Instinctively, Bianca threw an arm around her rescuer’s neck as he lowered her to the ground. She was plastered to his side, and it didn’t feel at all uncomfortable the way walking had a moment ago.
Then she looked down and saw that the arm around her waist wasn’t encased in grey wool. It was wrapped in the brown that Hudson was wearing.
Twenty-Four
In one hand, he held the elbow of the woman he hoped to marry, while his other arm was wrapped around the middle of the woman who had vowed to help him accomplish that.
His mind should have been awash with the awkwardness of such a situation, but all he could think about was that here, away from the horses and leather, she smelled like sunshine. There wasn’t a perfumer in the world who could accomplish such a feat, but there she was.
And here he was, still holding her pressed to his side.
He jerked his arm away and stepped back, securing Lady Rebecca’s arm more solidly against his own and pulling her side into contact with his upper arm. Though he tried to ignore it, there was no denying the difference between the two women. It had been impossible to miss the strength Bianca had acquired as an avid horsewoman, just as he couldn’t help but notice the softness of his walking partner.
Lord Brimsbane rushed to Bianca’s side and placed a steadying hand on her back, even though she’d already righted her own balance. “Are you all right?”
She laughed and nodded. “Of course I am.” She stuck a foot out and shook it. “As are my slippers.” She turned her smile in Hudson’s direction, but she didn’t meet his gaze. “You may consider your rescue successful, my lord.”
“Yes. Good.” He looked down at Lady Rebecca. “Shall we continue our walk?”
“Around the puddle or over it?”
Hudson blinked down at her. Had Lady Rebecca just made a joke? Her expression was the same as it always was, leaving him confused and off balance.
He guided her around the puddle, looking anywhere for something to talk about, but there was nothing but people he barely knew and the building they’d just been looking at. That was better than nothing, he supposed. “So, this was the palace?”
“Yes.” Lady Rebecca nodded. “Built by Charles the Second.”
“Of course.”
They lapsed once more into silence as they strolled farther down the street. Hudson shouldn’t have been aware of the couple now walking behind them, but the echo of each soft step on the pavement refused to be ignored.
“Mr. Whitworth manages your stable, does he not?” Lady Rebecca asked.
Hudson almost missed a step and had to shift his feet quickly to maintain their rhythm. It was the first time she’d given any indication of interest in his horses, his stable, or even his estate. “Er, yes. My grandfather hired him when he took ill.”
She nodded and then gestured down a side street that rolled through the south end of town. “The other stable he manages is about two miles down that road.”
“Oh?” He didn’t know much about the other stable Aaron managed, only that Aaron avoided running them against each other for anything except the largest and most important of purses.
The question was, why would Lady Rebecca know? Or care?
“It’s owned by the Earl of Trenting,” she said. “He doesn’t come to town much, but we saw him in London. I thought he and his son were going to have a fight in the middle of the ballroom because they didn’t realize their tailor had made them the exact same jacket until they arrived there.”
He relaxed with a slight shake of his head. For a moment he’d thought they were going to talk about horses. He had to admire that Lady Rebecca had found some way to connect the information to him, but it also baffled him that the most she’d ever said to him was a story about a party in London. Did she miss the city? Was she hoping to spend more time there?
He had to admit that life in the countryside was the only thing he’d adjusted to quickly in England. He very much enjoyed the space in Newmarket, as opposed to the tight streets of India. “Do you plan to return to London soon?”
Her gaze dropped to the pavement. “Probably not. Father goes for the Parliament, of course, but he prefers it here in the country.”
That answer didn’t settle Hudson’s budding concern.
“I see our carriage up ahead,” Lord Brimsbane said. “Father must have known you would walk too far and planned accordingly.”
Had Hudson taken her too far? The Gliddon residence was on the edge of town, and Lady Rebecca had suggested that they make their way down High Street, but perhaps Hudson should have insisted upon a shorter route?
“It is more likely that Mother was concerned about the possibility of rain and didn’t want to be unable to dress my hair for tonight.” Lady Rebecca placed one hand on her bonnet and angled her face toward the sky. “Does it look like it might rain?”
Hudson glanced up. “Not particularly, though there are clouds.” He pointed at one. “Look. That one looks like a rabbit.”
Lady Rebecca tilted her head. “I suppose,” she said slowly.
“The one beside it could be a carrot,” Bianca said from behind him.
Lord Brimsbane stepped forward. “There’s no sense not using the carriage since it is here. May we offer you and your maid a lift home?” He looked toward the woman who’d been trailing several feet behind the group. “I’m afraid she’d have to ride up with the driver, but we should be able to manage.”
Hudson held his breath while he waited for Bianca to answer. As successful as he felt this walk had been, it was still only with her and Aaron that he didn’t feel like he was riding the wrong way on a racecourse.
Not that he needed her presence. He’d been getting along well enough with Lady Rebecca before they bumped into Bianca. It was just that he would welcome someone else coming along to help carry the conversation.
“I, well, yes, thank you. That would be lovely.” She slid her hand free of Lord Brimsbane’s arm in order to prepare to climb into the carriage, but she remained looking up at him, a smile on her face.
Had Bianca decided upon Lord Brimsbane, then? Did she have designs for the other viscount? Even though she’d been sitting beside Lord Rigsby at the musicale, it might have simply been because she couldn’t get to Brimsbane.
Then again, weren’t women known for changing their minds or hiding their true intentions? That was certainly the prevailing sentiment in the assembly cardroom and at the training stables. Bianca had always seemed different to him, but she was still a woman.
If he needed confirmation of that, he had only to remember what it felt like when he’d swung her away from that puddle.
Bianca’s choices weren’t what was important right now, though. He slid his hand into Lady Rebecca’s. “May I assist you into the carriage, my lady?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Brimsbane followed his sister into the carriage after helping the maid up onto the driver’s bench. His expression was unreadable as he gave Hudson a good, long look before climbing into the conveyance.
Hudson could only try to guess if that meant the man was contemplating throwing him out of the moving carriage.
The ladies were chatting about a gathering scheduled for tonight. It didn’t sound as if Bianca was attending, but it was one of the ones she’d told Hudson to attend.
Hudson sighed. Another basketful of invitations had arrived since he’d gone through the pile with Bianca. He needed to hire someone to handle his affairs. It was as good a conversation to have with a man as any.
“I haven’t had a chance to hire personal servants,” he said to Brimsbane. “Have you suggestions on where to hire a secretary?”
As with his discourse on the original race path, Brimsbane had a great deal of information to deliver with very little inflection. Was it because the man was boring, or had he decided he didn’t like Hudson after all? The conversation wasn’t brusque, but it wasn’t friendly either.
The carriage rolled to a stop a few moments later, and Hudson didn
’t recognize the house they pulled up to. Its blocklike structure was far more conventional than his round house, though he still marveled at the plainness of it. No one of any wealth lived in something this simple in India.
The front door of the house opened, and two women spilled out. Bianca sighed as she saw her stepmother and sister but managed to smile and thank Lord Brimsbane and Lady Rebecca for the ride.
Hudson moved toward the door. “I’ll assist the maid down, shall I?”
He climbed out, and Mrs. Snowley’s eyes widened a bit. “My lord.” Her gaze flicked sideways to see Bianca emerging from the cab. “Thank you for seeing her home.”
Hudson nodded and went to assist the maid.
Brimsbane followed Bianca out of the carriage. “It was our pleasure.”
Hudson turned from the maid in time to see Mrs. Snowley eying the brother and sister the way a horse watched a lump of sugar. She stepped closer to the carriage, where Lady Rebecca was framed by a square of light created by the open door.
“We were pleased to receive an invitation to your upcoming ball, Lady Rebecca. So kind of you to remember us.”
“Of course,” the young woman said, her voice carrying a pleasant iciness that hadn’t been present in any other conversation Hudson could recall. It would seem there were people Lady Rebecca didn’t care for. “Bianca tells me you intend to be at Lady Kelbrooke’s gathering tonight.”
Hudson frowned. Hadn’t Bianca said she wasn’t attending anything tonight?
“Yes,” Mrs. Snowley said, glancing at her daughter and then back to the carriage. “We wouldn’t miss it.”
“We shall see you there.”
That was the handiest, most polite dismissal Hudson had ever witnessed. Such polite rudeness wasn’t a prevarication he’d had much practice with, but he could certainly see its occasional advantages.
It was obvious that Mrs. Snowley knew exactly how to take Lady Rebecca’s comment, as her smile tightened and she stepped away from the carriage to allow Hudson to climb back in. Once he was situated inside, the door shut and the carriage rolled into motion.
For the first time he could remember, Lady Rebecca wasn’t smiling. The expression on her face was very clearly a frown. He hadn’t even been positive her face could contort into such a shape. Then she seemed to remember she wasn’t alone, and she sat back, clearing her face of all expression.
Brimsbane laughed. “You can likely speak freely, sister. If Lord Stildon counts Miss Snowley among his companions”—that uninterpretable hard look came Hudson’s way once more—“and I believe we can assume he does, he wouldn’t hold Mrs. Snowley in high esteem.”
“I don’t make a practice of speaking ill of others in company, Arthur. Even if we are all in agreement.”
Brimsbane laughed again. “You never speak ill of anyone. You simply make it quietly clear they are beneath your touch.”
“It is the ladylike thing to do.” She glanced at Hudson once more before lowering her head to stare at her hands.
He could hardly say it, but the truth was, her ability to behave in such a way only convinced him all the more that Lady Rebecca was the right wife for him. Given how little he knew about navigating English society, having a wife with honed skills in doing so would be nothing but an advantage. Yes, every moment he spent with Lady Rebecca proved she was ideal for his needs.
So why did the idea of spending life with her at his side fill him with dread?
Twenty-Five
Bianca had been out in society at functions both large and small for six years. Never, in all that time, had she felt the need to hide in the retiring room.
Until now.
The maid assigned to oversee the room was beginning to look at Bianca with a pitying expression, and Bianca couldn’t even blame her. There had to be something wrong when a girl fixed the same curl fifteen times in a row. At this point, she was pretty much flicking it and watching it bounce.
On Friday morning, it had been raining too much for even Bianca to brave the elements, and she’d been stuck inside the house. In a moment of weakness, she had accepted her sister and stepmother’s invitation to paint screens with them.
In addition to the creative pursuit, she received a very long diatribe on the goings-on of the party she’d been spared from attending. Marianne would have done a gossip paper proud with all the details she remembered.
Particularly around every woman Lord Brimsbane deigned to pour attention onto.
“Truly, it’s better you hear it from us,” Mrs. Snowley said as she tilted her head to study her flower. “Even I was caught up in the idea that he might fancy you for a moment, but water does always seek its own level eventually.”
Marianne sighed. “At least Lady Rebecca is showing a marked preference now, which means some of the men are more seriously available.” She dabbed at her screen. “Of course, some of them are convinced that Lord Stildon could still falter, but she spent nearly half the night talking to him and danced with him twice.”
“He’s a mystery that holds a certain amount of appeal.” Mrs. Snowley smiled at her daughter. “You’ve still got a bit of that, as this is only your second Season. Everyone already knows Bianca and look where that’s gotten her.”
Nowhere. It had gotten her precisely nowhere.
Bianca’s landscape had started to look a great deal like the stormy one beyond the window.
And then her life followed suit.
With Lord Brimsbane seemingly seeking other company, Mrs. Snowley had once again set her sights on Mr. Mead for Bianca. It was enough to make Bianca consider running off with the chimney sweep.
If she knew who the chimney sweep was. Surely it couldn’t be that difficult to find him.
Bianca twirled her curl one more time. She really should go back out there, but everywhere she went, she encountered Mr. Mead. He’d been waiting near the entrance when she arrived at tonight’s assembly and immediately offered to escort her to the refreshment table—as if anyone wanted to visit that particular area of the room before they were desperate. But her father had beamed at the idea of his dearest friend’s son escorting his elder daughter, so Bianca had agreed. It was a cup of punch. How bad could it be?
As it turned out, very bad. Punch turned into the first set of dances. In the second set he managed to get himself lined up directly next to her, so he might as well have been her partner again.
And through it all, he complimented her.
Loudly.
And with great insult.
“That coiffure is lovely. I can hardly tell that your forehead is as wide as a horse’s hoof.”
“Have you started taking care to remove yourself from the sun more often? No? Perhaps that gown simply makes you look paler.”
“I meant to tell you at the Wainbrights’ card party last week that you play very well for one who never gave proper care to her education.”
Did he think Bianca was going to be flattered by his statements, or had he decided she needed to be publicly brought down?
Whatever it was, Bianca had had more than enough. As she’d told Hudson before, though, leaving before midnight wasn’t really an option. Hiding out in the retiring room, however, was. She’d now been in there long enough to make anyone who’d noticed her departure very concerned.
The retiring room door opened, and Lady Rebecca poked her head in. “There you are.”
Bianca’s eyes widened, and her gaze met Lady Rebecca’s in the mirror. Aside from that very strange stroll through town the other day, they’d never had cause to spend much time in each other’s company. “You were looking for me?”
“Yes. I was hoping you would agree to partner Arthur for the next waltz.”
“I . . . well . . .” Everything her mother had said the day before about Lord Brimsbane’s behavior flooded her mind. She rather doubted the man was in need of partners. There wasn’t a girl around who would turn him down. “Does he want to partner with me?”
Lady Rebecca winced and cam
e farther into the room so she could perch on a chair next to Bianca’s. She bit her lip and sighed.
Never before had Bianca seen Lady Rebecca look unsure. Meek, yes, but not unsure. “He hasn’t confided in me, of course, but I do think he’s finding this whole evening quite wearisome. I was . . . well, may I be frank?”
“Do you think you can?” Bianca almost bit her tongue at the uncouth question. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”
“It’s understandable,” she said, nearly making Bianca sigh and wish the other woman would stand up for herself for once. “Arthur has been by my side all evening. He’s stood up with me, stood next to me, and stood in the way so that only one gentleman at a time could approach me. He’s been trying to give me all his attention, and it’s making some of the women rather angry and desperate. They’ve been quite insulted when he’s paid more attention to my conversation than to his partner. I don’t blame them for getting upset about it, but Arthur is simply worried that I’ll end up with someone horrible because Father will declare I have to. You’ve never shown much inclination to marriage, and you and Arthur have seemed to get on well together of late, so I think you’ll either finally allow him to focus on something else or forgive him if he’s a bit distracted.”
Bianca blinked, opened her mouth to speak, and blinked again. Was that how people saw her? Did everyone in Newmarket think she had no interest in marrying? Was that why Lord Brimsbane had been giving her attention? Did he think her safe?
She swallowed and tried to smile. It wasn’t Lady Rebecca’s fault. In fact, Bianca should be thankful for the woman’s uncommon candor. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you put that many words together at a time.”
Lady Rebecca frowned. “I usually don’t need to. Or don’t get a chance to.” She sighed. “I normally don’t have that much to say at one time.”
Bianca couldn’t stay in this room forever, and if anyone out there was going to be significant enough to keep Mr. Mead away, it would be Lord Brimsbane. Even if Bianca was unsure of a future with him if it included Lady Rebecca as Lady Stildon—or if he thought her a dedicated spinster—she didn’t mind spending time with the man.
Vying for the Viscount Page 21
