Cupid's Choice: She's a shy beauty in distress. He's a chivalric gentleman.

by Buck, Gayle

  Privately wondering if he could stomach it, Sir Frederick smiled and bowed from his chair. “I hoped to bring myself securely into your good graces, my lady,” he said.

  Lady Smythe chuckled, her shrewd eyes alight with amusement. “Well said, Sir Frederick! Now, out with it! What has brought you to my door before noon?”

  Sir Frederick allowed his expression to sober. “I went riding in the park this morning, ma’am, and our conversation of yesterday evening was brought forcibly back to my mind. You see, I met Lord Holybrooke and his sister out riding.”

  Lady Smythe raised her thin brows. Her frosty blue eyes regarded him unblinkingly. “So? What of it?”

  Sir Frederick gave his quick smile. “So, I wondered if you were completely serious in what you said to me.”

  “I am not in the habit of uttering empty words, Sir Frederick,” said Lady Smythe sharply, slightly affronted.

  “I did not think you were, my lady. Hence my visit to you at such an unseemly hour of the morning,” said Sir Frederick.

  “I see.” Lady Smythe drummed her fingers on the padded arm of her chair. “I stand by my word, Sir Frederick. I’ll take that girl and make her the toast of the town, if I can.”

  “I should like the privilege of helping you to do just that, ma’am,” said Sir Frederick. “When I saw Miss Holland this morning, I was all the more convinced that it could be done.”

  “Acquitted herself well, did she? I take it that her mother was nowhere in sight?” asked Lady Smythe, bending forward with interest.

  “You have guessed correctly, my lady. Miss Holland was escorted by only her brother, Lord Holybrooke,” said Sir Frederick. “I own, it is not my usual arena, but it is a challenge from which I suspect I should derive a good deal of satisfaction. That is, of course, if you were to enlist my help.”

  “Sir Frederick, I ask you again, and I wish you to be completely honest with me, are you in love with this girl?” demanded Lady Smythe.

  “Not at all, ma’am,” said Sir Frederick promptly. “However, more than a year ago I discovered in myself a disconcerting tendency to rush to the defense of the helpless. It is a trait better suited to the days of chivalry, I willingly admit, and one that has in the past led me into severely uncomfortable situations.”

  “In this instance, it will likely thrust you headlong into trouble,” said Lady Smythe roundly.

  “I trust if that is so, you will be able to extricate me, Lady Smythe,” said Sir Frederick with his quick disarming grin.

  “Oh, very well! You may as well do whatever it is you have it in mind to do,” said Lady Smythe. “I shall call on Mrs. Holland this week. You may rest assured I shall leave there with that woman’s permission to sponsor her very backward daughter. I suppose you intend to cultivate a friendship with Lord Holybrooke?”

  “Just so, my lady,” said Sir Frederick, nodding. “As well as pursue my acquaintance with Mrs. Holland and her daughter. I see my role as teaching Miss Holland to handle herself well in the company of a gentleman, so I shall establish myself in an avuncular light.”

  “Be careful you are not entrapped by that woman for her daughter,” said Lady Smythe in abrupt warning.

  “I am too old a hand at such games, my lady,” said Sir Frederick, his composure unshaken. He laughed suddenly. “I have far greater fear of Caroline Richardson’s subtleties than those of Mrs. Holland!”

  “And with greater cause!” retorted Lady Smythe. “I observed how she drew you up like a banked fish and presented you to Mrs. Holland and her daughter!”

  “Not a fish, ma’am!” exclaimed Sir Frederick, for once startled out of his suavity.

  “Just like a gasping carp,” said Lady Smythe, with malicious satisfaction. She saw she had momentarily thrown him off balance and smiled. “I have just realized, Sir Frederick, how we might put Mrs. Richardson’s talents to good use in our little conspiracy.”

  Sir Frederick eyed Lady Smythe with some misgiving and a good deal of wariness. Though he had already enlisted Mrs. Richardson, he could not help wondering what exactly Lady Smythe might have in mind. As well acquainted with her ladyship as he was, he thought he knew better than to believe it would be simply a matter of requesting Mrs. Richardson’s aid in finding a husband for Miss Holland, as he had done. His suspicions were confirmed when he asked, “And what do you propose, my lady?”

  Lady Smythe chuckled, her eyes gleaming. “Never mind that now! You do your part of making yourself agreeable, and I shall do mine. Between us, we should have the Holland chit set firmly on her way to social success by the end of the month.”

  Shortly thereafter, Sir Frederick took civil leave of Lady Smythe.

  Sir Frederick did not wait on Lady Smythe’s offices to begin his campaign to bring Miss Holland into fashion. After discharging his own obligations that day, he returned to his chambers to change into driving attire and gave orders that his phaeton be brought round from the stables. Then, with his groom up behind him, he drove over a few streets. That morning while riding in the park, Lord Holybrooke had mentioned the general vicinity of his lordship’s residence. Once Sir Frederick turned down the street, it was an easy matter to discover which town house was the Earl of Holybrooke’s from a loitering urchin, who was eager to supply the information in exchange for a guinea.

  Sir Frederick was surprised by the modest size of the town house. He had expected something quite different since coming into contact with Mrs. Holland’s overweening pride in her son’s attainment of the title. It occurred to him that the simplest explanation was that Lord Holybrooke had leased the town house. From all accounts the former earl had squandered most of his fortune and had sold or mortgaged the better part of his holdings. Most likely, any permanent London residence had been disposed of long since.

  After giving orders to his groom to walk the horses for a few minutes, Sir Frederick mounted the steps of the town house. Sir Frederick was confirmed in his opinion when his card was taken and he was ushered inside to a front parlor. He cast a single comprehensive glance around him at furnishings that had been in fashion ten years before. He had no doubt that if the town house had been Lord Holybrooke’s own residence, Mrs. Holland would have seen to it that it was refurbished for the Season.

  The door opened and Mrs. Holland entered, followed by her daughter. Sir Frederick turned and gave more particular attention to their dress than he had at Lady Smythe’s ball. His practiced eye at once discerned what he had previously overlooked. The ladies were attired fashionably enough, but their daydresses had not come from the hands of an haute couture. Shrewdly, Sir Frederick guessed that Mrs. Holland, at least, chafed at the restrictions which a depleted estate had placed upon her. This town house, not in the first stare of fashion, and a wardrobe which did not include many extravagances would scarcely be palatable to one of Mrs. Holland’s cut, he thought.

  Mrs. Holland would have been vastly annoyed if she had known how accurately Sir Frederick had summed up her situation. Fortunately, the lady was not privy to Sir Frederick’s thoughts, and so she was able to greet him with every appearance of pleasure. She bustled forward, a lovely smile lighting her countenance, one hand hospitably extended. “Sir Frederick! What a perfectly delightful surprise. You asked to see my son, Lord Holybrooke. The earl is not here at the moment, but I could not send you away without seeing you.”

  Sir Frederick gracefully bowed over Mrs. Holland’s shapely hand. “I am disappointed to have missed his lordship. When we struck up a conversation this morning at the park, we discovered a mutual interest in good horses. His lordship had mentioned in particular his intent to acquire a neat hunter. I had hoped Lord Holybrooke could be persuaded to accompany me to Tattersall’s. However, I daresay there will be another time.”

  He turned and smiled at Miss Holland, able to acknowledge her at last. “Miss Holland, your obedient servant.” He was rewarded with a shy smile that lit up her countenance.

  “Sir Frederick,” said Guin quietly, nodding to him.

&n
bsp; Deciding that the pleasantries had been adequately observed, Mrs. Holland chose a yellow-silk-covered chair and waved her daughter to another. Her mind was on Sir Frederick’s errand. “Won’t you be seated, Sir Frederick? Tattersall’s, I believe you said! That is where all of the gentlemen purchase their mounts, is it not? Indeed, I am certain that Percival will be sorry to have missed you, for it sounds just the sort of thing he would enjoy.”

  “I haven’t a doubt of it, Mrs. Holland, for from what Lord Holybrooke let drop, I gathered that he is used to riding and has been brought up to appreciate good horseflesh,” said Sir Frederick.

  “Oh, yes! Percy, and my daughter Guin, too, were wont to career all over the countryside for hours. Now their riding together has been severely curtailed. It is the one drawback of living in town, I fear,” said Mrs. Holland with a regretful shake of her head.

  Sir Frederick commiserated before turning to Miss Holland. “I know that you must feel it, Miss Holland, being cooped up indoors when you are used to going out.”

  “Oh, yes. That is, Mama and I do go driving often in the park,” said Guin, looking at him with a slight smile. Her hands were clasped loosely in her lap.

  Sir Frederick laughed. “You will never persuade me that a sedate drive can compare with a good gallop in the country, Miss Holland!”

  “I should not try to persuade you, sir,” said Guin. A tinge of color had come up into her face, and there was warmth in her eyes. “The countryside at home and at Holybrooke is beautiful when seen from horseback and—”

  “Guin, I am certain Sir Frederick isn’t interested in a bucolic description,” said Mrs. Holland lightly, but with a meaningful glance at her daughter.

  At once Guin fell silent and slightly bowed her head. Her fingers clenched tight in the folds of her skirt. Before Sir Frederick’s eyes, she actually seemed to wilt with dejection.

  Sir Frederick drew in his breath, scarcely able to contain the swift remonstrance which rose to his lips. He determined to exert every ounce of his much-vaunted persuasive powers to pry the young woman loose from her prison, if only for an hour. “It seems a pity to waste the afternoon. Mrs. Holland, may I crave a boon? I have my groom and phaeton waiting, naturally having hoped that I might take up Lord Holybrooke. However, failing his lordship’s company, might I request permission to take Miss Holland for a drive? I would take the most particular care of her, ma’am, I assure you.”

  Guin’s head came up. She stared at Sir Frederick with half-parted lips, a blaze of open astonishment on her face.

  Mrs. Holland was equally taken aback. “Why, Sir Frederick! I scarcely know how to answer you!”

  The door opened and Colonel Caldar entered. “I heard you had called, Sir Frederick. I am glad to see you again.”

  Sir Frederick stood up to shake the colonel’s hand. “As I am, you, sir. Do you go to the club this evening?”

  Colonel Caldar nodded. The two gentlemen stood talking for a few minutes, before Colonel Caldar inquired what had brought Sir Frederick on a visit.

  “I thought I might find Lord Holybrooke at home and take him up with me to Tattersall’s,” said Sir Frederick easily.

  Colonel Caldar nodded again. “Aye, the boy has been mad about acquiring a hunter for the winter months at Holybrooke. He is not here?”

  “No, indeed, brother! I have just been telling Sir Frederick that Percival will be sorry to have missed him,” said Mrs. Holland, asserting herself. She disliked at any time to be ignored or to be obliged to listen to a conversation that was not of interest to her.

  “When you came in, I was soliciting Mrs. Holland’s permission to drive out with Miss Holland,” said Sir Frederick smoothly.

  “Capital! A bit of fresh air will be just the thing for you, Guin,” said Colonel Caldar with a nod and a smile at his niece.

  “Arnold, I am not at all certain—” began Mrs. Holland, with the gathering of a frown.

  “Nonsense! Guin will not come to any harm. I am persuaded Sir Frederick is a capital whip,” said Colonel Caldar . He gestured with his hand for his niece to get up from where she was sitting. “Well, come on, Guin! Run upstairs and put on your straw. It will not do to keep Sir Frederick’s horses waiting.”

  “Yes, Uncle!” Guin obediently leaped to her feet. She purposefully did not glance at her mother’s face as she hurried across the room toward the door. She did not want to see Mrs. Holland’s expression, fearing that she would be denied the treat so surprisingly held out to her.

  Colonel Caldar opened the door for Guin, giving her a wink as he ushered her out. Guin realized that she and her uncle had become co-conspirators. She was quite breathless at her own, as well as her uncle’s, audacity.

  Before Colonel Caldar closed the heavy paneled door behind her, Guin heard him say, “I understand that you have enjoyed a brilliant career, Sir Frederick. You must tell my sister and me something about your travels.”

  Guin gave a small almost hysterical laugh as she picked up her skirts and ran up the stairs.

  Chapter Eight

  Once Colonel Caldar and Mrs. Holland had seen Guin off with Sir Frederick, Mrs. Holland immediately rounded on her brother. “I am not pleased, brother! I do not know what you were about to push Guin into driving out with Sir Frederick! Anyone could see that she had no wish for it. And I scarcely knew where to look when you told her to run upstairs like some hoyden! I shall have something to say to her when she returns, I assure you.”

  Colonel Caldar regarded his sister thoughtfully. “You would do better not to, however, Aurelia. Has it occurred to you that this is the first gentleman who has ever bestowed any attention on Guin? I don’t think it will suit your plans to discourage her when someone as well connected as Sir Frederick chooses to make her an object of his gallantry!”

  “But Sir Frederick is a mere baronet, Arnold,” said Mrs. Holland, her frown deepening. “I do not wish to encourage that connection in the least!”

  “Perhaps not! However, it will do Guin a world of good to learn how to conduct a polite conversation with a gentleman. Sir Frederick is just the sort to overlook her awkwardness. He is a diplomat, recall! And she will do better, then, with the next gentleman,” said Colonel Caldar.

  By the time he had finished speaking, Mrs. Holland’s frown had disappeared and she was regarding him with a half-opened mouth. With a tinge of respect, she said, “Why, Arnold, what a clever notion. I did not expect it of you, to be sure! I quite see how Sir Frederick could be very helpful to Guin. And he is very well connected, isn’t he? My head positively reeled with the names of I don’t know how many princes and noble families he has been associated with.” She gave a decisive nod. “Yes, I think we shall encourage Sir Frederick’s friendship. I shall invite him to our rout.”

  Colonel Caldar left his sister in the front parlor, complacently revising her seating plan for the upcoming evening party. He was smiling to himself and felt something like that he had beaten the enemy on all points.

  Guin was positively dazed by her good fortune. She sat quietly, her kid-gloved hands resting in her lap, as Sir Frederick set the team in motion and the neat phaeton pulled away from the curb. She still could scarcely believe she had been allowed to go driving with him. She was utterly grateful that her uncle had come into the front parlor at just that moment, for it had looked very much like her mother would have turned down Sir Frederick’s generous invitation.

  She slid a glance at Sir Frederick’s handsome profile. It seemed so incredible to her that he had actually extended such an invitation to her, when he could have chosen anyone else he had wished. A warm feeling suffused her heart. She did not believe that there was anyone kinder or more handsome or noble or—

  “A penny for your thoughts, Miss Holland,” said Sir Frederick, glancing down at her with a smile lurking in his brown eyes. His firm full-lipped mobile mouth was slanted upward.

  Guin’s face pinkened with embarrassment. “Oh!” She averted her head, her thoughts falling into a turmoil. She couldn�
��t possibly tell him that she had been thinking about him, and in such a way, too!

  At once Sir Frederick began to talk about things of passing interest, his voice pleasant and impersonal. At length Guin was able to regain her complexion. She thought she should apologize, but she feared that it would sound awkward. She nervously pleated her pelisse skirt, knowing that the silence on her part was stretching to the point of incivility.

  Once more Sir Frederick came to her rescue. “I seem to have a disconcerting habit of putting you out of countenance, Miss Holland,” he commented pleasantly.

  Guin glanced up quickly and what she saw in his expression encouraged her. “It—it is not your fault, sir, but my own. I am not very skilled at—at dalliance,” she said breathlessly.

  “Dalliance?” he asked lightly. He admired the translucent quality of her complexion, which was still betraying a touch of rose. “Is that what we are doing? I thought we were merely driving, Miss Holland!”

  Sir Frederick saw that she had colored again and castigated himself for this carelessness. He had forgotten again how inexperienced this young lady actually was. He transferred both reins to his right hand and then reached over with the other to cover her hands in her lap. “Forgive me, my dear. I am a shocking tease. You must believe me when I tell you that I wish you no harm, nor do I desire to place you at a disadvantage when you are in my company.”

  “I do believe you, Sir Frederick,” said Guin, raising her eyes and looking straight into his with scarce-concealed adoration. “You are quite the nicest gentleman I have ever met, excepting my brother and uncle, of course.”

  Sir Frederick burst out laughing. He withdrew his hand and got hold of the reins properly again. “I am relieved, Miss Holland! And honored, as well, for I am definitely in good company if I measure up to Lord Holybrooke and Colonel Caldar in your estimation!”