“Mr. Penrose?” she asked with a grin.
“Yes! Let’s walk past their office, shall we?”
“Oh, Lucy, they’ve already gone. Did Mr. Penrose not tell you?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “He told me. But perhaps they were delayed.”
Kate chuckled, but she tucked her hand around Lucy’s arm and they walked toward the street where Aidan had let rooms for an office. “Are you in love, Miss Cain?”
“Come now. Surely I’m not so far gone.” But her eyes sparkled with happiness. “He told me that Mr. York looked at houses yesterday afternoon. He’s considering opening a permanent residence here.”
Kate’s heart first fell to her feet before floating high. Fear and hope tangled together and tumbled through her body. If he stayed near, she could have him whenever she liked. So many nights filled with pleasure. But if he was closer to her body, he’d be closer to her secrets too.
“Mr. York is apparently very impressed with our shipyards,” Lucy said with a droll look.
Kate ignored that. “Tell me more about your Mr. Penrose.”
That did just the trick, and Lucy launched into a nearly word-for-word tale of exactly what Mr. Penrose had said to her during dinner.
“His grandfather was a ship’s captain, though his father did not care for the sea. But Mr. Penrose says he has spent all manner of time around ships, and he so understands my love for them.”
“Ah, that must have been the passion I saw in his eyes while you two spoke at dinner.”
Lucy’s happy laugh echoed off the buildings of the narrow street. “He is so very kind. I cannot explain it. I’ve spent my life around sailors and gentlemen, and while one seemed too rough, the other was always too soft. But Mr. Penrose is very . . . Oh, I cannot find the word.”
“Perhaps it’s that as Mr. York’s secretary, he stands in both worlds.”
“Perhaps. That is what I’ve always felt as well. I am the daughter of a man who was once a sailor. Yet I’m not meant for a sailor, am I? But if I married a gentleman, would he think me lucky to have him? I’d rather it be the other way around.”
Kate squeezed her arm. “But a gentleman’s secretary? What would your father say?”
“My father would say ‘Thank God’ if I chose any man. And I don’t think Mr. Penrose will be a secretary forever.”
Kate grinned. “I think you’re right.”
“But it is only a flirtation,” Lucy murmured, her head bent in thought as if she were weighing the truth of her own words. She slowed to a stop before Aidan’s office, and they both looked up at the blank window. “Mr. Penrose says he is changed here.”
“Pardon?”
“Mr. York.”
Kate cleared her throat and tugged Lucy on to continue their stroll.
“He says that Mr. York is another person here. He smiles and laughs and walks with a light step. He’s a different man.”
“That’s silly,” Kate said. “Mr. York has always been the epitome of the charming gentleman. He is well known for his good humor.”
“I don’t think you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. In fact, Mr. York said the same thing about Mr. Penrose. They are men who work together and have their gruff male conversations. That is all.”
“Kate,” she said softly. “I think he’s in love with you.”
“That’s not true! I’m married. I—”
“That’s what makes it so romantic!”
“No.” She pulled Lucy to a stop.