Page 62 of Her Heartless Duke
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
“Ihad almost forgotten how good it feels to have the sun shining on my face again,” Olivia smiled as she turned her face towards the warm sunshine.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. I am certain the same sun shone into your rooms,” Fiona remarked wryly as they stepped into the elegantly appointed tea shop.
It had opened just a few weeks ago and it managed to catch the fancy of many young ladies for its excellent tea and scrumptious pastries. It was Olivia’s first time there and thankfully, there was hardly anyone when they seated themselves at a small table.
They ordered a pot of tea between the both of them and a selection of small cakes and pastries.
“Well, I should consider this a day spent rather well,” Fiona smiled. “It is rather fortunate that I waited until you were well enough to accompany me, or I would not have found that bonnet had I gone earlier.”
Olivia laughed. “If it is meant for you, then there is no way that it should not end up with you.”
“Like love?” her cousin asked her softly.
She nearly spewed the mouthful of tea she had begun sipping. “Now, wherever didthatcome from?”
Fiona wrinkled her nose. “The poets often refer to fated love in that manner. And speaking of love,” she leaned over the table, her eyes wide and curious, “how goes your lessons with His Grace? There has been talk all over London about the both of you—”
“Mere gossip, I assure you,” Olivia smiled thinly.
Her cousin frowned. “But you have been spending alotof time together, certainly enough to catch the attention of gossips everywhere…”
“Well, Ihavegotten to know him a bit better,” she admitted, biting down slightly on her lower lip. “And he is nothing at all like what I originally thought. A bit rough around the edges, perhaps, but I suppose that is to be expected, since he had seen so much during his time at the Peninsula.”
Fiona nodded solemnly. For all the talk that followed Isaac, it could not be denied that he was a hero of the Peninsula War and as such, should be accorded a certain degree of respect.
Olivia, however, would much rather talk about something else. She had not seen Isaac for more than a week already, and she was somewhat at a loss as to how to face him again, should they meet.
She justprayedthey would not come across him in the street today.
Before Fiona could ask anything more on the matter, however, the bells rang merrily from the door of the tea shop, signaling the arrival of a new customer.
Olivia sipped her tea and signaled her cousin with her eyes.
“Do not look now,” she told her in a low voice. “ButLord Westmorejust walked in.”
Almost immediately, a soft flush rose up her cousin’s cheeks. “Lord Westmore?”
“Should you like to go over and…?” Olivia smiled mischievously.
“Oh, do be quiet, you!” Fiona shushed her. “He is going to hear us!”
“Is that not the point?”
At that moment, he turned slightly and when his gaze landed on Fiona, Olivia noted how his eyes absolutely lit up. She looked towards her cousin and noted that Fiona was looking at him, too, as if the whole world had fallen away and there was no one else but the both of them in that tea shop.
Lord Westmore walked towards them and bowed politely before the two young ladies. “Lady Olivia, Miss Fiona,” he greeted them. “How delightful to see you both on this fine day.”
“The pleasure is all ours, Lord Westmore,” Olivia smiled, noting how her cousin suddenly seemed tongue-tied and unable to muster a proper response. “What brings you here of all places, if I may ask?”
This tea shop was frequented mostly by young ladies and suitors who wished to impress them. It was rare for gentlemen to walk through its doors as he just did.
Lord Westmore colored a little and cleared his throat. “My mother is partial to the almond cakes here and sent me on an errand to get some for her.”
“Oh, do give our greetings to the Dowager Countess, as well,” Fiona said softly, the blush still coloring her cheeks rather nicely.
The young Earl smiled brightly at her. “I shall be sure to let her know.”