Mrs. Moresby stuffed her handkerchief back into her bag and then pulled out a fan. She unfolded it and began pumping the fan near her face, blowing the ribbons on her hat in every direction. Through the vigorous flapping, her gaze connected with Mercy’s directly. “Lord Colville cares about you.”

Mercy wanted to look away as she knew she should with someone who was her superior. But the woman’s expression contained no judgment or even curiosity. She seemed matter-of-fact, as if she’d stated a simple truth like the sun was warm.

“That’s the way Lord Colville is.” Mercy was tempted to glance over to where he stood talking with his teammates. “He cares for people, that he does.”

Mrs. Moresby’s fan came to an abrupt halt, her hat ribbons falling flat. “No, Miss Wilkins. What I’m saying is that man is in love with you.”

Mercy drew in a quick breath, and she checked to make sure no one had overheard Mrs. Moresby’s bold claim.

Mrs. Moresby took up fanning herself again. “Don’t worry, Miss Wilkins. No one is paying attention to our conversation, except for Lord Colville, who can’t take his eyes off you.”

“No, ma’am, I’m afraid you’ve got it all wrong,” Mercy rushed to explain. “We’re friends and that’s all. I promise—”

“Mercy,” she interrupted. “I may call you Mercy, may I not?”

“Aye, ma’am.”

“And you’ll call me Velva.”

“Oh no, ma’am. It wouldn’t be right. Not right at all. I couldn’t.”

“Nonsense. We’re two equal women. Let’s put away the formalities.”

Mercy could only stare at Mrs. Moresby, who dwarfed her in size, especially with her overlarge hat and puffy garments, which only added to her height and girth. While the woman should have been intimidating, something in her eyes beckoned Mercy to trust her. In some ways, Mrs. Moresby reminded her of Joseph—his warmth and acceptance and his wish to put aside formalities.

What did Mrs. Moresby mean about Joseph not being able to take his eyes off her? And being in love with her? The woman had to be imagining things.

Mercy peeked sideways in Joseph’s direction. He was still talking with the other men on his team. He wasn’t paying her any attention.

“He’s watching you, even though he’s acting like he’s not,” Mrs. Moresby said. “You do know he purposefully threw that ball your way so he’d have an excuse to come over to you.”

“No, ma’am. He didn’t.” Mercy started to panic. Where was this conversation headed? Had Mr. Scott told the matron about Joseph’s shipboard proposal? What if Mr. Scott had asked Mrs. Moresby for help with finding Mercy a husband?

“You’ve no need to worry, ma’am,” Mercy said. “I told Lord Colville no.”

Mrs. Moresby’s eyebrows rose. “No to what?”