Page 8 of The Captain’s Valentine (The “Other” Trents #3)
He had never been this comfortable with a miss of marriageable age in his life. Not even when he’d been in the presence of his sister’s friends and knew they would never suit. But there was something about Perdita and Harrison truly enjoyed simply being with her.
“What type of adventure do you seek?”
he asked as they wandered to the area that sold jewelry and clocks.
“Any, I suppose. Though I would not like to be in danger.”
“Is it not the danger that makes it exhilarating?” he asked.
“I suppose it does.”
She shrugged. “Perhaps only a small amount of potential danger.”
Adventure was clearly something that she lacked. He would like to take her on one, but the only one he could think of was to take her sailing, which would be very dangerous indeed—not because of pirates, but because he’d have her on his ship, where he had a cabin and a bunk. A place where he could kiss her and…
Bloody hell! She was his friend. Theirs was not a courtship because he was not in a position to court anyone, especially if he continued sailing.
There could be no adventures for them because such would see her ruined and then they would both be in the very predicament they hoped to avoid.
“You have grown quiet, Captain Trent. Are you woolgathering?”
“I apologize.”
He should not have let his thoughts drift even though they had remained on her. “I was thinking about adventures.”
“What kind?”
Her blue eyes twinkled with delight.
“Are you always so happy?”
He spoke without considering his words and perhaps he shouldn’t have.
“Usually, yes, I am. Are you not?”
He wanted to answer that he was, but did not wish to lie. “At times,”
he answered honestly. “Perhaps you can tell me the secret of always being happy.”
“Accepting one’s lot in life,”
Perdita answered simply.
“Accepting?”
He was not certain what she meant.
“I had a very good life in Hampshire and a family who loves me. I now have a position so that I am no longer a burden on them, not that they would ever claim that I was, so everything has worked out well for me. I also have my health,”
she added almost as an afterthought. “A person can wish for more than what they have and be disappointed or discouraged when it does not come to be. Or a person could see all that they have and realize how much better off they are than how they could have been.”
“You are a philosopher as well, I see.”
Her cheeks started to turn pink. “I am hardly that, Captain Trent.”
“I am not so certain, Miss Perdita.”
She walked ahead of him as his sister and Lady Deborah made their way to the perfumes.
He liked Miss Perdita. Truly liked her. Except, until he knew what he wanted for his future, he should be careful so that he did not encourage her. However, if he were to do so, Miss Perdita was the person he would like to pursue.
Harrison shook his head. It was ridiculous that he even entertained the thought of courting a woman he had known only a few fdays even if he truly liked her.
“The two of them are going to leave smelling like a flower garden.”
Perdita laughed.
The two misses were doing quite a bit of testing of the fragrances. Then he realized that neither Captain Storm nor Miss Isabella was with them and he turned to search for them, only to locate them with the jewelry.
“Will you be attending any entertainments this evening?”
He wanted to be where she would be.
“We are to remain in,”
she answered. “My aunt and uncle have come to town to help with final wedding preparations for Isabella and Captain Storm.”
“I had not realized they were betrothed.”
“That came about the evening after you brought Oliver to Westbrook House. They will be married on the thirty-first.”
He almost asked if she would be free tomorrow but stopped himself. They did not need to spend each day together. First, it simply was not done, and he feared that his fondness might grow to a more substantial emotion, which would leave his heart in an uncomfortable state. Yes, he did have a decision to make about his future, but he did not want it influenced by a woman he had only known so short a time.
“Have the two of you finally found everything that you wanted?”
Harrison asked when Olivia and Lady Deborah returned to their side.
“I purchased nothing, nor did I need anything,”
Olivia answered.
“Then why did you insist on me bringing you here?”
Harrison demanded even though he was truly not angry.
“Ah, I can answer,”
Captain Storm offered. “My sister wished to escape our overbearing mother.”
He supposed that was a simple enough explanation and Lady Deborah should be grateful that she had a brother who supported her endeavors.
“I suppose I am ready to return home now,”
Lady Deborah finally said. “If I remain gone too long, she might not allow my sisters an outing.”
“It was a pleasure to see you again, Miss Perdita.”
“You as well, Captain Trent,”
she offered before she left with her sister, Captain Storm and Lady Deborah.
“This was a far more interesting afternoon than I anticipated,”
Olivia observed after they were gone.
“Shopping is rarely interesting, but I am glad you enjoyed yourself,”
Harrison said as he held the door for Olivia.
“Oh, it wasn’t the shopping, it was you practically ignoring the rest of us while you remained in discussion with Miss Perdita.”
“She is merely a friend,”
he defended.
“For now,”
Olivia predicated before practically dancing away from him.
Harrison buried a groan. He could not show Miss Perdita any attention when in the company of others or he would be the one with a sister playing matchmaker.
“It is time that you and I enjoyed tea, alone,”
Isabella announced after Captain Storm had returned them home.
“I think I would rather rest,”
claimed Perdita.
“Oh no. Not until we discuss Captain Trent.”
“There is nothing to discuss.”
“He spoke only to you the entire time that we were watching Deborah and Lady Olivia shop.”
“They were talking to each other and you and Captain Storm were side by side, murmuring quietly. Who else was I to talk to?”
she defended. “We are friends, nothing more, as I have told our sister.”
Isabella arched an eyebrow. “That is all.”
“Of course,”
Perdita dismissed. “Besides, he sails in June. I simply enjoy his company.”
“What is this about Captain Trent?”
Rosalind asked as she joined her and Isabella for tea.
“He accompanied his sister, Lady Olivia, who was meeting Lady Deborah to shop,”
Perdita explained.
“What she is not telling you is that Perdita and Captain Trent spent the entire time speaking only to each other.”
Perdita narrowed her eyes at Isabella. She assumed if anyone would be supportive and not try to match her to anyone it would be her sister.
“And, as I just stated to you, we had no one else to talk to because you and Captain Storm were only concerned for the other as were Ladies Olivia and Deborah. Would you expect us to stand there and remain silent while the four of you went about your business at Harding Howell & Company?
“What did you talk about?”
Penelope asked as she glided into the room.
“Adventures.”
“That is far better than the weather, fashion or gossip.”
Penelope flopped down onto the settee. I swear that gentlemen do not believe women are capable of discussing anything else.”
“Tell us more about Captain Trent, Perdita,”
Aunt Mary insisted as she joined them for tea.
“There is nothing more to tell.”
She could understand her Aunt Mary, who only wanted the best for everyone, to inquire about Captain Trent, but certainly Isabella and Rosalind should not be so…well…pushy on the matter.
“I come to London with not only my wife, but two sisters and three sisters-in-law, quite outnumbered in this household, but I daresay, I might return home needing one less carriage,”
Felding offered with a grin as he joined them.
“If I am a burden, I am certain that one of my brothers will take me in,”
Perdita reminded him already knowing that Felding would not ask her to leave. She also did not believe he saw her as a burden but mumbled often why there couldn’t have been more brothers and fewer sisters in his family. However, if matchmaking was going to be forced upon her, she would prevail upon one of her brothers.
“I promised your uncle that I would not allow you to live in one of their bachelor homes. I believe he thinks them to be a poor influence.”
Rosalind snorted.
Certainly, he jested and Perdita looked to her aunt for confirmation. “I do not think we need to fear that to be the case.”
“It is better that you are here,”
Aunt Mary opined.
“They are bachelors and live alone. I am quite certain that they do not want a sister underfoot,”
Felding added.
She could understand that they wanted their privacy. She would enjoy the same but it was not allowed because she was a miss. However, they seemed to suggest that there were other reasons.
“Are you implying that my brothers are rakes?”
Rosalind asked.
“I would not say so in the presence of innocent misses or their aunt.”
Perdita was immediately intrigued. Did her brothers have a secret life that she knew nothing about?
Did they keep mistresses or visit brothels?
Though, now that she had given it some thought, she would not be surprised. At one time, such considerations would have been foreign to her, but she had received valuable information as to how men carry on from the women at Westbrook House. Supposedly, intimacy was something that men, after a certain age, could not live without and must seek it elsewhere if not married.
The women made it seem like men suffered from a condition and it was a necessity to survive, whereas women did not.
Did Captain Trent suffer from the same condition?
How did he endure being on a ship with only men for weeks at a time?
Was he stronger than most men or were her brothers simply weak?
“We were discussing Captain Trent and not our brothers,”
Isabella interrupted. “Is he going to call on you again?”
“He did not call on me today. We simply happened to be at the same place at the same time and enjoyed a conversation,”
she reminded her family. “Further, this is not, nor will there be, any courtship between me and Captain Trent so please cease hoping that there will be one.”
And with those words, Perdita stood and marched from the parlor. Rarely did she raise her voice or stomp out of a room, but she needed her family to understand that they were not to interfere in her life.