The Suitor List (9 page)

The Duke reached across the transport, holding his
daughter's hand. "Do not concern yourself, my dear
Gusta. The family will stand by your side as you sort
through your suitors. We may even aid you in your decision. I am quite sure there is one fellow among them who
you will find suitable as a husband"

Augusta smiled at her father and her aunt and then
thought of her brother and sisters. She had nothing to
fear. Her family was there. They would always be there
to help, comfort, and support her.

Augusta sent Emily a note early Tuesday morning.
With her father's proposal of a house party, Augusta
needed the aid of her dearest friend.

"A house party?" Emily blinked moments after arriving at Worth House. Augusta hadn't even allowed her the
courtesy of removing her bonnet before relaying the
news.

Granted the Wilbanks household would be topsyturvy with their departure scheduled for early the following day, but Augusta simply could not do without
her best friend's sage advice when it came to her guest
list.

"Surely you cannot invite only gentlemen?" Emily
removed her gloves and pelisse after climbing the stairs
to Augusta's bedchamber.

All of Emily's outer garments lay upon the bed
while they worked undisturbed, mulling over the various acquaintances they had made during Augusta's week
in Town.

"It would look most peculiar, would it not?" Augusta
agreed. Although her list of eligibles came easily to her,
compiling a group of females was a more arduous task.

A pot of tea and bites of strawberry tarts gave them
sustenance for the next hour, until a gift of sugar-coated
orange rinds arrived from Sir Benjamin Pelfry, which
greatly swayed Emily's opinion of the baronet.

If, by chance, any of the lovely ladies might take a
fancy to any of the men, and if any of the gentlemen
should prefer said young lady, Augusta would certainly
give them her blessing.

She would never stand between a couple who wished
to be together. As their plan for a house party turned out,
it was not only a way to find a husband for Augusta.
There were other young ladies who might benefit as well.
Aunt Penny soon joined their discussion and a guest list
was agreed upon to the satisfaction of all.

An unexpected invitation found Augusta and Mrs.
Parker attending a dinner given by the Earl and Countess of Rushton the following evening. Augusta thought
it curious how they came to be invited. It might have had
something to do with the two other women who attended: Miss Constance Greenfield-Jones, accompanied
by her mother, and Lord and Lady Sutherland's daughter, Miss Emma Sutherland. Both young ladies, as it happened, were also on the Faraday house party guest list.

The Earl and Countess of Rushton were welcoming
and jolly, excellent hosts.

"A dozen!" Lady Rushton called out to one and all.
"We have an even dozen at our table tonight."

"By gad! What a time we will have!" Lord Rushton
chuckled and tugged at his gold-striped waistcoat.

At supper, Augusta had the good fortune to be seated
across from the very attractive Viscount Marsdon and
next to the equally dashing Lord William Felgate. It was
impossible to say which gentleman was more handsome.

When the meal ended nearly two hours later, the
ladies left the gentlemen to their port. The men did not
remain in the dining room for long and joined the ladies
in the front parlor.

Lord Marsdon entered first, asking Augusta to partner
him in a game of whist with Lady Sutherland and Mrs.
Greenfield-Jones. Lord Paul Bancroft swept in front of
the hearth with Miss Sutherland on his arm, taking a
turn about the room while Miss Greenfield-Jones sat
upon the velvet sofa with Lord William, reading his
palm and informing him of his fortuitous future.

After the card game had ended and a new game began,
Lord Paul approached Augusta to remind her of their introduction by Lady Castlereagh at Almack's nearly a
week ago. Although they had not shared a dance, he had
sent violets the following day. He also made it clear he
intended to hold her attention for as long as the current
whist rubber lasted.

Apparently it was far too long as far as Lord William
was concerned, so he told Augusta when it was his
chance to speak to her privately.

"Since Lady Rushton was kind enough to arrange
this party on my behalf, you would have thought I
might have the benefit of your company, but it does not
appear that has happened. This evening I discovered that Lord Marsdon and Lord Paul have the advantage
of a previous acquaintance."

"You are mistaken, sir. I did not make the acquaintance of Lord Marsdon until this very evening," Augusta
replied.

"As did I, and I must confess that I have taken an immediate dislike to the fellow." Lord William's obvious
contrived disdain for the viscount made Augusta smile.
"After playing several hands with Lord Marsdon and
Twenty Questions with Lord Paul, I expect there is not
much of your time to be had"

Augusta glanced at the two gentlemen who had
been mentioned, now occupied with Miss Sutherland
and Miss Greenfield-Jones, respectively. "I believe more
than enough of the evening remains to partake in whatever you wish to occupy the few remaining moments left
to us."

"I can tell you I do not wish to waste my time occupied with whist or loo, nor would I wish to partake in
nonsensical chatter to discover some random animal,
vegetable, or mineral you have set as an answer."

Augusta would admit that partaking in games might
not be useful in deciding upon a spouse. It did, however,
allow the participants to enjoy, or not, one another's
company.

"I believe in her desperation to find guests, the countess resorted to near strangers. Dashed awkward to plan
a party with only you, me, and your aunt in attendance.
It would be an odd five attending instead of a satisfying
even dozen, don't you think?"

It hadn't really mattered how many sat at the supper table. What was more important were his intentions toward her.

"We best pretend to be occupied. Here-" He snatched
up a tablet of paper and two pencils, motioning her to
one side of the room. "Let us sketch each other-that
way I might do as I truly wish-gaze upon you uncensored. Shall we step away from the others as not to be
overheard?"

They moved to one side of the room, providing a bit
of privacy for their conversation, and sat at a small
table with good lighting. Augusta accepted a pencil and
paper from him and set it on the table before her.

"I must make a confession, Lord William." Although
she could appreciate a painting, a watercolor, or a drawing, Augusta had no aptitude for originating such art. "I
cannot sketch."

"Nor can I-but let us keep that secret between us,
shall we? We must do our best to mask our inadequacies.
As a man in search of a wife, I am finding that a role in
which I am often cast is that of a gentleman without
faults" He settled back into the chair and set to work, his
pencil moving over his paper.

Augusta spoke first. "Lady Rushton tells me you have
just returned to Town."

"I hate to admit that after I arrived in the country I
heard of a lady so lovely who had appeared after I had
left" The smile from his lips spread to his eyes.

"You're supposed to be drawing," she whispered, interrupting his longing gaze.

"Ah, yes." He cleared his throat. "I was merely studying my subject at length"

Lord William was a clever one. Sketching one another, at least merely the pretense of doing so, gave them
the opportunity to gaze a bit longer than what might be
considered proper.

Augusta had thought him dashing after her first
stolen glance at the supper table, but now that she had
the occasion to truly behold his features, she thought
him almost beautiful. He had wavy golden-blond hair, a
fine, straight nose, and piercing light blue eyes. His
firm wide jaw gave his face a masculine structure.

After a few strokes of his pencil he continued.
"Where was I? Oh, yes, my London departure" His gaze
focused on the paper before him. "I heard this lady
caused such fervor that I had to see the creature for myself." Lord William met her stare and held her attention.
"I must say, she has far more than mere beauty"

Augusta glanced down at her own work, feeling quite
self-conscious. Would she ever grow accustomed to any
man calling her beautiful? "And who told you of this
Banbury story?"

"I can honestly say there has been no exaggeration."

She chuckled and prevented his frankness from
causing her to laugh aloud.

"So you've returned to Town in search of a wife, have
you?" She took his lead and jumped right to the heart of
the matter, pretending the lady he spoke of was not her.

"I must commend you on your directness." Lord
William glanced at her and smiled. If he was shocked
he did not show it. "I must confess that I have never
willingly stood in the petticoat line. However, last year
a friend of mine wed an exceptional woman. My only
regret is that I did not have the good fortune of meeting her first. My second is that I do not believe I would
have had the good judgment to marry her."

"Are you in love with her, then?"

"No, I admire her, esteem her greatly" He glanced
away as if considering his answer. "Sir Randall and Lady
Trent are well suited. I do not desire to take his place, but
it does put me in a mind to follow their example. Such an
association could be of great benefit to me as well."

"An association?" What an unromantic thought that
was.

"It is not my meaning to-" He stopped and chuckled, seemingly at himself. "I'm only saying that if such
a lady exists for me, I should like to find her."

Well, that sounded lovely.

"I should be very happy if you were the lady" His
pencil had slowed to a stop and his attention focused
directly upon her. He stared deeply into her eyes.

Augusta felt something. It was a heartfelt, serious,
very adult emotion she could not name. "I am flattered,
Lord William." Her face warmed, and knowing she was
blushing made her feel even more embarrassed. "And
how would we know if we are capable of forming this
association of which you speak?"

"Ah ...... he crooned knowingly. "It is not always
immediately apparent. I believe such things require a
bit of time. The glow of infatuation can be quite deceptive, and when one is considered somewhat prized, as
something to be won ..

Is that what he thought? Could that be what any of
her gentlemen suitors thought? A trophy to be awarded?
Augusta had thought she would be the one to choose
among the men.

"Well, gentlemen can become wrapped up in the competition itself and mistake it for the goal." He chuckled.
"Let me just say that I believe when it comes to a man
and a woman, I feel it best that nature take its course.
There is more to a match than dowries, land settlements,
and family agreements. It's two people who, I feel,
should be of like mind, don't you think?"

"I thank you for your opinion, sir. You bring up aspects
I had not considered." Augusta laid her pencil on the
table, finished with her work. "Are you ready to reveal
your masterpiece?"

With a lackluster sigh, Lord William glanced up
from his work. "I certainly hope my lack of artistic talent does not reflect upon me unfavorably." He appeared
honest, his words well thought out, and he had a certain
charm about him Augusta found engaging.

"I have another confession to make" She blinked
down at her drawing. "I did not sketch you. I could not
bring myself to do so, lest you form a poor opinion of
me."

As she could not draw human features, she drew
hearts, a chain of hearts in one enormous heart shape in
the middle of the paper.

"All right, no more excuses. We trade on the count of
three" He held out his paper face down; Augusta mimicked him and waited. "One ... two ... three"

Augusta pulled his paper toward her, face up, revealing his drawing. She gazed at his paper and laughed
with delight. He'd sketched overlapping hearts in the
shape of one single large heart located in the center of
the page.

They laughed at the uncanny coincidence. Lord William spoke, "I honestly cannot say if we could make
a successful match, but there is something to be said
when two people's thoughts occupy the same page"

Penny, who sat next to the hearth with Lady Rushton,
watched the scene between her niece and Lord William
unfold.

"Oh, yes, they do seem to be rubbing together very
well. I think there might be a match in the making, there.
I could not be more pleased. He truly is a good boy, you
know, Mrs. Parker," Lady Rushton whispered to Penny.
"The one odd bit about him is he doesn't care for tea, but
one gets used to it."

"I am quite delighted that you have come to see me
again." Lady Vernon motioned to Augusta to sit at the
veranda table.