Seeking Philbert Woodbead ( A Madcap Regency Romance ) (The Fairweather Sisters) by Anya Wylde

discover them, Lord Elmer grabbed
Celine and dragged her through the nearest door.
    They found
themselves in a coat closet where they decided to bide their time until the
threat looming outside receded.
    A fur coat
tickled Celine’s nose. She sneezed.
    On the
fifth sneeze Lord Elmer launched into speech, “Now, listen to me, I want you to
meet me in the library tonight after dinner. Get the painting that has the clue
of your fat poet’s whereabouts. Don’t forget, at nine sharp I will see you
there.”
    “But—”
    “No buts.”
    “But—”
    He made an
impatient noise, “The doting grandmother that is the dowager will come flying
home the moment the new babe is born. And you, my dear, will be politely but
firmly sent back to Finnshire. The babe will be here soon, Amy, and we are
running out of time. Your chance of finding Puff Guts, I mean your poet, is
now.”
    “I know
that.”
    “Then why
are you wasting so much time. We have to work quickly. I will see you tonight.”
    “I don’t think
it is seemly.”
    “You are
having an affair with a fat poet called Woodbead. You are doing this behind
your beloved sister’s back, and you are telling me that my innocent offer of
helping you is not seemly?”
    “I don’t think
you should get involved. This is my problem.”
    “Celine,
this job needs a man of wit, sensitivity, poise, creativity and good looks. How
can you even doubt that I am not the man for the job? This problem of yours
needs me, Celine, me,” he said jabbing a finger into his chest. “Besides, I am
a man and you can’t do half the things that I can without questions being
asked.”
    “If we are
caught?”
    “You should
have thought about that before you went and fell in love.”
    “Well….”
    “Do you
even love him?”
    “Undoubtedly.”
    “You seem
reluctant to find him. I mean a woman in love is passionate. She is desperate
to find her beloved, willing to jump off cliffs and whatnot, and here you won’t
meet me at nine in the evening to research?”
    “I shall
meet you at nine.”
    He smiled like
a well fed cat, “Good, now let me leave first and you can follow in five
minutes.”
    “Fine,” was
all she could manage before he had reached the door in one stride and was out
in another.
    ***
    The clock
struck nine. It was time to meet Lord Elmer, but Celine did not move. She
closed her eyes and leaned against the cold window pane in her bedroom. She
wondered where her Philly was with a slight twinge in her heart.
    She opened
her eyes and gazed across the garden at the glistening lily pond. She did not
notice the pretty yellow lamps reflected in the dark, opaque water. Instead,
she saw her beloved Philly racing towards her on a bright summer morning.
    She
recalled how he had come skipping towards her, his bulbous cheeks pink with
pleasure. His feet had pounded on the grassy meadow frightening the birds and
the bees, his dumpy form lit from behind by the sun. He had looked like a
cherub without wings, his smile frenzied and rolling towards her at great
speed, clutching in delicate soft hands his latest poem.
    She
clutched that very poem to her chest now. Her mouth moved silently while the
words danced in her head,
     
    My love
for you, my dear red haired lass, is eternal,
    I
promise, my love, it is not nocturnal but diurnal.
    You are
my Neapolitan ice on a hot summer’s day,
    And
stuffed game and wine when the world is cold and grey.
    My heart
beats harder when I see you smile,
    Than
when I am confronted by hungry tigers and poisonous reptiles.
    Let me
confess, I spotted your ankle uncovered,
    I blush when
I think how it left me bewildered.
    Believe
me, my dear, I love you eternally,
    Truly,
my darling, it’s a love not external but arising internally.
     
    She heaved
a great sentimental sigh. Philly had said it was a love poem for her. He had
spent an entire week agonising over every sentence. Her Philly was a
perfectionist, she mused fondly, with his big cornflower blue eyes fogged up