The Langley Sisters Trilogy Boxed Set (46 page)

      “Tell me, Miss Langley, have you always reacted so vehemently to people questioning your behavior?”

      Surprise flashed across her face and Finn wondered if someone else had raised this topic with her before, presumably a parent or sibling. It was obvious Phoebe did not take well to criticism or censure, no matter how warranted.
 

      “Willful or spoilt, Phoebe, which one are you?” Finn mused, knowing he should shut his mouth but didn’t seem able to.
 

      She hissed, which drew the eye of the elderly Lady Russell in front.

      “Excuse me, Lady Russell, I was about to sneeze.”

      The transformation from raging vixen to sweet debutante was startling. Finn had never been graced with a smile from Phoebe like the one she was bestowing on Lady Russell. Ridiculously, he now wanted one.

      “That’s alright, my dear, we all have little lapses,” the lady said, patting her hand. She then looked at Finn.

      “Smart move sitting next to this one, Levermarch. Sharp as a whip with both intelligence and beauty, and so sweet-natured,” she added before once again facing the front.

      
Sweet natured…Phoebe?

      The smile dropped from Phoebe’s face as she turned to once again snarl at him.
 

“I have no idea why we are having this conversation, Lord Levermarch. Furthermore, I wish for you to keep your distance from me in the future.”

      “Alas, in that I fear you are to be disappointed,” Finn said calmly. “As your brother-in-law is my best friend.”

      “Yes, that is certainly one of life’s mysteries, as my brother is usually an excellent judge of character,” she muttered.

      “I can be quite a nice person when the occasion warrants it.”

      She snapped her teeth together hard. “I have no further wish to sit next to you, my lord. Therefore, I wish for you to move seats for the remainder of the musical, before I truly say something I’ll regret.”

      “You haven’t already?” Finn said, facing the front once more. He did not like causing scenes and in fact avoided them. He was not a game player nor did he deliberately antagonize people yet he was doing just that with Phoebe and could not seem to stop himself.

      “If you will not do the gentlemanly thing and move, then I will.”

      Finn watched as she moved past Will to take the seat next to Livvy.
 

      “Move over here, Levermarch, before some other idiot takes the space,” Will hissed, patting the seat Phoebe had recently vacated.

      “Are you calling me an idiot, Ryder?” Finn moved into the seat and glared at his friend. Why the hell could he not just have a reasonable conversation with that woman? They always seemed hell bent on taking a piece out of each other.

      “Picture having Major Dumble or the elderly dowager Duchess Pomley sitting between us. It would mean a night spent being nudged and yelled at.”

      “True,” Finn said, trying to relax into the hard seat and ignore the warmth beneath his buttocks and how it had become warm.
 

      “Care to tell me what the hell that conversation between you and Phoebe was about?” he said, still looking to the stage were the musicians were now warming up.

      “No.”

      “Well, then, I’ll just point out that you are my staid, correct friend, the one who never places a foot anywhere without first checking every direction to assure it will not land in manure. Yet with Phoebe, your usually stellar character traits seem to have deserted you and by the dark look on her face I would say you are now up to your neck in it.”

      Finn sighed because nothing else really seemed to fit the moment. Will was right, damn him. He wasn’t behaving as he usually did and it was her fault; she made him stop thinking.

      “Stellar sounds better than staid.”

      “Avoidance, Finn? Another first for the man who believes in straight talking,” Will said pleasantly. Finn suspected his tone was because he did not want to alert his wife to the conversation they were having.

      “Just remember what I said about appearances being deceiving, my friend. Phoebe is a very special person and what you see every night is not necessarily the real woman Livvy and I know and love.”

      Finn wrinkled his brow at that cryptic statement. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

      “It means that behind a person’s façade could lay insecurities and a past that you have no knowledge of; in fact, I am not party to all of it I’m sure,” Will added slowly.
 

      “You’ve been around women to long,” Finn grunted. “You’re talking in circles.”

      “Sssh.”

      “That was a very loud ‘sssh’, darling.” Will took his wife’s hand as she glared at both him and Finn.
 

      Leaning back in his chair, Finn saw the back of Phoebe’s head. Did she have insecurities and things in her past that had molded her into the woman she was today?
 

      “Excuse me. Oh, I do apologize.”

      Finn stood to let the latecomer, Miss Wooller, pass as the gap between the seats was two narrow to just turn, and his legs were too long. Beside him, Will did the same.

      She passed Livvy, and Finn leaned forward to watch her settle in a chair next to Phoebe. He hadn’t known that Miss Wooller and Phoebe were friends yet they must be if they were now seated together. He supposed she was pretty in a graceful almost regal way, but seated next to the she-devil, everyone faded into the background.
 

      “Finn, I need to tell you something that has been churning around inside my head all day.

      Finn straightened in his seat at the serious tone in Will’s voice. “Tell me.”

      “I saw Alex coming out of a gambling hell today, and after what happened previously, I believed you should know.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
 

      “You’re late, Hannah.”

      Phoebe watched her new friend settle herself before she answered.

      “Father knew I was stalling in my room so in the end he just dragged me out of it and into the carriage.”

      “I think I would like to meet your father.”

       Hannah looked at the stage as Madame Picuoult hit a high note.
 

      “Dear lord, she just perforated my ear drums,” she complained, pressing a finger into her ear.

      For the remainder of the musical Phoebe kept her eyes on the performers, however her mind she had on something else. Was she spoiled? Perhaps before her parents died she had been, but not now surely? Yes, she did not like to be told off, yet show her one person who did? And he had not right to speak to her that way as they barely knew each other.
 

      “Oh lord, tell me that is it and we are not just being teased with a short break,” Hannah whispered as the music stopped. “Tell me it is over,” she moaned.

      Phoebe pulled her thoughts from Lord Levermarch and looked once again at her friend. “Yes, it’s over you heathen, and now we can leave these uncomfortable seats and circle the room.” Phoebe took her friend’s arm as they both rose, and after chatting briefly with Will and Livvy, she ignored Lord Levermarch, and they left to walk into the crowd of milling guests.

      “Good evening, ladies.”

Phoebe smiled at Alex as he approached. He wore a waistcoat of emerald and ivory this evening and he should have looked outrageous, but instead looked handsome.

“Mr. Hetherington, how wonderful to see you again.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, taking her hand and bowing over it. “I have made contact with a woman who is a French seamstress. I will set up a meeting when it suits you both.”

“Wonderful,” Phoebe said, and then they chatted about the weather as an elderly couple passed by.

“Come, we shall move to the corner over there,” Alex said, nodding towards the rear of the room. “We can chat and have our backs covered, so we need only worry about someone approaching from the front.”

“You make it sounds as though we are about to go into battle, Alex.”

“Phoebe, if my elder brother hears what I am doing, we will be at war. Have no doubts on that score.”

Looking behind her, Phoebe saw Lord Levermarch over the top of several guests’ heads. His eyes met hers briefly before he turned away. Yes, he would be formidable when angered, she was sure.

“Would we commit some ridiculous indiscretion in the eyes of society if we moved through those doors to take in a much needed breath of clean air instead?”

      Phoebe looked to where Hannah was pointing and could see no reason for them not to step outside for a few minutes.

      “You two go ahead and I shall procure you both a glass of that noxious, sweet concoction the hostess was bragging about when I arrived,” Alex said. “Then it will give me a reason to join you outside.”

      “I can hardly wait,” Hannah drawled, taking Phoebe’s arm after he had departed.
 

      They smiled and nodded, making their way to the doors, and then slipped through.
 

      “I miss the country at times like this.” Hannah took a deep breath as they reached the stone balustrade.

“I miss it, too,” Phoebe agreed as they walked along the stone balcony to look down at the gardens below minutes later. “I miss the freedom of walking or riding when and where I like. I miss Henny and Giblet but most of all I miss the night sky,” she added.

      “I thought you couldn’t ride?”

      “I said I was hopeless, not that I couldn’t ride,” Hannah amended. “It looks different to the city sky, Phoebe, don’t you think?” she added, looking out into the darkness.
 

      “Before I answer that I must know who Henny and Giblet are,” Phoebe said, releasing Hannah to brace her hands on the balustrade and peer down into the darkness below.

      “My pig and chicken.”

      “Of course they are, silly me. And to answer your question, yes, the sky looks different here, which is strange don’t you think? Considering it’s the same sky.”

      “Hmmm,” Hannah murmured, wandering further around the deck.

      “My pig was called Trotter.”

      Hannah snuffled as she heard Phoebe’s words. “I wish I’d met you on my first night in London.”

      Phoebe nodded her agreement. Sometimes you met someone and knew with a certainty they were meant to be in your life. Hannah, Phoebe knew, was going to be one of those people.

      “I know you have doubts about Alex, Hannah. However, it is my belief that he will be a very good business partner. He is smart like his older brother and has a wonderful flare for both fashion and color. I would hate for you to turn him aside just because he is a man, as that hardly seems fair considering the prejudices we often face.”

Hannah walked away from Phoebe as she thought about her words and they both studied the night sky in silence for several minutes.
 

“Of course you are right and now I feel guilty for my earlier behavior towards him.”

“You shall soon get used to his handsome looks and not give them another thought,” Phoebe added with a sly smile.

“I do not think him handsome!”

“Excellent, then we shall have no further problems.”

“No, we shall not,” Hannah agreed.

“Will has offered to give me the money, Hannah, and I would like to set up a time to show you the warehouses where he keeps his goods tomorrow if that suits you?
 

      Hannah returned to Phoebe’s side where she rested her bottom on the stone, oblivious to the damage it was possibly doing to her skirts.
 

 
“I told my father about you and how we were about to become firm friends and business partners, and do you know what he said to me?”

      “Stay away from that harlot; she will lead you down Satan’s path?”

      Phoebe found herself laughing as Hannah snuffled. It really was a sweet sound.

      “He said he believed you could use a friend after losing both your parents at such a young age. He also said that he liked a woman who spoke her mind and that, for once, your beauty was matched by your intelligence.”

      Phoebe couldn’t stand empty flattery from anyone; however, she felt a rush of pleasure from Hannah’s words.

      “Your father doesn’t even know me.”

      “My father knows everyone. Not personally, but there are not many people he hasn’t some information about, especially how much money they have down to the last penny.”

      “He sounds wonderful and a lot like Will.”

      “I believe they are well acquainted with each other and Lord Levermarch.”

      Phoebe didn’t want to talk about him.

      “It will be hard not to mention Alex, though, don’t you think, Hannah, as I’m sure you do not have secrets you hide from your father as I do not from my family.”