Secrets of a Spinster (23 page)

She blinked once, then shook her head. “I am so sorry, my lord. I’m afraid the next dance has already been spoken for.”

He straightened and smiled kindly. “Then may I take you back in to your partner?”

She considered him with a curious smile, and nodded, smiling more broadly. “That would be delightful, my lord, thank you.”

He held out his arm, which she took, forcing herself to maintain her composure as she reentered the ballroom. Let Geoffrey Harris think whatever he wanted. She would allow the men she wanted to court her, she would flirt and flatter and let herself be adored, and she would dance with whomever she wanted.

And at the moment, she was going to most heartily enjoy a dance with his brother.

“Single most uncomfortable moment of my life.”

“Seriously, Colin?”

“You need to get out more.”

“
I
need to get out more?”

“It was a touch nerve-wracking, I admit.”

“Thank you.”

“Did you see the way they looked at each other? I wondered who was going to start breathing fire and set the place ablaze.”

A snort. “The gossips will love this. They’re talking already.”

“Are you sure he went down this way?”

“Positive. Duncan told me before he ran for safety. Geoff!”

Geoffrey made no move to approach his friends, but also made no effort to hide himself as he stared out of the window nearest him.

After his dance with Mary, he had felt the need to flee the scene of his crime as soon as was respectably possible. He wasn’t sure what had happened out there, but that had not been him. He was neither that impertinent nor that petty. And yet, he felt justified in everything he said. He had been honest and straightforward, just as he always had been with her.

But he didn’t like the bitter taste in his mouth he’d had ever since.

And he didn’t like the way her waist had felt beneath his hand.

And he most certainly did not enjoy the way his voice had lowered of its own accord and rendered him a complete idiot who couldn’t look away from her.

“Geoff, I think we need to work on your hearing,” Colin announced as he approached, clamping a hand down on his shoulder.

Geoff snorted a light laugh. “I hear you, Colin, but it doesn’t always require a response.”

“Well said,” praised Derek, coming around his other side and leaning against the wall. “So, Geoffrey, would you like to tell us what that was all about?”

He looked over at Derek in apparent confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Nathan made a noise of disbelief. “Do you take us for idiots? That little duel you had with Mary Hamilton in the middle of the ballroom for all of London to see. I thought you were going to lose your head.”

“I thought she was going to slap him,” Colin offered with a hint of disappointment.

“I was just having a conversation with an old friend,” Geoffrey told them, keeping his face free from any residual emotion. “It was my only opportunity. She’s too busy at other times to see anybody besides her fawning fools. Except rarely,” he muttered as he recalled her words. “Where is Duncan?”

“He vanished some time before your grand finale,” Colin said with a wave of his hand. “Something about his sister that needed his attention, I really haven’t the foggiest.”

Geoff glowered darkly, which was fast becoming an expression of frequency for his face.

“If it was just a conversation,” Derek asked slowly, his voice even, “then I am curious as to why you have had that exact expression on your face the entire evening, particularly when you were staring quite fixedly at Mary?”

Geoff turned his gaze back to Derek, who didn’t even flinch.

“And I myself am wondering,” Nathan mused aloud, “what could possibly drive you, the most controlled man I know, to march across the entire ballroom and practically drag her on to the dance floor, away from her collection of men, and then engage in the most tension-filled dance I have ever had to witness in my life?”

“And I want to know…” Colin started, but Geoff just looked at him, and he clamped his lips together with a shrug and an impish grin.

“Things are… difficult at the moment,” Geoff said, choosing his words with care.

“For whom?” Derek murmured, a strange smile forming.

“She is being unreasonable and ridiculous.”

Nathan snorted. “And you are being mulish and gloomy.”

“And you cannot sleep,” Colin pointed out.

Geoff frowned at him. “That has nothing to do with Mary.”

Colin shrugged. “Both have you wandering random corridors, I made a logical leap.”

“Well, don’t,” he grumbled. He shoved off of the wall and looked at them. “And if you nannies are through with your interrogation, I’d like to return to the ball.”

They all stepped back and gestured for him to lead on. Their timing was impeccable and they nearly burst out laughing as Geoff walked past them and back into the splendor of the ballroom.

“I think he’s in trouble,” Nathan muttered softly to Derek as they followed.

“Oh, he most certainly is,” Derek agreed, grinning. “Beyond trouble.”

“What sort of trouble?” Colin asked eagerly, earning himself a look from the others. “What? What trouble?”

C
hapter
F
ifteen

M
ary sat among friends as she listened to Lily Arden perform her third piece of the evening, bringing sounds from the pianoforte that Mary had only fabricated in her wildest imaginations. The girl was supremely talented, and she was delighted that she had been able to have a hand in displaying that to the ignorant.

She glanced about her music room with a small smile, searching for the most likely candidates to approach Lily when she was finished. Mr. Parker, perhaps, as he was a great admirer of music and looked quite arrested at the moment. That would be a fine match, but Lily could do better.

Her eyes fell upon Thomas Granger, her roguish card player, and saw that, much to her surprise, he looked positively bewildered. His dark features were taut and his eyes wide as he stared at Lily in wonder. It was much to his credit, she suspected, that his mouth was not hanging open. Was he an admirer of music or just of Lily? She had no idea, but wouldn’t that be something? He would make a good match. An excellent one, to be honest. He might have been a rogue and a skilled card player, but he was perfectly respectable, charming, surprisingly shy in temperament, and his fortune… Well, it would be safe to say that he had the means that even if he had lost Mary’s entire fortune in a poorly played round, he would still have fortune enough to be wildly eligible.

The charming rogue and the modest beauty? She fought a mischievous grin as she looked between the two. That would be the most delightfully unexpected match.

Her glance about the room showed her who else was still in attendance, but none were paying so close attention. They were all politeness, and no doubt would applaud Lily most handsomely, but they were not awestruck. They didn’t appreciate her talent as Mary did, nor some of the other ladies in the room.

She took a moment to consider Kate, a wonderfully accomplished pianist herself, sitting near her husband, and watching Lily with a fond smile. Well, that was well done. If Lily could receive the attention and good graces of the Marchioness of Whitlock, her popularity would positively blossom. And Kate was fiendish enough that she would undoubtedly have her own ideas for helping Lily make a good match.

Mary had to laugh at herself. Since when had she become such a devoted matchmaker? She had never cared about such things before, and rarely even paid enough attention to know about the matches being made. That was her sister’s territory. And yet here she was, eagerly making matches for a girl who had made no such desires known, and with a man she herself was being courted by.

Not that she would consider Mr. Granger for herself. It had become obvious early on that they wouldn’t suit, but they remained friends and he kept up appearances for no other reason than to give her a bit of a reprieve as needed, and to make her laugh. Not that his sense of humor was particularly ebullient, but he did say the most delightfully droll things when nobody was listening.

He would make Lily a fine husband, if they chose.

Lily finished her song, and smiled shyly at the gathering. Applause rang through the room, though some were only doing so because of appearances. Mary frowned as she noticed Lord Wofford only clapped twice, and then stifled a yawn behind his hand.

And he was not the only one to do so.

Attention turned to her as hostess and she adopted her public face and smiled. “Miss Arden’s talented fingers surely deserve a rest after so difficult a piece, particularly when she performed it so masterfully. Don’t you all agree that it was so?”

Now the applause was louder and more enthusiastic. Lily blushed from her seat at the pianoforte, but made no attempt to temper her sweet smile.

“I believe we may take a break from the music for now,” Mary continued, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Geoffrey was making his way to Lily with a cordial smile. Her tone slipped ever so slightly, but she managed to cover it with a laugh. “Unless anyone else should like a chance?”

“Will you not favor us, Miss Hamilton?” came the slightly higher-than-masculine voice of Mr. Beech, who was equal parts young and naïve, and too eager by half.

Other voices cried out for her, but she shook her head firmly. “No, I am not performing tonight.” She looked over at Lily, who was smiling kindly at Geoffrey, now at her side. Mary would ignore him. “Particularly after so exquisite a piece as Miss Arden has just played. I cannot exhibit anything half so great. No, no,” she insisted, holding up a hand at the protestations. “Not tonight, thank you.”

“Miss Harville?” Geoffrey suggested suddenly, looking at the round-faced girl sitting behind Mary. “Would you not favor us?”

Fanny Harville looked stunned, but delighted enough and she nodded.

Mary looked back at him with widened eyes, but he appeared not to notice as he helped Lily from the bench. Other faces in the room looked equally as horrified as Mary felt. She glanced longingly at the side door, which Winston had been instructed to leave open. She could not in good conscience leave the room when she was hostess, and Geoffrey knew that.

Her guests had no such restrictions. Several of the ladies claimed to be warm, and not a few gentlemen rose to assist them as they left the room. Derek and Kate stayed, though Derek watched the others leave with longing. Cassie glared at the retreating figures, then smiled encouragingly at Fanny as she took her seat.

Mary sighed to herself and settled into her seat. If Cassie could be encouraging, so could she.

Surprisingly, Lord Wofford didn’t leave the room. Nor did Lord Oliver, Mr. Timmons, Mr. Parker, or Mr. Burlington, all of whom appeared as though any other accomplished female were about to perform. Yet all of them, she was quite sure, had been a victim of Fanny Harville’s voice previously. They showed no sign of wishing to be anywhere else.

Well. She would have to seriously reconsider a few of those gentlemen for herself. True gentlemen, it would appear.

Decidedly against her express wishes, her eyes scanned for Geoffrey. She frowned ever so slightly as he escorted Lily from the room, already engaging her in more than polite conversation. Not that she expected Lily to remain. The poor girl had already played three times and with very little refreshment between. But Geoffrey…