Dangerous in Diamonds - Madeline Hunter [4]
A very nice boot, she noted as she drew near. Expensive. Expertly crafted of superior leather and polished within an inch of its life.
Her intruder was a gentleman.
She came to a halt about twenty feet from the arbor. She waited for him to speak. An apology, perhaps. Or an expression of interest in the gardens. Instead he silently regarded her as if he studied a painting in which, unaccountably, a figure had moved through the oiled colors.
The moment grew awkward. She looked back at the greenhouse, scanning its small panes of glass for Katherine’s dark head. Not that there would be any trouble, of course. Yet she experienced a surprising amount of relief when she spotted Katherine.
Deciding that grace would achieve more than accusations when it came to boots like that, she smiled in acknowledgment of his presence. “Welcome to The Rarest Blooms, sir. Did you come to admire the gardens? Do you have a particular interest in horticulture?”
“I know nothing about horticulture, although this garden is worthy of admiration.” He stood, as etiquette required. He did not leave the arbor but remained within its dappled shadows.
He was tall. Taller than she was, and her own unfashionable stature often left her nose-to-nose with men or even looking down from an elevated prospect. He had dark hair and dark eyes and appeared quite handsome from what she could see. Young, but not very young. Thirty years of age, thereabouts, she guessed.
“Perhaps you seek to purchase a selection of special blooms for a favored lady?”
“It never entered my mind.”
He did not appear inclined to share what had entered his mind and led him to intrude like this. He behaved, in fact, as if she had no right to know. She was beginning to dislike this man. She found his manner conceited and his relaxed attitude condescending.
“Perhaps you should consider it. Ladies consider flowers romantic. They love receiving them as gifts.”
“They only pretend that they do. They are actually disappointed. They prefer jewels to flowers, no matter how rare the blooms might be. I daresay the thinnest silver chain would be favored over the most exotic plant.”
“You speak with secure authority, as if you know the mind of every woman on earth.”
“I have sampled enough to speak with confidence.”
She was very sure that she did not like him now. “I am very fond of flowers, as you might surmise from the quantity here. It appears that your experience with women’s minds has been incomplete.”
That amused him. “If given a choice between the rarest bloom in the world or a diamond of good clarity, you would choose the latter. Only a fool would not, and you do not impress me as being a fool.”
“If the choice was exquisite transience or exquisite permanence, if the diamond were of the first water, I would take the jewel. But if the diamond were second rate, I would not. Now, since you have no interest in procuring flowers, and only a passing interest in gardens, perhaps it is time for you to resume your journey to wherever you were headed when you detoured down our lane.”
“I did not detour. This was my destination. I arrived earlier than I expected, and have been passing the time here to avoid calling at an uncivilized hour.” He pulled out his pocket watch. “Still too early, but perhaps you will tell Mrs. Joyes that I am here, if you think she would not mind receiving me now.”
“Mrs. Joyes? Are you a friend of hers?”
“We have friends in common, but she and I have never met to my knowledge.”
“If you have never met, you have never been introduced. I doubt she would receive you under those circumstances.”
“She is strict that way, is she?”
“Fairly so, yes.” Especially today, with you.
“Damn. That is a boring nuisance.”
Being called boring hardly endeared him to her. “Perhaps you should return with a letter of introduction