“Thank you, no,” Nick said, his lips twitching slightly. “I am content with my coffee.”
“Well, then, be back in a tick with the rest o’ yer grub, miss.”
Emma held her breath until he departed; then, unable to contain her mirth any longer, she let out a laugh. Catching her gaze, Nick joined her. “Mr. Symms has his work cut out for him if you ever plan to hold an entertainment,” she said once she had recovered her voice.
Tiny lines fanned out along the corners of Nick’s eyes. “Luckily for me, I have no such plans.”
“Not even for your investiture?”
His smile fell away, replaced by a rueful grimace. “No, most especially not for that.”
She thought of the maid’s comment that he’d been forced to resign his naval career in order to assume his brother’s title. Did he miss commanding a ship? Gazing at him now, she rather suspected he did.
Taking up the cream pitcher, she added a splash of milk, then two small lumps of sugar. She nearly sighed in bliss as she took a first sip, finding the brew both sweet and aromatic. “Will your aunt be joining us for breakfast, or does she plan to meet us later for our excursion?” she asked as she set her cup back in its saucer.
He paused for a moment, an unreadable expression in his eyes. “Neither. She sends her regrets concerning today’s outing. Her maid informs me that my aunt is entirely too exhausted from yesterday’s travels and for the sake of her health must remain abed.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “But I thought she lived here in London?”
“She does,” Nick said in a rueful tone. “Apparently the half-mile journey was simply too much for her nerves.”
“Oh.” She picked up her fork and stabbed a slice of orange. “I am sorry to hear she is unwell. Perhaps she will recover and change her mind by ten o’clock.”
“I greatly doubt it,” he said with blunt honesty. “Once Aunt Felicity takes to her bed, she generally lies in state with all the pomp of the queen. She may put in an appearance at dinner.” He drank more coffee. “Then again, she may not.”
Emma laid down her fork, unable to contain the disappointment creeping through her. “Does this mean our excursion is canceled?”
“Not necessarily,” he told her. “Of course, I shall understand if you would rather not go.”
“No!” she shot back quickly. “I want to go. If you still do, that is.”
“Well, I had cleared my calendar for the day,” he said. “So long as we take the curricle, I can see no harm in us proceeding without my aunt.”
“Nor I,” she agreed, hiding a gleeful smile. Taking up her fork again, she ate a cube of pineapple, then followed it with a slice of pear.
“I thought,” he said, relaxing in his seat, “that you might enjoy a visit to Astley’s.”
“Astley’s Royal Amphitheatre, you mean?” She couldn’t contain the spark of excitement that spread through her like a match set to tinder.
“So you’ve heard of it?”
“Of course. Hasn’t everyone?”
He laughed. “Then I take it you do not object to the idea?”
“Not at all. It is a wonderful suggestion, my lord.”
In fact, Emma mused, she couldn’t have thought of a better one. She wanted to experience London, but more than that she wanted to experience a side of London that a princess would not ordinarily see. Despite the Royal in its name, Astley’s Royal Amphitheatre was not one of the places of which her brother or chaperones would approve, however popular it might have been with London’s fashionable younger set.
An equestrian circus, even one indoors, would be packed with common folk, the masses jostling and laughing in ways both wild and vulgar—or so she would be warned. “Do not be absurd, Your Highness,” she could imagine the duchess saying as the older woman stared down her nose. “Royalty does not mingle with rabble. I cannot imagine why you would even entertain such a dangerous and disgraceful notion.”
But this week, she wanted to be dangerous. As for disgraceful… well, she would see what transpired in the days ahead.
“I must warn you beforehand,” Nick continued, “that the place is overwarm and crowded, smells of sweat, straw, and horseflesh.”
Even better, she thought.
“However, the show is highly entertaining and an experience no one should miss. Shall we plan on attending, then?”
“Yes, my lord.”
He chuckled at her enthusiasm.
Bell entered a moment later and set a plate before her with a flourish. Her eyes widened at the sight of more food than she could possibly eat. Even so, her stomach rumbled appreciatively, the scent of the eggs and hash absolutely mouthwatering. The footman poured more tea for her, then replenished the coffee in Nick’s cup.