Page 14 of The Missing Book (Bluestocking Book Club #3)
L eopold paced up and down the dining room, waiting for his sister to rise and break her fast. It was already an hour after she would normally do so, meaning that his concern for her continued to grow.
I should never have walked away from her.
He had not intended to be out and about in London but given that they had been invited to a most prestigious ball, Leopold had considered it a requirement for him to have a new cravat.
Thus, he had taken his carriage to one of the shops only to see his sister and brother walking together towards ‘the Temple of the Muses’.
That had angered him. Calling for the carriage to stop, he had hurried after them but had lost them inside the establishment, given that it had been so very busy.
Once he had found them – along with Lady Gwendoline, he had spoken angrily to them both, reminding them of his expectation that Anna would spend as little time there as she could, stating outright that it was not a suitable place for any young lady.
That had been a foolish thing to say given the number of ladies walking around him, but Leopold had held his ground.
Anna had become angry with him in return, telling him that the only reason he did not want her here was for fear she would become interested in becoming a bluestocking – and when he had not been able to answer, both she and Melford had railed at him.
Leopold had turned and walked away, furious over their lack of respect for his authority and intentions though he had remained in the Temple.
How he wished he had not done such a thing now! Seeing Anna white-faced and shaking had worried him greatly, making him realize that he had not been responsible as he ought. Yet again, he had failed to uphold the standards that were demanded of him.
Closing his eyes against a wave of weariness and upset, Leopold took in a long breath and then released it, trying to gather himself. This last sennight had been one of the most difficult times he had endured over the last few years and much to his frustration, it was all his own doing.
The door opened and Leopold lifted his head, though his eyes rounded at the sight of not only his sister entering the room but also Lady Amelia. Whatever was she doing here at this hour?
“Oh!” Anna stopped short, only just realizing that he was there. “Broughton, I did not realize you had not broken your fast as yet.”
“I was waiting for you.” He looked directly towards Lady Amelia. “It is a little early for a visit, is it not?”
Lady Amelia tilted her head though Anna instantly scowled. “Goodness, Lord Broughton,” she said, mildly, “are you truly criticizing me for coming to call upon Lady Anna after all she has endured simply because it is not quite the correct time to do so?”
Leopold’s lips twisted, a trifle irritated with the way that she could so easily answer him and, by her words, leave him struggling.
“Do ignore him, Lady Amelia,” Anna said, gesturing for her friend to sit at the table. “If you had not come to call, then I am sure he would have told me how surprised he was at your lack of interest in me! Besides, I have only just -”
“I would not have done so,” Leopold said quickly but his sister did not so much as glance at him, though a flicker of a smile darted over Lady Amelia’s lips.
“I am glad you came to call,” Anna said, sitting down opposite her friend. “You are very kind to think of me.”
“I was worried about you,” Lady Amelia said, ignoring Leopold entirely now. “You were very pale yesterday and I must say I thought you had injured yourself in some way.”
Leopold hesitated, wondering if he ought to leave, only to then decide he needed to remain.
As he had already told Anna on more than one occasion, he did not want her to be in company with a bluestocking, did not want her to befriend the lady and yet this was precisely what she was doing!
It would serve him well to remain and hear all that was said, for fear that Lady Amelia would unduly influence his sister in some way.
“I was only shaken,” Anna told her, as Leopold took a seat and reached to pour himself something to drink even though he had no real desire to do so.
It would look better if he pretended he needed to break his fast, even though he had already done so.
“Those two gentlemen rushed by me so quickly and there was such a great commotion, I was truly overcome!” She sent Leopold a sharp look.
“I am so grateful to you for finding my brother.”
This made Leopold’s heart drop to the floor.
He had not even thought about thanking her, had not even remembered that she had been the one to bring him to Anna in amongst the din and the crowd.
Clearing his throat and trying not to be overcome with embarrassment, he looked straight at Lady Amelia.
“Yes, of course. I thank you for not only making sure that Anna was seated and resting but that you came directly to find me. I thought that she was with Melford and Lady Gwendoline and did not imagine for a moment that she was alone.”
“You were not to know.”
The gentleness in Lady Amelia’s voice caught Leopold off guard, making his frustration at her presence and his irritation at her quick answers disappear in an instant.
There it was again, that strange flicker in his heart, that desire to look all the more closely into her eyes.
The softness of her smile pulled him closer and Leopold’s heart began to race, only for her to turn her attention away from him and return it instead to Anna.
He breathed slowly, his skin prickling, coming up in goosebumps as he reached for his coffee again, praying she had not seen him react so.
“My friends and I are to return to ‘the Temple of Muses’ tomorrow afternoon,” Lady Amelia continued, as Anna’s eyebrows lifted. “We want to know exactly what books were taken and the value of them.”
“And for what purpose would you do that?”
The moment he finished speaking, Leopold knew he had brought about the idea of both his sister and Lady Amelia.
Both were frowning heavily, Lady Amelia’s expression no longer gentle but irritated.
Anna was glaring at him, her displeasure obvious, evidently displeased that he thought it quite all right to interrupt her conversation with her friend.
“Broughton, I am quite certain that one of the standards you hold me to – something you have mentioned repeatedly, in fact – is that one ought not to interrupt another’s conversation. Is that not considered impolite?”
Heat began to build in Leopold’s chest. “Yes, it is but – ”
“Then I would kindly ask that you hold yourself to that standard,” Anna insisted, dots of pink in her cheeks now. She turned back to her friend. “Forgive that, Lady Amelia. You say you are going with your friends? I think I should be very glad to join you – ”
“You cannot.”
Again, both heads turned in his direction but Leopold held Anna’s gaze firmly, his hand clenching tightly under the table.
Searching his mind to come up with a suitable excuse, one hit him right between the eyes.
“You will have callers tomorrow afternoon,” he said, without so much as blinking as Anna’s face grew scarlet.
“You cannot go on some foolish venture to discover some information that you can do nothing with aside from gossip about!”
“I can assure you, Lord Broughton, I will do nothing of the sort!” Lady Amelia exclaimed, sounding a little fraught now. “I will not gossip about what I discover, if I discover anything at all, for that matter! I can assure you, I am not in the least bit inclined towards gossiping.”
Leopold’s heart began to pound. Somehow, he had managed to make this conversation a disastrous one. “That is not at all what I meant.”
“I am just as disinclined towards gossip as you are,” Lady Amelia continued, as though she had not heard him. “The only reason I wish to speak with the proprietor is to see if we can offer any assistance.”
This made Leopold all the more confused. “Assistance?”
“In case you are unaware, my friends and I have been able to aid not only one gentleman but two in a very difficult situation,” she told him, her chin lifting, her eyes flashing.
“You may speak to them about it if you wish and they will be able to confirm that. Lord Albury is one and Lord Waverley, the other.”
A knot tied itself in Leopold’s throat, forcing him to stay silent.
He could not exactly disagree with Lady Amelia in this, particularly not when she had the account of two excellent gentlemen on her side.
All the same, he found himself disbelieving that she would be able to assist the proprietor of the Temple in any way, for what could a bluestocking discover that the gentleman himself could not?
“I think I shall take my leave.” Lady Amelia offered Anna a warm smile but then rose to her feet. “I am glad to see you are well recovered, Lady Anna. I am sure we will speak again this evening.”
“I should very much like to attend with you tomorrow afternoon,” Anna said, casting a dark look in Leopold’s direction. “I will come to find you at Lord Oswestry’s ball this evening, however.” She shot a look towards Leopold. “We are attending the ball, are we not?”
Leopold, who had managed to avoid attending the previous evening’s ball given that Anna had been so unwell, grimaced. He had not thought of a way to escape it and thus, despite himself nodded.
“Good.” Anna sent a smile in Lady Amelia’s direction. “This evening, then. Thank you again for calling.”
With a nod and a smile, Lady Amelia turned her attention towards Leopold. Her smile faded completely, her eyebrows heavy and casting shadows all across her expression. “Good day, Lord Broughton.”