Rose Gardner's Florist (The Providence Street Shops #2) - Bonnie Dee Page 0,3

But Will amiably fell into step beside his friend.

Soon they were at the club, suited, masked, and thrusting foils at one another. They lunged and parried around the piste in a sportsman’s minuet.

Will was not as fit as Guy, but managed quite well when his strategic foresight met Guy’s erratic actions. As in chess, Will could calculate moves ahead, particularly knowing his friend’s style as well as he did. Ultimately, he scored the most points, vanquishing his opponent without need for a lethal blow.

Will pushed off the épée mask and ran a hand through his matted hair, blowing a breath upward to cool his face. He reached for his spectacles to wipe steam from the lenses.

Guy joined him at the side of the mat. “Half-blind and you still bested me. How is it you are so agile in a match.”

“Yet so clumsy the rest of the time?” Will completed his thought. “I cannot answer that. All I know is that I made a fool of myself today at the florist’s shop.”

“Nonsense. Very gallant of you to help Rose. I didn’t think to do so, just watched her struggle with the urn. As for knocking over the display, it was in the way. Anyone might have done so.”

“But my parting words were abysmal. Why do I grow so tongue-tied I can scarcely speak when confronted by a pretty woman—or any woman?”

“Lack of practice.” Guy gave Will a curious look. “You find Rose pretty? I suppose she is, but I hardly see it. She is like a sister.” He shed the top of his uniform, fanned himself and stated bluntly, “You fancy her.”

“I don’t even know the woman.”

“Yet you have visions of bright red hair and a saucy upturned nose dancing through your mind. Admit it.”

“That is not true.” Will turned away, heading toward the changing rooms.

Guy followed after. “I don’t know quite how I feel about that. If you were to woo her and things don’t go well, it would be awkward for me. My best friend and my business partner, not to mention Hattie’s friend. Decidedly awkward.”

“Good of you to immediately expect the worst outcome and how it might affect you.” Will rushed to add, “Not that I would attempt to woo the lady, who is far too young for an old bachelor like me.”

“Rose is twenty-two.”

“And I am thirty. Nearly a full decade’s difference. Besides which, she is bright and lively, and I am as dull as a post. A woman like her could have no interest in me whatsoever.”

“You’ve given this matter a great deal of thought for someone who isn’t interested.”

Will fell silent. Refusing to engage was the only hope of turning Guy away from a subject once he’d seized hold of it. But his friend remained doggedly determined.

“Hattie and I might invite you both to supper, giving our best friends the opportunity to become better acquainted. What could be more natural? That would give you a chance to press your cause.”

“Do not do that, I beg of you. I cannot think of a more excruciating way to spend an evening.”

Guy managed to drop the subject until they were both cleaned up, dressed, and on the street once more.

“I understand you wish to woo Rose at your own pace. But, my friend, that is often at the speed of a glacier melting. Might I make a recommendation to get you started? The woman sells flowers. You have a mother, a sister, and many aunts and female cousins. Purchase a bouquet—often. Become her best customer. When the timing is right by your prehistoric timepiece, ask her on an outing.”

“Hardy.”

“Yes, Will?”

“Do not insinuate yourself into my romantic life. I am quite content to go on exactly as I am.”

“But you could be even happier with a blue-eyed redhead, who possesses a sweet disposition seasoned with a little pepper.” Guy brandished an invisible foil. “Point.”

Chapter Two

After a busy day of helping customers and snatching time in between to fill orders, Rose was nearly too exhausted to move, let alone attend a meeting. But she had pledged herself to the Women’s Social and Political Union, which met this evening. A woman’s right to vote was a cause she believed in deeply. If she gave up simply because it was an inconvenience, what sort of suffragette was she?

In some ways life had been easier as an assistant at the millinery. After work, her evenings had been her own without the constant worry over the shop’s success. Running a store, she now appreciated