A Gentleman's Kiss (11 page)

Eleven

“Lady Claudia! Please pay attention!” Mr. Loveless ordered in an irritating nasal tone, tapping the board with his piece of chalk. He so startled Claudia out of her daydreaming state that her elbow slid off her desk and hit her funny bone.

Cradling her elbow and grimacing with pain, she responded to him, not even trying to mask her annoyance. “I’ve told you, Mr. Loveless—I know rules of proper address.
Must
we keep going through it?”

He pinched his thin lips together, pushing his wire
spectacles higher on his long nose. “I have been hired by his grace because he believes you to be ignorant on the subject of peerage, Lady Claudia, but for that to be accomplished I must have your cooperation!” He glared at her, then reached in his pocket and drew out his gold watch, snapping it open with a flick of his thumb. “Since it is the noon hour I shall allow you to break for lunch.”

Claudia blew out a relieved breath and started to rise from her seat. “
However
,” he said, and she slumped back down, “I suggest you carry your notes with you and study them as you eat. We shall discuss them when you return at one o’clock sharp.”

Claudia didn’t move in case he had anything else to add. But when he sat at his desk and started to draw food out of his bag, she stood and all but ran from the room.

It had been like this for two days—ever since her grandfather found out she had addressed Baron Willetton as “sir” and not “my lord” at one of the balls she’d attended. He’d immediately sent out for Mr. Loveless, a tutor who specialized in the English Peerage, a directory of all the titled noble men and women of England. Then she’d been ordered to her old classroom and treated as if she were twelve instead of twenty!

The worst part of this whole debacle was that she’d not been able to go back to the shelter since the first day. The only thing her grandfather would allow her to do was send a note to Helen and read her reply.

Helen had assured her she would let Cameron know why she wasn’t coming to the shelter and that she and North would continue to work without her.

The irony of this lesson her grandfather thought he was teaching her was that she already knew how to address the nobility. In fact she could practically name all those who served in the House of Lords, their lesser titles, and what son would inherit them. She’d misspoken the baron’s title but only because someone had introduced him as a baronet, who did use the title of “sir.”

Instead of going to the dining room where she usually had lunch with her aunt, she went to her room to ask that her food be brought up. She was pleasantly surprised when she found Helen waiting for her there.

“Helen!” She walked to the settee where her friend sat reading one of her books. “What are you doing here?”

Helen tossed the book on the seat and jumped up to meet Claudia. “I’ve come to rescue you!”

Claudia shook her head. “How will you accomplish this? Grandfather has been adamant that I spend at least a week being tutored.”

“I told him I need you to help me plan a ball.”

Claudia looked at Helen for a moment. “A ball? I didn’t know you were planning a ball.”

Helen giggled. “Well, I wasn’t until today.”

Claudia shook her head. “But I can’t believe this alone would convince him.”

“Well,” Helen drew out as if she were teasing her with a great secret, “it didn’t at first. But when I told him the prince regent would be there and I needed your opinion on choosing invitations and such, he readily agreed.”

Claudia giggled along with her friend. “You are quite a planner, aren’t you? But how did you manage to get the prince to agree?”

“North is a distant cousin, as you know, but even that didn’t
sway him until we mentioned
you
were helping us put on the
ball.”

Claudia groaned. “It is only because he wants to hear more of my stories about Louisiana,” she grumbled. “But I have told him all I know.”

Helen smiled confidently and patted her arm. “Then retell them. I’m sure he won’t mind hearing them again.”

Claudia sighed. “I must confess I know nothing of planning a ball other than what my tutors have taught me.”

Helen shrugged. “Neither do I. North does, though, so we’ll follow his lead.”

Claudia was about to change the subject and ask how Cameron was doing when Helen stepped around her and opened up her wardrobe.

“What are you doing?” Claudia asked curiously. She walked over to watch Helen sifting through her dresses.

“Trying to find the perfect gown.” Helen paused and studied a silk dress in a particular shade of deep blue. “No, this doesn’t set the right tone,” she murmured and kept sorting through the others.

“The right tone for what?” Claudia asked, peeking over Helen’s shoulder. The blue dress wasn’t one of her favorites either.

“Hmm?” She glanced back. “Oh! The theatre, dear. North has a box at Covent Gardens.” She pulled out a beautiful cream-colored silk with a lace overlay. It had a matching pelisse dyed one shade darker in a sort of beige hue. “Perfect!” she exclaimed, admiring the seed pearls sewn in the trim of the neckline and cap sleeves.

“The theatre? I thought we were planning a ball?” Claudia figured she must have been cooped up in the classroom too long, for she was having trouble following Helen’s plans.

Helen pulled the dress from the wardrobe and laid it out on Claudia’s bed. She then pulled the cord, which called Claudia’s lady’s maid, Cummings. “Well, since Lord Moreland seemed so agreeable about the ball, I thought I’d see if he would let you attend the theatre with us tonight. He readily agreed, much to my surprise, citing that it might be an excellent opportunity for the eligible young men of London to see you.”

Claudia groaned, pressing her hand to her forehead. “Does he think of nothing else?”

Helen laughed. “Does any father or grandfather of the ton?”

At that moment Cummings came in, and Helen instructed her to pack her dress and have it sent to Northingshire Manor. Then, after Claudia dressed to leave the house, they made their way down to Helen’s waiting carriage.

“What is playing at the theatre by the way?” Claudia asked as they climbed in and got settled comfortably.

Helen shrugged with a giggle. “I don’t know. They all seem the same to me. An opera in which the characters sing their conversations instead of speaking them and then someone usually dies at the end.”

Claudia laughed then lapsed into silence trying to think of a casual way to bring up the subject of Cameron.

“So,” she began, trying to appear blasé as she examined her nails, “how are the women and children at the shelter?”

Helen studied her. “Well, two new women came in, and one had a set of twins who were very cute. And let’s see. . .” She paused and tapped on her chin. “Oh, yes! Young Johnny Smith lost one of his front teeth. It was quite a gruesome sight since he pulled it out himself while standing in front of me. But I managed to bring him to his mother before I lost the contents of my stomach. Then. . .” She paused again, and Claudia could take no more.

“Could you please just tell me how Cameron is, and has he asked about me?” she demanded, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

Helen’s eyes widened. “But you didn’t ask about Cameron. You asked about the wom—”

“I know what I asked, Helen! And I know you’re teasing me horribly.” She narrowed her eyes, and Helen giggled.

“All right! If you must know, Lord Kinclary has been asking constantly about you, prying information from me at every opportunity. He now knows your entire life story—at least all I’m aware of. Unfortunately most of my information came from your little sister, so it’s not completely accurate.”

Claudia covered her cheeks and groaned. “I’m almost afraid to ask what Josie told you. Did he. . .uh. . .give any hint of his feelings toward me?”

Helen’s eyes widened. “You must be joking! The man mentions you in every conversation. And though he hasn’t come right out and declared his intentions toward you, it’s apparent to all that he thinks fondly of you.”

Claudia clasped her hands to her chest and sighed. “I can’t wait to see him. Do you think we might have time to go to the shelter tomorrow? I know we must plan the ball, but surely we have an hour or two to spare.”

Helen nodded. “I’m sure it can be arranged.” She paused as the carriage rattled to a stop. “Oh, here we are! Now let’s go and get you ready for tonight.”

Claudia frowned and, scampering out of the carriage, ran to keep up with her. “Now? It’s only noon.”

“Come on! It takes a lot of time to make ourselves beautiful for a night out.”

Claudia could think of a hundred things more fun to do than spend time beautifying herself. She wasn’t much in the mood to go to the theatre, but she knew Helen was trying to cheer her up.

And she did feel better once she, Helen, and North finally arrived and were taken to their private box. Claudia still didn’t understand why Helen had taken such pains to dress her.

All afternoon she had been bathed and powdered while Helen fussed with her lady’s maid over every detail of Claudia’s dress. Then, in what usually took less than an hour to accomplish, Helen had her maid style Claudia’s straight hair into an array of curls, which were pinned loosely at the crown and fell in a bunch over her shoulder. She prayed she wouldn’t find the whole lot of her hair singed from spending so much time twisted in the curling tongs.

“Why don’t you sit in the front seat, and North and I will sit behind you?” Helen waved her hand toward the velvet chair in the box.

Feeling slightly like the unwanted third in their party, Claudia sighed and took her seat then began to skim over the small program booklet they’d been handed upon their arrival. She recognized a few names on the actors’ list and was trying to place what other play a certain actor had been in when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Helen,” she said, without glancing back, “I can’t place where I’ve heard this person’s name before. Do you know—”

She looked up then and was shocked to see Cameron slipping into the chair next to her. Now Helen’s odd behavior was finally making sense.

She turned around in her chair, with her back to Cameron, and sent her friend a brilliant smile. Her face was serene and calm, though, when she turned back to the handsome man beside her and greeted him.

❧

Claudia’s soft smile sent a jolt straight to his heart while he gazed at her in the dim light of the theatre. Her dark hair framed her creamy skin and dusty pink cheeks, and her eyes seemed to glisten like the sea. He’d missed her so much in those last two days that one might think they’d been separated a year, the way his palms were sweating and his heart beating so madly.

He sat down and watched her hesitate. But before he could say anything she took a breath. . .and said his name.

“Good evening, Cameron,” her voice whispered in what sounded like a caress. Did he imagine it, or was there much feeling in the way she spoke his name?

He knew certain gossipers would be watching them as much as they watched the stage, so he wanted to be above reproach from their speculative stares.

But he didn’t realize how much his love for her had flourished in such a short time and how hearing his name uttered by her sweet lips would affect him.

It was the most natural thing in the world to reach for her gloved hand and press a kiss to it. “How very lovely you are tonight, Claudia.” His voice sounded hoarse even to his own ears.

“Lord Kinclary.”
Helen’s fretful tone caused them both to turn to her. “We do not want to bring attention to ourselves!”

Cameron winced as he skimmed the patrons’ faces below them and caught furtive glances being thrown their way.

“We shall be the talk of all London tomorrow.” Claudia moaned and scrambled to untie her fan, which was attached to her purse, and snap it out to partly cover her face.

Cameron couldn’t help but grin at the pointless effort. “I don’t think that will help, Claude. Everyone here knows who you are.”

He heard a strange sound behind him, and when he looked back, he saw that it was North doing a poor job of holding back a chuckle. Helen sighed and nudged him with her elbow.

“Yes, thanks to you and your inability to
not
kiss me every time we meet.” She stopped and frowned, lowering the fan to her lap. “Did you just call me
Claude
?”

Cameron grinned. “Yes, it slipped out, but now that it’s out there I believe it suits you.”

He watched her shake her head and take another glimpse at the audience below. “Well, I don’t like it. Call me something else!”

He peeked down with her and was glad to see many had lost interest in them. “Such as what? Darling? Sweetheart?”

She glared at him. “You are behaving very badly tonight. If you keep smiling at me like that, people might get the wrong idea.”

Or they might get the right one,
Cameron thought but decided against speaking it aloud.

“As entertaining as both of you are, perhaps we should direct our attention to the stage so the actors won’t get their feelings hurt when they find everyone watching you instead of them!” North whispered, his voice full of mirth.