“Your aunt is certainly not the only one with such a tactic. It is expected, I am sure, especially of the debutantes. I think the older ladies are more set on which entertainments they wish to attend and do not need to be wishy washy about it.”
Anne wrinkled her nose as she pondered his words. “So, you do not think we are putting anyone out overly?”
“I very much doubt it. As you know, most of the events you attend are crowded nearly to the point of excess. It seems unlikely the hostess would be too put out if a debutante or two chose to go elsewhere.”
“You are most likely correct. It’s not as though the debutantes are all that important anyway, is it?”
“That is where I would have to disagree with you. The debutantes are almost the entire reason for the whole farce, don’t you think? The rest of the ton entertains themselves by watching as the debutantes make their curtsy to Society and go about the business of contracting a husband. Do you realize there are even betting books set up in the clubs over the results of the Season?”
Anne was horrified. “Surely you are jesting, my lord. That seems terribly ill bred.”
“It may be ill bred, but that does not mean it is not true,” he pointed out.
“Are you placing bets on it?” she asked, curious, before she almost shrilled, “Am I in there?”
She almost flinched when he reached over to pat her hand, no doubt trying to offer her comfort. “Do not get in a taking, my dear. I do not stoop to such bets. I have not looked at the lists, and I have not heard anyone bandying your name about, but it is most likely that you are on the books as you have made your debut this Season.”
“How vulgar,” was all she could think to say. She subsided into thought for a moment before she had an idea and started to chuckle.
“What have you found to amuse you now?” the viscount demanded.
“It might be a way for my father to straighten out his finances,” she giggled.
She recognized the incredulous expression on the viscount’s face before he joined her in laughter. “You, my dear, are a bang up girl. You had sounded so thoroughly horrified at the thought of anyone taking bets over your marital prospects, but now that you see a way to benefit from it, you think your father should participate. Was it not gambling that led him into the trouble he finds himself in in the first place?”
“I never said it was a good idea, just that it was an idea,” she protested. “You are absolutely right. It would be a horrible idea, besides being unethical since we could control the outcome. Hardly seems sporting, does it?”
The viscount was still chuckling and shook his head at her words. “I am undecided if you are slightly touched in your upper works or if you are the most amazing girl I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
Anne offered him a cheeky grin. “No doubt a little bit of both.”
She was delighted that she had managed to hide from him the depth of her hurt and that they were managing to maintain their camaraderie. Anne did enjoy the viscount’s company but reminded herself to be on guard not to entrust him with her feelings in the future.
Despite their return to comfortable companionship, Anne was relieved when they clattered back onto her street and the viscount handed her down from his carriage in front of her aunt’s house.
“Save me a dance at the Roxborough ball, my lady. I might be a trifle late, as I have a few things I need to do before turning up there, but I promise I shall put in an appearance.”
Anne couldn’t decide how she felt about his words. “As you could see this morning, you have already accomplished what you set out to do for me, so you need not trouble yourself about my popularity, my lord.”
“It does not trouble me, my dear, but I now feel responsible for you, and I want to be there to ensure you are being properly treated.”
She lifted her eyebrows at him but refrained from further comment. Dipping into a curtsy, she thanked him for the afternoon and hurried up the stairs.
“Good afternoon, my lady, did you have a good drive? Your aunt was just wondering about you.” Anne looked at the butler anxiously to try to gage his words, but he did not seem like he was suppressing his thoughts, so she didn’t think she needed to be overly concerned about her aunt’s reaction. The viscount had been true to his word and made rapid progress returning to Town. But she ought to look in on her aunt and make sure everything was all right.
“Where might I find her ladyship?” she asked.
“I believe she is in her retiring room, my lady.”
“Thank you.” She hurried off to see what her aunt was doing.
“Oh, Anne, how lovely that you are home. I was just beginning to wonder if I should be worried.” She glanced quickly at the clock on the mantle. “But you have made it just in time not to have to rush in your preparations for this evening. It is a good thing we have not been invited anywhere for supper, though,” she concluded on a reproving tone.
“I would have made certain to be back before now if we had been,” Anne assured her aunt, trying not to be frustrated. “Have you had a pleasant afternoon?”
“Quite, yes, thank you for asking. Now run along and get ready. Sally should be already waiting for you in your room.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Anne curtsied and made her way out of the room. She need not have worried about her aunt’s reaction to her absence. It did not seem that her ladyship was at all concerned with where she had been all afternoon.
Climbing the stairs to her room, Anne contemplated the evening to come. She was quite ready to be finished with the Season as it was not turning out to be to her taste. Hopefully she would be able to come up with a plan that would allow her to not require a husband or else she would find a suitable match within the coming days as she was quite ready to go back to the country.
Sally greeted her with warm enthusiasm. “How was your drive with the viscount, my lady? I did not think you would be quite so long. I do hope you didn’t run into any difficulties while you were out.”
“Thank you for asking, Sally.” Anne smiled at her maid. “It was a lovely afternoon. We drove rather further than I had expected, which is why we were a little long, but it was so nice to get outside of the city for a time.”
The maid sighed. “Oh, I can imagine.”
Anne’s ready sympathy came to the fore. “Are you feeling homesick, Sally?”
The maid blushed hotly. “Oh, never mind about me, my lady. Her ladyship would not want to hear about me pining.”
“I shan’t say a word to my aunt, Sally, have no fear. But it would be perfectly understandable if you were longing for the country. You grew up on my uncle’s estate, did you not?”
“Yes, the cook there is me mum.”
“Well then, of course you would long to be there. I do not blame you. While there are lovely parts to being in the city, for the most it is just not the right way to live. We should have fields and forests and animals all around rather than rows and rows of houses and shops and factories. This just isn’t natural in my opinion.”
Sally giggled over Anne’s words but couldn’t argue with them. “But surely you are enjoying yourself here, though, aren’t you, milady? Going to balls and such must be lovely.”
Anne was suddenly struck with guilt. While she was lamenting, it was really playtime for her, whereas the maid was working constantly to make it all possible.
“Of course it is lovely, and I have you to thank for making it so.”
“Now get on with you, my lady, it is all your aunt’s doing.”
“She is not the one who dresses my hair and presses my gowns. If I was not presentable, I can assure you I would not be having a good time.”
The maid couldn’t argue with Anne’s logic, so she merely giggled and got on with the business of preparing her lady for the evening.
They were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Anne's bath. Before long there was a full tub of steaming water and Anne sank in and allowed her worries to wash away.
/> It didn’t take too long before she was ready for the ball. A footman had delivered a tray of food for her to enjoy rather than taking the time for a proper meal in the dining room, since they were all going out that evening. Anne was relieved she would not have to try to make conversation until later. Glancing at her reflection before heading out the door, she was surprised to see that she looked rather well. Once again she would not be the homeliest girl in attendance, for which fact she would be eternally grateful. She wasn’t sure what it was, but her adventures with the Viscount of Bracondale seemed to be agreeing with her despite the danger to her heart. She braced her shoulders and prepared to face another ball.
Chapter Eight
The ball was just getting into full swing when they arrived. Anne was happy to see that it was not yet a crush when she and her aunt and uncle were announced. For the first time, her name produced a tiny reaction amongst the assembled crowd. A shiver ran down Anne’s back. She was undecided if it were better to be completely anonymous or to be a person of interest. She could not even imagine how the Diamonds of the Season could bear all the attention they received. Maybe they considered it their due.
She was rather distracted with her thoughts as she gained the ballroom and did not notice the Earl of Sutton approaching until he was right in front of her.
“My lady,” he greeted her with more enthusiasm than she had received from him the previous night, much to her surprise.
“Good evening, my lord,” she returned his greeting, dipping into a curtsy.
“You are looking lovely,” he complimented after looking her over thoroughly.
She felt her cheeks warm but was not overly embarrassed. His inspection had been of the detached variety, as though he were checking her for defects, as if she were a horse at Tattersall’s or something. For some indiscernible reason this struck her as amusing rather than offensive. She examined him but knew she would not be able to imitate his manner so refrained from trying. She returned the compliment. “As do you, my lord. I quite fancy the interesting manner in which you have tied your neck cloth this evening.”
The earl appeared surprised by her words, and Anne was amazed to see a splash of colour cover his cheekbones for a moment. “Why thank you for noticing, my dear. I have no wish to be a dandy, but I do make an effort to turn myself out to advantage when I am attending this sort of thing.”
“I would say you achieved your aim.”
“You are a rather strange girl, aren’t you, my lady?” he asked her quizzically, making her choke on a gurgle of laughter.
“I do not know what to say to that, my lord.”
“Of course you don’t. Forgive my foolishness. I allowed words to leave my mouth before my mind was fully engaged. It was meant to be a compliment, although I realize it did not sound like it. I meant that you are not like the other debutantes, always wishing to discuss themselves. You actually seem to have some interesting thoughts in your head, which makes it a relief to spend some time with you.”
“Why, Lord Spencer, that is quite the nicest thing anyone has said to me.”
Again colour splashed onto his cheeks and he looked uncomfortable for the briefest moment, but then it vanished and he was the perfectly composed earl as usual. Bowing over her hand, he asked, “Might I have the pleasure of this dance? It sounds to me as though it is a minuet.”
Anne curtsied and accepted, and he swept her onto the dance floor with the other assembling couples. Since the earl was a skilled dance partner, Anne enjoyed her time with him, but she was not disappointed when they left the dance floor and another gentleman was waiting for an introduction. The earl performed that duty.
“My lady, allow me to present to you Lord Matthew Seymour, the Baron of Walmsley. Walmsley, this is Lady Anne Austen.”
Lord Seymour bowed over Anne’s hand politely but without undue flourishing, which she quite liked. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady. Might I have the pleasure of sharing this next dance with you?”
Anne accepted and followed him onto the dance floor. It was a country dance, so they were unable to converse very much, but she was able to find out that Walmsley was not too awfully far from Rowanwood, a little fact that she took to be a positive sign.
When the dance came to an end, rather than offering to escort her to her aunt, the baron asked if he might take her to the refreshment table for a glass of punch. Anne took that as another point in his favour if he were wishing to spend a little more time with her rather than just being gallant in offering to procure her refreshment. She accepted, placing her hand into his elbow.
“Have you been in Town long, my lady?” he asked.
“My father and I arrived almost three weeks ago. What about you?”
“My mother and I just arrived two days ago. I was a little late with the harvest this year and did not want to leave our estate until everything was fully sorted. I must tell you, these Society affairs are not my favourite way to spend time, but my mother wished to come and felt unable to do so without my escort, so here we are.”
“It is good of you to see to her comforts,” Anne thought to say, wondering if he were perhaps a trifle too attached to his mother.
“She just got out of her mourning, so it would have been her first time to travel alone,” he explained.
“Oh, I am sorry for your loss.”
The baron grinned. “She was not mourning for my father. I wasn’t overly attached to her second husband, so your sympathies are misplaced, my lady. She isn’t even all that old yet, so she is thinking to find herself husband number three, which is why she was so disgruntled with me for not getting her here for the very beginning of the Season.”
Anne couldn’t help but laugh lightly over his choice of words. “You could point out to her that since the Season is already under way, now that she is newly arrived, she will have the advantage of being a novelty. Everyone else has already met each other. She might be more interesting for being new.”
“You are a clever minx, aren’t you?”
Not sure how to take his words, Anne merely smiled and took another sip of her punch, pleased to find that it was actually rather tasty.
“So what is your story, Lady Anne? Are you an heiress just here to enjoy the ball, or are you, like my mother, also on the hunt for a husband?”
Anne blinked at him and tried not to allow her mouth to drop open at his unusual question. He hurried to explain himself.
“I would rather hear it from you than have to ask my mother what she might know about you.”
She again had to bite back her laughter at his words. “I guess I appreciate your honesty in that case, my lord. I will be honest with you in return. I am the only daughter of an impoverished viscount who hasn’t a sixpence to scratch with, as the footman would say.”
Now the baron laughed at her word choice. “I like your spunk, my lady.”
Anne blushed over his words. She would never have thought anyone would describe her in such terms. She was just a country mouse. But she liked that he thought otherwise.
The baron lifted his head and gazed about the room. “I can see that your attention is about to be seized from me, my lady. Would it be acceptable to you if I called on you tomorrow?”
A small thrill ran through Anne. She might have finally found the gentleman who could be the perfect husband. She smiled and nodded. “I would like that, my lord,” she said shyly.
“Lady Anne!”
Anne turned abruptly at Lord Sebastian Grey’s hearty address. “Good evening, my lord,” she answered in a more demure tone.
“You are looking ravishing, my lady. I was hoping to share the next dance with you. It is not at all the thing to allow this bumpkin to monopolize all of your time this evening.”
She almost gasped at Lord Grey’s inflammatory words but was relieved when the baron merely chuckled. “Imagine my amazement that Lady Roxborough has seen fit to allow the likes of you to attend her fancy ball.”
Anne was a
ll the more confused when the two gentlemen shook hands heartily before Lord Grey offered Anne his elbow.
“Shall we proceed?” he asked.
“That would be lovely,” she stammered.
They walked in silence together toward the ballroom, and Anne noticed it was to be a waltz. She was unsure how she would be able to face the nobleman after his earlier words.
Lord Grey chuckled low in Anne’s ear. “You look slightly horrified still, my dear. Do try not to judge me too harshly. The baron and I have known one another since we were youngsters. We are actually cousins of a sort, if you scrutinize the family tree closely enough.”
“Is that how gentlemen usually greet one another?” she asked, fascinated.
“Often, when they have that sort of long-standing relationship. I am sure women are much different, but men enjoy that sort of thing.”
“I guess I shall have a lot to learn if I ever get married, won’t I?”
“That you will, my dear,” he agreed heartily. “But do not allow it to trouble you. My friends and I shall make sure you are matched with someone who will never give you cause for concern.”
“That is such a charming promise, my lord, thank you.” Even if she didn’t fully believe him, it was kind of him to say. She allowed a pause to follow, and they circled the room in silence for a moment before she asked what was on her mind. “What do you really think of Lord Seymour?”
Lord Grey chuckled over her question but gave it serious thought before he answered her. “I actually quite respect the man he grew up to be, even though he was a bit of a clunch when we were boys. He’s merely a baron and his lands are not extensive, but they include mines so he is far from a pauper. He has his mother on his hands now since her second husband passed away, but rumour has it she’s on the prowl for another one, so that shouldn’t be too much of a concern. You could do far worse, my lady,” was his eventual conclusion.
Anne felt the colour rising in her cheeks over the audacity of having this conversation with a gentleman unrelated to her. He laughed over her discomfort just as their dance was coming to an end. “Now don’t go getting all missish on me now, my lady. We have decided to be friends, have we not? Is this not the type of thing you would discuss with your friends?”
The Viscount Deception: A Sweet Regency Romance Adventure (Mayfair Mayhem Book 3) Page 10
