‘Someone like Norwich,’ Sunny added unhelpfully.
‘Oh, dear me,’ Matthew said in a light mocking voice, putting his free hand on his chest. ‘Is that my sister’s carriage near the Serpentine?’
‘I believe it is,’ Sunny said gravely, shading his eyes with one hand. ‘And what luck! There is Lady Louisa inside it.’
Wick knew what his best friend and brother were doing, but he didn’t need their urging. He knew now that he loved Louisa. That he had done for almost every moment they had been together since he had pulled her into his curricle after mistaking her for his sisters’ governess. He’d first been bewitched by her beauty, and then he’d been pricked by her sewing needle, her intelligence and her kindness. He would do anything for her. She was everything he wanted in a wife and he wished to spend the rest of his life with her. To love her and cherish her. Protect her.
He didn’t dare wait another moment; he spurred his horse forward.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Louisa made eye contact with Lady Jersey, who put a gloved hand in front of her mouth and whispered to the lady beside her in the carriage. The social cut. Blushing, Louisa glanced away. Why was she being punished for her cousin’s actions? She had done nothing wrong. She was not ruined. Her worth did not depend upon one day or one event. Or one person’s opinion and approval.
Tilting her chin up, Louisa determined to show thetonthat she didn’t care for their narrow minds, nor for their terrible treatment of women.
‘It might not be you they’re whispering about,’ Mantheria said in an undertone. ‘I am sure it is common gossip now that Glastonbury has moved out of the house... Perhaps we should have waited until next year before making our return to London society.’
Louisa could only be glad when Lady Jersey’s carriage passed by them and moved out of sight. From the corner of her eye she saw Lord Norwich, driving his phaeton towards them. He was wearing the same elaborately caped driving coat as before. She hoped that he was not coming to ask for her answer. She wasn’t quite ready to give it yet.
Only a week ago she had painfully refused Wick’s offer of a marriage without love, so how could she accept another lord’s proposal without love? The only difference in her mind was that she loved Wick and she did not love Norwich, although he was an amusing companion.
She couldn’t decide what would be the worst torture: to be married to a man she loved who didn’t love her back, or to be trapped in a marriage where neither person loved the other. Perhaps they would grow fond of each other? Or perhaps his gaming debts would swallow her fortune as well as his own? Norwich claimed to have learned his lesson at the tables, but Louisa didn’t want to save her fortune from her cousin only to lose it to another gambler.
Lord Norwich’s smart equipage pulled up beside their carriage and both vehicles came to a halt.
‘Ladies,’ he said, tipping his hat to them.
Louisa looked down at her hands in her lap.
She heard Mantheria clear her throat. ‘Lord Norwich, what a pleasure it is to see you.’
Louisa stole a glance at the gentleman and saw his lips form their usual sneer. ‘And to be seen by me... I fear many of our fond society matrons appear not to be able to see either you or your carriage.’
Mantheria gave a little laugh. ‘Oh, and don’t forget the horses and my driver.’
Lord Norwich gave his soundless laugh.
Louisa was all but certain she was going to refuse his offer, but she didn’t wish to be a burden upon her friend. And she didn’t want to spend the rest of her youth ostracised by thetonand unable to join the London season entertainments she’d always dreamed of.
‘Lady Louisa, dare I ask if it is a pleasure foryouto see me?’ asked Lord Norwich.
She swallowed. Her answer to this question would be almost the same as accepting or rejecting his offer of marriage. She took a deep breath, trying to organise the chaos of her mind.
The sound of galloping hooves caused her eyes to turn. Mantheria had told her that no one was supposed to gallop in Hyde Park during the promenade—the fashionable hours of three to five o’clock. Yet this gentleman was openly disregarding the rules.
He lifted his face and she saw that it was Wick! Her heart skipped a beat. He was back. She hadn’t thought that he would return to London for the rest of the season.
‘Ah, I see that Lord Cheswick has returned, and it is certainly a pleasure for you to seehim,’ Lord Norwich said sardonically.
‘Forgive me, my lord,’ she said in a state of confusion, glancing back at him. ‘I did not mean to offend.’
He gave her a rueful look. ‘Sometimes being fashionably late is a liability; it appears your affections have already been engaged. I do wish you every happiness in proving me wrong about Cheswick. Now I shall bid you lovely ladies adieu. I have no wish to hinder the grand reunion. But please be assured of my continued friendship and support.’
Norwich lifted his whip and snapped it above his horses’ heads as they cantered forward.
Louisa had never liked the Earl so well as in that moment.
‘Against my will, I am growing fond of Lord Norwich,’ Mantheria said with a half-smile.