Gentleman's Guide 01 - His Impetuous Debutante (3 page)

Noah took on a stern look. “I believe
I will.”

Taylor simply nodded, then glanced at
Phoebe and smiled. “While you see to him, Felding, perhaps you
would allow me a dance with your lovely sister.”

A warning glare came from Noah, but he
approved the request. “As you have already been seen with her in
the doorway, you might as well,” Noah groaned and walked past them,
exiting out into the night onto the balcony.

Lord Sandlin escorted Phoebe onto the
dance floor. She studied him and decided he was very handsome in a
boyish sort of way. “I am somewhat confused,” she finally
admitted.

“
About?” He returned with
a smile.

“
My mother asked me to
stay away from my brother’s friends, but you are one of them. Now
my brother has granted us permission to dance.”

He chuckled. “That was before I was
seen escorting you from outside.”

Her face grew cold. Oh,
dear, was she ruined now? So quickly? Her mother would be
mortified.
She
was mortified.

He seemed to read her thoughts. “No
worry little one. Your reputation is still safe.”

Confusion followed next. “But,…” she
trailed off, not sure what the question should be and the two
separated as the dance pulled them apart.

*

“
Who is that woman?”
Taylor expected Lady Phoebe to finish the question she was about to
ask but she changed topics. With a quick glance, Taylor realized
who Lady Phoebe meant. He groaned inwardly. Why did she have to ask
about that one particular woman? “That is Lady Draden.” He was not
willing to offer more.

“
Is she a friend of
Noah’s? She seems quite taken with him.”

“
Why do you ask that?” He
hadn’t thought Lady Draden one to let her feelings show.

“
When I was standing with
Noah, shortly after we arrived, she was watching him and appeared
amused.”

Taylor could well believe that. Noah
had recently told the woman in question that he would not be
spending as much time with her this Season because he would have
his hands full watching his sister. Lady Draden hadn’t believed him
and thought it was only an excuse to distance himself while
searching for a wife. Obviously, once she had seen Phoebe, she
realized Noah spoke the truth.

“
She is an acquaintance of
your brother.” He didn’t offer anything further. Actually, he
wasn’t really sure what relationship existed between the two, and
if what he suspected was true, it was not something he would share
with an innocent, young woman.

Phoebe’s eyes sparkled and she leaned
in to whisper. “Would she be his mistress?”

No statement or question could have
stunned him more, and he cleared his throat, trying to regain his
composure, and prayed no one overheard her. “What do you know of
such matters?” ,he asked in a hushed voice.

She gave him a quick, irritated look.
“I may be from the country, but I’m still aware of how matters are
in the world.”

Taylor smiled and chuckled. “If that
is so, why were you about to let young Carlyle lead you into a dark
corner?”

Phoebe bit her lip before she
answered. “It was a momentary lapse of judgment on my part, which
will not be repeated.”

“
See that it isn’t.” She
was a delight to talk to. Charming, honest and uninhibited. While
refreshing, it could prove to be very dangerous.

Phoebe woke later than usual to find
her maid, Holly, preparing her clothing for the day. The lavender
day dress she absolutely adored was already laying out, ready for
her.

“
Good morning, milady. Did
you sleep well?” Holly’s cheerfulness matched Phoebe’s morning mood
and she rose from the bed. It was also one of the reasons Holly was
her maid and nobody else’s. The rest of the household didn’t
appreciate her morning exuberance, preferring to lie in bed and not
be spoken to until fully awake.

“
I did, thank you.” Phoebe
pushed the palm of her hands toward the ceiling and
stretched.

A grin pulled at Holly’s mouth and she
sank down onto a cream cushioned seat beside the window. “What was
the ball like?”

Phoebe turned toward her maid and
placed her feet on the floor. “It wasn’t nearly as bad as I
expected.”

Holly’s blonde eyebrows rose. “Didn’t
I tell you all would be well?”

Phoebe laughed and stood. “Indeed you
did. I will not doubt you again, Holly.”

“
See that you don’t.” The
maid wagged a finger at her and followed Phoebe to the dressing
table and picked up the brush to fix her hair.

“
Lady Meadows is here,”
Holly announced, almost as an afterthought.

Phoebe straightened and turned in her
seat.

“
She is paying a call to
your mother.” Holly gently touched Phoebe’s shoulders and turned
her back toward the mirror.

Her shoulders relaxed and Phoebe
watched her maid in the mirror work magic on her hair. Lady Meadows
was probably reporting on the events from the prior evening. All
Phoebe could hope was that the incident on the balcony remained a
secret.

When Holly finished styling her hair
and Phoebe was dressed for the day she exited her room and hoped
there was still some food remaining from breakfast. She couldn’t
remember the last time she slept this late. She had also gotten to
sleep hours later than usual as well. Her stomach growled at the
thought of a blueberry scone.

“
You look lovely, Phoebe.
Perfect for receiving guests.” Janine was coming from the direction
of her mother’s rooms.

“
I only met people for the
first time last night,” she argued as they made their way to the
parlor.

Just as they reached the bottom of the
stairs, Farnsworth, the butler, announced the beginning of her many
callers. The first were young men with flowers asking for
permission to call on her. When she hesitated, Janine suggested
they speak with the marquis as Phoebe was reluctant to grant any
request without first gaining his permission.

Following the gentlemen callers,
Phoebe received young women and their mothers. The mothers seemed
to either judge her or compare her to their own
daughters.

“
Do you sing, Lady
Phoebe?” Lady Carrington asked before she bit into a lemon cake.
Her two daughters sat on either side of her.

“
I am afraid I do
not.”

The woman brightened. “My Juliet has
the sweetest voice in all of England.”

The poor girl on Lady Carrington’s
left pinked and took a hasty sip of her tea.

“
My Sarah is a most
accomplished musician. She plays the pianoforte.”

This time the young woman on Lady
Carrington’s right turned red. Phoebe hated they were so
uncomfortable. They certainly shouldn’t be embarrassed by
talent.

“
In two weeks hence they
will perform a small musical. I hope you can join us, and your
brother,
Lord Felding
, of course.”

“
I would be
delighted.”

The woman beamed. “I notice you have a
piano, do you play?”

“
Yes. It is one of my
favorite pastimes.”

The smile on the woman’s face
stiffened. “Will you be performing?”

The questioned sounded more like an
accusation. While music was her soul, her passion, Phoebe couldn’t
imagine playing for an audience. She didn’t even play when her
family was in the room. “No, I will not.”

Lady Carrington’s face relaxed. “That
is too bad, but I am sure we will get by.” The woman practically
giggled.

“
Does Lord Felding enjoy
music?” Lady Chancily asked from the chair to her right.

“
Yes, does he?” her
daughter, Lady Patrice asked eagerly.

Phoebe studied the two. “On occasion.”
On the very, very rare occasion, she amended to herself.

Every lady, mother and daughter alike,
beamed and began discussing plans for their own musicale debuts in
the coming weeks. Phoebe expected invitations to each of them,
though she suspected they were meant more for Noah than herself.
She didn’t have the heart to tell them Noah would rather have a
healthy tooth pulled than sit through the type of musical these
ladies were planning.

Phoebe let her laughter flow after the
last of the callers left. Janine stared at her, as if unable to
determine what Phoebe found so humorous. A question marred her
brow.

“
They don’t know how to
deal with me.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.

“
How do you
mean?”

“
I am competition. Yet, I
am the best person to befriend if you want to marry a marquis.”
More laughter erupted.

Janine laughed with her. “I am glad
you could see the situation for what it was.”

Phoebe sobered and took a sip of her
tea. “Besides, they don’t realize I am studying them as
well.”

“
Of course, you need to
become familiar with the competition,” Janine agreed with
hesitation.

“
Oh, no, that isn’t it at
all.” Phoebe dismissed her comment with a flick of her wrist. “I
have no intention of finding a husband this Season, or ever.
However, I do think it is time my brother married,” Phoebe
emphasized with determination.

Janine stared at her before she slowly
asked, “Does Felding have any idea what you are up to?”

“
No. Not at all, and you
must swear not to tell him,” Phoebe insisted and wondered if she
should have trusted her new companion.

Janine laughed. “Oh, I won’t say a
word.”

*

Taylor sat further away from his
friends. They agreed to meet at the club this afternoon but he
preferred not to partake in any conversation where the topic was
Lady Phoebe.

“
I believe we can
confidently say your sister was a success last evening,” Marius
Parker directed his comment to Felding and settled into one of the
last remaining seats at the table.

“
So I have gathered.”
Felding grimaced.

“
She doesn’t seem to have
suffered much for dancing with Sandlin either,” Chambers
laughed.

“
An unfortunate
circumstance.” The Marquis grunted.

Taylor sat forward defensively. “At
least Jeremy Carlyle won’t be bothering her again.”

“
No. That was taken care
of.” Felding took a puff off of his cheroot.

Was this only the first
week of the Season? Had there been only
one
ball? Taylor began to accept
this may be the longest Season of his life, especially if he did
not find a wife of his own and had to spend it watching over Lady
Phoebe when he really wished to dance with her again.

“
There will be others,”
Lavins offered on a more serious note and crossed his
legs.

“
I have no doubt.” Felding
gestured for the waiter. “Which means I need to be even more
diligent in watching her. My goodness, doesn’t she know better than
to wander off by herself?”

“
I assumed that had been
explained to her.” Taylor held his cup up to be refilled with
coffee but changed his mind. “Whisky, if you please?”

Felding focused on him, mouth turned
down. “Is everything all right? It isn’t like you to drink this
early in the day?”

Taylor studied him for a
moment and considered what he might say.
I
find myself desiring your sister. I am sure you have no objection,
do you?
No, he definitely could not tell
Felding the truth. “My future plagues me.” Let them make of it what
they will. These were his closest friends and knew the matrimonial
nightmares he had endured all because of one simple
will.

Felding nodded his head, as if he did
understand and returned to the topic at hand. “Wandering off alone,
especially onto a balcony, was explained to my dear sister.
However, if Phoebe doesn’t see the harm, then there mustn’t truly
be any.”

“
That can’t be good,”
Marius stated the obvious.

Taylor would rather be somewhere else
at this moment. His mind had been filled with Lady Phoebe following
their dance. She was not for him and he well knew it. If Felding,
or any of them, had any idea of the thoughts that ran through his
mind the evening before, he would be exiled from the group. If
those thoughts had been voiced about any other young lady, they
would have laughed and discussed the positive and negative of
further association. However, those same thoughts about Lady Phoebe
would put him at odds with Noah.

He closed his eyes and pinched the
bridge of his nose.

“
Sandlin, is anything else
troubling you? You are certainly more quiet than usual.”

He looked over at Felding and knew the
truth was still not an option. “A headache is all.” He did have one
coming on and it was best not to reveal the cause. He drained the
glass of whiskey the moment it was delivered and set the glass on
the table when finished. “If you will excuse me.” He bowed to his
friends and exited the club. It was best to distance himself before
he made the mistake of revealing his true thoughts.