Page 104 of The Wallflower Takes All

“Yes,” Poppy breathed. “I know. I am reckless, not insensible.”

Georgie squeezed her hand. “But hearts do not obey convenience.”

“No,” Bea said, “which is why they so often require supervision.”

“Bea.” Georgie gave her a pleading look.

Bea lifted one shoulder. “I am not wrong.”

“No,” Georgie admitted. “Only brisk.”

Poppy looked between them. “Gabriel sees me.”

Georgie’s expression softened.

Bea’s fierce practicality gentled too, though she did not interrupt.

“Other men see Mama,” Poppy said. “They see the noise, the gossip, the unpaid bills, the mysterious guests, the latest thing she has signed or promised or set on fire. Then, if they notice me at all, they see the woman trying to quiet it down. The useful one. The apologetic one. The woman with a list.”

Her throat tightened, but she kept her voice steady. “Gabriel sees when I am frightened even if I smile. He sees when I straighten things because I cannot set anything else to rights. He understands that I love Mama and resent her in the same breath. He makes me laugh when I have forgotten I can. He helps without making me feel foolish for needing help.”

“And,” Georgie said, a little smile returning, “he is not half-bad at kissing.”

Poppy’s cheeks heated again. “Not at all.”

Bea regarded her for a long moment before drumming her fingertips atop the table. “This is profoundly inconvenient.”

“Yes,” Poppy agreed.

“I dislike it,” Bea continued.

“I suspected you might,” Poppy replied.

“But I do not dislike him,” Bea said.

Poppy smiled despite herself. From Bea, that was nearly an embrace.

Bea sat back and reached for her teacup. “We must proceed carefully. Mr. Ashby must decide what he intends. You must not surrender every other possibility while he is deciding. For that reason, Lady Lemonwood’s ball tomorrow evening will be useful. Half the unmarried peers in London are expected to attend.”

Poppy frowned. “I thought Lady Lemonwood despised Mama.”

“She does,” Bea said. “But she respects my title, and Nicholas has known her son since Eton. I sent a note this morning requesting invitations for you both.”

Poppy’s heart lifted cautiously. “Do you think she will agree?”

Bea took a sip of tea. “She will if she possesses any sense.”

Georgie and Poppy exchanged a look.

That was not quite an answer.

Chapter Seventeen

When Poppy returned home, the front hall contained two footmen, three open crates, one ladder, Freddie’s abandoned ribbon, and a stranger measuring the width of the passage with a length of string.

Poppy stopped just inside the door.

The stranger looked up. “Miss Montfort?”