreciation in Henry.
She has a boyfriend. She has a boyfriend. She has a boyfriend.
He repeated this mantra over and over, trying to squash the growing attraction burning in his chest. He didn’t like Lucas, but he would like himself even less if he told Libby his feelings towards her were not entirely honourable.
Despite her protestations that a sandwich would suffice, he took her to the Pump Rooms for lunch and they dined under the chandeliers whilst a man in black tie played a grand piano on the low stage. If Henry could just hang out with Libby until they returned to London, everything would be perfect. He had no desire to return to the Manor and greet his extended family.
Libby sipped her tea. ‘Are all of your mother’s relatives coming to the party?’
‘Not all of them. My grandparents are in their eighties and it’s too far for them to travel. Mom’s elder sister, Simone, is coming. She’s fine—’unless she’s trying to persuade me to model for her‘—and her French husband and kids are cool. Mom’s brother, Louis, is a TV chef.’
‘I’ve seen one of his shows from the States. He’s a bit, um…’
Henry smiled. ‘Yes, he does come over a bit full of himself. But ten minutes with his sisters soon squashes it out of him, and then he’s actually fun to be around.’
‘They sound great.’
He nodded. They were. It was his father’s side of the family that caused him most of the headaches. His aunt’s party of fifteen were arriving that afternoon and he wanted to defer meeting them for as long as possible.
‘So, I’ve tried to memorise the family tree from the—’ Libby’s cheeks pinked as she hesitated ‘—contract. Your father’s older sister is Charlotte?’
‘Yes. Be warned. She’ll tell you she should have been born a man so she would have inherited the Manor and title instead of her “feckless embarrassment of a younger brother”.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘She has a point, but the way she goes on about it is tedious.’
‘And she’s married to a Tory MP?’
Henry raised his cup, his pinkie finger deliberately extended. ‘Sir Humphrey Hatton-Blythe. They have three children, who have also married appropriately and produced the requisite heirs.’
‘They sound extremely…’ Libby furrowed her brow as if trying to find the right word.
‘Posh?’
She nodded.
He sighed. ‘Yes, they are.’ He didn’t want to talk about them anymore. ‘Want to go to the Fashion Museum next?’
Her eyes lit up and her head bobbed.
Henry couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face. Libby was happy and they were miles away from Foxbrooke.
‘Areyou sure we shouldn’t go back?’ Libby asked as they exited the Museum an hour later.
‘Drinks aren’t until six,’ Henry replied. ‘I’m viewing the next few days as an endurance marathon that I want to delay.’
‘And here I was, thinking you loved Regency fashion.’
‘It’s quite smart. I just can’t get over how small people were.’
She stood on her tiptoes, her eyeline nearly reaching his. ‘I would have been considered tall in those days.’
Her lips were so close. So pink and utterly kissable.She has a boyfriend, she has a boyfriend, she has a boyfriend.
