Ann Lethbridge - A Lord For The Wallflower Widow

Nevertheless, the idea that she was desperate had weighed on his shoulders. And he was glad he had the means to do something about it, even if it did leave him a bit short of funds.

Mimi pulled forth the scrap of blue fabric Madame Grace had cut off the bolt. ‘This is the fabric for a new carriage dress. What do you suggest?’

Avery wedged himself in a corner by the counter and let the two women have at it. His part would come later, when a decision was to be made. In the meantime, he could not help but compare the two women. Mimi, a sweet English rose at first glance, but with all the experience of a married woman, and Mrs Greystoke, not exactly pretty, but striking and strangely innocent.

Greystoke. Now why did he keep thinking that name sounded familiar?

* * *

Lord Avery’s special lady was older than Carrie had expected and apparently a widow to boot, but pretty as a picture, nonetheless. The sort of woman she would have expected to attract him, if she was honest. Carrie helped the lady remove her hat and brought down three bonnets that she thought would suit the lady’s face and complement the fabric.

A maid eased in through the door. Mrs Luttrell frowned. ‘Boggs, I am sorry, but you need to wait outside. There really isn’t room in here for another person.’

The maid, who was all of eighteen, looked worried. ‘Yes, mum.’ Her accent came from the north. She started to back out.

The sound of someone from her home county gave Carrie an odd feeling in her stomach. A bit of the same feeling of homesickness she’d experienced when she’d first arrived in London to go to school at around the same age as the maid. She’d been sent to a young ladies’ academy to acquire a bit of polish, as her father put it.

‘Your maid can wait in the back room,’ Carrie said. ‘This is not the best of streets for a young girl to linger on.’

‘Thank you, mum,’ the maid said with a look of relief.

Mrs Luttrell gave Carrie a sharp look. ‘That is very kind of you, Mrs Greystoke. I can certainly vouch for Boggs’s honesty.’

‘Indeed.’ Carrie smiled kindly at the girl. ‘Perhaps you could make us all a cup of tea while you are waiting.’

The girl beamed. ‘That I can, mum.’ She glanced at her mistress. ‘That is, if you agree, madam.’

‘It is a wonderful idea.’ Mrs Luttrell picked up a bonnet Carrie hadn’t suggested. ‘What about this one?’

Carrie tried not to frown at the choice. ‘If you wish to try it on, you may, but I think you will find it hides your face and, with a pretty face like yours it would be a shame.’

‘Do you think so?’ She turned to Lord Avery. ‘What do you think, Ave?’

He gave her an indulgent smile and for a moment Carrie wondered what it would be like to have a man smile at her in that warm lazy way.

‘I think Mrs Greystoke knows what she is about, Pet,’ he said. ‘Trust in her judgement.’

Mrs Luttrell put the bonnet aside and picked up one of Carrie’s suggestions. ‘May I try this one first.’

Carrie helped her put it on. She tied a neat bow and directed Mrs Luttrell’s attention to the looking glass.

Mrs Luttrell viewed herself from various angles with pursed lips.

Carrie held her breath. This was it. This was her chance to get this shop found by ladies of the beau monde . Oh, she could tell that Mrs Luttrell was not a diamond of the first water, or a member of any of the first families of the ton , but she wore her clothes well and other ladies would admire her, if she wore the right hat.

After a couple of minutes, Mrs Luttrell turned to Lord Avery. ‘What do you think, Ave.’

‘I think you should try them all, before making up your mind. I like that one very much, but another might suit better.’

How very odd. Most men hated shopping.

So the lady tried on all three. When she reached the last one, Lord Avery straightened. ‘I like them all,’ he said. ‘The last two looked equally good on you, Mimi. Whichever one you pick you cannot go wrong.’

Carrie did not agree with him. She preferred the one Mrs Luttrell had chosen to put on last. ‘The one you have on now suits you particularly well,’ she said, not wishing to argue with his lordship, but wanting the lady to make the right choice.

Lord Avery picked up his cup and sipped at his tea. He’d put a great deal of sugar in it, Carrie had noticed.

Mrs Luttrell turned this way and that and then also took a sip of tea. ‘I am sure I cannot decide between this one and that one.’ She pointed to the first one she had tried on.

‘Take them both,’ Lord Avery suggested.

Carrie stared at him. Surely, he was jesting?

Mrs Luttrell frowned.

Dash it! She was going to refuse them both now. ‘Truly, the one you have on suits you best, madam. It is perfect for this time of year. I am sure you will be doing a great deal of driving out now the weather is changing for the better.’

‘You are right,’ the lady said.

Carrie breathed a sigh of relief.

‘But if I am doing a great deal of driving out...’ she turned towards Lord Avery and batted her lashes ‘...then I will need more than one bonnet.’

Lord Avery nodded. ‘I should say so.’

‘Then I will take them both.’

Carrie snapped her mouth shut. Showing her surprise was not the way to do business. ‘Let me wrap them for you, while you finish your tea.’

In short order, she had both bonnets wrapped in tissue paper and in their boxes, while Mrs Luttrell drank her tea and chatted with her companion.

Carrie waited for them to finish their conversation. ‘Where would you like me to send the bill, Mrs Luttrell?’

She hated the idea that she was not to be paid right away for the purchase, but it was the way the beau monde did their business. Hopefully, Lord Avery could afford such extravagance.

‘Send it to my husband,’ Mrs Luttrell said and handed over her card.

Shocked, Carrie could only stare at her for a second or two.

Mrs Luttrell didn’t seem to notice her surprise, but Lord Avery had a naughty twinkle in his eye. The wretch. He knew Carrie was shocked all the way to her toes. Her back had gone stiff and her smile had frozen solid on her lips.

Glancing at the address, she put it in a drawer for safe keeping. As soon as they were gone she would write up the bill and have it sent round to Carlin Place. She could only hope that Mr Luttrell approved of his wife’s purchases while in the company of another man.

More to the point, what did that make Lord Avery? Her lover? How very shocking. And disappointing...

‘Oh, look, Ave, darling, there is another of those pretty fans. It is similar to the one you bought for me.’

‘Each one is unique,’ Carrie said, aware her voice was terser than she would have liked. Was she really such a prude? It wouldn’t be the first time she had heard of a man taking an interest in another man’s wife. She had just thought it happened behind closed doors, not flaunted in the faces of respectable people.

‘I have received a great many compliments on it, you know.’ Mrs Luttrell stared down into the cabinet. ‘Now I can tell everyone who asks where it was bought.’ She gave Carrie a sharp look. ‘As long as there are no more exactly the same as mine.’

‘I will guarantee there is not, Mrs Luttrell,’ Carrie said. ‘Or I will gladly refund your money.’

The woman nodded in approval. ‘Boggs,’ she called out.

The maid materialised from behind the curtain. ‘Yes, mum.’

‘Pick up the boxes. We are leaving.’

‘It is all right, Mimi, dearest,’ Lord Avery said. ‘They are two bulky for Boggs. I’ll carry them.’ He bowed to Carrie. ‘Thank you, Mrs Greystoke. I wish you good day.’