A Heart's Treasure (12 page)

Kenneth exaggerated a nod, his hand making a rolling motion to encourage them onward in their thinking. “What is Banbury famous for?” he asked.

“Cakes, of course,” Xavier said.

Stop trying to win,
Genevieve thought at him with a sniff.

“One of my favorites,” Laura crooned. “So then, is that the answer, Kenneth? Did the duke receive fourteen Banbury cakes?”

“No, but you’re right to be thinking of food.”

“Cheeses!” Summer declared with a sudden hiccup of inspiration. “It has to be cheeses. We had some Banbury cheese with our fruit just this past meal.”

“Yes. Just so,” Kenneth declared with an affirming nod in her direction. “I cannot tell you why, but one has to suppose the duke missed our good old English cheese and sent for it to be brought all the way to France.”

“Well done,” Michael said to Summer, making up for his earlier gruffness with one of his rather dazzling smiles.

She flushed, and Genevieve thought how pretty she looked under the effect. Perhaps Michael thought so, too, for he lowered his mouth to hers, quickly taking the kiss she’d earned by solving the Little Riddle, and she made no move at all to protest that perhaps he was not the one she’d wished to bestow the honor upon.

Michael raised his head, grinned, and turned to Haddy. “Have you that piccolo of yours with you?”

“I have,” Haddy said, patting his coat pocket.

“Then play us a tune if you will, for I’ve a mind to dance with my lady.”

“Happy to,” Haddy told Michael, pulling the piccolo from his inside pocket.

Genevieve sneaked another glance at Xavier, whose smile was slowly fading. Oddly, she felt guilty.
I don’t wish him ill, or want to dictate where his affections may lie… But I don’t want him to take Summer from Michael either,
she thought rather mutinously. She put a hand to her brow, where she felt the beginnings of a megrim.

Haddy blew a few discordant notes on his piccolo, then broke into a simple jig tune, proving again to his friends that he wasn’t always the least lighthearted among them.

Summer accepted Michael’s hand, her face remaining flushed as she gave him a wide smile, and he pulled her into a lively dance to match the tune.

Laura turned to Xavier. “You haven’t asked me if I would care to join you in a set,” she said in a mock scold.

Xavier was clearly taken by surprise, but he unfolded from the settee with an instant grace. “Would you care to join me in a set?” he asked, already extending his hand to her.

“Why, it would be my pleasure,” Laura said, smiling.

Now there could be an acceptable connection,
Genevieve thought—sure her headache was why her mouth didn’t shape again into a smile.

Xavier took both Laura’s hands and they joined Michael and Summer in the center of the room.

Haddy broke off playing just long enough to say in his practical fashion, “Better move the furniture,” and began the same tune again, only now a little faster. Summer gave a cry that was mostly a laugh, and lifted her feet, striving to match Michael’s enthusiastic response. Normally Genevieve might have called to her brother to be sure not to overexert the less than robust Summer, but where the affianced pair were enjoying themselves so obviously, Genevieve chose to leave any cautions to Summer’s discretion.

Instead she moved to help Kenneth by moving or holding the various lighted lamps and bibelots while he pushed the selected pieces of furniture against the walls. Satisfied they’d done what they could to make room, Genevieve stood back and clapped her hands to the music, Kenneth was at her elbow, but even with her own preoccupation, Genevieve couldn’t miss how his eyes strayed to Penelope, who was watching the dancers with a steadfast gaze, her posture rather rigid.

Two heartbeats passed before Kenneth took a breath and turned to Genevieve. “May I have this dance?”

It was Genevieve’s turn to pause. Once she’d thought Kenneth and Penelope were developing a
tendre
for one another—but for the past several months relations had been sometimes noticeably strained between the two.
Good gracious, I am seeing romance—either failing or fledgling—everywhere of late,
she scolded herself
.
She’d rather thought the two had come to some kind of accord, some mutual understanding to disregard any stirring of attraction—but Kenneth’s lingering gaze restored a shred of doubt in her mind.

If the two shared a dance, would it help or hinder whatever the situation was between them? Well, there was surely one way to find out: let it happen.

“Oh, thank you, but no, Kenneth,” she said, smiling an apology as she shook her head. “Too quick a step for me.”

“Oh?” he said, obviously surprised by her refusal.

“Yes. But perhaps Penelope…”

She didn’t need to drop any other hints, for already his head had pivoted away, his eyes settling again on Penelope. Genevieve watched as he put back his shoulders and crossed to the other lady’s side. Genevieve offered up a quick little hope she’d not tampered with something better left alone.

Rather to her surprise, the stoic-faced Penelope accepted the offer, and joined Kenneth with the other dancers. They didn’t smile, and they didn’t step in so high and lively a fashion as the two other couples, and Penelope seemed to have very little to say—but she’d accepted when it would have been easy to beg off.
Curious.

Haddy ended the tune, took a deep swig of the nearest ale, and cried, “Change partners.” He began to play again, this time a country tune.

Michael escorted the rather flush-faced Summer to the settee, made her a bow and excused himself, leaving her to rest for the space of the next dance as her delicate nature required, Genevieve was pleased to note. He turned to the nearest couple. “Surrender your partner,” he said to Kenneth, stepping up and removing Penelope’s hand from that fellow’s grasp.

“Kenneth, you’re with me now,” Laura joined in the spirit of exchange, taking up her brother’s hands with a sigh and moving from Xavier’s side into a new dance.

That left both Xavier and Genevieve without a partner. A long, awkward pause ensued, but then he turned to her, perhaps rather stiffly. His voice was normal, however. “Might I have the pleasure?”

She hesitated, remembering she’d just turned down Kenneth. Summer must rest, so could not partner Xavier…nor did Genevieve wish to partner those two. And she could hardly continue her fledgling matchmaking by asking Penelope to take her place in a second dance with Xavier, especially when that lady was so newly claimed by Michael. “I…,” she began, unsure what she was going to say.

“Come along then, you two,” Michael cried at them as he danced by.

“Yes, of course. Of course,” Genevieve breathed, and her hand was caught up, and they joined the others.

She stared for a solid ten seconds at their hands where they touched, pretending to concentrate on the dance, but then she raised her eyes, ducking her head for a moment more when she found Xavier looking down at her.

“So. We are off to Coventry tomorrow,” he said, no doubt just to make conversation.

“We were lucky to have guessed that correctly,” she said, adding unnecessarily, “Michael and I.”

“Yes.”

“Michael is usually very clever about riddles and puzzles and such.”

“Yes, I find him so, too.”

For a moment she couldn’t think what more to say. They’d never behaved as though they were bosom beaux, but she couldn’t remember a time when it’d been awkward like this between them. Did Xavier think he’d revealed a growing affection toward Summer? Was this why he was now so uncomfortable in the company of Michael’s sister?

Or, worse, had he seen the quickening of interest Genevieve had felt when she’d thought Xavier focused on
her
?

She needed to say something, anything to dispel the awkwardness. “You were awfully clever, too. About the tree bough, and the motto, and all.”

Xavier quirked his head to one side, openly studying her face, seemingly perplexed. “Why are we having such an inane—?”

Michael interrupted him, but not before Genevieve felt the sting of the word “inane”; she dropped Xavier’s hands at once.

“I’ve a new dance to teach you, everyone,” Michael’s words reached Genevieve through burning ears. “We’d normally need more people, but we’ll make our own way out of what we have, eh?”

She backed away, making sure to seem to give Michael every gram of her attention, and making sure she wasn’t partnered with Xavier.
Inane? Well, yes, it was inane…but it isn’t like Xavier to make a lady aware of a defect in her conversation. The cheek!
She went so far as to let a little scowl settle on her brow, which others would just have to assume came from concentration.

Michael organized them into a version of a line dance. They formed twin lines, males on one side, females on the other. Genevieve’s agitated awareness settled on Kenneth, who stood across from her, but he seemed lost to his own thoughts, brooding almost. So a quick glance at Penelope showed that the woman stood far too still, as does someone who wishes nothing so much as to turn and run but may not.
Or is that how I’m feeling?
Summer, on the settee, was looking cast down, having not been included despite having rested for the whole of the prior dance.

Michael, the only one showing signs of enthusiasm, demonstrated that sometimes one couple stepped out of the line to do a kind of sideward sliding step between the rows as the others did their designated steps, and that at other times the entire line did half turns to face various partners. Laura must have been unaware of the air of dissatisfaction as well, and started to laugh at the mistakes they made as they attempted to learn the steps. Once they agreed to try the dance with music, Michael seized up Summer’s hand and returned her to the dance as part of the women’s line, causing her face to brighten as though by sudden magic.

With the extra female added, there was always one woman forced to pretend to be dancing with a partner, as Haddy played the music. When it came her turn to curtsy to and promenade with an invisible partner, Genevieve could only put aside her disenchantment and begin laughing, too.

“But what a fine dancer you are,” she told her nonexistent partner. Perhaps she even felt relieved, because when she and Xavier had danced across from each other, he’d seemed his usual self, even down to a pleasant little smile.

Michael pretended to protest their amusement at the new dance’s expense, which caused Summer to start giggling, and then Penelope, and finally everyone joined in, down to Haddy, whose laughter put a discordant end to his playing.

The music having stopped, the dancers collapsed onto various seats, still chortling, the group’s usual equilibrium restored. Michael began recounting the various absurdities the dance had created, which led to contributions from each of them for the next quarter of an hour more, until it was decided they should all find their beds. They were to take trays in their rooms come the morning, and get an early start.

The renewed cordiality made for a more pleasant note on which to end the evening, Genevieve reflected as she headed toward her room. Summer was arm in arm with her, bubbling with gaiety still, her blue eyes glowing with satisfaction. Genevieve listened to her friend recount the night’s events with a smile, although, as they readied for bed, the smile drifted away. She ought to be just as caught up in the evening’s final mood, but a different tone surfaced in her thoughts. Poor Xavier. If he meant to challenge Michael for Summer’s affections, he must behave more like her effervescent brother—but was Xavier made to play that part? And ought he try, if that was not how he would go on? Could he fool Summer into believing his heart was light?

And for her part, what ought she do? She could help Xavier to come between Summer and Michael—she shook her head just to contemplate it—or, a thought struck her suddenly, keep him as far from Summer as she could. Physically separate the two, come between them on this journey, allow no time for anything more to grow or flourish between them. Was that possible?

What kind of friend—to either of them—was she to even think it? To which of them did she owe the most allegiance? What about her brother? Ought she help Michael’s interests only, or her friend, the ofttimes neglected fiancée, to see which was the better man? Was Xavier “the better man”, particularly for Summer? Genevieve chewed her lip to think the answer might be yes. So should she assist Xavier’s pursuit, he of the infrequently open and always fragile heart?

She didn’t know. It made her head spin to weigh her torn loyalties. What was “best” for any of the three?

Or, for that matter, best for herself
?

Chapter 8

I am a man

More sinned against than sinning.

—Shakespeare,

King Lear

Xavier faced his mirrored image once again, scraping another day’s growth of beard from his chin, shifting a little to one side so the bright morning light beaming through the window didn’t reflect quite so blindingly into his good eye.

“Do you know what I most dislike?” Haddy asked from where he sat on his rented bed, scowling at the boot resting along his forearm. Next to him sat a tray filled with the remnants of a breakfast.

“What is that?”

“Polishing my own boots. I’d quite forgotten how time-consuming it is. I brush and I rub, and I’ll be hanged if I can get the things to shine the way my man Warton does.”

“What, old Warthog never told you his secret?” Xavier asked, turning a bit more so that his reflection smiled at Haddy.

“Secret? What secret? If there’s one, he would have told me.”

“He spits on them.”

“No he does not!” Haddy said in something very like horror.

“He does. Told me so himself. Thinks about mince pies and roasted squab, and after two minutes of thought, has enough spittle to polish two sets of boots.”

Haddy stared at his boot a moment longer, then promptly spit and began vigorously rubbing the leather with a soft cloth. He held it up before him, looking with a critical eye. “I don’t see it makes any difference.”