“I am not. There is nothing wrong with spectacles, but I can see quite well. Thank you.”
“Clearly not. If Stone sees me thus, or your brother… Surely it shall get about!”
“What shall get about?”
“That I have terrible skin. Mama already says I have a squint from all my late-night reading! She’s threatened to take my candles.”
She eyed her friend, wondering if she had lost her wits alone in her room these last days. It was imperative she be freed from her family. Of that she was certain.
“Olivia, my brother will not notice if you have two heads. He has been so distracted with business as of late, he might think you’re Louise. And the duke? He is above such things. He’s far more interested in what people have to say.”
She sighed.“I do not believe you. But thank you. Can we not avoid them?”
“Too late,” she replied, spotting her brother turning his stallion in their direction. She raised her hand and hallooed her brother and the Duke of Stone.
The gentlemen rode up to them, careful with their large beasts.
Alexander looked a trifle worse for wear, as he often did these days. Unfortunately, the passing ladies all stared, one step away from swooning at his disheveled appearance.
To her surprise, and delight given his recent worries, he managed a smile for them. “Are you two ladies enjoying the sun? How brave of you to go out without your parasols.”
“Bold, indeed!” she said brightly.“Surely, you’d expect nothing less. Brother, you remember my dear friend? You have not seen her since we went away to Vienna.”
Alexander gave a quick nod and took in Olivia, who seemed to have decided that the better part of valor was to brave it out.
She beamed up at him and gave a small salute.“The sun shall not vanquish us, my lord.”
For a single moment, his eyes widened and a look of amusement warmed his eyes.
She had not seen a spark in those depths for months. And suddenly she found herself most interested in the meeting.
Alexander cleared his throat. “Yes, I do recall the two of you were always in each other’s pockets. Were you not? But Miss Fairweather was not quite so…tall.”
“Correct on both counts,” Olivia chimed.“A pocket is a splendid place to be, in all events. Don’t you agree?”
The Duke of Stone grinned at that. “It is good to have someone to be in pockets with. That’s what you and I were like, were we not, Blackbrook?”
“You and I have gotten up to no good for a decade. If that’s what you mean,” he said with a surprisingly jovial tone, as if recalling the happiness of their antics.“Yes, a good friend is a necessary thing in this life.”
Stone adjusted his grip on his reins, keeping his stallion relaxed.“You two ladies looked as if you were having a most fascinating conversation.”
“We were discussing Olivia’s mother. She has been giving her a great deal of difficulty for all of her reading as of late,” Jack blurted.
Olivia’s eyes widened before she forced a smile to her lips.“Indeed. Mama worries for my eyesight.”
Alexander arched a brow.“Your eyesight? Your eyes seem very fine to me.”
Fine eyes? Jack perked up. Her brother had not noted a young lady’s eyes…ever. At least not one he might have the opportunity of marrying.
“I think she’s worried it will spoil Olivia’s chances of finding an admirable match,” Jack mused.
The Duke of Stone cocked his head.“You are in search of a husband, Miss Fairweather?”
“Of course she’s in search of a husband,” Jack exclaimed with annoyance.“Aren’t all ladies in search of a husband?” she asked with far too much vigor.
The Duke of Stone’s lips twitched, because he did know that she had no desire for a husband but was still required to find one.
“And is your friend as enthusiastic about the event as you?” Stone drawled.