An Heiress at Heart (27 page)

“May I surmise that you were not offended by the things I asked you—about my brothers, I mean?”

“No,” she said. “I wanted to share those things with you. However, later I became worried that perhaps they had been unhelpful, stirred up unhappy memories—”

“Quite the contrary,” he interrupted. “They helped me very much.”

Their conversation seemed like nothing on the surface, within earshot of James and Lucinda. But Lizzie knew the current running beneath their words was deeper than anyone else could imagine.

Geoffrey took her hand. “I think, I hope, we are friends still, Ria.”

Friends.
Given who she was, both in her real and pretended identities, she could expect nothing more. Something in her heart twisted and tumbled, knowing even this would not last. “I—yes, of course we are friends.” She licked her suddenly dry lips and tried again. “I am honored.”

Something of her disappointment must have come through in her voice. Geoffrey gave her a quizzical look. He sent a quick glance to James and Lucinda, but they were still deep in discussion. He opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he had been about to say was preempted by the sudden arrival of Lord and Lady Cardington.

“There you are,” Lady Cardington boomed. “We have been looking for you this half hour or more.” She fanned
herself. “The crowds! I did not think there were this many people in all of London.”

James helped Lucinda to rise. She extended her hand and said warmly, “I so enjoyed this time together. Perhaps we might talk more at Lady Thornborough’s dinner party?”

James gave her a regretful smile, as one might give a child to whom he must deny a requested sweet. “It would be lovely, I have no doubt. However, it is entirely possible Miss Emily will decide to carry the conversation in other directions.”

The mention of her sister, who was seeking James’s interest for far different reasons, brought a look of annoyance to Lucinda’s face. “Emily will be quite cross to discover she missed seeing you here today.”

James leaned in and said, as if they were sharing a secret, “Perhaps you ought not to tell her.”

“Quite right,” Lady Cardington asserted. “It will only put her in a pout, and then she will be insufferable for days.”

Geoffrey offered his hand to Lizzie. “Until next week, then.”

Lizzie nodded, trying not to dwell too much on the warmth of his hand or the way she felt oddly unmoored when he released it.

Geoffrey took Lucinda’s arm, and they followed Lord and Lady Cardington back through the crowds toward the entrance. Lizzie was struck with a pang of remorse as she watched the familiar way Geoffrey leaned in toward Lucinda to catch something she was saying.

“What a charming interlude that was,” James remarked.

“Yes,” Lizzie agreed, unable to repress a sigh. “It
was.” One of the few short interludes that were left to her.

She glanced over to the fountain. Molly was still there. She sent a tiny smile in Lizzie’s direction, but did not approach. She seemed only curious, not intent on doing Lizzie harm. Lizzie was relieved the girl kept her distance. But as Lizzie and James left the area to continue their tour of the building, she gave Molly the tiniest nod as she passed by. Perhaps, Lizzie thought, she might be able to seek help from the Weathers family if she ended up on the streets after her big unveiling. Assuming she did not end up in jail—or worse.

                                                          
Chapter 26

J
ames informs me that you play beautifully, Mrs. Somerville.” Freddie Hightower’s voice carried over a lull in the dinner conversation. “I hope you will favor us with a tune after dinner?”

Ria blanched.

It was not the first time Geoffrey had seen her look uncomfortable this evening, and he was certain Hightower was the cause of it. Lady Thornborough had seated Hightower at the opposite end of the polished mahogany table that easily accommodated the twenty guests in attendance. Despite this, he had been peppering Ria with questions all evening. If this was his way of winning over women, it was clearly not working with Ria. She answered his questions politely, but often attempted to turn the topic of conversation toward himself or someone else.

She took a sip of wine before replying to Hightower’s latest salvo. “I am sorry to disappoint you, but I cannot play this evening. I am too much out of practice. I did not
play a note in Australia. I have forgotten the finer points of the instrument.”

“Surely it will come back to you,” Hightower urged.

Ria set down her glass and gave another of her giggles, the kind that emanated from her only when James or Hightower was around. This kind of behavior seemed to come and go, as though now that Ria was home in England, her younger, sillier self was trying to reassert its dominance over the woman she had become in Australia. “Now that you have put me on the spot, I shall have to practice. But I would spare Grandmamma’s guests this evening.”

“A wise decision,” Lady Thornborough said. “There is nothing I abhor more than badly played music.”

“I am disappointed,” Hightower told Ria. “However, I will hold you to your promise to play for us soon.”

Geoffrey found himself irked at this exchange. Why should Hightower be so intent on hearing Ria play? Only sheer politeness kept Geoffrey from ordering Hightower to stop barraging her with questions. He’d lost count of how many times he’d been required to suppress this urge since the dinner began.

“Perhaps Lord Somerville will read to us?” This suggestion came from Lucinda Cardington. She sent an admiring glance in his direction. “You have a splendid reading voice.”

“Thank you,” Geoffrey said, grateful for anything to turn the attention of the guests away from the way Hightower was distressing Ria. “You are most kind.”

Lady Cardington nodded with approval at her daughter’s suggestion. “What a wonderful idea! I am sure we would find Lord Somerville’s reading morally uplifting.”

“Do not ask Geoffrey to read from one of his old
sermons,” James said. Smiling at Lucinda’s sister, Emily, who was seated on his right, he added, “I refuse to think about weighty matters at a dinner party, when there are livelier subjects to contemplate.”

Across from James, Miss Edith Shaw tittered and turned her large eyes to James. “Then what on earth shall we do?” she asked, as though only James could have the solution to such a difficult problem.

Despite his preoccupation with Hightower and Ria, Geoffrey had not missed the fact that both Miss Emily and Miss Shaw had been vying for James’s attention all evening. James had so far managed the balancing act with finesse. He now said expansively, “I propose a friendly game of whist—for everyone!”

“Whist?” Ria repeated. She looked as though this idea did not appeal to her.

“Of course!” James said. “Do you remember how many hours we used to while away at that game? And the particular way our tutor punished us when it caused us to neglect our studies?”

“Let me see…” Ria considered the question.

Hightower watched Ria intently, as though her answer were of vital importance.

“Was that the time he put us in opposite corners of the room?” Ria said finally. “Or the time he had us write out our geography lesson five times?”

“What a good memory you have, cousin!” James replied with a laugh. “We certainly got into a lot of bad scrapes, didn’t we?”

Ria smiled, and her gaze slipped in Hightower’s direction. Hightower’s look had been replaced by something Geoffrey would have called incredulity.

James said, “Actually, I was thinking of the day our tutor sent us below stairs to clean the pots. He told us if we were not going to learn our lessons, we may as well join the kitchen help because we were no better than the scullery maid!”

This jab at the servants brought laughter from many of the guests. Geoffrey did not join in, and he was oddly gratified to see that Ria was not laughing either. In fact, she was frowning.

“That was a superb way to teach a lesson,” Lord Cardington said, his portly stomach shaking. “Who was this tutor? I should have hired him for my Emily.”

“You know I would learn nothing under the tyranny of such a man, Papa,” Miss Emily replied tartly. “I need someone kind and understanding to teach me.” She gave James a look that could have melted an iceberg. James responded with a wink.

His gesture must have escaped Miss Shaw, which was probably a good thing. She said, “Oh, I agree with you, Miss Emily. But then, I find studying to be so tedious, no matter who the tutor is.”

Geoffrey thought of the dozens of boys in his tiny parish who would have loved to have been under the “tyranny” of any tutor.

“I do not think there is shame in cleaning pots,” Lucinda said quietly.

Ria nodded in agreement. “The knowledge of how to clean pots came in handy when I was living in Australia, to be sure.”

“All this is neither here nor there,” James said. “I believe the subject was whist. So cousin, I hope you are not out of practice with that, too?”

“Oh no,” Ria answered. “Pianos may have been scarce in Australia, but there was certainly no shortage of cards!”

She said this in a lighthearted manner, and everyone laughed again. However, a hint of worry crossed her expressive face, giving Geoffrey the feeling that she was not looking forward to the game.

“I will not have you playing for money,” Lady Thornborough said. “Not in my house.”

“Then we shall play for points,” James said. “For the pure fun of it.”

Lady Thornborough rose from her chair. “Well, gentlemen, we ladies shall retire now for some edifying conversation, while you sort out who shall be paired for the card games.”

There was a bustle of movement as the gentlemen rose to help the ladies from the table. James assisted Miss Emily, which brought him another adoring look.

Ria linked her arm in Lady Thornborough’s, answering some question the old lady was putting to her. Ria’s white gold hair, contrasting sharply with her grandmother’s dark dress, was the last Geoffrey saw of her as the ladies left the room.

Hightower followed his gaze. “She is an enchanting creature, is she not?” His voice held both appreciation and something else that Geoffrey could not define. “You must be so happy to have your sister-in-law back, even though she brought the sad news of your brother’s death.”

“I am happy that she has returned,” Geoffrey said. “What’s done is done, and I pray only the best for her now.”

The butler offered brandy, which Geoffrey gladly accepted.

Hightower pulled out a cigar, twirling it in his fingers and savoring its smell. He made an elaborate show of lighting it. “Is it true you never met Ria before her elopement with Edward?”

“It is.”

“She seems eager to get to know you now. Her interest in you is unmistakable.”

Geoffrey leveled a hard look at him. “I am her last link with Edward. She loved him very much.”

James said with a smile, “Freddie, you are jealous because Ria will not act as every other woman does and instantly give you her affections.”

Hightower took a long draw from his cigar before responding. “Perhaps she already has.”

“What do you mean to imply by that?” Geoffrey asked coldly.

Freddie looked at him over the smoke of his cigar. “It would be natural, would it not? After all, she is a young widow; I am a desolate young widower. We are kindred spirits. Two souls who have loved and lost.”

The only time Geoffrey had seen Hightower and his wife together, the man had been barely civil to her. Geoffrey was sure he wasted no tears when the poor woman died. “If you and Mrs. Hightower were in love, you did an admirable job of hiding it.”

Freddie’s look of contempt was probably aimed at Geoffrey, though it could well have been for his dead wife. “Some sentiments are best kept private.”

James either did not see or chose to ignore the growing
frostiness in the conversation. He said lightly, “You are both wrong. Clearly, Ria is in love with me.”

“In that case, I should warn her to be careful,” Hightower said. “God knows what will happen to her if Miss Shaw or Miss Emily gets knowledge of it. Hell hath no fury, you know.”

Geoffrey threw a concerned glance toward the fathers of the two ladies in question, but thankfully they had not heard Hightower’s remark. They were deep in some political discussion at the other end of the table.

“I have my hands full with
all
the ladies,” James said with unabashed pride. “It is such a trial sometimes.” He took a sip of his brandy. “It would be lovely to marry Ria, of course. But the estate is ailing, and I must find a rich wife. Someone who will be glad for my family connections and bring a sizable dowry to the marriage.”

“I am glad to see your priorities are in the right place,” Geoffrey said.

James answered the rebuff with an easy grin.

“How about you, Lord Somerville?” Hightower said with a smirk. “It appears the velvet noose is about to close around you. The elder Miss Cardington seems to think she has a claim. Does she meet your qualifications?”

This conversation rankled him, but Geoffrey held his peace. He would not sink to their level of discussing women as though they were cards to be picked up or tossed down.