Wicked Nights With a Proper Lady (8 page)

The store’s patrons stared outright at Genny and Lady Charlotte until the bell above the door jingled its final toll behind their retreating figures.

Leo turned back to the shopkeeper and fingered another hair comb. “Wrap the first two together, but this one separately.”

The man nodded. “Shall I have them delivered, my lord?”

“No, I will take both packages with me and make all the necessary arrangements.”

Now the only question that remained was, should he deliver one of the combs directly to Genny or have his valet discreetly deliver her present? He had a sneaking suspicion she’d return it, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try again and again to give it to her until he succeeded in winning her favor.

Chapter 5

This writer fails to see how the classes can become indistinguishable. The revered Lady C
^___
’s intimate dinner party invites have gone out. It should be no surprise to anyone that the list of names includes members of the
haute ton
who have for one reason or another caught this writer’s attention over the course of the season.

Not to mention, there are some unknowns who have been invited, too. The only thing this writer knows with certainty is that this first exclusive invite will match that of the most sought-after country stay in less than a month’s time.

The Mayfair Chronicles, May 28, 1846

The Carletons’ dinner party was going to be a delightfully quiet affair. Wide comfortable chairs, divans, and settees were strewn about the room, inviting the guests to rest their tired feet, as Genny was currently doing. There was even a beautifully appointed retiring room for the ladies, offering a tranquil place to kick off tight slippers and put your feet up without censure.

The evening would be intimate with less than twenty-five at table. Genny covered a yawn almost a second too late. No one paid her any mind, however, so no harm done with her faux pas.

Everyone’s focus lay solely on the center of the room where Charlotte, her friend Ariel, and the young girl’s mother chattered.

Ariel and Charlotte were the diamonds of the season, and attention was lavished upon them as if they were prized mares to be bid on at auction. Had it been like that for her when she’d debuted? She couldn’t recall since she hadn’t had the dowry both these young women had—though Ariel’s was not as grand as Charlotte’s.

“Miss Camden,” Lady Carleton called over to her, her opal and lace fan wafting cool air against her slightly reddened cheeks. “Do join us. We need a level head to help settle our disagreement.”

Genny stood from the reposed position she’d assumed for far too long and strode toward the hostess of the party. Lady Carleton’s dress was of fine ivory satin. Simple strands of diamonds wrapped around her neck and wrist, her silvery-blonde hair was pulled up into a twisted chignon and adorned with tall snowy-colored marabou feathers. Her face was aged but still beautiful. Her easy smile had always been a welcome sight, and for some reason Genny was reminded of her mother whenever she looked at Lady Carleton.

“We need clarification on the events earlier today,” her cousin said, a wicked smile lingering on her lips.

How much had her cousin said? Better yet, how much had she speculated aloud?

“I heard,” Ariel piped in, “that Lord Barrington was so bold as to buy you a trinket at the jeweler’s.” The young lady’s fan twitched a little faster with the declaration, as though she couldn’t contain her excitement over a possible scandal.

If Genny chanced seeing Leo again, she had every intention of thoroughly castigating him for his actions. How dare he act so forward in front of no less than five society misses and their mamas, not to mention Charlotte? And Genny wasn’t sure that Charlotte wouldn’t keep this from her grandmother, which in turn might find its way to Lord Ponsley’s ears. What a muddle she was in.

Pasting a smile on her face, she made her way into the throng of tittering women all wanting to be the first to know the latest on dit.

“Oh, no, no,” Genny started to say with a slight shake of her head, eyes wide as though shocked at being the center of gossip. “The trinket was certainly not for me. Can you believe that Lord Barrington thought to consult with
me
on what he should purchase?”

Who should she say it was for? Even if the trinket was for his friend, it was still inappropriate for him to have been so forward. To have insisted she remove her hat and try them on herself. Not to mention the slight touches he’d stolen. With a great deal of agitation, she flicked her fan open to cool her cheeks. She refused to blush. Refused to think of his touch and the way it made her skin tingle in awareness.

His liberties had been so glancing she almost thought them a figment of her imagination and wanted nothing more than to convince herself that she was mistaken.

“It was for a female relation of his. He thought I might be able to aid him in picking out something simple.” She wasn’t sure why she had lied, but it had seemed important to do so.

“He didn’t dare insult you so!” This voiced concern came from Ariel’s mother, Lady Hargrove.

Whatever gossip these ladies thought to speculate on where Genny and Barrington were concerned … it stopped now.

Genny would not allow herself to be distracted by a man ever again. Genny would much rather this group of ladies pity her than offer scorn for something she had no control over.

“I can hardly believe it myself,” she said.

“And did you pick out something
plain
for him?” Lady Carleton asked.

“He looked so out of sorts over what he should choose that I couldn’t refuse his entreaty. Yes, I assisted him and then we left him with the proprietor to conclude his business. I don’t even know which bauble he purchased.”

“For whom do you think he purchased the piece?” Charlotte said, rubbing the closed edge of her fan thoughtfully beneath her chin.

“I couldn’t say. Though I do hope he made out well.”

Lady Carleton looked at her oddly before declaring, “I feel inclined to tell you that my husband invited Barrington and Castleigh for dinner tonight. Perhaps I’ll seat him next to you since he seems to have found a friend in you.”

He was coming here?

Of course he was coming here. How had she not realized that possibility sooner?

She closed her fan with an audible snap and folded her hands in front of her. No one would guess that she actually pinched her fingers together in frustration. It took every ounce of her good manners to school her features so she didn’t give away her true thoughts on spending an evening with Leo—though she was annoyed with the prospect, she was also intrigued that he’d gone to the trouble of securing an invite to dinner tonight.

God, she hated society niceties. It was as if everyone waited for her to make one slipup so they could declare her a pariah. How much had Charlotte’s father and grandmother already heard about this afternoon? Should she worry about her reputation?

She’d have to stay close to her cousin’s side tonight. Castleigh wouldn’t swoop in without Genny readily available to interfere. Nor would that roué Barrington make another pass at her.

To Lady Carleton, she gave a neat curtsy. “I defer to your superior hosting skills to determine if I am the best dinner partner for either gentleman. In fact I’d be delighted to sit with Lord Barrington so we might renew our acquaintance. It’s been so many years since we’ve mingled at the same functions.”

That warm, comforting smile was back in place on the hostess’s face.

“Perfect. Walk with me a while,” Lady Carleton suggested.

Genny didn’t hesitate to take her arm. They headed toward the verandah, probably so they could have privacy for whatever the countess wished to say.

A cool breeze settled around them. Millions of twinkling stars above their heads greeted them into the fold of the clear night like a lover’s embrace. The smell of lilacs and late-blooming peonies wafted up from the gardens.

“I’m not surprised to hear the rumor,” Lady Carleton started. “Lord Barrington has taken a liking to you, my dear Miss Camden. Perhaps something will come of his attentions this time.”

“I’m afraid your rumor source has exaggerated the facts. I think most members of society forget that Lord Barrington and I have a prior acquaintance.”

“I, however, do not. To this day I question why he didn’t offer marriage when he seemed smitten with you all those years ago.”

Genny couldn’t hold back the sound of humor that escaped her in the form of a snort. “We were both so young. And, I admit, we developed a friendship. But a
tendre
? Hardly.”

“Yet that friendship did not hold up over the years. One would wonder what type of bond you shared.”

The countess could not be suspicious after all these years. She and Leo had been incredibly discreet.

“We come from much different circles. It is no wonder our friendship could not hold up when I went to live with my great-aunt as a companion,” Genny said.

“But now you are back in society, making the necessary rounds with your cousin.” Lady Carleton leaned against the balustrade and stared out on her darkened garden. “It might do you well to reacquaint yourself with his lordship.”

“We will always remain friends, my lady.”

Very distant friends if she could help it. Lord Barrington was a complication she did not want or need at present.

*   *   *

Leo looked around the parlor as the butler took his and Tristan’s hats. His gaze skimmed over the company present, searching for one person in particular.

He looked forward to spending more time with Miss Camden. This afternoon, he’d come close to asking her and her cousin if he could purchase them an ice and take a stroll through Hyde Park. Not only would the suggestion have been presumptuous, it reeked of actual courtship, which he doubted Miss Camden would appreciate. Honorable was not what he would call his intentions where both ladies were concerned.

Regardless, he had plans tonight that involved segregating the current lady of his desires from everyone present. He didn’t precisely have a reason for wanting to do so other than a desire to be alone with her.

Who was he fooling besides himself? What wasn’t honorable about courting a lady he enjoyed spending time with? Well, there was the small fact that he was aiding his friend in a false courtship of Lady Charlotte. He’d have to figure out the right and wrong of it another time.

Finally, he laid eyes upon her among a throng of ladies and a couple of gentlemen—all of his acquaintance.

Carleton approached Leo and Tristan as they entered the parlor. They’d agreed to come to this party on the grounds of discussing their mutual interest in the sugar imports act. All three owned land in Barbados. All three of them would be forced to either sell their plantations or risk losing any money generated from their sugar business in the Caribbean.

“So glad you could make it. My wife is pleased that you agreed to even out our numbers for dinner.” Carleton took Tristan’s hand with fondness and then Leo’s. Lord Carleton had been a close friend to Tristan and Leo’s fathers.

“We’re glad for the wonderful company,” Tristan said to the older man. “Besides, when will a better time arise to strategize our next move? The party tonight makes everything more convenient.”

Leo did not miss the stressed enunciation on “everything.”

“Shall we mingle to even out those numbers you spoke of?” Leo gestured to the room all the while eyeing the gaggle of women at the center.

Miss Camden wore a less unappealing navy-colored dress this evening. Still drab, but prettier than the one she’d worn to the duchess’s ball. He had to wonder if she owned anything that complemented her shapely figure.

She avoided his gaze, so he stared at her cousin, suspecting she’d be quick to include him in whatever conversation they were currently immersed.

She did not disappoint.

“How do you fare this evening, my lords?” Lady Charlotte gave Tristan a smile that revealed dimpled cheeks.

“Well, my lady,” Tristan answered. “I daresay, with the luck I’ve had in spending time with you two nights in a row, I should test my hand at the craps table before the night is through.”

Lady Charlotte blushed for all in the company to see.

Well played, Leo thought.

Miss Camden chose that inappropriate and outrageously flirtatious comment to intervene. “Perhaps,” she said, a coy smile tilting her lips, “we should all try our hands at cards since we seem to bring about such luck.”

“You must know, Lady Hargrove,” Lady Carleton said when everyone around them seemed wide-eyed and agog at Genny’s open rejoinder. “That Lord Barrington and Miss Camden go back a number of years. I do believe they met at my house party four summers past.”

“You are correct,” Leo responded, giving her a flash of mischief in his slow smile.

“It was an interesting time.” Lady Carlton laughed. “So much happened at that house party. There was that matter with a young woman and another of the unattached guests.” Everyone’s focus was naturally on Lady Carleton as she gave them this old bit of gossip. Audience captive, she continued, “Of course it was so long ago that none of it is worth hashing over now.”

There was an undercurrent of significance to her tone that Leo didn’t fail to notice. Was it directed at both him and Miss Camden? He couldn’t be sure. He suspected Genny thought the same thing because she did not raise her eyes to his.

“Yes,” Genny said, “it was an age ago. And let it be a lesson to the young ladies that you can never put your eggs in too many baskets. I had two suitors at that house party.”

He didn’t fail to notice she neglected to include him in that number. He was slightly hurt by that fact. It wasn’t as though he could gainsay her. He’d never made his intentions clear where she was concerned. It surprised him how much he regretted that now.

“Then why ever did you not marry?” Charlotte asked.