Page 49 of The Labours of Lord Perry Cavendish

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Perry was quiet during the meal. He smiled and nodded while the others talked, but his mind was not on the conversation. All he could think about was that he needed to tell Zander and Adam that he would be leaving, and yet all through the evening, he kept putting it off.

“Are you interested in coming with me, Perry?”

At the sound of his name, Perry blinked and glanced over at Zander, who was watching him expectantly, eyebrows raised.

“What was that?” he mumbled. “I was miles away.”

“You’ve been distracted all evening,” Zander said, frowning.

“Yes,” Perry said, his face warming. “Sorry about that. What were you asking?”

“Just if you want to ride to High Wycombe with me tomorrow?”

Well, the moment was upon him, it seemed. He set down his cutlery. “Thing is, Zander, I need to be off tomorrow.”

Zander’s brow furrowed. “Off?”

Perry nodded and cleared his throat. “I’ve had a letter from my mother—she wants me to join her and Pater at a house party.”

“What,now?” Zander said. “Isn’t that rather short notice?”

Perry shrugged. “She might have mentioned it before. You know I sometimes… forget to listen.”

He met Zander’s unimpressed look and winced.

“Whose party is it?”

“Sir Peter Kirchin.”

“Kirchin?” Zander repeated. “What are you thinking, Perry? You must realise that your mother is trussing you up for presentation as a potential husband for Penelope Kirchin?”

Perry groaned. “Zander—”

But Zander spoke right over him. “First, may I remind you that you don’t actuallywanta wife? And second—if that’s not enough for you—Penelope Kirchin is one of the most unpleasant people it has ever been my dubious privilege to meet. There is a reason why she still hasn’t found a husband after two seasons, despite having an enormous dowry, you know.”

“She’s not that bad,” Perry mumbled, though that wasn’t true. She was dreadful. He’d seen her reduce Emily Thorpe to tears at her own coming-out ball—and Emily was supposed to be her friend.

Perry shuddered.

“They’ve probably landed on you because you’re the sweetest-natured gentleman in thetonand the only one who might actually put up with her,” Zander added. A thought seemed to occur to him then, and he buried his face into hands. “Oh, God, they’ll probably try to trap you alone with her somewhere so you have to offer for her.”

“Oh come on, Zander,” Perry protested. “Why would anyone do that? I’m not a good enough catch. I’m a younger son, and I’m hardly swimming in riches.”

Zander only groaned again.

“Lysander, do stop being so dramatic,” Adam drawled.

“Thank you,” Perry muttered, but when he met Adam’s gaze, the man was looking at him searchingly.

“My question for you, Perry, is, do you reallyneedto go? Lysander and I will be sorry to lose you so soon. It’s not so very long since you got here, and Lysander was wretched that he couldn’t spend as much time with you as he wished when you first arrived. We were rather hoping you would stay with us for quite a few more weeks at least.”

Perry swallowed, reluctantly touched.

“Not to mention the fact,” Adam added, his tone diffident, “that Jonny’s not finished painting you yet. What do you say, Jonny?”

Jonny opened his mouth to respond but couldn’t then seem to decide what to words to utter. After a couple of beats of awkward silence, Perry couldn’t bear it any longer.