Lord Drakely started up the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Wait there and I’ll escort you down.”
She stopped and waited for him. He reached her side and offered her his arm. Flashing him a game smile, she took his arm and let him escort her down the stairs and to the foyer where Links was waiting to help them into their evening coats.
Both of them kissed the girls and extracted promises they’d be on their best behavior for the house staff.
Lord Drakely handed Juliet into the carriage. The heat of his strong fingers branded her hand through both of their gloves. She quickly took a seat.
He grinned and sat down across from her. “I don’t want to crush your gown,” he murmured.
She didn’t know if that was the truth or not, but she really didn’t mind either way.
The carriage lurched forward and Juliet’s hands gripped onto whatever solid surface she could find and held on with every bit of strength she possessed until they arrived at Watson Estate.
“Have you met Lord Watson before?” Lord Drakely asked just as abruptly as the carriage halted behind the line of slow moving carriages that were waiting their turn to unload.
She bit her lip and nodded. Thankfully it was still light enough outside for him to be able to see her simple gesture. She prayed he wouldn’t ask her how they’d met. She’d be rather embarrassed to admit she would have married the current baron had he been interested in her, but alas, he hadn’t been. Just like her current husband. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Good,” he said easily. “Then you won’t be put off by his inane science ramblings. It still amazes me the man was able to find a wife.” He shrugged. “But then again, Caroline has some of the same tendencies.”
“Do you not like science?” she asked, unsure why she was so interested.
He shrugged again. “It’s an adequate pursuit for someone else, I suppose, just never held my fancy.”
Juliet smiled. She couldn’t place the exact reason, but she liked knowing they had something in common, even if was only their lack of scientific interest.
“Does science interest you?” Lord Drakely asked, the incredulous look on his face worth any price.
She bit her lip and cocked her head to the side, desperately racking her brain for any scientific fact Alex had told her that dreadfully boring weekend she’d spent at Watson Estate three years ago. “Well, I’m not champing at the bit to join the Society of Biological Matters,” she began slowly, “I find myself drawn more to astronomy and physics. One of my favorite topics to discuss is how Ole Romer came up with his formula using orbital mechanics of Jupiter’s moons to measure the speed of light.”
Lord Drakely blinked at her. “Please do not repeat that sentence ever again.”
Juliet grinned at him. “Why?”
“It scares me.”
“It scares you that a woman has a brain?”
He shook his head. “No. Not at all. I prefer academics to featherbrains, actually. However, I do not wish to be present for the discussion that would follow if you were to repeat your interest in orbital mechanics and Jupiter’s moons in front of either Lord Watson or Caroline.”
“Have no fear, I’ve already learned my lesson.”
He chuckled. “Caroline can chat your ear off about science nonsense, can’t she?”
“So can Alex,” Juliet mumbled.
“Do you know him well?” Lord Drakely asked, his head cocked in interest.
“No,” she said with a sigh. She might as well tell him the embarrassing truth now before someone else let it slip tonight. “I went to school with Alex’s sister, Edwina, and came to visit for a weekend.”
He shot her an amused expression. “I take it you two didn’t suit.”
She shook her head ruefully. “Not hardly. But on a positive note, I learned far more about science during that weekend than I did all six years at Sloan’s.”
His shoulders shook with mirth as his low, rich laughter filled the carriage. “You’re likely right. Is it fair to assume you two became well acquainted that weekend?”
“I wouldn’t say we became overly familiar, no,” she explained carefully. “But I’d say we spent enough time together for me to become acquainted well enough with his conversational habits.”
“And feel comfortable using his first name,” Lord Drakely mused.
Heat crept up Juliet’s face. “It’s not what you think.”
Lord Drakely flicked his wrist dismissively. “I’m not concerned about your use of his name, however, I would like it if you’d use mine, too.”