[Thomas Sterne (Aida)]

"I'm afraid we've no more copies of The Enchantress left, Captain," said the shopkeeper as he returned to his desk. "But I can make sure it will be delivered to your residence by the end of next week, if that time will be convenient for you? Would you like the book by Mr. Lane to be sent right away?"

"Hmm, yes... why not?" Thomas replied to both questions, while skimming through the pages of The Monk and the Vine-Dresser. "Oh, and about the Turkish letters..."

"Lady Mary Wort..."

"Yes, the same! Make sure it reaches its destination tomorrow!"

"Huntingdon House, Lady Imogen Rathbone."

"Yes, tomorrow, not a day sooner or later. Preferably in the morning." And after paying for the books and the delivery, Thomas left the bookshop wondering what to do next...

It had been a pleasant day so far and the siesta - which he had become somewhat addicted to - had been very refreshing after a night of revelry at White's. All the same, he was not quite convinced where he should go now. Should he pay a visit to a friend or an acquaintance? Probably not, since he was not in the mood to be trapped in a room in such a fine weather. To the park then? Not a bad idea. Though, he regretted he had not come out on horseback; still, a walk would not be necessarily disastrous - especially when he had the feeling that he was becoming rather lethargic since his return to England - and he could enjoy a tranquil sightseeing of the park's scenery.

Indeed, not only walking didn't result in boredom, but on the contrary, it proved to be very advantageous, for he had only paced the grass-clad grounds for a quarter of an hour or so when his eyes were fixed on a truly charming scene, including none other than: Mrs. Clare. Selina. Of course, he did not hesitate in making the decision that it was time to pay homage to that lovely lady, and presently he advanced towards the path upon which she sauntered like a timid bird of paradise. Once she had recognized him, he tipped his hat and bowed.

"Mrs. Clare," smiling softly, he took her hand in his and laid a tender kiss on her perfumed glove, "such a beautiful sight is indeed rare and most pleasant." It was only then that he noticed the lady's companion; a rather plain looking girl who appeared as if she had been brought out of the convent only a moment ago. Even so, it was evident from her attire that she was well-provided for. Not knowing how to address her, Thomas merely bowed his head and smiled lightly, then turned his attention back to Mrs. Clare: "I hope I am not intruding?"

[Selina Clare (Rose)]

Selina had massively enjoyed herself at the tea party (any even involving a Duchess would be most enjoyable really) though she was not sure what they had been about encouraging an acquaintance with an actress. She might be nobly born but as soon as she stepped on the stage she gave up all pretentions to nobility.

She walked back through the park with Eleanor following a step-behind, for the most part ignoring her step-daughter except to point out some nicety of expression she had heard among the aristocracy.

Had she expressed an interest in Eleanor's own visit to the Beaumonts, she would have heard how Eleanor had not liked Lady Natalie at all. She had felt she liked so many of the polite arts and refinements that she had been taught to emulate at school. She seemed overly bold and forward and Eleanor had not known how to respond to her. It was this that Eleanor pondered while saying, "Yes, Mama," or "No, Mama" as the occasion demanded.

Suddenly, Selina found herself being hailed by Captain Sterne. She beamed. She had liked the flirtatious captain very much. "Captain Sterne!" she trilled, "How delightful to see you again. And your bouquet- so charming! I was quite overcome!"

She had just been fixing a look of coy appreciation on her face when she saw his gaze drift onto Eleanor. She moved aside from the girl was standing a little behind her and said in almost an aside, "My step-daughter, Eleanor. She is not out. Tell me, pray, Captain, what brings you to Hyde Park on this windy afternoon?"

Eleanor had dropped a hasty curtsy on her introduction and then retreated to her previous position half hidden behind Selina.

[Thomas Sterne (Aida)]

After bowing his head to Mrs. Clare's statement about the bouquet, Thomas responded with an unenthusiastic "ahh... charmed!" to her explanation about the identity of her companion and smirked coolly at the girl. There was no denying that there was a certain appeal to coy young ladies who were about to make their entrance to the society - how easily they believed whatever you told them, their natural curiosity, their amusing naivety, et cetera, et cetera - but for now...

"I confess I did not have any intention of coming to the Park when I left the house this afternoon," he replied, "though at some point the thought crossed my mind that a walk would not be a bad idea." A playful curve appeared on the left corner of his lips as he continued: "it seems that this idea did turn out to be unexpectedly delightful."

At that moment, he remembered Lady Beaumont's words about Mrs. Clare's daughter and it occurred to him that she must have meant the beautiful widow's step-daughter. So much the better, as children could be nuisances in some particular circumstances! Although, he could not but wonder how Mrs. Clare's children would look like if she were to have any of her own. Most probably they would be precious little things like their mother...

"Would you be so kind as to give me the honour of a walk, Madam?" said Thomas, offering the lady his arm while looking at her with a calm gaze.

[Selina Clare (Rose)]

Selina took Captain Sterne's arm with delight and a murmured, "It would be my pleasure, Captain."

She liked the Captain more and more. He was gallant, charming and he paid just the suitable amount of attention to Eleanor, that is, none at all. She only briefly turned to check that the girl was following and fixed her with a glare that told her as well as anything to keep quiet. Fortunately, Eleanor was good at this and she merely bit her lip and looked away over the park.

"I am glad," said Selina to the Captain as they began to walk, "that you did walk through the park. These meetings may seem like coincidence but surely there is more to them than that?" She fixed her eyes on his face and met his eyes for only a second before looking demurely away. "Hyde Park is not precisely en route to Half Moon Street and yet I choose to walk through it. How strange these things are, don't you think?"

((OOC: I'm going to have Eleanor fall back now into another thread, but she doesn't necessarily leave them right now at this point in the conversation, but round about this time.))

[Thomas Sterne (Aida)]

"Strange indeed..." Thomas spoke with a smooth voice, his eyes lingering upon hers, "coincidences such as these must truly be rare. It seems more like the work of a playful agent of Fate, perhaps?" Of course he did not believe in such notions as Fate, or the existence of an Olympian-like deity who might want to seek diversion in the encounters of Mrs. Clare and Captain Sterne. But if the charming lady was convinced that such was the case, who was he to contradict her? Especially when she was truly well-versed in the art of enchanting with a single look of her eyes. Perhaps he should buy her a pair of pearl earrings the next time he happened to pass a jewelry store. They would look quite alluring against that soft pale neck...

As his eyes traveled from Mrs. Clare's attractive neck to her lips - and later on to her eyes - Thomas remembered his intention to sing in the soirée musicale, and he wondered if she had received an invitation.

"Have you heard about the musical soirée that is going to be held on Tuesday evening, Madam?" he enquired, not really caring whether Mrs. Clare had a good voice or not. After all, the most fun part of duets were the rehearsals.

[Selina Clare (Rose)]

Selina felt herself redden under his frank appraisal, not the kind of blush of true embarrassment but a blush of satisfied female consciousness in being openly admired by a man. It was a feeling she had missed in those long months of rustication at her sister's and widow's weeds.

The musical soirée... yes, she had received an invitation that lunchtime, delivered by a very presentable footman. The Fitzgeralds... never heard of them. But they were at least the rank of an Earl so it would be an invitation worth accepting, and it was gratifying to know that her arrival must be spreading.

"Yes," she replied pensively, "I did receive an invitation. I was so gratified to be included since I am so alone in London..." She raised her eyes pathetically to his very briefly (Eleanor all forgotten). "Do you know these Fitzgerald girls in whose honour it is being held? I suppose they must be very good Ton."

[Thomas Sterne (Aida)]

"They are very good ton, indeed," Thomas explained, maintaining the mildly roguish smile that had crept on his lips at Mrs. Clare's statement on being alone. "I have only met the elder sister, Lady Viola Fitzgerald. She plays the harp quite..." however, realizing that he should not commit the amateur mistake of praising another lady too much in front of the one present, he continued: "...well. I believe the evening could prove to be very entertaining."

At this point they arrived at the eastern bank of the Serpentine river, alongside which they carried on their promenade in a leisurely pace.

"Perhaps you are not as lonely as you think, Madam," he said in a lower voice, raising his left eyebrow in a half-suggestive, half-sincere manner. "Yet, if you desire to increase the number of your friends," female friends, preferably, "I suppose a performance at the soirée might be helpful. Duets are usually quite popular, in my experience, and..." suspecting that the charming enchantress might have begun to guess where his words were leading to, he smiled playfully and added: "is there anyway that I can convince you to accompany me in singing Don Giovanni's Là ci darem la mano aria?"

[Selina Clare (Rose)]

They had passed through a little wilderness as they talked and had now come up by the lake.

Selina did indeed follow his train of thought exactly as he made it. But she nevertheless allowed her eyes to widen and her hand that was not tucked in Captain Sterne's arm to go to her breast in the universal gesture of surprise.

"Oh, Captain Sterne, sing with... you?" She did love a man who could sing. She wondered if he would be a tenor. She loved tenors. "I am afraid I am a very poor singer" (self-deprecating laugh) but if you would really like to sing a duet, then I can think of none better than Don Giovanni. I should be delighted to sing with you."

Selina was sure she must have heard the duet before but could not recall it. No matter, she was sure she would be able to sing it. After all, she had been told so many times what a pretty voice she had. Admittedly she had not sung much since her marriage, if at all, but singing was one of those things that once you knew how to do it it just came back, wasn't it?

[Thomas Sterne (Aida)]

"Excellent!" Thomas smiled a much pleased smile, "I shall call on you one of the following days so that we can go through it together, should you wish it." There was no need to speak about the duet any further, for there was always the possibility that Mrs. Clare could not speak Italian well - in which case his flirtations could not be as successful as he liked - or that she did not remember the aria well enough - in which case his dalliances in the native language would also end up unsuccessful - although he doubted the latter could ever be the case... even so, it was better if they both could have a look at the text in advance.

As the walked on, they came across a wild batch of daffodils next to the path they were threading. Thomas picked one and presented it to Mrs. Clare. "It is amazing how much the native flowers of one's own country are missed when we're away," he spoke in a deliberate tone. Of course, he had seen narcissus flowers in Spain too - though they were of a different colour - but that was beyond the point. "So soft..." he lightly caressed the daffodil's petals whilst it rested in Mrs. Clare's hands, his admiring gaze lingering on his charming companion rather than the flowers, "...and enticingly beautiful. Don't you think?" He paused for a moment, then added in a more casual tone: "but you have not yet told me, Madam, which countries you have been to, or would like to visit in the future?"

[Selina Clare (Rose)]

Selina smiled up at him from under her bonnet, secretly relieved that he had suggested rehearsing. She was perfectly confident of her abilities but that did not mean that she particularly wanted to have to sight sing in front of London society and those paradigms of "Good Ton", the Ladies Viola and Olivia Fitzgerald. "I look forward to it, Captain," she replied softly. "Do let me know when you will be coming so I can make arrangements." She immediately decided to make sure Eleanor was elsewhere when the captain called. Send her back to the art gallery or make call on poor Lady Imogen. Anything really. She would be dreadfully in the way otherwise.

The captain's delightful gesture surprised and charmed her. Her hand went to her breast before accepting the bunch. "Oh, Captain Sterne!" she exclaimed. "You make me feel fully seventeen again! Do you know, I almost prefer this simple and... soft... bouquet to all my other shop bought flowers put together."

She stroked the petals in turn and then turned back to him. "I am afraid I am very badly travelled. Before this season the furthest I've been from Bath is Portsmouth!"

She decided to omit the bit about having been born in Scotland to a merchant father. She had been only an infant when her father had been knighted and they had moved south after all, so it hardly counted.

"But you! You must have travelled widely and to some very exotic climes. I should be so much interested in hearing about them!"

Not really. But she knew she looked very much to advantage when sitting demurely and looking impressed.