The Willful Widow (27 page)
She did notice, however, as did Lady Walden, and both ladies derived a good deal of amusement from watching Reginald come to his senses. His visits became less frequent. He sighed a good deal less, and his conversation, when he did call on the ladies, became far more rational—so much so that 249
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Boney stopped putting his head under his wing the moment the viscount appeared.
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"It appears to me that the Viscount Chalford has at last awakened from his infatuation," Lady Walden commented one day as the door closed on Reginald, who had departed after the briefest of visits to return a volume of Epictetus Diana had kindly lent him.
"Yes." Diana looked up from the
Times
with a wicked smile. "Adoration is such an exhausting exercise ... for all of us. I find I quite like him now that his ardor has cooled." 'Tis a pity that his father is continually after him to leave off this
queer start of
his, forego his books, and return to Winterbourne like a
good sensible lad.
Poor boy. In due time I am sure he will, and he will be as estimable a landlord and as dull a country gentleman as his father, but at least he ought to be allowed to pursue his interests in peace for the moment. Until now I had never thought to be grateful for Papa's lack of interest in me, but I can see there is something to be said for being ignored."
"Poor Geoffrey. He never should have been anything but a scholar." Seraphina nodded in agreement. "But he did love you in his own way, you know. If he hadn't considered you worthy of it, he would never have taken such care with your education. He was quite proud of your scholarship, you know."
"He was? He paid so very little mind to me that I hadn't the least idea." Diana stared wistfully out the window. 251
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And therein lay a problem, her great-aunt thought to herself. There were very few people in Diana's life who
had
paid any attention to her. Certainly Ferdie Hatherill had not. To be sure, the Tottingtons had done their best, and Reginald, in his own besotted way, had recognized what a rare creature she was, but no one besides Seraphina had ever truly appreciated her quick and inquiring mind, her quiet courage, her independent spirit. No one had until now, that is, Seraphina amended.
Along with Lord Beardsley and Reginald, Lady Walden had also noticed a change in Justin as he escorted them around. The air of cynical boredom had been replaced by genuine interest and amusement. He had been unfailingly kind to them, an attribute that the shrewd old lady suspected had always been part of his nature but kept carefully hidden from a callous world that was only too ready to take advantage of such things.
In fact, the older woman suspected that despite the plethora of adoring women who flocked around him and the young sparks who tried to imitate his casual elegance and his offhandedly ironic air, he was a lonely person. There had been nothing cynical in the eagerness with which he shared books, pamphlets, and papers on the waterworks or other enterprises that the ladies might find useful. He had spent untold hours in their drawing room discussing all their various economic endeavors with the air of a man starved for intelligent conversation and rational companionship. And then there was the way he looked at her niece. Seraphina smiled. It wasn't precisely the expression of an 252
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adoring swain, it was something deeper than that—a warmth that sprang from a realistic and genuine admiration for her unique qualities and a respect for her capabilities. And, if she weren't mistaken, there was a dawning tenderness there as well.
Lady Walden was not sure how much her niece was aware of all this, but certainly Diana had responded to it unconsciously. She had quietly blossomed under Justin's appreciative friendship, allowing her sense of humor to show and revealing a delightful whimsical side of her that even Seraphina had not known existed. Like Reginald, Lady Walden had intercepted looks between the two of them, and she had been highly gratified to see the intimacy they shared—just the way she and Thomas .., Lady Walden sighed and glanced at the clock. "I must be going. I promised Mr. Pennyroyal I would have those papers read, signed, and delivered to him today, and I have not yet done so," she excused herself and hurried from the room.
Left alone, Diana continued to gaze out the window. Wellington, who had been soundly asleep, stirred on her knee. She looked down at him and smiled. He was such a good little dog and already a devoted friend—a happy addition to the household.
How had St. Clair known she needed a puppy when she hadn't even known it herself? In some ways the man appeared to be omniscient. He divined the sorts of activities that she would find most amusing and invited her to share them with him, provided her with information and insight that he knew she would find most helpful, and offered stimulating 253
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companionship besides. She could say anything to him, and he was not shocked or bored as so many people were when she spoke of things that truly interested her. It was quite the opposite, in fact. Justin made her feel that he admired and applauded her for thinking and acting the way she did, and he did his best to encourage her to develop the way she wished to rather than the way society appeared to think she should. Diana continued to stare out the window, a soft smile on her face. It was nice to have a true friend, she thought. Then catching sight of Boney, hitherto her most constant companion, she sighed. The bird had not been at all himself as of late. He spent most of his days clinging dispiritedly to the curtain, paying very little attention, and talking even less. Diana was becoming extremely worried about him. Dumping Wellington unceremoniously from her lap and gathering a few select seeds from the untouched pile in Boney's cage, she went over to the curtain for what seemed the hundredth time in the past few days, calling softly,
"Boney?" No response. "Boney?" Still no response. She moved closer to the curtain, and he retreated rapidly up toward the ceiling. Her shoulders slumped. He had been this way for nigh on a week, and Diana was beginning to despair.
"Boney, please. I have some of your favorite seeds." In her distress, Diana did not hear the drawing room doors open, nor was she aware of her visitor until a deep voice at her shoulder inquired, "Diana? Why, whatever is wrong?" She turned to find Justin looking down at her with such concern in his eyes that she couldn't help bursting into tears in the weakest way, "It's Boney," she wept. "He won't talk to 254
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me. He won't eat, and he hasn't come down from the curtain for ages."
"Oh, my poor girl." A pair of strong arms went around her and pulled her close. A gentle hand came up to stroke her hair. "Hush now. Boney is all right, I promise you," he soothed.
Diana remained in the circle of his arms for a moment, savoring the wonderful and surprising sense of consolation and security to be derived from being held close to a hard chest and having comforting fingers moving softly through her hair. Then admonishing herself sternly not to be such a watering pot, she sniffed determinedly and pulled away. That was a mistake, as it gave the gentleman an opportunity to pull out his clean white handkerchief and dab the tears away so tenderly that it felt like a caress.
"There's a good girl. Now smile at me," he commanded, tipping her chin up to look deep into the dark blue eyes. Diana smiled dutifully, and Justin was seized by the maddest desire to pull her back in his arms and kiss away the tears that still twinkled on her eyelashes, tracing a line with his lips down to the delicately sculpted lips that curved most enchantingly. He wanted to hold her and promise her that he would take care of her forever, that nothing would make her cry ever again. It was but a fleeting, though, tantalizing thought and then he had himself well in hand. He released her gently. "As I was saying, I feel quite certain that Boney is fine. He is merely sulking."
"Sulking?" Diana repeated blankly. 255
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"Yes. I believe he is suffering from nothing more than an ordinary case of common jealously. And, as you are the cause of it all, he is punishing you by ignoring you." Justin laid a kind hand on her shoulder.
"Me? But why? And of what or of whom could Boney possibly be jealous?"
Justin pointed to Wellington, who, having climbed back into the
bergère
Diana had vacated, was slumbering peacefully. "You must admit he is more easily held on a lap and petted than is a sharp-tongued bird, no matter how long you have been friends."
"Oh!" Horrified, hand held to her mouth, Diana gazed wide-eyed at him. "How dreadful, I never thought..."
"I am sure you did not," he replied gently. "But it is easily remedied. Where is some of Boney's food?"
"Over there in his cage."
"Good." Justin strode across the room and filled his hand with seed before strolling casually over the curtain to stand directly beneath the sullen bird. "Hello, Boney," he remarked in a conversational tone. "I expect you must be quite hungry now, eh, old fellow?"
Boney tore his eyes from the passing scene below to gaze suspiciously down at Justin.
"That's a good bird." Slowly Justin opened his hand, revealing the pile of seed in the palm. "I quite understand your being miffed, but it won't do, old fellow. Don't let your pride get the better of you." Keeping his eyes fixed on the scene outdoors, Justin didn't betray by the least movement that he was aware the bird was cautiously making its way 256
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down one of the folds of the curtain. "It would be the greatest of pities to go hungry just to prove a point," he continued. Boney had reached his shoulder level now and hesitated just a moment before climbing on and inching his way down Justin's arm to the seed-filled palm. He pecked greedily for a few minutes, then cocked his head to fix Justin with a speculative stare.
"Yes, Boney, that's a good bird." Justin smiled reassuringly. Tentatively he stroked the parrot's glossy head.
"Shall we go to see your mistress. She's very sorry, you know." Slowly Justin began to make his way toward Diana, still stroking the bird. He came to stop before her, and Boney flew up to his shoulder to begin rubbing his head against his protector's jaw, muttering to himself, "Good bird, Boney. Good bird, Boney." and pointedly ignoring his mistress, who stood quietly by Justin's side.
"He must be very angry at me, indeed, for he rarely has much use for visitors, and he certainly never showers them with such attention as he is now lavishing on you," she remarked thoughtfully.
"Yes, indeed," Justin agreed. "But he'll get over it once he sees how repentant you are."
Diana bowed her head, the very picture of contrition.
"Excellent." he chuckled. "Just remain that way for a moment. Now Boney, you see how sad she is? And you see, she is sad about you and not Wellington here." Justin had inched his way over to the
bergère
where the little dog was snoring soundly.
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"Wellington," the bird repeated. The dog woke with a start and looked around. Boney chuckled to himself. "Wellington," he reiterated.
The puppy sat up anxiously surveying the room.
"Come here, Wellington," Boney called in Diana's voice while his mistress and Justin exchanged amused glances. Wellington leapt down and obediently trotted over to Diana, who was doing her best to keep a straight face.
"Sit," the bird commanded.
Looking expectantly up at his mistress, the puppy obeyed.
"Well trained, and a terrier, too, you are to be commended," Justin murmured his eyes dancing. Boney darted over to the mantel. "Wellington come here," he commanded and again the dog leapt to do his bidding, then stopped midway across the floor to turn and look curiously at his mistress, who stood rooted to the spot struggling to contain her helpless laughter.
"Wellington, come here," Boney shouted as he swooped overhead on his way to the curtain. Wellington ran after him.
"Come here, Wellington," he called again, flapping over to perch on the molding at the opposite corner of the room. Delighted with the new game, Wellington raced after him.
"Wellington." The parrot landed on his mistress's shoulder just as her dog, sliding on the polished floor, crashed into her feet.
Diana laughed. "I thank you for having restored harmony among the members of my household, though I very much fear it is at the expense of any peace and quiet that might have reigned here."
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"Oh, 'tis nothing," Justin assured her. "If you had not lived in seclusion for so long, you would have recognized the jealousy for what it was."
"A mere nothing for you, I am sure, after years of soothing jealous mistresses," she teased.
"Vixen." He grinned stroking Boney, who had again alighted on his shoulder. "But truly," his expression suddenly became serious again, "if there is anything I can do to help you in any way, I beg you to ask it of me." And the odd thing was, Diana thought to herself, he truly meant it. No one had really ever offered such a thing to her before, and she felt just a little overwhelmed by it. "Why, why, thank you," she stammered, "but I don't expect..."
"You'll be needing it," he finished for her. "I know. I am aware of just how self-sufficient and independent you are, but should you, by the most unforeseen turn of events, find yourself requiring assistance of any kind, do not hesitate to ask me. No doubt, I shall expire of extreme old age before such an unlikely situation arises, but in the meantime, I beg you to remember that me offer is made. I also came to ask if I might escort you and Lady Walden to Lady Topham's masquerade. I realize that it is a more frivolous entertainment than those to which you are accustomed, but you might just find it amusing. And with your educational background, you will undoubtedly create a far more arresting and authentic costume than most."