The King's League Box Set: Regency Romance

by Lucy Adams

  “I am not,” Matthew answered, quickly. “But I do know of him. One of my acquaintances is sitting with Lord Fitzherbert at this present moment and informed me of his return only some minutes ago, before I came to sit here.” He gestured carelessly towards Lord Fitzherbert, knowing that there were a few gentlemen now sitting with the fellow so that Lord Stevenson would not be able to guess which of them was acquainted with Matthew. Some of them were clearly enjoying the spectacle that Lord Fitzherbert was making of himself, whilst others watched with a glimmer of concern in their eyes.

  “A rather odd thing to do, I must confess,” Lord Stevenson murmured, sending a jolt of surprise up Matthew’s spine which he had to fight to hide from his expression. “To go on the Grand Tour when one is already titled, wealthy, and of an age when one ought to marry? It is most unusual.”

  Matthew shrugged. “It appears from this evening that Lord Fitzherbert does whatever he wishes, without consideration for what is expected of him,” he stated rather quietly. “And the Grand Tour is something that one might be able to boast about in years to come.”

  Lord Stevenson snorted. “It appears you have the measure of Lord Fitzherbert without being acquainted with him, Lord Watt. Yes, he is a gentleman eager to let others know of his triumphs, of his wealth, of his many, many supposed talents.” Lifting his glass to his mouth, he took another sip. “He is a gentleman who has no talents, no great amass of wealth, and very little talent in any regard.”

  The harshness of Lord Stevenson’s words gave Matthew a very clear understanding of exactly how he felt about Lord Fitzherbert. There was no love lost between them, it seemed. Did Lord Fitzherbert feel the same way about Lord Stevenson? It was a trifle odd, Matthew considered, given that, from what he understood, both Lord Fitzherbert and Lord Stevenson had been friends some years ago, back when Lord Harrogate had been attempting to work out which one of the four was involved with the French.

  Of course, he knew he could not reveal such a thing to Lord Stevenson. The man had only just begun to converse, albeit with a hardness that Matthew had not expected, and he could not dare to do anything that might upset the situation. Lord Stevenson was something of a volatile character it seemed, and Matthew had to be careful.

  “You are well acquainted with Lord Fitzherbert, might I surmise?” he asked, beckoning the footman over and setting down his now empty glass and holding up two fingers so as to indicate the fellow was to bring back two fresh glasses of brandy. Lord Stevenson looked to be almost finished with his, and he had to hope that this time, the offer of a drink would not be rejected. “You appear to have a very certain opinion of him.”

  There was a moment of silence, a moment where Matthew thought Lord Stevenson might descend back into his solitude and quietness all over again, but then Lord Stevenson let out such a loud snort of apparent derision that Matthew jumped visibly.

  “Yes, I have a very solid opinion of the man,” Lord Stevenson said, a little louder now that Lord Fitzherbert’s voice was beginning to rise in intensity again. “I was acquainted with him well once.”

  “Yes, I believe you said so,” Matthew commented, accepting one glass from the footman and gesturing for him to give the other to Lord Stevenson. Thankfully, Lord Stevenson accepted it without hesitation, although he did not thank Matthew in any way. Matthew smiled inwardly. Lord Stevenson was beginning to speak with a good deal more openness now, and he wanted to ensure that such a conversation continued.

  “He was a fool then also,” Lord Stevenson said with a grim smile. “We were almost friends some years ago, but now that I have seen him again, I confess that I think him a good deal worse than before.”

  “Goodness,” Matthew murmured, as Lord Fitzherbert let out a bark of laughter and collapsed into a chair with such force that it tipped backwards, meaning that the fellow lost his balance and then fell to the floor with a clatter. A roar of mirth rose from amongst the crowd watching, whilst Lord Fitzherbert himself laughed uproariously.

  Matthew saw Lord Stevenson close his eyes.

  “Why I ever thought him a decent fellow, I cannot say,” Lord Stevenson muttered, passing one hand over his eyes as though even the sight of Lord Fitzherbert embarrassed him. “Thankfully, the man has decided not to approach me again after our first conversation.”

  Matthew arched an eyebrow. “He came to speak to you?”

  “He did,” Lord Stevenson answered quickly, throwing up one hand as though the very memory appalled him. “Wanted to boast about our acquaintance to his newfound adoring young ladies, I think, but I made it quite clear that I was not about to continue our friendship.”

  And it would have been a sharp put down, I am quite certain of it, Matthew thought to himself, grimacing. “I can well understand that,” he said quickly—so that Lord Stevenson would not think the grimace on his face was for anything other than an expression of distaste over Lord Fitzherbert’s behavior. “You are quite right to call him a fool, Lord Stevenson, for that is precisely what he is.”

  “You will not seek out an acquaintance with him then?” Lord Stevenson asked, a small glimmer of a smile on his face. “Not after what I have told you, I do not think.”

  Matthew hesitated. He had to become acquainted with Lord Fitzherbert if he was to encourage him towards Miss Williams. But if he stated that he would, in fact, acquaint himself with the gentlemen, then Lord Stevenson might think very ill of him and end their acquaintance before it had even begun.

  “You do not answer.” Lord Stevenson’s voice had become hard now, cold and angry as he had been at the first. Matthew held up one hand as though in defense, shaking his head.

  “It is not as you might suspect,” he said quickly, hoping to calm Lord Stevenson’s ire. “I would not wish to acquaint myself with the fellow, no, but I have promised to do so to a dear friend of mine.”

  This, thankfully, seemed to pique Lord Stevenson’s interest, for the coldness left his eyes and he gestured for him to continue.

  “I was acquainted with Lord Harrogate, God rest him,” he said, watching Lord Stevenson for any sort of reaction to the name. He did not even flinch. “His daughter was a close acquaintance of mine, and…”—he leaned forward conspiratorially—“I enjoyed her company and her attention, if you understand me.”

  Lord Stevenson frowned, then chuckled, his eyes glinting darkly as he took Matthew’s meaning. “You enjoyed being fawned over by a young lady, Lord Watt,” he said, sending a chill running down Matthew’s spine at the cruelty in Lord Stevenson’s laughter. “But you did not wish to pursue the matter further.”

  “I was not – am still am not – ready for matrimony, Lord Stevenson,” Matthew said firmly, bringing another smile to Lord Stevenson’s lips. “But Miss Williams is quite intent on finding a husband now that she has returned to London – and Lord Fitzherbert has caught her eye.”

  Lord Stevenson blinked rapidly, the smile suddenly fading from his lips. “You mean to say that Miss Williams, the daughter of the late Lord Harrogate, has some sort of interest in Lord Fitzherbert?”

  Matthew nodded, intrigued by the fellow’s reaction. “That is so,” he agreed calmly, as though this was the most understandable thing in the world. “Lord Fitzherbert garners a good deal of attention, as you know, and it is this that seems to have caught Miss Williams’ interest.”

  Lord Stevenson turned his head away, his expression somewhat troubled.

  “I said that I would acquaint myself with Lord Fitzherbert and give Miss Williams my opinion of the fellow,” Matthew explained quickly, before Lord Stevenson could say anything. “It aids me also, of course, because it means that she will not seek out what was once a close acquaintance between us both.” He laughed, and Lord Stevenson seemed to snap out of a trance, his eyes filled with worry but a small smile on his face, as though he did not know what Matthew was laughing at but was attempting to pretend that he had listened to every word instead of being distracted by his own thoughts.

  “I suppose I shall not n
eed to do so now, however,” Matthew continued, with a small shrug. “You have told me so much about Lord Fitzherbert that I shall need only to organize a quick introduction, and thereafter, tell Miss Williams precisely what you have said about him. That should push her away from him, do you not think?”

  Lord Stevenson shrugged, his eyes a little distant as his gaze returned slowly to Lord Fitzherbert who was now rubbing the back of his head with one hand as he sat in the now-righted seat.

  “Unless,” Matthew continued, feeling a little desperate given that he had not managed to get a single word from Lord Stevenson in the last few minutes. “Unless I encourage Miss Williams towards him so that she does not return to me.” He forced a rueful laugh to spring from his lips, only to have it pulled from him by the horrified expression on Lord Stevenson’s face as the man turned his head back sharply towards him.

  “No, indeed not, Lord Watt!” Lord Stevenson exclaimed, with a good deal more fervor than Matthew had ever expected. “You cannot do such a cruel thing!”

  Matthew blinked in surprise, all the more intrigued by the gentleman’s reaction.

  “If you have any regard for Miss Williams, Lord Watt, then surely you would not want to push her into the arms of someone such as Lord Fitzherbert, particularly not after what I have told you about him,” Lord Stevenson continued, waving his arms about in a most agitated manner. “You cannot do that to a lady, especially if you consider her to be a close acquaintance.”

  Matthew hid his surprise as best he could, tilting his head and pretending to consider what Lord Stevenson had said. There was such a great astonishment in his mind over Lord Stevenson’s reaction that he had to take a few moments to gather himself.

  “We may not be very well acquainted, Lord Watt, but I did not think you a cruel fellow,” Lord Stevenson finished, when Matthew did not say anything. “He is not the sort of fellow to take a wife and be faithful to her.”

  Matthew sighed heavily. “I see,” he muttered, shaking his head as though Lord Stevenson had brought him a good deal of trouble in insisting that he behave in such a way. “I suppose I am not cruel, no.”

  “Good.” Lord Stevenson appeared, at the very least, to be satisfied with this, which, in turn, gave Matthew yet more to consider.

  “I shall have the introduction to Lord Fitzherbert, and thereafter shall make it quite clear to Miss Williams that I consider him entirely unsuitable,” Matthew confirmed, as Lord Stevenson rested his head back against his chair, his features returning to the somewhat incongruous yet foreboding expression that had been there at the first. “And I shall have you to thank for it.”

  Lord Stevenson studied Matthew for a moment, then sniffed, lifted one hand and snapped his fingers once. The footman was there in a moment.

  “I can drink to that,” Lord Stevenson said, ordering two more glasses of brandy. “At least someone is taking my advice for once.”

  “Indeed,” Matthew agreed pleasantly, his mind whirling furiously with a thousand different thoughts. Lord Stevenson’s remarks sparked a good many queries about the gentleman and what he meant by such a statement, on top of which Matthew also wanted to find out more about the relationship between Lord Stevenson and Lord Fitzherbert. There was so much yet unknown, but Matthew felt as though he had achieved a good deal already. With any luck, Lord Stevenson might allow Matthew to converse with him again very soon, and from that, Matthew prayed he would be able to deduce a little more about the man. The progress he had made thus far was, he considered, quite good indeed given that Lord Stevenson had appeared so unwilling to speak to him initially, and Matthew knew he would have to play his part with the introduction to Lord Fitzherbert very carefully indeed if he was to keep his new acquaintance with Lord Stevenson secure.

  “To good advice,” he said, accepting the glass of brandy from the footman and lifting it in a toast.

  Lord Stevenson’s lips twisted, but he did not disagree. “To good advice,” he muttered, before lifting the glass to his mouth and taking a sip.

  Chapter Nine

  “You have a visitor, Miss Williams.”

  Daisy looked up in surprise, only to see her sister’s face light up with an excited smile. “I do?” she said, as the butler handed her a card bearing the name of her visitor. She had not had any afternoon calls arranged today and certainly had no intention of going out to make any, despite her sister’s pleas to the contrary. “Oh. I see,” she stated as she glanced at the name on the card. Her stomach twisted this way and that as a sudden nervousness flooded her, making her heart quicken suddenly. “Then, of course, I will receive him.”

  “Who is it, Daisy?” Susanna got to her feet and reached for the card, which Daisy, somewhat reluctantly, handed to her. She watched as Susanna read the name, only to see the smile fade from her sister’s face to be replaced with a small, flickering frown.

  “Lord Watt?” Susanna asked, looking at Daisy carefully. “He was a gentleman with whom you had once formed a close attachment, had you not?”

  Daisy nodded slowly. “I had, yes,” she admitted, knowing that she could not tell Susanna the truth as to why Lord Watt had come. “We recently became reacquainted.”

  Her sister’s eyes narrowed. “And you think that he has come in order to further that reacquaintance?”

  “I…” Daisy trailed off, wishing she had thought of something to say by way of explanation long before now. “If he has, then I will accept him.”

  The way the frown lifted from Susanna’s face, only to be replaced with a wide, dazzling smile, was so unexpected that Daisy found herself thoroughly confused by her sister’s reaction. It was not until Susanna clasped her hands together and twirled about the room that she began to understand what her sister thought of this sudden reappearance of Lord Watt.

  “He is unmarried still, is he not?” Susanna trilled, clasping her hands together. “And you are contented to see him again, it seems! Surely this might mean that one could hope that…” She trailed off, sitting down in a flurry of skirts and sighing heavily with evident delight burning in her eyes. “Then, of course, I will encourage this reunion all the more, Daisy!” Glancing at the butler, she waved a hand. “Have Lord Watt brought at once, and ensure a tray is sent for. Tea and cakes. He will want to stay for a short while, I am quite certain.”

  Daisy shook her head. “You are being a little overeager, Susanna,” she said, trying to encourage her sister to consider things a little more carefully. “He is just come to call upon me, that is all. We have only greeted each other on occasion and not spoken at length. You must not think that—”

  “But you are eager to see him again, are you not?” Susanna interrupted, clearly believing that this could return to the state of joy and contentment that had once been so very near to Daisy. “You are glad to know that he has called upon you.”

  Daisy opened her mouth to protest but found that the words dried on her lips. She did not want to lie, it seemed, not even to herself. She did not want to pretend that she was not glad to know that Lord Watt had come to call on her, even if it was for reasons to do with their investigation as opposed to delight over seeing him in himself as her sister might think. She swallowed hard as Susanna laughed softly, feeling herself torn in two different directions. One part of her wanted to go back to the past, to remember all that she had felt and all that she had longed for, whilst the other part of her told her to forget all that had gone before and to try and find that lack of concern for him and for the state of her own heart that had been with her the last two years.

  It had been very strange how that coldness, how that lack of consideration over what they had once shared, had all simply disappeared when they had spoken at length in the alcove. The coldness had gone from his eyes, only to be replaced with a warmth that she could remember from times gone by. Was that what had sparked her memory? Was that what had made her heart begin to yearn for him again?

  She had no more time to think, for the door opened, Lord Watt was announced and Daisy wa
s forced to get to her feet, smoothing her skirts and praying that her thoughts would not show in her expression.

  Lord Watt beamed at them both, first bowing towards Susanna and then towards Daisy, although Daisy felt quite certain that his gaze lingered on her for just a moment longer than it had on Susanna. She curtsied as best she could, feeling a whirling nervousness run through her that she could not quite explain.

  “Lord Watt!” Susanna exclaimed, gesturing for him to come and sit down in a seat adjacent to them both. “How very good to see you again.”

  “It has been some time, I know,” Lord Watt said, surprising both Susanna and Daisy by not moving an inch. “But I have been glad to make the acquaintance of Miss Williams again and thought to call upon her today without invitation nor prior arrangement, which I hope, Lady Northgate, you might be able to forgive me for.”

  Susanna laughed and waved a hand, darting a glance towards Daisy, who could not quite look either at her sister or at Lord Watt. Her heart was pounding so furiously that she was quite sure that the sound of it would soon start to echo around the room.

  “Of course, Lord Watt!” Susanna exclaimed, her voice light and filled with mirth. “You have nothing to seek forgiveness for here.”

  Lord Watt grinned, his features suddenly boyish as he swept into another bow. “I am very glad to hear it, Lady Northgate,” he said, turning towards Susanna a little more, “for I hope now that you might find a way to permit me to steal your sister for a short time? The day is very lovely indeed, and I hoped to walk about Hyde Park or St. James’s Park for a while – whichever you might prefer, Miss Williams.”

  This was said with such an air of finality about it that it felt to Daisy as though she were being told what to do instead of being asked if she was willing to do so. Much to her surprise, however, she did not mind Lord Watt’s manner, for the truth was, she very much did want to walk with him, so that they could converse in private.