“Me? Fainted? Highly unlikely.” As she said it, she could feel that she was out of breath and dizzy. “I do not feel well, Alice.”
“What is it, my dear?” asked her mother. “Did you eat or drink something that did not agree with you?”
“It must have been the heat, Helen,” added her father.
Violet shook her head. It was neither of those things. They would not make her feel so short of breath. “I feel that I cannot breathe well.”
The kind man knelt down. “Miss Violet, are you perhaps wearing an undergarment that is constricting your airflow?”
Violet felt her cheeks colour. She was indeed wearing a short corset that she had made Mary lace up tightly. Violet had wanted to look delicate and womanly in her white dress, rather than a rounded young girl. The corset had been her only means to create a smaller waistline and a raised chest. But it seemed to have backfired on her.
“Just a short corset.”
He nodded. “Would you mind if your sister were to accompany you to another room to loosen it? You should feel instantly better.”
She nodded. “Yes, I shall do that.”
He held out his hand to her, smiling. “Allow me to help you up.”
Violet placed her hand in his, liking the way his felt strong and warm around hers. She looked up at him, pausing as his brown eyes startled her. Who was he? Violet had never seen him before, not even at the ball. She was disappointed when Alice took her by the arm, breaking the contact between them. She would ask her sister about him as soon as they were out of earshot. Hopefully, her sister would not question her about her interest in the man.
The parlour was the closest room and, as Alice got to work on the corset, Violet worked herself up to ask.
“Alice, who was that man? I have never noticed him before.”
“Gregory Norton, a physician and good friend of Lord Shore. That is all I know about him.”
A physician? What a selfless profession. They returned to the room and Violet was delighted when the same man stepped forward and formally introduced himself.
“Miss Violet, I am Gregory Norton.”
“Thank you, Mr Norton, for helping me today.”
“It was my pleasure.”
Once again, their gazes fastened on each other, the other not looking away. She vaguely heard her mother mention something about leaving, her voice sounding far away from where she stood.
“Violet?” called her sister at her side. “We should go home, you need your rest.”
Violet blinked. "Oh, oh, yes. Some rest should do me well. Mr Norton, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you once again."
He smiled. “Whenever you are in need again, you need only send for me. Shore will know where to find me.”
Her father shook hands with him, clapping him on the back as they walked to the hallway. It was only on their way home that Violet thought to ask Alice about her return to the party. But she decided that it could wait another day. As it was, she had enough on her mind.
Chapter 5
Rose Charpentier watched Luke walk away yet again. This time it was Miss Campbell's sister's fault. “Perhaps I should faint as well to grab his attention,” she muttered.
"What was that, Miss Charpentier?" asked the duchess.
“Oh, uh, I said I wonder what happened to that poor girl.”
"Yes, it is quite a thing to faint. But I am afraid that it will quite ruin my party."
“Oh no, My Lady. Nothing could ruin this splendid party. It is truly magnificent. I would love to be as skilled as you are.”
Rose watched as the woman puffed with each compliment. She would be easy to recruit onto her side. Just a few more compliments and the duchess would invite her to her home quite freely. Once she worked her way into her good graces, finding out about Luke would be a breeze.
“Well, I do like to share my expertise with other women who aspire to be like me. Perhaps we should organise a little lunch during the week, and we can talk then. I am afraid that I need to return to my party and rescue what little is left.”
Rose smiled. “I would be delighted to call on you again, My Lady. What an honour.”
“Yes, yes. If you would excuse me?”
The duchess lifted her dress, the back still sweeping along the floor as she approached the bulk of her guests.
That happened sooner than she thought it would need. Now she simply needed to make sure that the duchess would make good on her promise and send her an invitation. Rose's chaperone, a traditional old woman who liked nothing better than to take the wind out of her sails, would need to see the invitation before allowing her to go. The woman was a good friend of her grandmother's, so she could do nothing about her. Her grandmother was a strict woman who had raised her, with her father, after her mother had died. There was no grey with her grandmother. Everything was either black or white, yes or no. Grandmother Charpentier had done her best to raise a respectable, honourable and diligent young woman. But what Rose had been missing was the love of a mother, someone to look up to, to go to when she needed someone caring and understanding.
Her father, a viscount, had given her everything money could buy, hence her love of fashion, expensive fabrics and jewellery. But Rose wanted more. She wanted to be loved by everyone, to be looked up to and respected. She wanted the security of a home and a place in society that no one could take away from her. And as far as she was concerned, the only way to go about doing this was to find a wealthy suitor, get married and bear his children. This would secure her position as a wife, a mother and a highly sought-after socialite.
For this, only Lord Shore would do. The handsome marquess just did not know it yet, but he would be her husband before the season was concluded.
***
Luke hated to see Alice go, but he understood her family's need to. To tell the truth, he was a bit exhausted as well, emotionally so. He had seen Alice distressed, tearful, hurt, happy, frightened, and thankful all in one day. Each emotion had affected him more than he believed possible, but he did not regret any of it for a single moment. Being there and able to support her had been quite the experience. And he was ready for many more.
“Shore, I have never seen that look on your face for another woman.”
Luke almost forgot about his friend. “I could say the same thing to you.”
Norton laughed. “Touché, old friend. Am I right in assuming that you like the lady?”
"Yes, but not romantically. She is a complicated woman, that is for certain. I first met her at the Hunstanton's ball, and we had an interesting conversation. Did you hear of my father's win against the Baron of Leeds?"
“Yes, it has been the talk of the town since it happened. From what I hear, the baron has much to pay. But what has this to do with Miss Campbell?”
“She is the eldest daughter of the baron.”
Norton raised his eyebrows. “Goodness, that is quite the situation. Does she know this? That you are his son?”
“Yes, and she scolded me for it. She has quite the mouth on her, but I oddly do not mind it. It just makes her more interesting to me.”
"You allowed a woman to scold you? And you did not mind? Where is my friend, and what have you done with him?"
Luke reached down and picked up a stick, throwing it at his friend who dodged it.
“You will have to do better than that to strike me, Shore. Now I am most intrigued by this woman.”
“I thought that you had set your eyes on the younger sister.”
Norton looked at him sharply. “When did I make that confession?”
“Right now, your expression just told me so.”
“Your eyes fail you, Shore. Of course, I am concerned about her, but that is as a physician.”
“Ha! And you accuse me of lying. I saw the way you could not keep your eyes off her, Norton. Admit it. You like Miss Violet.”
His friend sighed. “You are too observant for your own good, old chap.”
“I knew it! If it
makes you feel any better, I believe that she was quite taken with you as well.”
The hope he saw in Norton's eyes was enough to make him smile. Love comes swiftly, does it not? His friend was not the type to play around with a woman's feelings. When he showed signs of liking a lady, it almost always turned into love. He had simply not been that fortunate in love.
“Do you truly think so? How do you know? Did you see something? Did you hear something?”
"Heavens, Norton. Slow down or you will give me a headache."
His friend took a deep breath. “Fine, but you must tell me why you think she, uh, likes me.”
Luke grinned as he took his time answering his friend. He coughed into his hand, keenly observing the land around him.
“You are doing this on purpose, Shore. I hope you know that I know this.”
"By the way, when did you start calling me Shore? You would always call me Luke."
“You call me Norton and my name is Gregory.”
“Yes, but my family name is Connolly.”
“Goodness, Shore. Stop beating about the bush and tell me what you know.” The calm and collected Norton had been reduced to a crazed man all for the knowledge of a lady.
“Simply put, she could not take her eyes off of you.”
“Were you watching her?”
“I was watching you, then I noticed her. Do not assume that I was watching her for my own interests.”
A broad grin appeared on Norton's face. "I think that I should court her."
“Heavens! You move quickly.”
“Why should I wait? Are they not here to find suitors? If I do not call on her now, someone else may do so. She is a beautiful young woman.”
“Well then, go right ahead. When do you expect to call on her father?”
“Tomorrow?”
“What?”
“Yes, tomorrow. And I would like you to come with me. Who better than the Marquess of Shore to vouch for me?”
“Is this not a tad too fast, Norton? You have only just met her today.”
“Those few moments were enough for me, Shore. The fact that you like her sister is proof enough that the family is a good one. A good family equals a good daughter, which means she will be a good wife and mother.”
“Is that all you want out of a woman? To be a good wife and mother?”
“Of course not. But I am a traditional man. I am not like you, Shore, who needs constant stimulation to remain interested in a woman. Truth be told, I do not remember a time when you set your hat at a lady.”
That was because he never had. Luke did not trust women, as his life had been filled with women who were not reliable. First, it was his mother who abandoned him as a child. Then, it was his stepmother who chose to dislike him intensely rather than show him any love. Simply put, he did not expect anything good from women. Of course, his sisters were different. He did not lump them in the same group. And Alice, she was different too.
“You know my history, Norton.”
“Yes, but not all women are the same, Shore. You have hardly given yourself an opportunity to see for yourself.”
"And you have given yourself plenty of opportunities for the both of us. How many women have you fallen in and out of love with?"
Norton had the decency to blush. “I cannot help it if I meet a woman and fall in love.”
“More infatuation than love if you tell me,” he muttered.
“Are you saying something?”
“Yes, but not to you.”
“You are a cheeky fellow, Shore. Heaven knows why I remain your friend.”
“I could ask myself the same thing.”
Luke gave his friend a sideways look before they both burst out laughing.
“You are too much, Shore. Let us return to the party before your stepmother comes looking for us.”
Luke groaned. “I almost forgot about her, thank you for reminding me. Do you know that she is trying to foist some woman on me? I would have passed her onto you if your heart was not already set on Miss Violet.”
“Goodness, if you do not like her, how should I like her?”
“Do I really need to answer that?”
Norton looked down. “Point taken.”
“Do not leave me for a moment, do you hear me? Miss Charpentier is surely on the lookout for me.”
His friend chuckled. "Perhaps, I should do so to teach you a lesson."
"Then, you might as well know that I shall not be accompanying you tomorrow."
“You would do that? You are certainly a hard fellow at times, Shore. Fine, I shall remain stuck to you like mud on a shoe. When do you expect this party to end?”
“Knowing Suzannah, midnight. The garden party will move indoors soon enough, just wait for the sun to set.”
“I thought this was your father's party.”
“It is. All business is being done in his study upstairs. The garden party is simply a front for roping in connections and whatnot.”
Hopefully, Alice's father had not lost more money to his father. Could they already have someone in mind for her to marry? He did not like the idea of her getting married just to save her father. But what could he do short of marrying her himself?
No! What was he thinking? Not marry! He could simply give her the money to help her father. Perhaps a small amount over a few months until the debt was paid. The idea sounded good. He would speak of it to Alice the next time he saw her, which would be the next day. Would she be pleased to see me? Why should he care? He would not be there for himself but for Norton.
“Come on, old chap, I see an acquaintance of ours waving us down.”
***
Rose Charpentier kept an eye on Luke as he approached the guests. He looked preoccupied. She did so hope that he was not thinking about that silly woman! And if he was, what could she do to stop it? She sighed. Nothing yet, but soon, very soon, she would have all the information she needed in order to conquer him.
She had absolutely no interest in the many men who stood before her, all trying to gain her attention. Rose played them like a fiddle because it suited her purposes. But she would drop them as soon as Luke looked in her direction.
“Miss Charpentier, the sunset has just begun. Would you do me the honour of taking a brief walk that we might enjoy it?”
Rose was about to say no, but an idea entered her head. If she could walk close enough to Lord Shore, she could trip and fall into his arms. She would express her gratitude and make him notice her.
“That would be lovely, Mr Banks. Let us take this path.” It was the only one that would allow her to get close enough to him.
“Yes, this is as good as any, but it is a tad longer than the path I would have chosen.”
“The better to get to know each other, Mr Banks.”
“Of course! How silly of me not to think so before. May I take your hand, Miss Charpentier?”
The Way to Capture a Marquess's Heart: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 8
