Eloise Bridgerton

Eloise Bridgerton - Chapter 19

Theo looked at himself in the mirror. He rolled his eyes as he tugged his coat.

"I will never get used to this", said Theo gazing at the coat he was wearing. "I think I preferred what I wore when I worked in the print shop."

There was a discrete knock on the door and Theo turned around to find a butler entering "The carriage is ready, my Lord"

"Carriage? Yes", asked Theo. "Where is Finch? I haven't seen him all day. I thought we were going to go over a few papers."

"I believe he said he had some work on the estate, my Lord", said the butler.

"Very well", said Theo with a small frown. "What about Mr. Red? Has he arrived from London? I wished to go over some of the estate affairs with him as well."

Another knock on the door prevented the butler from replying. As he opened the door, Vandenberg Red stood on the threshold.

"Ah Mr. Red, there you are", said Theo.

"My Lord", said Vandenberg Red, bowing as he entered the room. "Apologies for the lateness of the hour, I was delayed in London on some urgent business."

"Not at all", said Theo. "I was in fact looking for you and Finch."

"Anything in particular, my Lord?", asked Mr. Red.

"Questions about the estate", said Theo.

"Ah, I see my Lord", said Mr. Red. "Well perhaps we can leave the questions for tomorrow as I believe you are off to the Viscount's today?"

"Yes, I am", said Theo with a sigh. "I'm not sure what it's for though."

"I believe it will be an afternoon filled with tea and conversation. Possibly some shooting", said Mr. Red.

"Shooting?", asked Theo, widening his eyes. "That doesn't bode well for me. I have never gone shooting before! Shooting has always exclusively been the domain of the ton."

"Fear not, my Lord", said Mr. Red. "You can simply excuse yourself from the activity after tea. Say you have to come back to the estate."

"Yes", said Theo brightening up. "There is an advantage of having an estate nearby!"

"Indeed my Lord", said Mr. Red with a smile.

Theo noted the tightness of the smile and asked "Are you quite alright, Mr. Red?"

"Yes, my Lord. I wanted to speak to you about a few issues but it can wait", replied Mr. Red.

"Issues? Is something wrong?", asked Theo, looking concerned.

"Nothing to worry about tonight, my Lord. We can discuss it tomorrow. It's nothing urgent. Probably a minor matter of me miscalculating."

"I can look at it....", said Theo hurrying to his desk.

"I would advise against that, my Lord", said Mr. Red. "The Viscount doesn't take kindly to tardiness. This is the first time the ton will be seeing you in the countryside where conversation is more informal and it wouldn't do if you are late."

"Very well", said Theo with a sigh. "First thing tomorrow then?"

"Yes, my Lord", said Mr. Red bowing.

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"It's always quite surprising the number of people who make the trip from London to the country to speak to the same individuals on the same subjects", Eloise commented to Benedict in annoyance.