Lavinia is right once more! It would have been the height of scandal to ride in a close carriage, without escort, with a man who wasn't a relative. At least, she has an excuse if he's her fiance.
EDIT: Thanks for including the French translation. I was totally lost at what Lavinia was asking of Cedric, especially since their whole conversation was in French. It wasn't until he said "romantic" did I understand... kind of.