A Gentleman Never Tells(79)

“She’s gone, Gabrie. I told you I’ve accepted the fact Prissy is gone and will not be returning.”

Her blue gaze fluttered down his face, and she gave him a compassionate smile. “You know, all the ladies—young, married, and widows—think it makes you the most dashing of gentlemen because you care so much for your deceased mother’s pet.”

Brent wasn’t sure that was how he would choose to be thought of by any lady. “No, I didn’t know that.”

“But perhaps I shouldn’t have brought up dogs at all.”

He put his hand over her muff and tried to find her hand beneath the fur. “No, I’m glad you did. And you are right. I, too, find it odd that three small dogs have now gone missing. It gives some credibility to the fact a large animal is on the prowl.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that. What do you think is happening to them, Brent?”

“I don’t know.” And he didn’t. “But I’m joining some other men, and we’re going to scour the park to see if we can find a beast.”

“I hope you do.”

They rode the rest of the way to the fair in silence.

“Oh, look,” Gabrielle said with a sparkle in her eyes and excitement in her voice. “I can see the tents. We’re almost there.”

The fair was bustling and lively with people and noise as the driver maneuvered the carriage to the parking area. Loud pianoforte music mixed with the chatter of talking and laughing. The scents of burning wood, cooked food, and animal waste lingered in the chilly air.

After the brake was set on the landau, Brent jumped down and reached back for Gabrielle. He settled his hands around her waist and lifted her from the top step of the carriage and swung her around twice before setting her on her feet.

She laughed breathlessly and said, “That was completely uncalled for, my lord.”

“But highly enjoyable, was it not?”

Her gaze stayed, and the pleasure he saw in her face made his stomach tighten. “Yes,” she said, “very much so.”

“Should I get your parasol?”

She shook her head and took her muff off and tossed it into the seat. “With so little sun out, I shall be fine without it.”

He smiled. “All right, what do you want to see first?”

Her eyes lighted with happiness. “I want to see everything, of course. Whatever we come to first, we will stop and see what is going on.”

He took hold of her hand. “Let’s go.”

The afternoon flew by for Brent. Even though the air was crisp and their hands must have been tight from cold, the acrobats managed to do amazing feats of tumbling, twirling, and swinging from ropes. They watched a man twist his body into odd and what looked like painful positions. A juggler kept five balls in the air at one time and never missed catching any of them.

With awe, they stared at a young woman dressed in what Brent could only classify as her unmentionables, which in itself was a spectacular thing to do because of the chilly air. She defied gravity by walking on a thick rope that was stretched about three-houses high, between two poles that had been erected and with nothing beneath her to catch her should she fall. They spent time watching a tiger, which Gabrielle didn’t think was very impressive at all. She said he didn’t look fierce, lying so calmly in his cage. Some youngsters walked up beside them and yelled to the big cat. They wanted him to lift his big head and growl at them, but the tiger was more interested in his nap.

Late in the afternoon, when Brent knew they must soon leave, he found a place for them to sit down near a booth that was serving hot tea and warm biscuits dusted with finely ground sugar and cinnamon. Brent could hardly eat his own biscuit for watching Gabrielle, who had removed her gloves and was daintily licking sugar from her fingertips. He was sure she had no idea how enticing she looked doing that. When his body could take no more of watching her, he knew it was time to head for the carriage and get her home. But first he intended to steal a few kisses from her tempting lips, and he had already seen the perfect place to do that on the way back to the carriage.

“There is one more thing we need to do before we go,” Gabrielle said, fitting her black gloves back on her hands.

Brent swallowed the last of his tea. “I thought we had seen and done it all,” he said.

“No, I saw the booth earlier and resisted its lure until now.”

“I’m intrigued. What haven’t we seen?”

“The fortune-teller booth.”