Noelle realized that she’d never actually extracted a promise from him. He’d been quite vague, in fact, with his answer.
She’d informed Mr. Clark about the tea and Mr. Clark had, in turn, informed her aunt that the Baron would return this afternoon.
Would he come?
Noelle bit her lip. Lord Blitzencreek had said she was pretty, but he’d then gone on to say that she was interesting.
Interesting? What exactly had he meant by that? Such a comment could just as easily be construed as criticism as a compliment.
But whether he found her pretty was of no consequence, it didn’t matter what he thought of her. What mattered was that he like her sister, Eve!
Even if his eyes had held an unusual warmth when he’d looked at her.
Noelle’s gaze flitted to the clock on the mantle and then back to the window. Ah, yes, flurries danced in the air again. It would make for as good of an excuse as any for his absence.
And yet she could hardly believe he would fail to make an appearance for tea. He did not seem to be the sort of man who would run from his responsibilities. There was something…honest about him. Character. That was it. The man had character.
He’d commiserated with her when she’d told him about their mother and he’d not hidden the hurt from his eyes when he’d admitted to missing his father.
Noelle trusted her instinct that he was a decent fellow—that he was a true gentleman. Which is why he’d be perfect to save her sister.
“Why is he coming for tea exactly?” Holly gripped a crochet hook and fiddled with some yarn in her lap but she might as well be dancing on her seat. She never sat still these days.
“It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.” Eve didn’t bother looking up from her embroidery as she answered from her seat on the settee. Noelle frowned when she dropped her gaze to examine her older sister’s circle. Eve had looped through the same place several times. How odd. Her sister’s stitches were usually excellent.
“You’re ruining it.” Noelle offered.
“You’d ruin it too if everyone expected you to be perfect all the time.” Eve snapped and with a frown began undoing her stitches.
“No one expects you to be perfect.” Noelle shook her head, her older sister’s demeanor baffling her. Occasionally Eve might chastise Holly, but she never snapped at Noelle. At least, she hadn’t in a very long time. Eve was almost always quiet-natured, solemn, serene. Noelle hoped her sister’s tranquil disposition returned before the Baron arrived.
It wouldn’t do for Eve to be snapping at him. That wouldn’t do at all.
“He’s here.” Aunt Winifred flitted back to her chair and fumbled to locate her knitting needles. Once settled, she made for a surprisingly regal picture, sitting in the tall-backed throne-like piece of furniture—even with those feathers sticking out of her head. “Sit up straight, Noelle dear. Eve, take that pinched look off your face, and Holly, for heaven’s sake, sit still.”
Nerves tore through Noelle when a knock sounded and then masculine voices drifted through the foyer.
A moment later, Mr. Clark opened the door and then stepped to the side. “My ladies, Lord Blitzencreek, I’ll return shortly with tea.” He bowed and backed out of the room. The door made a distinct sound when it clicked closed behind him.
She’d hoped she wouldn’t have the same awareness of him upon their second official meeting as she’d had in their first. Those butterflies would have to remain tightly sleeping in their cocoons.
She’d hoped in vain.
He’d not even glanced in her direction and yet her chest felt suspiciously tight. Somehow all the air sucked out of the room and she could hardly breathe. He was even more handsome than she remembered, his lashes thicker, his eyes midnight pools of sensuality.
“My lord. May I present you to my nieces? Lady Eve, Lady Holly, and Lady Noelle.” Her aunt’s voice broke into Noelle’s thoughts and air swooshed into her lungs again. After he’d bowed to each of them, Aunt Winifred added. “Won’t you sit down?” And gestured toward the only empty seat in the room.
Which was the seat beside Eve that Noelle had carefully maneuvered to be vacant.
Confusion flashed over Lord Blitzencreek’s face, but he quickly replaced it with a polite smile.
“It is our pleasure to meet you, my lord.” Her aunt initiated the conversation. “I trust you are quite recovered from your harrowing experience?”
He pinned his gaze on Noelle at first but then twisted his mouth into something of a grimace. Noelle couldn’t help thinking that his lips had the loveliest curve to them. He’d be devastating when he smiled. “I am, my lady. I don’t know what I’d do if your, er—butler—hadn’t been awake to help me.”
“Mr. Clark has become quite indispensable over the years.” Aunt Winifred waved a hand through the air and then her eyes narrowed. “Tell me, my lord, I’m not familiar with Blitzencreek Barony. Are you far from home then?”
“I and the gentlemen traveling with me are on our way to a…house party, Lady Winifred. We intend to depart as soon as the snow melts and the roads are drivable.” His lashes dropped in a slow blink and he seemed to swallow hard.
Every eye in the room shifted toward the window. The flurries from a few minutes ago had thickened into fluffy snowflakes.
Noelle took a deep breath. “You will be in need of entertainment then,” she offered. “My sister, Eve, that is, Lady Eve, would be delighted, I’m sure, to show you some of her drawings. If you don’t care much for art, she is also an excellent musician.”
Dropping her jaw, Eve stared at her. “I haven’t played in ages, Noelle.”
Lord Blitzencreek rubbed his chin and then glanced between the two of them. “That is very generous of you, Lady Eve.” And then, “But what of you, Lady Noelle? Do you have any talents you might be willing to share over the course of my stay here?”
“The usual, my lord,” Noelle wished she could hide her face as heat climbed up her neck. Somehow, she didn’t think he was referring to typical genteel talents, exactly. And in front of her sisters and aunt, no less! “My sister is also well read. Eve, what book are you currently reading? Something fascinating, I’m certain.”
Eve lifted the book from the table beside her in order to reveal the cover. Vindication of the Rights of Women.
The Baron chuckled. “Mary Wollstonecraft. One of my favorites.” Sarcasm dripped from his tone.
“Which part, my lord?” Noelle had leant the book to Eve and his mocking tone was more than a little insulting. She’d wager he’d never even read it.
Again, his gaze met hers with gratuitous intensity. “I find Mrs. Wollstonecraft’s views on marriage particularly interesting. Especially the passage where she asserts that marriage usually leaves both husband and wife in a miserable state.”
“But,” Noelle sat forward. “She also writes that this is because most ladies are ill-prepared for such a union. If a lady is educated, and an interesting person in her own right, then the institution of marriage provides both husband and wife with friendship, a helpmate, and companionship.”
“She insisted too, if you may press yourself to recall, that the two participants ought to avoid physical intimacy with one another. What good is such a union?”