CHAPTER TWELVE D: AN OFFER MADE IN PUBLIC
The next gathering at Oak Haven began with a minor disaster involving a tray of lemonade.
A young footman slipped on the terrace steps and caught the tray against his chest before the glasses fell.
He saved the crystal but soaked his waistcoat.
Blanche, who had accompanied Selena despite protesting that the visit was beneath her, laughed loudly enough for several guests to turn.
The footman went pale.
William crossed the terrace and asked whether he was hurt.
“No, Your Grace,” the young man answered.
“Then go and change before you catch cold.
”
Blanche continued smiling.
“Your Grace is remarkably forgiving of clumsiness.”
“I have found that people are less clumsy when they are not terrified,” William replied.
Selena saw the footman’s shoulders relax as he disappeared through the doors.
Lady Pembroke, seated beneath an awning, beckoned Selena to her side.
“Your sister is determined to entertain us,” she murmured.
“I wish she would find a gentler method.”
“I suspect she would find that method less rewarding.”
Lady Pembroke glanced at Blanche.
“She has been asking whether the duke intends to give your family an allowance.”
Selena felt a chill despite the warm afternoon.
“He does not.”
“I told her that was unlikely.”
“Thank you.”
“Do not thank me yet,” Lady Pembroke said.
“Your father has been making similar inquiries.”
Across the terrace Sir Lionel approached William with the confidence of a man who believed he was about to conclude a profitable arrangement.
Selena rose before she could think better of it.
“Father,” she said, reaching them, “Clara has asked me to help with her books.”
Sir Lionel gave her an impatient look.
“You may attend to that later.”
“Clara is waiting now.”
William studied them both.
“Is there something you wished to discuss with me,
Sir Lionel?”
“Only a small matter concerning the family property.”
“Then you may write to my steward, who handles matters concerning property.”
Sir Lionel’s expression tightened.
“I had hoped for a more personal understanding.”
“A personal understanding is precisely why I do not wish to discuss it among guests,” William answered.
The silence lasted only a moment, but Selena felt its weight.
Her father bowed stiffly and withdrew.
When they were alone, William turned to her.
“Did I embarrass him?”
“Yes.”
“Was I wrong?”
“No,” Selena said.
“He has been counting on your generosity without asking whether you intend to offer it.
”
William looked toward the house.
“I would rather disappoint your father than make you feel purchased.”
Selena met his eyes.
“Then please do not make me grateful for being spared.”
He nodded after a moment.
“You are right.”
“It should be ordinary for a man to speak to me without making arrangements over my head.”
“Then let us try to make it ordinary,” he said.
They walked into the house side by side, while the conversations behind them resumed with an eagerness that promised more gossip by evening.
