“Smart girl,” Lady D said approvingly.
“I learn from the master.”
Lady Danbury beamed. “Insolence aside,” she continued determinedly, gesturing toward Gareth as if he were some sort of zoological specimen, “he really is an exceptional grandson. Couldn’t have asked for more.”
Gareth watched with amusement as Hyacinth murmured something that was meant to convey her agreement without actually doing so.
“Of course,” Grandmother Danbury added with a dismissive wave of her hand, “he hasn’t much in the way of competition. The rest of them have only three brains to share among them.”
Not the most ringing of endorsements, considering that she had twelve living grandchildren.
“I’ve heard some animals eat their young,” Gareth murmured, to no one in particular.
“This being a Tuesday,” his grandmother said, ignoring his comment completely, “what brings you by?”
Gareth wrapped his fingers around the book in his pocket. He’d been so intrigued by its existence since Caroline had handed it over that he had completely forgotten about his grandmother’s weekly visit with Hyacinth Bridgerton. If he’d been thinking clearly, he would have waited until later in the afternoon, after she had departed.
But now he was here, and he had to give them some reason for his presence. Otherwise—God help him—his grandmother would assume he’d come because of Miss Bridgerton, and it would take months to dissuade her of the notion.
“What is it, boy?” his grandmother asked, in her inimitable way. “Speak up.”
Gareth turned to Hyacinth, slightly pleased when she squirmed a little under his intent stare. “Why do you visit my grandmother?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Because I like her.”
And then she leaned forward and asked, “Why do you visit her?”
“Because she’s my—” He stopped, caught himself. He didn’t visit just because she was his grandmother. Lady Danbury was a number of things to him—trial, termagant, and bane of his existence sprang to mind—but never a duty. “I like her, too,” he said slowly, his eyes never leaving Hyacinth’s.
She didn’t blink. “Good.”
And then they just stared at each other, as if trapped in some sort of bizarre contest.
“Not that I have any complaints with this particular avenue of conversation,” Lady Danbury said loudly, “but what the devil are the two of you talking about?”
Hyacinth sat back and looked at Lady Danbury as if nothing had happened. “I have no idea,” she said blithely, and proceeded to sip at her tea. Setting the cup back in its saucer, she added, “He asked me a question.”
Gareth watched her curiously. His grandmother wasn’t the easiest person to befriend, and if Hyacinth Bridgerton happily sacrificed her Tuesday afternoons to be with her, that was certainly a point in her favor. Not to mention that Lady Danbury hardly liked anyone, and she raved about Miss Bridgerton at every possible opportunity. It was, of course, partly because she was trying to pair the two of them up; his grandmother had never been known for her tact or subtlety.
But still, if Gareth had learned one thing over the years, it was that his grandmother was a shrewd judge of character. And besides, the diary was written in Italian. Even if it did contain some indiscreet secret, Miss Bridgerton would hardly know.
His decision made, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the book.
Chapter 4
At which point Hyacinth’s life finally becomes almost as exciting as Priscilla Butterworth’s. Minus the cliffs, of course . . .
Hyacinth watched with interest as Mr. St. Clair appeared to hesitate. He glanced over at her, his clear blue eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly before he turned back to his grandmother. Hyacinth tried not to look too interested; he was obviously trying to decide if he should mention his business in her presence, and she suspected that any interference on her part would cause him to keep his counsel.
But apparently she passed muster, because after a brief moment of silence, he reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a small, leather-bound book.
“What is this?” Lady Danbury asked, taking it into her hands.
“Grandmother St. Clair’s diary,” he replied. “Caroline brought it over this afternoon. She found it among George’s effects.”
“It’s in Italian,” Lady D said.
“Yes, I was aware.”
“I meant, why did you bring it to me?” she asked, somewhat impatiently.
Mr. St. Clair gave her a lazy half smile. “You are always telling me you know everything, or if not everything, then everyone.”
“You said that to me earlier this afternoon,” Hyacinth put in helpfully.
Mr. St. Clair turned to her with a vaguely patronizing, “Thank you,” which arrived at precisely the same moment as Lady Danbury’s glare.
Hyacinth squirmed. Not at Lady D’s glare—she was quite impervious to those. But she hated this feeling that Mr. St. Clair thought her deserving of condescension.
“I was hoping,” he said to his grandmother, “that you might know of a reputable translator.”
“For Italian?”
“It would seem to be the required language.”
“Hmmph.” Lady D tap tap tapped her cane against the carpet, much the way a normal person would drum fingers atop a table. “Italian? Not nearly as ubiquitous as French, which of course any decent person would—”
“I can read Italian,” Hyacinth interrupted.
Two identical pairs of blue eyes swung her direction.
“You’re joking,” Mr. St. Clair said, coming in a mere half second before his grandmother barked, “You can?”
“You don’t know everything about me,” Hyacinth said archly. To Lady Danbury, of course, since Mr. St. Clair could hardly make that claim.
“Well, yes, of course,” Lady D blustered, “but Italian?”
“I had an Italian governess when I was small,” Hyacinth said with a shrug. “It amused her to teach me. I’m not fluent,” she allowed, “but given a page or two, I can make out the general meaning.”
“This is quite more than a page or two,” Mr. St. Clair said, tilting his head toward the diary, which still rested in his grandmother’s hands.
“Clearly,” Hyacinth replied peevishly. “But I’m not likely to read more than a page or two at a time. And she didn’t write it in the style of the ancient Romans, did she?”
“That would be Latin,” Mr. St. Clair drawled.
Hyacinth clamped her teeth together. “Nevertheless,” she ground out.
“For the love of God, boy,” Lady Danbury cut in, “give her the book.”
Mr. St. Clair forbore to point out that she was still holding it, which Hyacinth thought showed remarkable restraint on his part. Instead, he rose to his feet, plucked the slim volume from his grandmother’s hands, and turned toward Hyacinth. He hesitated then—just for a moment, and Hyacinth would have missed it had she been looking anywhere but directly at his face.
He brought the book to her then, holding it out with a softly murmured, “Miss Bridgerton.”