Vivi, who had overheard their conversation, stood and offered, “I should like to join you, Alex. I would benefit from a turn about the green.”
Ella spoke from her perch on the blanket, “I shall come, too!”
And with that, the three were off, walking down their little hill and onto the greensward. Alex set the pace, her long legs eating up the ground as she marched away from the group, Ella and Vivi rushing to catch up.
“It’s utterly remarkable how a perfectly pleasant afternoon can be ruined by the arrival of one unpleasant person.”
Vivi spoke drily, “Are we talking about Penelope? Or Blackmoor?”
“If we keep going at this pace,” said Ella, “I’m not going to be talking much at all…I’ll need all the breath I have just to keep from swooning for lack of air.”
Alex slowed her strides. “We’re talking about both! Though, to be fair, she’s always unpleasant. What befuddles me is that he seems to be becoming unpleasant himself…as he becomes more and more enamored of her!”
“With all due respect, Alex, you seem slightly more than befuddled. You seem…” Vivi paused, searching for the word.
“Furious,” Ella supplied frankly.
“I’m not furious,” Alex said in frustration, “but besides not understanding what he sees in her…I simply find it unbelievable that he would think he could speak to me as if I were a child! It makes me…” She stopped, at a loss for words.
“Furious?” Ella offered.
Alex threw her a glare. “Irritated.”
“Blackmoor seems just as chivalrous as always to me,” said Vivi. “Although, considering his prior warnings to you about Stanhope, it wouldn’t surprise me if he were slightly unnerved by the portrait the two of you were making.”
“It would serve him right!” Then, forgetting her ire momentarily, Alex turned to Vivi. “What portrait? We were simply enjoying our afternoon. Stanhope has been a perfect gentleman.”
“That may well be the case, Alex, but the two of you did appear rather…” Vivi let her sentence trail off.
“Cozy.” This, again, from Ella.
“Must you finish all her sentences?” Alex gave Ella an exasperated look.
Ella smiled brightly. “It’s a particular skill.”
“Stanhope and I were not ‘cozy.’ We were having a perfectly harmless conversation until Blackmoor appeared with that awful…”
“Penelope.” In the pause that followed her addition, Ella looked innocently at Alex, a twinkle in her cornflower-blue eyes.
Unable to be angry with her friend, Alex chuckled and wagged a finger in warning. “Ella. You tread on thin ice.”
“Ah, but you must admit, my ability to exasperate is part of my charm.”
“You have charm?”
Vivi answered with laughter in her voice, “A very small amount. If you blink, you might miss it.”
“Oh!” Ella cried out in mock offense, and the three laughed together.
Alex smiled and continued, “I suppose I shouldn’t let them mar an otherwise lovely day. I shall rise above it.”
Vivi nodded. “Very generous of you.”
“Thank you. I rather thought so.”
Ella spoke, squinting at a figure approaching them. “Is that Baron Montgrave? It is! Vivi, you have to meet him. He’s got some fascinating tales—you’re going to just adore him.”
“Well, considering your eagerness to reacquaint yourself with him…I find I am quite eager myself.” Vivi looked toward the tall Frenchman and continued, “If what you both say of the baron is true, he’s bound to be the most interesting part of the afternoon.”
Alex spoke under her breath as the baron drew near, “That’s not saying much, considering the recent less than scintillating addition of Penelope to the afternoon.”
Ella turned back at Alex’s sarcasm. “As your friend, I feel I must tell you that you’re becoming obsessed.”
“I am not obsessed! I simply—”
“Baron Montgrave!” Ella spoke cheerfully as the Frenchman reached them. “What a pleasure to see you! You’ve rescued us from an afternoon filled with repetitive conversation!”
Standing slightly behind her friend, Alex poked Ella in the back none too lightly and over her quiet “Ow!” pasted a smile on her face to rival her friend’s. “Indeed, my lord, you are well met.”
Bowing deeply, the baron returned the girls’ smiles. “Surely it is you who have rescued me, my ladies. Fortune appears to have smiled upon me to have provided me with such elegant company.”
Alex turned to Vivi. “My lord, may I introduce our dear friend Lady Vivian Markwell? Lady Vivian, I present the Baron Montgrave.”
“Enchantée.” The baron bowed low over Vivian’s hand. “I know your father well and have heard him speak of you with great pride. It is an honor to meet you finally.”
Vivi fell into a deep curtsy and met the baron’s warm gaze. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lord. What brings you to this meadow by the Serpentine today?”
“One can never have too many afternoon walks in the beautiful weather. That is something I learned in the country and I am loathe to forget it now in the bustle of the city.”
Alex smiled. “Well said, Baron. I imagine that, after a lifetime in France, you must find us rather soggy.”
With a chuckle, the baron nodded in agreement as Ella spoke. “We were taking advantage of this lovely weather ourselves, as it happens. Would you care to join our little party, my lord?” She extended her hand to indicate the cluster of young people up on the knoll.