Desdemona was stunned.

She might have expected this back in January, but January was so painfully long ago that the situation was almost laughable. In a way, it made sense—Mr. Pettigrew was not the most reliable chap (he had, after all, gone to prison), so why would he do anything important in a timely manner? Had he even asked permission? Surely Gregory would have told her if Arthur Pettigrew had expressed an interest.

No, as much as Dezzie wanted to say yes, this was such a horrible mess that she did not feel comfortable doing so. Instead, she settled on, “I believe it is typically the man who does the courting, Mr. Pettigrew.”

She did not meet his eyes.