“I cannot help thinking the social engagements are beginning to get in the way of things,” Imogen said, flinging herself down into the most comfortable of the armchairs in Lady Redmond’s drawing room.
“The unfortunate thing is, my dear, that we need the social engagements to keep interest coming. Without those, we run a great risk of not being able to secure enough funding. Although I must admit, I think the two of us are going to be entirely exhausted before the London Season is quite over.”
“Yes, I daresay,” Imogen said, laughing and shaking her head. “And this is the first time I have even had a moment to dash off a quick letter to my father. And I have had three from him already asking how we get on. He will think that I have been kidnapped and spirited away.”
“I think your father knows you better than that,” Adeline said and rose from her seat on the couch to pull the bell for tea.
“Are we still to take a late luncheon, Adeline?”
“Yes, I thought we would go out for it. But not until about three o’clock, what do you say?”
“I think that sounds heavenly. But will I do as I am, or ought I to change?”
“You are perfect as you are, my dear. It is just a little luncheon for the two of us in town. Nothing too elaborate.”
“Then that gives us almost two and a half hours of relaxation,” Imogen said and allowed her eyes to drift closed.
When the door to the drawing room was knocked and the butler, Simmons, strode in, Imogen’s eyes flew open again.
“Good heavens, is that tea already?” she said, smiling brightly at him.
“No, My Lady. Although tea is on its way,” he said with a warm smile. “But there is a gentleman to see you,” he informed her and walked across the room with a card in his hand.
For a moment, Simmons looked a little unsure. He stopped almost dead between them and wondered, quite clearly, which lady to hand the card to.
“Oh, do let me have a look, Simmons,” Adeline said, smiling at him. “Although I suspect that the gentleman has not asked to see the lady of the house, but her pretty young guest.” She began to laugh, and Simmons smiled.
“But who is it?” Imogen said, feeling suddenly a little disquieted.
After all, she most certainly had not come to London for the season in order to find a husband, nor even an admirer, if she was honest. And she racked her brains as Adeline studied the card painfully slowly; who on earth could it be?
“Do show him in, Simmons,” Adeline said with a mischievous smile that almost set Imogen’s teeth on edge. After all, her friend was not above a little bit of teasing. “Oh, and would you see to it that the tea is made for three and not two, please?”
“Very well, Lady Redmond,” Simmons said and, nodding briefly at both ladies, he turned to leave.
“Adeline, I do hope this is not about to turn into a dreadful afternoon,” Imogen said a little plaintively. “And do put me out of my suspense, who is it?”
“It is the Earl of Reddington, no less.” Adeline’s face was a perfect picture of excitement.
“Oh no!” Imogen said, wondering what on earth had come over her friend. “Really, Adeline, why on earth did you not say we were busy? Surely you do not want to spend the afternoon with the dreadful man?”
“Oh, but at least he is entertaining. And I think, perhaps, not so dreadful.”
“But …” Imogen stopped abruptly as the butler knocked the door again and showed Heath Montgomery in.
“The Earl of Reddington, My Lady,” he said and bowed before leaving the room.
“Good afternoon, Lord Reddington,” Adeline said, rising to her feet.
Imogen stood also, and all three inclined their heads in polite greeting.
“Good afternoon, Lady Redmond.” He turned to Imogen. “Lady Pennington,” he said with a smile. “I trust you are both well?”
“Very well, I thank you,” Adeline said, taking the lead. “Please, do sit down. Tea will not be long.”
“Thank you,” he said and took the armchair directly opposite Imogen. Adeline perched happily on the couch at the side of her friend.
“I do hope I am not intruding on your afternoon,” he said, looking from one to the other.
“Not at all, Lord Reddington. Lady Redmond and I have finished our work for the day,” Imogen answered when Adeline remained silent.
“I daresay you have much to do, and I shall not keep you long. After all, it is almost time for luncheon.”
“And do you have any plans for luncheon, Sir?” Adeline said, much to Imogen’s horror.
“A simple luncheon back in Belgravia, I believe,” he said and smiled, although he seemed to direct his comment directly at Imogen.
As much as she did not relish spending the afternoon in his company, still she would not want him to realize it. She would not have him made uncomfortable.
“Lady Redmond and I are taking a very late luncheon. Very late and very relaxed and at an as yet undisclosed location somewhere around three o’clock this afternoon,” Imogen said and smiled at him.
“Actually, I have decided where we are going,” Adeline said and laughed. “I was going to take you to Bentons and yes, I had intended on something relaxed.”
“As relaxed as Bentons is, I always find the food very good indeed,” the Earl said, and Adeline nodded her appreciation at him.
Imogen wondered if Adeline could not see what she could. For herself, she had found the Earl awkward company from the very start.
Imogen felt at a loss as to why he was there and found that she could think of nothing else to say. Either Adeline felt the same, or she was up to some mischief or other for her own enjoyment, for she said nothing either.
“Lady Pennington, you must forgive me for deciding to call upon you so abruptly. I can imagine that our encounters so far would have led you to be entirely surprised by my appearance.” He smiled at her, and Imogen felt that he must have read her mind somehow. “In truth, I made my decision at the last minute. I have been out walking, and it occurred to me to call upon you. Having seen you at the afternoon of bridge at Lady Rossington’s, I realized that I had not enquired after your well-being following our previous conversation at Rotten Row.” He paused and looked at Adeline, and Imogen thought him keen to see if she had given her friend any of the details.
“I must thank you, Lord Reddington, for being so kind to Imogen in my absence. I had not wanted to leave her alone after our visit to the workhouse, but it was unfortunately necessary.”
“And I am quite well now, I thank you,” Imogen said, wondering if he really was as concerned as he said.
“In truth, I had wanted to ask you at the bridge table, but it did not seem the place. And afterwards, I realized that my tone must have been quite hectoring when I sought to tease you.”
“You need not make yourself uneasy about that, Lord Reddington. I do not wilt under a little teasing,” Imogen said and smiled at him.
“No, it is clear that you are able to stand up for yourself well. But perhaps on that particular afternoon, you should not have had to do so.”
“I appreciate your sentiments, Sir, but I was quite recovered by then and was not at all upset by our encounter at Lady Rossington’s. And I must admit, I quite enjoyed seeing your younger sister telling you off. She really is a wonderful young lady.” Imogen smiled at the memory, thinking of how Lady Prudence had chastised him and glared at him, and how she had sensed the love behind it all.
“Yes, she is. And she is awfully fond of telling me off, it has to be said.” He smiled.
“It must be nice to have a sibling, Sir. I myself have not been blessed in that regard.”
“It is true to say that siblings often spend a good deal of their time locking horns, but I am bound to say that the good outweighs the bad.”
“Yes, I think I got a sense of that,” Imogen said and found herself relaxing a little.
“I think I saw you, did I not, at the Adelphi for that dreadful play about the hor
se?” Adeline said, and Imogen looked at her sharply.
She had not mentioned the fact that she had seen the Earl there at all, and Imogen had been entirely unaware of the fact.
“Yes, we did attend. I must admit to losing concentration very early on in the whole thing, and if I were questioned now, I should be hard-pressed to be able to summarize the tale,” the Earl said, and Adeline laughed heartily.
“I think your afternoon was better spent, Sir. If only I had thought to pay so little attention to the thing.” Adeline, as far as Imogen could see, was very much impressed with the Earl.
“And tell me, Lady Pennington, did you enjoy the little Adelphi screamer?” When he looked back to her, Imogen thought that he had relaxed a little also.
Perhaps the first few moments of the visit had been fraught with uncertainty and embarrassment. However, the introduction of some neutral topics seemed to be easing things a little, and Imogen thought herself pleased with it.
“I must admit to being very easily pleased in matters of drama. As long as there is a story which makes sense of some sort, I tend to enjoy it. Or perhaps I appreciate the effort the actors have put in and the writers and what have you. It certainly was not the finest piece I have ever seen, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I was well diverted and passed a pleasant afternoon.”
“And did your company have much enjoyment, Lord Reddington?” Adeline enquired, seemingly innocently.
“My sister I believe enjoyed the play, and my mother put up with it, as she always does.” The Earl laughed. “My mother does not enjoy the diversion as a rule.”
“And did Miss Ravenswood enjoy it?” Adeline went on, and Imogen felt her stomach tighten.
She did not like the young woman, or at least she was made uncomfortable by her. But she recognized that Adeline was digging for information, and she could not help wishing that she would not.
“In truth, I am afraid to report that I do not know either way,” he said and gave a little shrug. “She was much in conversation with my mother and Lord Ravenswood at the end of it all, and I had not paid a good deal of attention.”
“It would seem that you spent the entire afternoon lost in your own thoughts, Sir.” Adeline laughed again, as did he.
“I must admit you have found me out, Lady Redmond.” When he smiled at Adeline, Imogen thought that there was already a great liking between the two.
Adeline was no stranger to teasing and did not seem as intimidated by the Earl as Imogen secretly felt on occasion.
“I cannot help wondering what it was that kept your thoughts so occupied for so long, Sir.” Adeline smiled. “Ah, I do believe I hear footsteps. Tea must be arriving,” she said and rose to her feet.
Imogen could not help thinking that Adeline had not intended for Heath Montgomery to answer her question. No doubt that good woman had some reason of her own for mentioning it, and no doubt Imogen would find it out later.
As the tea things were laid out and Adeline busied herself pouring, Imogen took the opportunity to study the Earl of Reddington for a moment. There really was a strong resemblance between the Earl and his sister, and she thought them both very well favoured indeed. With his tall, dark appearance, Lord Reddington no doubt enjoyed the attention of many hopeful young ladies.
“Thank you,” the Earl said when Adeline placed his tea in front of him on a side table. “Tell me, are you both to attend the garden party at Dalton House in Pall Mall?”
“Dalton House?” Imogen said, trying to place it.
“Yes, we have had an invite, Imogen,” Adeline said efficiently. “It is the home of the Duke of Dalton.”
“I believe I remember you mentioning it now. Forgive me, I am not acquainted with the Duke of Dalton but am invited alongside my friend here.”
“In truth, I am not particularly acquainted with the Duke. I think our paths have crossed only once before. However, my late husband was very well acquainted with the Duke’s father and was greatly distressed when the previous Duke of Dalton passed away,” Adeline said.
“I am due to attend myself and can only hope that this fine weather we have been enjoying holds. There really is nothing worse than a garden party in the rain, is there?” The Earl reached for his teacup.
“When is the garden party?” Imogen said. “Forgive me, both of you, as this particular invitation has passed by my notice.”
“It is at the end of the week, Lady Pennington. Saturday afternoon, to be precise.”
“Well, that will be something to look forward to,” Imogen said, wondering why on earth he was concerned if they attended or not. Of course, he might only be making conversation.
By the time the Earl came to leave them, Imogen could not help thinking herself none the wiser about it all. Apart from his display of concern for her at Rotten Row, he had otherwise shown nothing but a certain amount of derision for the efforts which took up so much of her time and thoughts.
Quite why he would call upon her and seek to know if she and Adeline would be attending the same event as he was beyond her.
And it was a question which was to occupy her mind for a good long while.
Chapter 13
“At least the day is fine. I just hope it stays that way.”
“Well, this is England; the Duke of Dalton will undoubtedly have made provision to move us all inside if the worst happens.” Adeline was in an extraordinarily good mood. “I must admit, I am looking forward to it.”
“Yes, and I daresay there will be a lot of wealthy purses to reach for,” Imogen said with a glint in her eye.
“There certainly will,” Adeline said, her own eyes widening. “And if we can at least get one of the guests to give, this is the sort of event where others will be clamouring to give a little more. There is always competition to display wealth in front of a Duke of the Realm.”
“So, today we shall be relying on egos, both fragile and inflated.”
“You really are a very quick learner, my dear,” Adeline said, and both women laughed. “But I daresay there will be time for a little enjoyment as well. After all, when you look at all we have achieved in these last weeks, it is indeed a great deal.”
“Yes, it is, but there is no room for complacency.”
“No, not complacency. But I cannot help worrying about you sometimes. I wonder if I have led you down a path along which you assume that your life is devoted to others. But it is possible to have a life of your own at the same time, not to mention happier pursuits and even a little romance.”
“I think a romance at this stage would be very ill-timed. After all, we are coming towards the height of our fundraising efforts, and I would not want my time taken up by something as silly as romance.”
“Not all romance is silly. Some of it is very serious indeed.”
“Adeline, I am not saying that romance is a bad thing. I am sure it is most pleasant. But what I am saying is that I would not particularly look for it at the moment. Especially not when we are in the middle of something so very important. And, of course, there is no hint of any particular romance for me here in London, and so I have decided not to go looking for it.”
“I would have to disagree with you in part,” Adeline said. “I think there is a very great hint of romance for you here in London.”
“Oh, please do not tell me that you are thinking of the Earl of Reddington,” Imogen said with a sigh. “I knew that you were up to mischief when he called here.”
“I was not up to mischief, as you put it. But the man had to have a reason for coming, especially so unexpectedly. And I thought him most ill at ease when he first came in as if he was a little nervous.”
“Since every exchange the Earl and I have had has been somewhat acrimonious, it is little wonder that he would have entered this drawing-room a little nervously. What I do not understand is why he came here at all.”
“I think it is very clear that he has an interest in you.”
“Perhaps he does, but it might not necessarily be romanti
c. And if I am honest, I do not think that I would be particularly pleased to find that his inclinations were romantic.”
“But why?”
“Adeline, he has mocked me from the first. And more importantly, he has mocked our attempts to make things better for the poor. Do not forget that he asked me if we intended to simply give out charity and not expect the poor to work for it. I find such attitudes most cold.”
“If that was indeed his attitude and not simply a question. And in any case, attitudes can be changed, and they are changed all the time. If they were not, progress would never be made. And progress is made all the time and attitudes do change. Why should the Earl of Reddington be any different?”
A Lady for the Brazen Earl: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 10
