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T he next morning when Lucy was in the breakfast room with her mother, she was surprised to be informed by one of the housemaids that several bouquets of flowers had been delivered that morning.

Lucy, who had been about to swallow a forkful of eggs, choked. It took a few moments and several gulps of tea to regain her voice. “Flowers for me, Mabel?”

The maid and Lucy’s mother, who had both been looking at her with alarm during her coughing fit, relaxed a little, and Mabel said with a sunny smile, “Of course for you, miss.” She glanced over at Mrs. Penhallow and offered an apologetic nod. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but you being a widow and all…”

But Lucy’s mother took no offense. “I understand completely, Mabel. I only wish my daughter would give one of the gentlemen who sent her these flowers a chance.”

Now that she’d digested the news, Lucy was feeling a bit less surprised by it. “I do not wish to dash your hopes, Mama, but I suspect these flowers were sent with ulterior motives in mind.”

Mrs. Penhallow frowned. “What do you mean?”

Lucy sighed. She’d seen that morning’s headline about Vera’s kidnapping and had known at once. “It is all over town now that Lord Gilford and I witnessed Vera’s abduction. I suspect that all of these gentlemen who sent flowers will also send invitations to drive, dance, or various other entertainments. Anything that might give them an opportunity to get me alone so that they might question me about what I saw.”

But Lucy’s mother wouldn’t be fobbed off so easily. “You have simply become too jaded because of all the attention you’ve received from fortune hunters over the years. Perhaps this notoriety is just what you needed to bring you to the notice of some gentlemen who will appreciate you for reasons other than your inheritance.”

Smiling, Lucy wished she might have just a shred of her mother’s optimism. But she’d seen far too many gentlemen be tempted by the latest pretty bit of fluff to believe that multiple men would suddenly conceive a passionate attraction for her.

“If you say so, Mama,” she said, finishing her toast before rising from the table. “Perhaps I should go see who the flowers and cards are from before I give up hope altogether.”

When she entered the drawing room and began reading through the notes attached to the individual bouquets—which she had to admit, were beautiful—Lucy was pleased to note that one was from Jane’s friend Mr. Woodward, who had flirted with her last night when they were introduced.

She smiled, recalling the American’s strong features and smiling eyes.

The rest of the flowers were, as Lucy had suspected, from gentlemen she’d had occasion to meet at various ton parties since she’d first made her debut, but none had paid her much attention before now.

Being the subject of gossip, it would seem, had an invigorating effect on one’s popularity.

She was adjusting the angle of a sprig of snapdragon in one of the arrangements when the butler, Rhodes, appeared in the doorway.

“You have a caller, miss,” the rigidly correct servant told her.

Lucy took the card from the silver salver Rhodes proffered. To her surprise, it wasn’t one of the importunate acquaintances who’d sent flowers.

“Send him in, Rhodes,” she said, wishing she’d chosen one of her more becoming gowns that morning. But it was far too early for a morning call—especially since it was generally understood that when it came to visitors, morning meant early afternoon.

Still, her primrose muslin, a few years out of fashion but still a favorite, would have to do.

When Rhodes showed Lord Gilford in a few moments later, Lucy noted that his dark suit was pristine and his hair—which had a tendency to be a little unruly—was neatly combed.

To her surprise, before he even greeted her, Gilford proffered a posy of light pink roses interspersed with lavender. “These are for you,” he said with a short bow. “Meg said they’re your favorite.”

She accepted the flowers from him and hid her smile behind them as she took in their scent. “They’re lovely,” she said as she placed them in one of the vases she’d intended for a different posy.

Glancing around the room at the multiple vases of blooms, he said with a raised brow, “I see mine are not the first you’ve received today.”

Having secured his flowers, Lucy turned and gestured for Will to take the chair at an angle from her place on the sofa. “I believe most of them are from curiosity seekers who saw my name in the papers this morning.”

At that, Gilford’s brows drew together. “They’re pursuing you simply because they wish to question you about Miss Blackwood’s abduction?”

“I don’t know that for certain, of course,” Lucy said with a slight shrug. “But it seems the logical reason why I’d be getting such notice from gentlemen who haven’t paid me the least attention since I made my debut several years ago.”

“I am sorry,” Gilford said, looking genuinely troubled by the news. “I hope you won’t let their false flattery injure your feelings.”

“Of course not,” she said with a grin, her heart warmed by his concern. “And not all of them were insincere. I also received flowers from your friend Mr. Woodward, as well as an invitation to drive in the park.”

She saw his jaw tighten and remembered his attempts to warn her away from the American the evening before.

“It is a drive in the park, Lord Gilford,” she chided him. “Not a marriage proposal.”

“I know that,” he said grudgingly. “I simply wished to invite you to drive with me today. Now, in fact.”

At his words, Lucy perked up. “You did? But it isn’t the usual hour for driving in the park.”

“I thought we’d go somewhere else,” he said with a grin that revealed he’d noticed her pleasure at the invitation.

“Where?”

“I thought we’d go question Miss Blackwood’s father to determine whether he’s received a demand for money.”

How had he known this was a far more interesting invitation to Lucy than a drive in the park could ever be?

Feeling a rush of pleasure at having her dearest wish intuited before she could speak it aloud, she rose. “Let me have my maid fetch my hat and coat.”