‘It is so bon to see you, Davy!’ Lisette beamed at the young man walking along beside her, aware that he probably did not understand a word she was saying, but hoping to convey her happiness with the brightness of her smile.
She had badly needed to escape Sutherland House earlier, to breathe in the fresh air, to be free for a while of the worry and intrigue that had surrounded her these past few days.
After leaving the house she had taken a stroll about the square outside Sutherland House, as she had given Evans the impression she intended to do. Which had taken her all of ten minutes to complete, and that included pausing to watch a group of small children playing with a ball, watched over by their gossiping nannies.
Having no child of her own to allow to play, and no English either to join in the conversation, Lisette had then ventured out of the square in search of other entertainment.
It had taken some time to reach the shops, and they had proved to be amusing for a while, but as usual she was only window-shopping, having no money to buy any of the pretty lace or fashionable leather gloves on display inside those windows.
It had been shortly after she had given in to the lure of a much bigger park, and become fascinated with watching the ducks swimming happily about on the pond there, that she had spied young Davy, the assistant to the cook on board The Blue Dolphin, strolling by.
Fortuitously, because by this time Lisette had walked so far and for so long that she had absolutely no idea how to find her way back to Christian’s ducal home.
Conversation between herself and Davy was, as might be expected, a little difficult, but they had managed, between the two of them, to convey the fact that Lisette was well and truly lost in England’s capital and Davy had now generously offered to walk back with her to Sutherland House.
Where Lisette would no doubt have to face a wrathful Christian.
She really had not intended to be out for so long or to walk so far, had thought to be back long before Christian rose from his nap. So that perhaps he would not even need to know that she had been out at all.
Instead she had become lost, and no doubt Christian would have been up for some time now and possibly pacing one of those elegantly appointed rooms in Sutherland House as he contemplated what was to be her punishment for having disobeyed him.
In her defence, she had not actually agreed with his instruction earlier not to leave Sutherland House.
A poor defence, to be sure, but it was the only one Lisette had in the face of what she knew was going to be Christian’s extreme anger for her having disobeyed him.
‘Do you have la famille—family in London, Davy?’ she prompted curiously as they left the park and began to stroll along the pavement.
‘My widowed mother.’ He nodded.
Considering that Davy was only aged perhaps sixteen or seventeen, his mother must be a very young widow. ‘Any frères ou soeurs? Brothers and sisters,’ she translated awkwardly.
‘Four.’ He nodded again. ‘Two of each. All younger than me.’
With young Davy no doubt the only breadwinner, Lisette inwardly sympathised, wondering if she dare ask Christian to reward Davy for having returned her safely to Sutherland House.
She already owed Christian so much; what did a little more matter? Besides, she doubted that Christian would wish to make a fuss in front of Davy or Evans.
Once they were alone she had no doubt it would be a different matter...
* * *
‘How can you have lost her already?’ Marcus frowned once Christian had explained the reason for his having called at Worthing House. ‘You have only been back in London a few hours!’
A few hours could, when it came to Lisette, as Christian knew only too well, seem as long as a lifetime. Indeed, it seemed like that lifetime since he had left Sutherland House to begin walking the streets in search of her.
His leg ached like the devil, and he had finally given up that search and called upon his sister and brother-in-law at Worthing House, in the tenuous hope that Lisette might have decided to call upon them. An unlikely occurrence, Christian knew, especially as Lisette had no idea where Worthing House even was, but it had now been over three hours since Lisette left to go for a stroll and his anger had been replaced with an uneasy anxiety.
Although he had no doubt that his anger would come boiling back up to the surface the moment he saw her again!
She had the ability, it seemed, to induce strong emotions inside him, be they anger or desire.
‘Can you not see how worried he is, my love?’ Julianna, glowing with the happiness of her marriage to Worthing and their excitement at their forthcoming baby, now placed a lightly restraining hand upon her husband’s arm as the two sat together on the sofa opposite Christian, who sat restlessly on the edge of an armchair. ‘Perhaps she has called upon Lord Maystone in the hope of easing that gentleman’s mind in regard to her innocence?’ she suggested.
It did not surprise Christian in the slightest that Marcus appeared to have told Julianna all. Indeed, he would have been surprised if he had not; the couple had once lost each other because of a lack of communication. Now that they had found each other again and were happily married, they did not intend such misunderstandings to ever happen again.
Christian wished that he could say he had the same open honesty with Lisette.
Although, to be fair, he had been the one mainly responsible for having kept secrets.