Page 45 of The Duke of Distraction
“Yes.”His tone was tentative.“But I suspect that was much different.I was very young, for one thing.”
“And?”
“And…” He shrugged.“You find other things to think about.Like shopping.Come, I’m taking you into Ware.I’m having the gig brought round.Fetch your maid and meet me out front.”
Her maid.It took her a moment to realize she ought to take her maid.Yes, it was an open vehicle and yes, she and Felix were as good as family, but for propriety’s sake, she ought to bring Dovey.
“I’ll just be a trice,” she said.
“Good.”He grinned at her and departed.
She picked up her half-finished letter and dashed to her chamber, where Dovey helped her change into a walking costume.Sarah hurried downstairs and out into the bright afternoon, the brim of her hat shading her eyes from the sun.
Felix stood next to the gig, his hat pulled low on his brow at a cocky angle.She’d never acknowledged how handsome he was before.
And she certainly didn’t need to start doing sonow.
He helped her into the front seat of the vehicle and then helped Dovey into the back.Ware was a short two-mile drive.With malthouses, coaching inns, and shopping aplenty, it was a busy town, particularly with the traffic on the River Lea, which ran straight through.
“We’ll visit Scott’s Grotto while you’re here,” Felix said.
“My parents took us there once,” Sarah said softly, remembering a day she hadn’t thought of in years.Or maybe she’d forgotten it altogether, but Felix’s mention of the grotto had resurrected the memory.“It was summer, and the tunnels were cool.They were beautiful—the shells and rock.”
“I spent many a summer day hiding in them,” Felix said.“Thankfully, Maria Scott has continued to allow people to visit.Her father built the grotto, if you didn’t know.People would come from London to see it—which was his intent.”
Sarah slid a glance at him as they drove into town.“I’m surprisedyoudon’t build a grotto.”
“At Stag’s Court?”He shook his head.“I don’t have a chalk hill.”
“But if you had one, you would build a grotto?”
“Of course.”He flashed her a grin, and she was once again grateful for his sense of humor.
He took them past a series of coaching inns and malthouses before parking the gig in front of a shop.Sarah looked at the sign and then toward Felix, who was already bounding from the vehicle.
He came around to her side and offered her his hand.
“You brought me to a millinery shop?”
“Why not?I happen to know you like them.”He helped her down, then did the same for Dovey, but she waved him away.“I’ll wait here.”
“The gig will be fine,” Felix said.“This isn’t London.”
“It’s all right, my lord.My back is paining me a bit today.”
Sarah hadn’t known that.She looked up at her maid, who wasn’t even old enough to be her mother.“Did something happen?”Sarah asked.
Dovey winked at her.“Not at all.Just an old pain.”That Sarah had never heard of.Was Dovey trying to give her time alone with Felix?Sarah would need to tell her that wasn’t necessary, though it might not do any good.Dovey was as keen to see Sarah wed as her parents had been.
A sharp prick of loss stabbed into Sarah, and she worked to push it away.It lingered a moment, reminding her for the thousandth time that her mother would never see her wed.Did it matter anymore, then?Sarah had thought it had never mattered.And now she’d marry in a second if it meant she could have her parents back.
She took Felix’s arm as he guided her into the shop.It was small and cool after the heat of the early afternoon sun.Hats and ribbons and gloves filled the space, and Sarah looked about in mild interest.
Taking her hand from his arm, Sarah went to a display of poke bonnets.She fingered one, admiring the craftsmanship.
“Do you like that?”Felix asked, coming up beside her.
“It’s nice.”
