Mrs. Allen had outdone herself, so the basket weighed around twenty pounds, or so it seemed to his aching arm. People kept smiling at him, as if everyone knew what was going on. It occurred to him they could’ve met somewhere else, but he hadn’t thought of that at the time. One of them standing around waiting for the other would’ve probably drawn just as much attention, so it didn’t really matter. He’d changed into less formal clothes, but given the hour he didn’t think that warranted the attention he was receiving. Everyone in the kitchen had been very accommodating, so Vane might’ve sent word down to them somehow. Mrs. Allen had swung into action immediately, as if she’d been expecting him. He set the basket down against the wall and smoothed his clothes before knocking on the door. As he and Gwynn had talked in his study, something had definitely changed. Gwynn’s usual confidence had seemed to waver a bit, and that puzzled him. He couldn’t imagine her being nervous or wary in this situation, and he wondered if she struggled to think of him as a suitor.
