Page 100 of The Unfortunate Debutante
The butler cracked a smile. “The entire entry hall is already filled. Would you mind if we started stacking the flowers on the table, at least, until we find enough vases?”
“Please,” she said in a surprised tone, walking over and accepting the bouquet from him. “Was there a card with these?”
Munro extended a card towards her before he snapped his fingers. Two footmen each brought in a stack of large bouquets in their hands and placed them onto the long table. Then again… and again. Before long, the end of the table was filled with flowers.
Turning her attention away from the extravagant number of flowers on the table, Emma unfolded the card.
A flowerfor every moment I thought of you last night. – Simeon.
Taking the card,she pressed it up against her chest and sighed.
“You sound content,” Rachel remarked. “May I take a guess and say those flowers are from Lord Wentworth?”
“They are,” she replied, smiling.
Munro stepped back into the room. “Lord Wentworth is here to see Miss Pearson. Are you available for callers?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“I am,” she answered, tucking the note into her pocket.
“Very good, miss,” he said. “I will show him to the drawing room.”
Rachel beamed over at her. “Good luck, Emma.”
“Why exactly does Emma need luck to speak to Wentworth?” Luke grumbled.
Walking out into the entry hall, she stopped by a mirror and smoothed out her yellow gown with puffy sleeves. She was grateful that she’d spent extra time on her person this morning. Peggy had created an elaborate hairstyle in hopes that Simeon would call on her.
She’d never felt beautiful before, but Simeon looked at her in such a way that she felt beautiful, inside and out.
Emma took a deep breath to gather courage, knowing it was silly to be nervous. Simeon had bought every flower in London for her. He had to have some deep feelings for her.
She stepped into the drawing room and saw Simeon was sharply dressed in a royal blue riding jacket, a matching waistcoat, and buff trousers. His brown hair had been brushed forward and his long sideburns were nicely trimmed. He was fidgeting with the black top hat in his hand.
His eyes lit up when he saw her. “Morning, Emma. I hope I did not call too early.”
Walking further into the room, she replied in an overeager voice, “Not at all.”
Simeon lifted his brow, but thankfully, he didn’t address her high-pitched tone. “I was hoping to speak to you about an urgent matter?”
“Urgent? Is everything all right?” she asked, growing concerned.
“Oh, yes,” he rushed to correct. “It’s more private in nature.”
“Private?”
Simeon ran his hand through his hair. “I rehearsed this speech about a hundred times in the carriage ride over.”
“And what speech is that?”
He pointed towards the settee. “Please have a seat and allow me to explain.”
Emma sat where he indicated and was pleased when he sat next to her. He angled his body to face her. “When I first met you, I found you to be irksome and meddling.”
“To be clear, are you insulting me?” she asked in confusion.
“No, no… that’s not my intention,” he said before his shoulders slumped. “You should’ve heard my speech in the carriage. It was brilliant.”
She smiled encouragingly. “Please proceed. I find myself to be most curious.”
