Page 25

This was invitation enough.

—Pride and Prejudice

THOMAS RARELY RECEIVED invitations. Those he considered friends were men with whom he’d kept up a scientific correspondence.

Most he’d never met in person. Over the last fortnight that Lydia had stayed with them, she had received several invitations that included Thomas and his daughter.

But this expensive paper in his hand was not addressed to her—but to him.

Unable to stand the suspense any longer, Thomas broke the wax seal and opened the invitation to discover that it was from the King of England.

He dropped the paper like it was on fire.

In his youth, he’d been presented to the current king’s father and mother at a St. James’s levy.

Aside from that, Thomas had no experience with royalty.

Swallowing, he picked the invitation up off his desk and read it. Thomas, Chloe, and Lydia had been invited to dinner at the Royal Pavilion in two weeks.

He read the words a second time as if not quite believing their meaning.

Yet there it was in black ink: a clear invitation to go inside the building.

The Oriental-inspired design by the architect Thomas Nash was a work of art.

Thomas had heard tell that the interiors were just as opulent.

Despite being a viscount, he’d never really felt as if he belonged in such places.

His late wife would insist that he accept the invitation as a social obligation, but he no longer had to try to please her.

Standing up, Thomas decided that he would let Lydia and Chloe decide whether or not he accepted the invitation on their behalf.

He found the pair sitting in the front parlor, and it appeared as if they were sewing.

Both ladies smiled as he entered the room.

It was a little thing, but it gave Thomas some much-needed courage.

He held up the expensive paper of the invitation.

“We have been invited to dinner at the Royal Pavilion. Shall I accept?”

Chloe dropped the stocking in her hands to the floor and sprang to her feet. “Are you serious, Papa?”

Since he was not a man to jest, his daughter’s question surprised him. “Of course.”

Lydia remained seated. “As a mere chaperone, I would say that you two should definitely accept. Such a dinner party could only elevate your social circle.”

Thomas opened the invitation and pointed to her name. “You are included as well, Lydia.”

She quickly got to her feet and grabbed Chloe’s hands. They squealed and jumped up and down.

“I wonder if Lady Margaret told her father that you were her new friend?” Lydia said, then released Chloe’s hands and turned to look at Thomas.

“I believe this very flattering invitation is courtesy of your daughter and her ability to turn potential rivals into friends. Oh, Chloe, I am so proud of you!”

“As am I,” Thomas said quietly. “And I shall write my acceptance at once to His Majesty’s secretary.”

He would have left the room then if Lydia hadn’t taken his hand, and then Chloe took his other. They pulled him around in a circle like a dance. Lydia laughed. Chloe chuckled. And Thomas smiled.

“What a night it will be!” Lydia exclaimed.

Chloe clucked her tongue in apparent excitement. “A dinner party to remember for the rest of our lives.”

They turned in a circle twice more before letting go of each other’s hands.

Lydia pressed a kiss against his left cheek and then Chloe his right.

Thomas felt the blood rush to his face. He didn’t care about meeting kings or seeing royal palaces or pavilions, but he would remember this happy moment in the parlor for the rest of his life. Thomas turned to leave.

“Don’t go just yet,” Lydia said.

He spun on his heel.

Lydia had returned to the sofa where she’d been sewing. She held up a blue-and-white striped bathing dress. “I have just finished sewing a swimming gown for Chloe, and I was hoping that you would come with us to the beach.”

“Please do, Papa.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Thomas sighed. “Only if we take the carriage and find a nice sandy area—all the beaches near Brighton are too rocky. And I am not about to take off my shirt or my wig in front of strangers.”

Chloe squealed and jumped up and down again. “And you’ll swim with us, Papa?”

“Yes. But first, I shall ask Cook to pack us a picnic. Exercise makes me hungry.”

Thomas left the room and called for the carriage and asked for a picnic basket.

His servants seemed surprised by his request. It was rare for him to leave his study during the day, let alone his house.

But the bones sitting on his desk were thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years old.

They weren’t going anywhere.

LYDIA COULD BARELY hold in her excitement. She would get to properly swim for the first time in ages. There was no freedom like in the water. Her hands shook as she unbuttoned her pelisse—she was so excited!

The sun was shining.

This beach had proper sand.

And she was with the two people she liked best.

Lydia couldn’t resist taking off her bonnet, unpinning her hair, and shaking it loose.

She was slipping off her boots and stockings when her eyes were arrested by Thomas.

She watched as he took off his coat and untied his cravat.

Thomas hesitated when his fingers reached the topmost button on his shirt. “I can turn around if you’d like.”

Thomas shook his head and quickly undid the buttons before taking off his shirt.

Lydia forced herself to hold in a whistle.

For a scholar, he had a very attractive bare chest. No doubt from riding—the only exercise Lydia had seen him participate in besides their evening beachside strolls.

She stared at him wide-eyed as he took off his boots and stockings.

Then, he held out his hand to her like they were about to dance. “Shall we?”

She took his hand, and Chloe grabbed her other. Her charge looked very fetching in her new swimming gown. All three of them ran into the water, making quite a large splash! Lydia let go of Thomas’s hand and dove underneath the water. She swam a few feet before returning to the surface.

“Aren’t you two coming?”

Chloe shook her head. “I don’t know how.”

Thomas’s face flushed. “And I can’t remember. I haven’t swum since I was a boy.”

In four quick strokes, Lydia was back at their side. “I can teach you both how. I didn’t learn myself until my late husband’s regiment was stationed in the Caribbean. A local woman taught me.”

Chloe folded her arms tightly against her chest. “I am afraid that I will sink like a stone.”

“Then, in our first lesson, I will teach you how to float on your back,” Lydia said. “Besides, floating is one of my favorite things to do. Now, the most important thing that you can do is take deep breaths and fill your chest with air.”

Lydia held Chloe in the water for a little while until the young woman was floating on her own.

Then, Lydia turned to help Thomas. She placed her hands on his back, and Thomas jumped.

Lydia giggled again. “You need to lie back like Chloe, but try to keep your chest up in the water. My hands are simply here to support you. Trust me.”

And Thomas must have, for he leaned his head back into the water, and Lydia felt his weight in her arms. His legs were flailing and so were his hands.

“You must hold still, Thomas, and relax. Fill your chest full of air. Let the waves hold you.”

“I would prefer for you to hold me.”

She lifted him higher in the water. “There is nothing that I would like more.”

After a few minutes, Thomas was able to stay afloat for around twenty seconds.

Which was not bad for his first attempts.

Next, Lydia showed him and Chloe a swimming stroke.

His daughter took to swimming like a fish.

Thomas, however, swam ten feet toward Lydia before sinking.

Standing up, he shook off the water from his face and laughed. “How did I do?”

Walking toward him in the water, Lydia said, “Excellent.”