“How are you holding up?” he whispered to Cassandra. “Nerves not getting the best of you, I hope.”
She smiled and shook her head softly. “No. I’m quite fine.”
“Excellent.” He returned her smile before turning back to Lucy. “Now, what is it the two of you wanted to see me about? I can only imagine. Please tell me it has nothing to do with your Mrs. Bunbury plot. I refuse to be a part of it.”
Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and strode toward him. “It’s nothing to do with that. We just wondered where you’d got off to last night.”
Garrett narrowed his eyes on his cousin. Did they know? No. They couldn’t possibly.
“‘Off to last night’?” he repeated, shoving his hands in his pockets in his best effort to appear casual.
“Yes, we didn’t see you at the ball after a bit. We were looking for you,” Cassandra added.
“I had a great deal to drink last night. Thanks to your brother. I believe I retired earlier than usual.”
“Ah, so you went to bed?” Lucy prodded.
“Yes, after a bit,” he replied.
“What were you doing before that?” Lucy asked.
Cassandra’s cheeks flamed bright pink. Oh, bloody hell. They knew something.
“I was…” He took a breath. “I went to the upstairs drawing room. I was looking at the portraits.”
“Looking at the portraits in the upstairs drawing room?” Lucy repeated, making “looking at the portraits” sound positively lascivious.
“Yes. I was quite fascinated by them.” Wasn’t it time to leave for the picnic? He tugged at his cravat. It was hot in here. He needed fresh air.
“Fascinated by the portraits?” Lucy echoed.
He opened his mouth to speak but Cassandra interrupted. “Were you with Mrs. Langford last night?”
His eyebrows shot up. Holy Christ, is that what they thought? “What exactly are you asking, Cassandra?”
Cassandra’s cheeks turned pinker. “I mean, were you, were you looking at the portraits with her?”
“No.”
“Who were you looking at the portraits with?” Lucy countered.
Garrett narrowed his eyes on both of them. “Why are you two so interested in what I was up to last night?” If they knew what he’d actually been doing, and with whom, they wouldn’t be asking these questions. He was quite safe.
“No reason,” Cassandra answered quickly, but Cassandra was a rubbish liar. They were both suspicious of … something.
“Lucy,” Garrett said in a warning tone, “I hope this has nothing to do with your promise to find a wife for me after you’re done with your whatever-it-is with Miss Lowndes. I assure you I’m in no need of a wife and there is absolutely nothing going on between myself and Isabella Langford.”
Lucy raised her brows, too, but the skepticism was apparent on her face.
“Promise me you’ll leave any sort of matchmaking on my behalf well and truly alone.”
Lucy shrugged one shoulder. “I have absolutely no intention of matching you with Mrs. Langford. Not to worry, my dear cousin.”
“Thank you,” Garrett said. “Now, I’m going out to the foyer to join the others for the picnic.”
“We’ll be along,” Lucy replied simply, studying her gloves.
“Yes.” Cass nodded rapidly.
“Good.” Garrett made his way to the door as quickly as he could without looking as if he were trying to be quick about it. He had no desire to answer more questions from these two busybodies. Not today.
He breathed a sigh of relief as the drawing room door shut behind him. What did they know? Or did they only suspect? He sent up a prayer to the heavens, hoping it was merely conjecture.
* * *
After the door shut behind Garrett, Lucy turned to Cass and raised one eyebrow. “We have just been lied to.”
Cass took a deep breath. “It does appear so, yes.”
“And not just by Garrett, but by Jane as well,” Lucy added.
“Do you think it’s possible they each don’t know it was the other? They were both wearing dominoes, and Janie wasn’t wearing her spectacles.”
Lucy tapped a finger against her cheek. “It’s possible, I suppose, but if they didn’t know, they wouldn’t be working so hard to keep it from us. Garrett might, as he’d hardly be one to kiss and tell, but Janie, no. Janie is deliberately keeping this from us.”
Cass’s eyes were wide as saucers. “You don’t suppose they kissed, do you?”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine it. But I do wonder what they did together after they sneaked off. Obviously something they don’t want either of us to know about.”