“What have you got there?” I asked as she stuffed whatever she was reading into her bag.
I dipped to peek at what she was looking at. “Columbia University?” I asked, reading the title of the booklet just before she put it away.
“Oh, nothing, just some research. Ready?” She linked her arm through mine and we ascended the pale stone steps to the entrance.
Violet picked up an information leaflet from the dresser in the hallway. “Where should we start?”
I nodded, indicating that we turn right into the library-dining room. As she stepped into the room, Violet tipped her head back and turned three hundred and sixty degrees, taking in the blood-red walls stuffed with paintings and sculptures and the glass bookcases on either side of the room. “It’s wonderful. Like he could still be living here.”
“They have dinners in here sometimes. It’s all served by candlelight just like it would have been when he was alive.”
“Sounds romantic. You’ve been?” she asked.
“Yes, although it was a thing chambers did, so it wasn’t romantic.” Having dinner here with Violet would be romantic, though. Eating dinner by candlelight would be nice—perhaps I should suggest it sometime. I continued to watch Violet’s reactions as she took in the room. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. It was like being with her energized me, filled me up, and I didn’t want to spill a drop.
“What are your plans for this weekend?” I asked as we made our way out and into a cramped study that was nothing more than a through room. Perhaps I could take her to dinner somewhere nice, somewhere she’d think was romantic.
“I told you, my brother and sister are coming over from the States with all their kids.”
“Oh that’s right. For Thanksgiving.” I wouldn’t see her for the whole weekend. “You’re not in London, right?”
“I have four days of vacation,” she said, squeezing my arm, then releasing it and walking ahead of me as the corridor got narrower.
“Four days?” I asked.
“This place is crazy,” Violet said, ignoring my question.
We were surrounded by exits to different routes, doorways, corridors, steps into smaller rooms.
“It’s like Alice in Wonderland or something,” she continued. “Yes, I’m going up to Woolton on Wednesday night.” She grinned. “Darcy’s cute; she’s doing candied yams, cornbread—the whole nine yards.”
“Sounds good. You looking forward to seeing everyone?”
Her eyes widened and she patted me on the lapel. “Of course. I never thought I’d say it, but I miss my sister.”
My gut tugged at the thought of her having fun without me. At the idea of not seeing her for four days. “You’ll come back humming the Star-Spangled Banner.”
“If you’re lucky, I’ll come back wrapped in one.” She winked.
I pulled her toward me. “You could dress up tonight.” I dropped a kiss on her lips. My nights were increasingly spent with Violet. More and more often, I ended up at her place when I left work and I was staying over more frequently. It was where I wanted to be.
When I pulled back, she looked at me as if she wanted to say something but was stopping herself. “What?” I asked.
She shrugged and turned away, heading deeper into the house. “You could come if you want. I mean, I know you’re too busy, but if you wanted to, just for an evening, you’d be welcome.”
I swallowed. She was inviting me? Away for the weekend, to meet her family?
“I don’t expect you to say yes. I just thought . . .” She gazed up at the wall covered in trinkets that Sir John had collected on his extensive travels. She was trying to avoid my eyes.
I had a lot of work to do. A huge amount. But the idea of being with Violet and away from London had me mentally planning how I could rearrange things. “Maybe I could,” I replied.
“It will be crazy. I don’t expect you to say yes. I just—”
“I want to come, Violet.”
She turned to look at me, finally. “You do?”
I hated that she was so surprised—that she assumed she wasn’t important enough that I’d make the time. But she had no reason to react in any other way. Work always came first. “Yes. I probably can’t come for the whole weekend, but maybe for Thanksgiving itself.”
She stopped and looked at me as if she hadn’t heard me right. “But that’s on a Thursday.”
“You sound surprised,” I said as if she had no reason to be. She wasn’t the only one who could tease.
She burst into laughter. “I have no idea why. I mean, you’re forever slacking off work.”
“I’m seizing the day, Violet.”
She slipped her hands around my waist, and I pulled her toward me. “I’d like that,” she said quietly, almost as if it were a confession. And my chest expanded, as if I’d scored a victory. Surprising Violet, making her happy, felt like the biggest achievement in my week. I’d never experienced anything like it outside of the law.
Twenty-Seven
Violet
The dining room at Woolton had been set up buffet style so we could eat dinner when we liked, but we were all too busy talking and catching up and we had to save ourselves for a Thanksgiving feast tomorrow anyway. Even though there were only six of us and the kids, it seemed as though the entire house was full. As much as I complained and bitched about my brother and sister, I couldn’t ever remember being so happy to see them.
I stood with my arm around Scarlett’s waist. “You look fantastic, Duchess,” I said.
She giggled. “Don’t call me that. It sounds like you’re trying to be down with the kids.”
“I’ve called you worse.”
“True. So how’s England? I haven’t heard from you this week.”
“I’m enjoying it.”
“Well you look fantastic. I love this dress.” She glanced down at my bottle-green, silk dress. “It’s a bit of a departure from your normal boho thing.”
The dress had been a gift from Alexander. I’d told him to stop buying me stuff, but he’d said that since he’d bought me the skirt, the retailer was following him around the internet with ads of things he thought I’d like, so he kept clicking. And I enjoyed how he always noticed when I wore them.
“That’s what love will do,” Darcy said.
“Stop it, Darcy. You know I don’t believe in that shit.” David had taught me that love really was blind and I’d taken my blinders off.
“I’m really hoping to catch a glimpse of this guy while I’m here. Any guy who’s managed to hold your attention for longer than a week intrigues me. I’m going to come to London for the day and rock up to your work when you least expect it.”
Darcy frowned and my stomach churned. I hadn’t told Scarlett Alexander was coming tomorrow. Darcy knew, obviously, as she’d suggested it and had to know numbers for lunch tomorrow. I’d fully expected Alexander to drop out because of a last-minute work emergency, but so far nothing had come up, which was making me a little nervous—this wasn’t like him. I didn’t know what was scarier—Alexander showing up, or Alexander blowing me off.
“You won’t have to wait until next week,” Darcy said, interrupting my thoughts. “We all get to meet him tomorrow.”