“You don’t want to accompany us?” Camilla asked.
“It’s not that I don’t want to be present to see Adelaide’s reaction to what she’ll certainly find a most unexpected proposition,” Phyllis began, “but it would be doing her an injustice if I’m privy to that exchange. Adelaide knows how upset I am about society turning on our family. If I’m there when you explain what you want to do with her, she’ll agree without truly considering the matter. That wouldn’t be fair to her becauseshe’ll be the one who has to put herself in front of society again, a decision she shouldn’t make lightly.”
After wishing them luck and saying something about tracking down her groundskeeper to apologize, Phyllis turned and hurried down the lane, disappearing through a hole in the hedge a moment later.
Taking Camilla’s arm, Gideon headed for the path that led them around the house and toward the river.
“I think it might have been to our benefit that Phyllis wasn’t herself today,” Camilla said, taking Gideon’s hand as he helped her over a fallen tree.
“How so?” Gideon asked.
Camilla edged around the trunk of another fallen tree, apparently not keen to scramble over it, and smiled. “From what I know about Phyllis, she’s been very determined to see Adelaide settled into wedded bliss. If she’d been her normal inquisitive self, she would have pressed us on exactly why you want to assist Adelaide with her unfortunate reputation.”
Camilla’s smile turned into a grin. “And even though you’re very good with skirting topics you don’t care to discuss, Phyllis is a mother on a mission. She would have cajoled until she learned the details of last night, and then, once the full truth came out, she would have expected you, as an honorable gentleman and the person who was responsible for one of the fiascos Adelaide suffered last night, to repair Adelaide’s reputation through marriage.” Camilla caught his eye. “Given that you’ve been vocal about maintaining your bachelor status, I imagine that isn’t a prospect you want to entertain.”
It was rather surprising when Gideon found he couldn’t immediately voice his agreement to that.
Yes, he had no intention of marrying in the near or distant future, what with the nature of his chosen profession, but he couldn’t claim the thought of becoming involved with Adelaide wasn’t a little ... appealing.
There was something about her that piqued his interest, something that drew him toward her and brought out a protectiveness that had seen him deliberately positioning himself close to her at society events in order to be readily available on the chance she found herself in trouble.
He’d told himself again and again that it was simply his nature to be protective of women in general, but he didn’t seek out other ladies to watch at any given event, which meant there was something more to his desire to ascertain Adelaide wasn’t placed in harm’s way, something that needed to be considered at length. But certainly not now when he was in the company of a lady who’d previously spent the majority of her time securing matches of the affectionate sort.
He knew only too well that Camilla could turn relentless when she set her mind to something, and if she suspected he might possibly hold a touch of affection for Adelaide, well...
“We need to return to the house,” Camilla suddenly said, pulling him from his thoughts as she took hold of his arm and spun him around before she began tugging him in the direction they’d just traveled.
“Because?” he asked.
“I may have just spotted Adelaide, but considering there was a gown fluttering from the branch of a large tree—one that doesn’t seem to have a lady in it—I believe she might have, unusually enough, abandoned that gown. Given that there’s a chance she’s now inappropriately attired, it’ll be best if we get ourselves well removed from her vicinity, because if Phyllis were to learn you’d gotten a glimpse of her daughter in such a state, you’ll definitely be meeting Adelaide at the end of that proverbial aisle before the Season even begins.”
Six
The odds were definitely not in her favor these days.
Adelaide sat frozen in place while the voices she’d detected got closer, contemplating how it was possible she once again found herself in the most implausible of quandaries.
Normally, unexpected visitors appearing on Duveen land wouldn’t be cause for concern, but considering she’d been forced to abandon her gown because it kept getting snagged on tree branches, impeding her rescue attempt of a stranded kitten, it was a disconcerting predicament to be sure.
Add in the fact that the tree she was currently sitting in had lost at least half of its leaves, leaving her less-than-completely concealed, and it was evident she shouldn’t expect her luck to change anytime soon.
Holding her breath when the voices stopped and praying they’d stopped because the people had moved on, she tilted her head, relief flowing through her when she caught not a whisper of conversation, which hopefully meant . . .
“Adelaide, is that you?”
She closed her eyes as recognition struck. “Would you believe me if I said no?”
A laugh was Gideon’s first response to that. “Care to share what you’re doing up there?”
“Not particularly.” She shifted on the branch, which caused additional leaves to fall, leaving her more exposed than before. “If you could give me a few minutes, I’d be more than happy to speak with you back at the house.”
“I can’t leave you stuck in a tree.”
“I’m not stuck. I simply can’t climb down right now because I might be missing a key article of clothing.”
“Would that be the gown that seems to be stuck on one of the branches?”
“I’m afraid so.”