Page 66 of The Duke of Distraction
“So you’re the person behind all of Felix’s elaborate plans,” Sarah said with a bit of awe.“I should have known you would be a woman.It makes perfect sense now.”
George laughed.“They are his ideas.I simply execute them.”
“Better than I ever could,” Felix said.“Now if you’ll excuse me, George and I have some business to discuss.I shall see you on the morrow.”
And with that, Sarah felt dismissed.She supposed she could barge into his bedchamber later, but she wouldn’t.Having set her jealousy aside, she decided it was past time to be cautious.And probably past time to let her…flirtation, for that was the only word she was willing to acknowledge, with Felix go.
If she could.
No, shemust.
She didn’t need him to distract her from her grief.She had her hats, and she’d decided long ago that they would be enough.
The bright beauty of summer returned the following day with a lush blue sky and warm, sparkling sunlight.It was far too fine to remain indoors, so Felix had suggested an excursion to Scott’s Grotto since Sarah had seemed keen to go.
“You say we should spend the day outside, and yet the grotto is a series of tunnels, are they not?”Sarah asked with more than a little sarcasm.But then she’d winked and said she was joking and that she’d love to see the grotto.
Since taking just her was not the wisest idea, Felix invited Anthony, but he’d declined in favor of fishing.And so Felix found himself waiting outside for Sarah, wondering how he could cancel the outing without disappointing her.
She emerged from the house in a particularly fetching costume of lavender trimmed with dark blue.Her hat was, of course, the best part of her ensemble.Styled as a cavalier, a bright red feather jutted up from the side.
“Your hat is stunning, as usual,” he said.
“Thank you.I was a bit nervous about wearing the red feather with my mourning clothes, but I’m afraid I can’t resist a jaunty feather.”Her gaze flashed with self-reprobation as she moved toward the open gig.
“Sarah, we can’t go,” he said without preamble and with immediate regret as her eyes clouded.“Anthony’s not coming.”
“I’ll send for Dovey.”
“I’m not sure that’s wise.”Felix didn’t want to draw attention to why.After she’d flirted with him at dinner last night, he’d worried she might seek him out after returning to Stag’s Court.Worried?No, he’d hoped.But she hadn’t, and that was as it should be.Temptation, it seemed, was always before him where she was concerned.
“But I really want to see the grotto.”She exhaled.“I suppose I could just go with Dovey.You don’t need to come.”
Wise or not, he hated seeing the disappointment in her gaze.To hell with it.“I’m coming.I’ll have Seales fetch Dovey.”
Sarah’s face brightened to the shade of the sun.“Brilliant.”
Yes, she was.
A short while later, they were on their way to Scott’s Grotto.Set into a chalk hillside on the grounds of Amwell House, which was currently owned by Maria Scott, the grotto had been built by her father, John Scott.It was quite large, extending dozens of feet into the hillside and going perhaps thirty feet beneath it.
The crowd today wasn’t excessive, but there were maybe five or six vehicles parked outside.Felix stepped down from the gig and helped Sarah to descend.Then he offered his hand to Dovey.
The maid smiled and said, “I’ll wait here.My back is troubling me again.”
Felix didn’t believe her for a moment.It was clear Sarah’s maid was trying to facilitate a courtship.He just wondered if Sarah was behind it.
Sarah linked her arm through Felix’s.“Did you know John Scott was a poet?”
Felix sent her a sideways glance.“Are you trying to distract me from your maid playing matchmaker?”
“Not at all.You noticed that too?She hasn’t said anything, but when she stayed in the gig in Ware the other day, I assumed that’s what she was trying to do.”She looked at him as they walked toward the porch in front of the entrance.“You think I put her up to it?”
He shrugged.“I admit I wondered.”
She gave him a prim stare.“I did not.Now, back to John Scott.He was also a gardener.”
“Did you happen to know all this?”
