The Suitor List (15 page)

This treatment of Viscount Fieldstone was beyond
enough. "Of course he can smile." Augusta quickly
came to his defense. She tried to recall a single occurrence when he had graced her with a smile. To tell the
truth, she could not think of one.

If he did not or could not find joy in any circumstance,
was that cause to believe he had a temper? Surely everyone was angered at one time or another.

If Augusta married him, would she discover she had
wed a thunderous ogre when his morning toast was near
burnt? Would he rage out of control if he came across a
smudge on the toe of his Hessian boots? But most importantly, could he, would he, ever share a comfortable
laugh with her?

Augusta left her sisters in her bedchamber and headed
for the hedge maze behind the rear gardens, thinking of
what they had observed regarding Lord Fieldstone. She paced around her mother's statue in the center of the
maze, somehow finding strength in her maternal parent's
marble presence.

"What ails you, Gusta?" Richard's voice startled her.

"What?" Augusta spun to face him.

"I'm not disturbing you, am I?" Why should he ask?
She always welcomed his company.

"No, Richard." She flashed a nervous, quick grin to
show he was welcome and motioned for him to approach. "My sisters came to me, asking if ... They had
questions about the merits of . . "Augusta felt a bit embarrassed, and thought she was behaving silly when she
hesitated to utter, "Lord Fieldstone."

"Ah, Viscount Fieldstone," Richard repeated thoughtfully. "He is an admirable choice."

And he always had been very much admired up until
now.

Augusta had hoped Richard knew something of Lord
Fieldstone. Some unsavory behavior that would make
a match with him impossible.

"Do Char-Char and Moo find fault with him? How?
His reputation is unmarred. He would make an excellent
match. I cannot see how even your father could reject
him." Richard glanced at her. "If you find him agreeable ... He is one of the eight gentlemen remaining."

"Eight?" Last Augusta had heard, ten remained.
"Who has left us?"

"Lord Tremaine and Lord Stanton. Caught wagering
with Sir Nicholas Petersham, who, by the bye, has been
asked to make himself scarce. Your father was quite upset"

"Wagering on what?" She hadn't exactly kept abreast of the day's goings-on, but she was certain Muriel could
provide an exact account. No doubt this was where
Richard received his updates.

"Some of the gentlemen were discussing the odds of
other gentlemen in attendance. Sir Nicholas merely
covered the bets." No doubt, Richard must have heard
this from Muriel.

"It serves them right." Augusta huffed and exhaled
and- Well, this did not please her. "When will anyone
learn there is nothing to be gained by wagering?"

"I should not say that to Moo. She won a guinea
from Sir Nicholas just this morning," he mumbled, and
it did not go by unnoticed.

"Well, then, I suppose Sir Nicholas deserves to be
outwitted by a twelve-year-old."

"She's thirteen now. You've forgotten her birthday
again," Richard gently reminded her. "Where were we?"
Apparently, he was anxious to move their conversation
away from Sir Nicholas, or his wagering, or Muriel's
besting of Sir Nicholas. "Ah, I believe we were discussing Lord Fieldstone's difficulty. Your reservation
must be greater than his suitability, I wager"

Augusta shot him a sharp look at his last words.

"Oh, sorry." Richard cleared his throat, perhaps
even trying to hide a bit of laughter, realizing his faux
pas. "What do Moo and Char-Char find objectionable?"

Augusta exhaled, dropped her arms to her sides, and
closed her weary eyes. "He may be most agreeable and
all that is good, but they insist I should not have him."

Richard remained quiet and allowed her a moment of
contemplation. Augusta did not want to tell him what she and her sisters had discussed, but she wished to
confide in someone.

"Lord Fieldstone does not seem to . . " Embarrassment caused her to stop, but Augusta decided she must
tell him if she were to hear his opinion. "Richard, I do
not think I can spend my life with a man who cannot
laugh or show the least amount of joy, for that matter."

"Is he that type of man?" Richard seemed to doubt it
as much as she had. "Then I suggest you do what you
must to make sure he is not that kind of man"

"I should attempt to make him smile?" What a very
odd thing to do.

"Oh, Gusta, if you are so concerned he is without humor, make him laugh!" That made Richard give in to his
own deep, hearty laughter, stemming from his belly.
"I'll admit Lord Fieldstone may be on the serious side,
but I'm sure he is quite capable of displaying some type
of humor. Come now, everyone is."

Perhaps Richard was right. Augusta should make the
effort. That in itself sounded very silly. And what if
Muriel and Charlotte had the right of it and the Viscount
was devoid of any sense of frivolity?

"One never can tell what another finds humorous,"
Richard managed after calming himself. He'd stopped
laughing, but the lingering joy in his eyes was evident. "I
have an idea. Why don't you tell him the story about the
time we went fishing. You had just turned ten and told
me that you were old enough to bait your own hook and
from then on you would be doing it yourself"

"That was not funny" She stood in firm disagreement.
"That was a horrible ordeal-not only for the worm but
for me as well"

"It was funny to everyone except you." Richard
laughed as he always had in recalling what Augusta believed was a very painful tale.

Richard's words gave Augusta much to consider during her toilette that evening for the supper and music that
would follow, where she would perform.

Augusta thought the meal was pleasant and fairly uneventful. The guests chatted amicably with those seated
next to them. She enjoyed conversation with Lord
William and Lord Marsdon. When the meal ended, she
led the women to the Oriental Parlor so the men could
enjoy their port.

"I cannot think of a single gentleman who would
possibly be interested in any other young woman but
Lady Augusta," Lady Sutherland complained. "They
are all hers to do with as she likes!"

"You could not be further from the truth, Lady Sutherland," Mrs. Greenfield-Jones replied. "I caught one or
two of them studying my Stanza here" Her daughter,
Miss Constance, blushed.

If only the gentlemen could see that becoming reaction, Augusta thought, Miss Constance would quite
capture their hearts.

"Now, now, Lady Sutherland," Mrs. Wilbanks, neighbor and friend to Augusta's family, addressed the accusation. "Every young lady has an equal chance with any of
the gentlemen guests. If, indeed, a match is forthcoming."

"But it seems so obvious that the only reason we have
been invited is to add some propriety to Lady Augusta's
situation. It could not be clearer that every gentleman attending is a beau of hers!" The countess would not be
silenced.

"I beg your pardon, Lady Sutherland," Miss Skeffington interjected. "That is not precisely true"

"Well, it just so happens that you have a prior, standing engagement to Mr. Wilbanks. Do you think you
could ever bring him up to scratch on your own?" Lady
Sutherland glared at Miss Skeffington most severely. "I
think not."

"Lady Sutherland, you are being quite rude," Aunt
Penny interrupted. "I beg you, do not distress the young
ladies during this time. If my niece, or nieces, have an
advantage, it is through no fault of their own."

"Imagine thinking that having an advantage is a
fault!" Emily chuckled.

"I must assure you that no one, with the exception of
Miss Skeffington here, has a claim over any gentlemen,"
Mrs. Parker assured her.

The deep rumble of male voices silenced the women,
who immediately returned to their best behavior. Within
minutes the guests conversed freely.

Sir Benjamin and Mr. Allendale managed to have a
word with Augusta, having not done so during supper,
but she could not dismiss thoughts of Lord Fieldstone
and the dilemma he posed. She glanced in his direction.
He stood in conversation with Lord Sutherland and acknowledged her with a nod.

Next to those two gentlemen, the very young Sir
Samuel, who conversed with Charlotte and Mrs. Parker,
did not prove to have such difficulties. Her father, her
aunt, and both sisters liked him very much.

"We have a short program planned for tonight," the Duke finally announced. "I fully expect our other
guests to honor us with a display of their talents in the
evenings to come"

Murmurs circulated throughout the room of who
might be talented at which instrument and which piece
might be played for the evening.

"Shall we proceed?" The Duke offered his arm to
Charlotte and led the procession down the corridor to the
Music Room.

Lord Arthur Masters was first to offer to escort
Augusta.

"You are to play for us tonight?" he asked. "What a
delight! I have been looking forward to this since the end
of the Season"

"I managed to avoid it in Town but cannot do so in
my own home. It should be quite rude of me."

"Shall you favor us with a selection on the violin?"

"We shall see, my lord," she teased him. "We shall
see."

They stepped into the Music Room. Candles lit the
large ornate walls, illuminating the coffered ceiling and
decorative friezes. Four rows of chairs, ten wide with
an aisle down the center, faced forward where the piano
and harp sat.

Upon spotting the harp, Lord Arthur's eyes went
wide. "Is it possible that you play the harp and not the
violin?"

Augusta caught his steady gaze moving from her
gloved hands to her wrists and up her forearms. Did he
wish to grasp her arms and reexamine the musculature
in her extremities, as he had before, to discern which
instrument she played?

"You must be patient, my lord." Augusta relinquished
her hold on his arm and moved away, allowing him to
find a comfortable seat to observe the performance.

The short, puffed sleeves of her gown would give her
ease of movement whether playing the harp or the violin. Augusta drew off her long kid gloves, exposing her
forearms as she prepared to take up her instrument.

The case of nerves she felt had nothing to do with
her performing, for she had played the pianoforte for
most of her life, starting at a very young age, as had her
sisters. They all took up additional instruments when
proficiency of the pianoforte had been mastered.

Emily and Charlotte moved past the guests, settling
to their chairs, joining Augusta. Emily sat at the pianoforte. Charlotte took her seat by her harp. From the
credenza, Augusta retrieved her violin and bow, turned
forward, and glanced at Lord Arthur, who winked at her
in an I-knew-it manner.

The soft tapping of Emily's slipper on the pedal indicated the tempo and they would begin playing on the
silent count of three. The music began.

After the first two measures, Lord Carlton murmured, "She plays like an angel!"

If Penny had not been sitting next to Lord Carlton
she might not have heard his words.

"Yes, Lady Augusta is quite accomplished," Mr.
Skeffington, who sat to Lord Carlton's right, acknowledged.

"No ... Lady Charlotte" Apparently the act of
uttering her name made him emotional. Lord Carlton's subsequent gasps were followed by a whimper.

Penny leaned in his direction to ask, "Are you quite
all right, sir?"

"I have never heard such heavenly music in all my
life!" was his reply. A heart-wrenching sob ensued.

"Lord Carlton, please," Penny said. "Come now, you
must control yourself."

Miss Jessop, who sat behind him, was good enough to
hand him her handkerchief, laying it over his shoulder.

"Thank you," Penny whispered. Lord Carlton nodded, apparently unable to speak.

A rippling arpeggio flowed from Charlotte's fingertips, which caused the tone of Lord Carlton's uncontrollable bawling to climb with the ascending notes. The
concert continued; the musicians remained focused on
their piece.

Penny motioned to the footmen standing in the doorway to approach. Mr. Skeffington moved from his seat,
allowing the footmen to escort Lord Carlton from the
seated guests and out of the room.

Once he had left, Penny glanced about to ascertain
how much of a disturbance he had created. Of course,
everyone had heard him cry out, more than a few times,
and could not but notice him bodily removed from the
Music Room.

It was embarrassing and disgraceful, for Lord Carlton
and the observers. Penny settled into her seat and focused forward, trying to put the incident behind her. She
expected that once he managed to pull himself together,
he would come to his senses and do what was expected:
remove himself from Faraday Hall.