“My lord?” she returned. With the women gone, she could focus on him and not incorrectly drawn flowers. With the chatter down the stairs, she could forget the surprise of having a stranger grip her arm. With him looking at her without speaking, she could match her breath to his and settle herself down.
“Would you like some tea?”
She was thirsty. “Yes.”
“Would you prefer I send it up here to you?”
Was that possible? Could she hide up here instead of facing his family? But Lilah had warned her that that was not polite. And while she tried to figure out what was the option that was the least disastrous, his expression tightened to the point that his mouth flattened into a hard, dark line.
“What did they say to you?”
“What?”
“What did they do to upset you?”
“Me?”
He blew out a breath. “I’ll tell them you’re exhausted from the trip. You don’t have to see them anymore tonight, but you have to tell me specifically what they did. You’re our guest here and I can’t have them upsetting you.”
She tilted her head. “I’m not upset,” she said. “I’m confused.”
“Well that’s a polite way of saying it. Believe me, I know how noisy they can be. Always asking things, always doing things. I swear London is never so busy as my family at home. They don’t realize it’s not polite.”
She tried to follow his words, but they made little sense to her. “I think I upset Camile. And she upset Beatrix.”
“I assure you, you didn’t upset anyone.”
She shook her head. “Camile didn’t like it when I answered Beatrix’s question.” She took a breath. She knew how to do this. After all, she’d been repairing her gaffs all her life. “I will go apologize, drink tea, and then maybe things will go better.”
He lifted his hand, but he didn’t touch her. Strangely enough, she found she wanted his touch, so she grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers together. She liked that her smaller hand fit so well in his larger one, though the very notion seemed illogical to her.
And with their hands together, she found she could straighten her spine and smile. “I will apologize and tell Beatrix that I think her flowers are lovely.”
She started to head down the stairs, but he held her back. “You mean you’d lie to Beatrix?”
She shrugged. “I do not judge beauty in the same way other people do. I prefer beauty to come from accuracy, and her flowers are inaccurate.”
“Then why not say that to her?”
“I did. That’s what upset Camile.”
He smiled as he drew her hand up to his mouth. He pressed a long kiss there to her knuckles and spoke gently. “You do not need to go down there if you do not want to.”
The temptation to hide was strong, but that was unworthy of her. She wanted to make a favorable impression on his family and disappearing into her bedroom was not how to do it. “I will go downstairs.”
“Then I suggest you speak plainly to my family with no apology. I believe they will like you all the more for it.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him. In her experience—
“Trust me,” he said before her thoughts could spin back to the many times she had spoken the truth only to upset the listener. “You have done nothing wrong.”
She nodded because it was logical. He knew his family best and therefore would know how to best approach them. At least, that’s what she told herself. In truth, she could not refuse him when he spoke so earnestly before pressing another kiss to her hand.
“As you say,” she murmured.
He grinned then adjusted their position such that her hand rested upon his forearm as they headed back down the stairs. Everyone was gathered in the parlor, waiting while the tea sat untouched. Almost as a unit, they smiled at her, while Lady Allbury picked up the teapot as if offering it to her.
“It’s my favorite blend of tea,” she said. “Jackson makes sure to bring it from London every time he visits. Would you care for a cup?”