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“I’m still considering the piano.”
“Flowers,” she said quickly. “A tin of sweets, or a paper fan. Small gestures.”
His lips curved. “Unfortunately I’m known for making large gestures.”
At the conclusion of dinner, the gentlemen remained at the table and the ladies withdrew for tea.
“You were so dreadfully quiet at dinner, Helen,” Pandora exclaimed as soon as they had entered the drawing room.
“Pandora,” Kathleen reproved softly.
Cassandra came to her twin’s defense. “But it’s true. Helen was as talkative as a fern.”
“I wasn’t certain what to say to him,” Helen admitted. “I didn’t want to make a mistake.”
“You did very well,” Kathleen said. “Conversing with strangers isn’t easy.”
“It is if you don’t care what you say,” Pandora advised.
“Or what their opinion of you might be,” Cassandra added.
Kathleen sent Helen a private glance of comical despair. “They’ll never be ready for the season,” she whispered, and Helen bit back a grin.
At the end of the evening, when Winterborne was donning his hat and gloves in the entrance hall, Helen impulsively picked up her potted orchid from a table in the drawing room, and brought it to him.
“Mr. Winterborne,” she said earnestly, “I would like very much for you to have this.”
He gave her a questioning glance as she pushed the pot into his hands.
“It’s a Blue Vanda orchid,” she explained.
“What should I do with it?”
“You might wish to keep it in a place where you can see it often. Remember that it doesn’t like to be cold and wet, or hot and dry. Whenever it’s moved to a new environment, the Vanda usually becomes distressed, so don’t be alarmed if a flower shrivels and drops off. Generally it’s best not to set it where there may be a draft, or too much sun. Or too much shadow. And never place it next to a bowl of fruit.” She gave him an encouraging glance. “Later, I’ll give you a special tonic to mist over it.”
As Winterborne stared at the exotic flower in his hands with perplexed reluctance, Helen began to regret her spontaneous action. He didn’t seem to want the gift, but she couldn’t very well ask to have it back.
“You needn’t take it if you don’t want it,” she said. “I would understand —”
“I want it.” Winterborne looked into her eyes and smiled slightly. “Thank you.”
Helen nodded and watched forlornly as he departed with the orchid caught firmly in his grasp.
“You gave him the Blue Vanda,” Pandora said in wonder, coming to stand beside her.
“Yes.”
Cassandra came to her other side. “The most diabolically temperamental orchid of your entire collection.”
Helen sighed. “Yes.”
“He’ll kill it within a week,” Kathleen said flatly. “Any of us would.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you give it to him?”
Helen frowned and gestured with her palms up. “I wanted him to have something special.”
“He has thousands of special things from all over the world,” Pandora pointed out.
“Something special from me,” Helen clarified gently, and no one asked her about it after that.
Chapter 30
“I’ve waited a fortnight to see this,” Pandora said in excitement.
Cassandra practically vibrated in the carriage seat beside her. “I’ve waited my entire life.”
As he had promised, Winterborne had arranged for Kathleen and the Ravenel sisters to visit the department store after hours, and allow them to shop for as long as they liked. He had told the saleswomen to leave out their counter displays of items that young women might fancy, such as gloves, hats and pins, and all manner of adornments. The Ravenels would be free to visit any of the eighty-five departments in the store, including the book department, the perfume hall, and the food hall.
“If only Cousin West were with us,” Pandora said wistfully.
West had returned to Eversby Priory after having spent less than a week in London. He had admitted to Kathleen that there was no more novelty left for him in any corner of London. “In the past,” he’d told her, “I did everything worth doing multiple times. Now I can’t stop thinking about all that needs to be done at the estate. It’s the only place where I can actually be of use to someone.”
There had been no concealing his eagerness to head back to Hampshire.
“I miss him too,” Cassandra said.
“Oh, I don’t miss him,” Pandora told her impishly, “I was just thinking that we could buy more things if he were here to help carry the packages.”
“We’ll set aside the items you choose,” Devon said, “and have them sent to Ravenel House tomorrow.”
“I want you both to remember,” Kathleen told the twins, “the pleasure of shopping lasts only until it’s time to settle the bill.”
“But we won’t have to do that,” Pandora pointed out. “All the bills go to Lord Trenear.”
Devon grinned. “I’ll remind you of this conversation when there’s no money left to buy food.”
“Just think, Helen,” Cassandra said brightly, “if you marry Mr. Winterborne, you’ll have the same name as a department store!”
Kathleen knew that the thought held no appeal for Helen, who didn’t desire attention or notoriety in any form. “He hasn’t proposed to Helen yet,” she said evenly.