by Rose Pearson
“Good evening, Lady Emma,” Tabitha said quickly when there came a moment of silence in the lady’s conversation. “I do hope you will recall me? We were introduced some time ago.” She smiled warmly at the lady, and, after a moment, the smile was returned.
“But of course, Lady Croome,” came the reply as the lady glanced over her shoulder. “I believe my mother introduced us? She is present this evening and standing just there.” Her eyes lit up, and she smiled, looking towards Lord Yarmouth as she spoke. “Just so that you do not think I am entirely without decorum!”
“I should not think that at all,” Tabitha replied quickly, glancing up at Lord Yarmouth, who was, she noticed, neither smiling nor frowning. In fact, he appeared a little bored with the conversation at present, although he did not make any attempt to turn away.
“Might I present my dear friend, the Earl of Yarmouth,” Tabitha said quickly, noting the flicker of curiosity in Lady Emma’s blue eyes. “Lord Yarmouth, this is Lady Emma, daughter to Lord Blackmore.”
Immediately, Lord Yarmouth dropped into a bow, and Lady Emma curtsied beautifully. Tabitha smiled as they both rose, praying that Lord Yarmouth would do as she had asked him and completely ignoring the way her heart squeezed painfully at the look on Lady Emma’s face. It was quite clear that she, at the very least, was interested in furthering this particular acquaintance, although Lord Yarmouth himself did not appear to be so. There was no smile on his face, no gleam of interest in his eye, and when he rose from his bow, he appeared to be less than willing to even make conversation!
“It is a very pleasant evening, is it not?” Lady Emma asked, looking directly towards Lord Yarmouth, who cleared his throat in a very gruff manner. “You are enjoying it, I hope?” The question was not directed towards Tabitha but rather to Lord Yarmouth, who did not appear to notice that it was to him that she spoke. A little frustrated, Tabitha was forced to nudge him in the ribs with her elbow as she gesticulated, hoping that it would be enough to remove him from whatever state he was in.
“It is wonderful!” she declared, throwing up her hands and managing to prod Lord Yarmouth in the meantime. “Do you not think so, Lord Yarmouth?”
Again, Lord Yarmouth cleared his throat, looking at her with evident frustration, but Tabitha instead ignored him, turning her attention back to Lady Emma, who was now watching Lord Yarmouth with a bemused expression on her face.
“Indeed, it has been an excellent evening thus far,” Lord Yarmouth said eventually, his voice gruff. “I dare not even consider whether or not you are free to accept a dance from me later this evening, Lady Emma, for I am quite sure that your card will already be filled to the brim.” He inclined his head as if to depart, but Lady Emma was much too quick for him.
“Indeed not!” she cried, snatching the dance card from her arm and immediately thrusting it in his direction. “My dance card is not quite full, Lord Yarmouth, although I expect it shall be very soon.” Her eyes fastened to his, and Tabitha felt her own heart sink to the floor, fully aware that Lady Emma was already quite enchanted with Lord Yarmouth, clearly aware of his title and his eligibility. “Please,” Lady Emma continued as Lord Yarmouth took the dance card from her, “choose whichever you wish. I should be very glad indeed to dance with you, Lord Yarmouth. Thank you for your interest in doing so.”
Tabitha could tell from the way that Lord Yarmouth’s jaw set that he did not feel much interest in dancing with the lady but was doing so simply to make certain that he fulfilled what he had promised to Tabitha. Quite what it was about Lady Emma that he disliked, Tabitha could not even guess what it might be. Lady Emma was bright, charming, and very eligible, with an excellent dowry and a beauty about her that many ladies of the ton envied greatly. What was wrong with the fellow that he could consider her to be entirely without merit when it came to his own marriage?
“The quadrille,” Lord Yarmouth said, inclining his head as he handed the card back to Lady Emma. “I do hope that will satisfy you, Lady Emma?”
Rather surprised to see the flare of disappointment in Lady Emma’s eyes, Tabitha looked from one to the other as Lady Emma accepted the card back and Lord Yarmouth finally managed to smile. Was something the matter?
“Wonderful, I thank you,” Lady Emma replied with a quick curtsy. “Ah, now if you will both excuse me, I am to dance now with Lord Smythe, and I can see him approaching. Good evening.”
She did not wait for either Tabitha or Lord Yarmouth to bid her good evening but made her way directly past them and towards another gentleman, whom Tabitha took to be Lord Smythe. The way he looked at Lady Emma was entirely different to the look of disinterest that Lord Yarmouth had shown and, despite her own frustration, Tabitha could not help but feel a small pinch of relief. Checking herself, she turned back to Lord Yarmouth, who was grimacing as though he had just eaten something most distasteful.
“Whatever is the matter, Lord Yarmouth?” she asked, aware that her relief came from the fact that Lord Yarmouth did not seem to be inclined towards Lady Emma but knowing all too well that such feelings were not to be entertained. They made very little sense even to her, and she was not going to permit them to take hold of her. She had been asked to do something of importance for Lord Yarmouth, and she was determined to do as he had asked, despite her own strange feelings on the subject.
“What do you mean?” he asked, turning back to where Lady Ashbrook and Lord Jennings were watching, seeing matching expressions of disappointment in their eyes. “I did as you asked.”
“You did very little!” Tabitha retorted as their two friends came to join them. “Is there something about Lady Emma that you dislike?”
Lord Jennings rolled his eyes. “You did not appear to be particularly interested in her, Yarmouth. You certainly could have made more of an effort to encourage her interest.”
“Although I think her interest is already fixed, that being said,” Lady Ashbrook added, looking at Tabitha as she spoke rather than at Lord Yarmouth. “Do you not think so, Lady Croome?”
Tabitha opened her mouth to answer, only for Lord Yarmouth to let out a hiss of breath and turn away from them in frustration. Watching with great astonishment, Tabitha waited for him to return, seeing how he took a few steps away and then came back to them all.
“That is precisely my concern, do you not see?” he asked, clearly irritated. “Lady Emma is one of the young ladies who expects every gentleman she speaks to, every gentleman she is introduced to, to suddenly fall at her feet and express such a great desire for her company and her consideration that they can do nothing else but wait in the hope that it will be so.” His eyes shot to Tabitha’s, who stared back at him in astonishment, surprised by his vehemence. “I do not mean to question your judgment, Lady Croome, but Lady Emma is—”
“You are being quite ridiculous,” Lord Jennings interrupted in a tone of voice that brooked no argument. “Lady Croome has picked an excellent young lady to bring to your attention, and your immediate concern is that the lady in question is too aware of her own importance in society?” He snorted and narrowed his eyes, pointing one finger out towards Lord Yarmouth. “If you will make such a quick decision about a lady having barely spoken to her, then I think it is you who is rather too filled with your own importance.”
Tabitha did not know what to say to this, seeing Lord Yarmouth’s reluctance and finding herself both equally frustrated and, for whatever reason, mightily relieved. It was an emotion that she battled furiously, not wishing to hope for anything but good for Lord Yarmouth and yet finding that she struggled to do precisely that.
“I have said I will dance with her,” Lord Yarmouth said after a moment, although his expression was now a little ashamed, for his gaze had dropped to the floor and there was color in his face that had not been present beforehand. “That should satisfy you all, should it not?”
“Why did she appear so disappointed?” Tabitha asked before she could stop herself, a little surprised at the sharp glance that he sent her. “You
took her dance card, and when you returned it, she did not look as pleased as I might have expected.”
Lord Yarmouth rubbed the back of his neck with one hand for a moment or two before answering. “Because,” he said slowly, “she had a waltz remaining, and I presume she expected me to take that one.”
“I see,” Tabitha murmured, looking at Lady Ashbrook and seeing the understanding on her face. Understanding that she herself felt also. “Well, I do not think we shall hold that against you.”
A look of relief passed over Lord Yarmouth’s face. “No?”
“No, indeed not,” Lady Ashbrook replied briskly. “A young lady ought not to seek out a waltz from a gentleman she has only just become acquainted with.” Her eyes flickered towards Tabitha for a moment, a question in her gaze that Tabitha could not quite make out. “We shall not blame you for that.”
“But we shall state that you ought not to make such quick judgments on the lady,” Lord Jennings stated with a grin. “You will call upon her tomorrow, then?”
Lord Yarmouth opened his mouth to state that he would not do so, only to close it again slowly. With a deep and pained sigh, he spread out his hands. “If I do so, will you then permit me to step away from her if I think that there is nothing of interest there?” he asked as Lord Jennings grinned. “There are, I think, many other suggestions that Lady Croome has for me.” His eyes darted to hers, a hopeful look therein, and Tabitha nodded in response, ignoring the painful stabbing of her heart. “Will that satisfy you all?”
“Indeed,” Tabitha forced herself to say as Lord Jennings muttered something about hoping that Lord Yarmouth would not be this disinclined towards all the ladies that he met. “Now, when is your dance?”
Lord Yarmouth stared at her for a moment as though he had quite forgotten what she was talking of, only to whirl around. “It is this next dance!” he exclaimed, clearly horrified that he had almost behaved in a most ungentlemanly like manner. “I must go in search of her.”
“I do not think you shall have to look far,” Lady Ashbrook replied with a quiet laugh. “She is to your left, Lord Yarmouth, and talking to Lord Smythe in a most animated fashion!”
Tabitha could not help but laugh as Lord Yarmouth muttered something under his breath, stood quietly for a moment to compose himself before making his way directly towards Lady Emma, who had, it seemed, been waiting for him to notice her for her eyes darted to his in a moment, and her smile jumped to her lips.
“You think it entertaining, I think,” Lady Ashbrook murmured, taking Tabitha’s arm as Lord Jennings began to speak to another gentleman who had come near to them all. “Or is it relief?”
“Relief?” Tabitha repeated, not wanting to permit her friend to know all that was within her heart. “I can assure you, I feel nothing but irritation that Lord Yarmouth would dismiss a lady with such haste. Why, during Hyde Park, he refused to even be introduced to two young ladies that I had considered, and now this evening, he has quite turned away from Lady Emma without even dancing with her or conversing at length.” She shook her head and tried to sigh, fully aware that her heart was pleased at this turn of events, even though she could not quite understand why.
Why did she feel such a great reluctance to seek out yet more young ladies for Lord Yarmouth’s consideration? Was it because she feared losing the very dear friendship that had grown between them? Their acquaintance would have to change significantly when the time came for Lord Yarmouth to be married.
Nodding to herself and entirely unaware of Lady Ashbrook’s searching gaze, Tabitha decided that this must be the reason for her own odd emotions when it came to doing as Lord Yarmouth had asked. She considered Lord Yarmouth to be one of her dearest friends, and the thought of that friendship fragmenting, as it must do when it came time for him to wed, was a painful thought indeed.
“And you cannot imagine why Lord Yarmouth has, so quickly, pushed aside both Lady Emma and the ladies in Hyde Park?” Lady Ashbrook asked, her voice gentle as she picked up a glass of champagne and handed it to Tabitha before taking one for herself. “There is no understanding within you regarding that?”
Tabitha tilted her head for a moment, then laughed. “I think Lord Yarmouth is still struggling to accept that he must marry,” she said as Lady Ashbrook watched her closely. “Therefore, he will find fault with a lady out of fear that, should he truly consider her, he will have no other choice but to begin to court her. That, I think, is his reason for doing so. I must hope, in time, that such an attitude changes, else there shall not be any young ladies left for his consideration!”
Lady Ashbrook did not smile but instead held Tabitha’s gaze for a moment before sighing gently and looking away. “Perhaps you are right,” she said as Tabitha frowned, wondering why her friend did not join in with her merriment. “But mayhap, in time, another reason will reveal itself.”
“Another reason?” Tabitha repeated, all the more confused as to what Lady Ashbrook meant. “What might you consider that to be?”
Lady Ashbrook smiled back at her, her eyes gleaming slightly. “One that Lord Yarmouth is perhaps as yet unaware of,” she said cryptically. “Come now; it does not matter. Let us watch the end of the dance and prepare ourselves to hear the many, many faults that Lady Emma will have and that Lord Yarmouth cannot bring himself to endure.” She laughed, and Tabitha, choosing to set aside whatever it was that Lady Ashbrook had been trying to suggest, smiled back at her friend.
“Very well,” she said with a shake of her head. “Although quite what he will have to say after a mere dance, I cannot imagine!”
Another burst of laughter escaped from Lady Ashbrook. “Can you not?” she asked with a broad smile. “Then let us wait with anticipation to hear all that is said of her. I can assure you, there will be very little good!”
Tabitha arched one eyebrow but said nothing, watching Lord Yarmouth and Lady Emma as their dance came to a close. Lady Emma was smiling warmly, but Lord Yarmouth’s expression showed no delight or interest at all. Sighing inwardly, Tabitha found a smile coming to her lips as she watched, even though he was throwing aside her suggestion of a particular lady without a good deal of consideration. Just what was it Lady Ashbrook had meant? And why, she asked herself, did Lord Yarmouth’s disinterest bring such cheer to her soul when she should, by rights, be feeling the entire opposite? Her brow furrowed as she let these questions sink into her heart. This situation was making things all rather confusing, indeed.
Chapter Seven
“And my daughter is an excellent musician,” Lady Blackmore said as Oliver picked up his teacup and drained the last of it, praying that his time would soon be at an end. “I should very much like it if, one day, you might be able to hear her play.”
“That is a kind suggestion, mama,” Lady Emma said quickly, her eyes trained on Oliver as he tried to show even a flicker of interest. “But mayhap Lord Yarmouth does not much care for music.” Her eyebrow lifted as she shot him a questioning glance. “What are your interests, Lord Yarmouth?”
Forcing himself to behave as properly as would be expected, Oliver gave her a quick smile. “I am fond of music,” he said as Lady Blackmore beamed with evident delight. “I do not play anything particularly well, however.”
“Then I should be glad to play and sing for you, whenever you might wish it,” Lady Emma said quickly before glancing at her mother. “I also read aloud at times and have been told that my voice is very soothing indeed.”
Oliver dragged another smile onto his face, thinking to himself that Lady Emma was one of the most self-important creatures he had ever had the chance to meet. “I am sure it is so,” he answered, but not before Lady Blackmore had begun to speak of her daughter’s many accolades again. Oliver heard of Lady Emma’s reading, her singing, her musicianship, her artistry, her education, her love of nature and being out of doors, her fondness for birds that sang in the trees and for the deer that could be seen from her bedchamber at her father’s estate. He knew all about the lady’s many
qualities, but she, he realized, had asked him very little about his own interests or the like. In fact, all the ladies appeared to be doing was pressing upon him just how wonderful Lady Emma was.
The realization did not please him. Lady Emma might be the most astonishing and accomplished young lady in all of London but having an arrogance about her was very displeasing. It was not a quality that Oliver admired or wished for in a lady, and certainly, his requirement for a wife did not mean that he had to accept such a thing from Lady Emma. Lady Croome had other ladies that she thought suitable for him, and Oliver had no intention of considering Lady Emma any longer. She was quite displeasing, he thought, desperately waiting for a break in the conversation between mother and daughter so that he might take his leave.
Thankfully, a scratch at the door broke through their eagerness to tell him all of Lady Emma’s accomplishments and, when another gentleman was announced, Oliver rose to his feet with great relief.
“Thank you for allowing me to join you this afternoon,” he said, bowing low but making certain not to state that he would wish for any further acquaintance with the lady. “Good afternoon, Lady Blackmore. Good afternoon, Lady Emma.”
Lady Emma had dropped into a beautiful curtsy, her eyes demure as she allowed herself to lift her gaze to his, blinking slowly under long black eyelashes.
Oliver was unmoved.
“Good afternoon, Lord Yarmouth,” Lady Blackmore said as Lady Emma murmured the same. “You are welcome to call upon my daughter whenever you might wish. You shall always be welcome.”
“I thank you,” Oliver replied but did not state that he should like very much to call upon the lady again. Instead, he turned and, with a quick murmur to the gentleman who had entered, made his way to the door and stepped through it without even glancing back behind him.
