Miss Mays shook her head, a despondency at once apparent in the slight sag of her thin shoulders. “I am afraid not. It is a terrible lack in me, for I practically begged dear Lady Mays to let me come to her so that I could experience what living in London was like. I am such a sad trial to her ladyship and Miss Blythe. You can have no notion.”
Lord Potherby was astonished. “Are you hinting that Lady Mays and her companion have treated you with less than respect? I would find that very difficult to believe of her ladyship, at least.”
“Oh, no!” Miss Mays was dismayed that he should place such a construction on her words. “Lady Mays and Miss Blythe have been very kind to me. You can have no notion. Why, I have a whole wardrobe of lovely gowns and drawers and drawers of gloves and lace handkerchiefs arid . . . and everything that I could ever possibly need. I am taken to the best parties, and I stand up at nearly every dance. I have even been admitted to Almack’s! But I have no conversation, and I am not in the least clever and I never understand what is said around me. It... it is so very lowering!”
The words had almost poured out of her. Miss Mays was aghast at herself to have confided so much to a perfect stranger and a gentleman at that! She flushed hotly. “Pray forgive me! I never meant to ... that is, sometimes when I do not think beforehand, my tongue rattles away and I never know what I am going to say!”
Lord Potherby gathered her agitated hands between his wide palms. “My dear Miss Mays, I am honored at your confidence. Pray do not be embarrassed, for I have found nothing at all of the least offense in anything that you have told me. On the contrary! I thought you to be a sensible young woman when I met you. That impression has but strengthened. Pray consider me to be a friend, for I shall not betray any confidence that you may honor me with, now or in the future.”
Miss Mays was reduced to blushing pleasure. “Oh, my lord! You are too kind.”
At Lord Potherby’s modest disclaimer, she shook her head quickly. “Oh, but indeed you are! Quite the nicest gentleman that I have up to now met. I do hope that you make a long visit to London.”
Lord Potherby looked into the hopeful brown eyes that were lifted to him and something inside him ignited. “I had not planned to do so. The lambing, you know,” he said slowly.
Miss Mays averted her face, nodding. “I understand, of course. One must never neglect one’s duty.”
“There is so much at stake,” said Lord Potherby, arguing with himself.
“Oh, yes, the little lambs cannot be let to die,” said Miss Mays, looking up with a brave smile.
Lord Potherby looked down, unable to meet that valiant gaze, and he discovered that he still held both Miss Mays’s hands. He was holding them rather tightly, too, for her fingers had whitened in his grip. He was covered with confusion and at once released her. “Forgive me! I have hurt you. I do not know what came over me.”
“It is of no consequence,” said Miss Mays. “I did not perfectly notice.”
They regarded one another fixedly for a second, before Miss Mays again averted her face and took an inordinate interest in the pleating of her dainty muslin skirt.
Lord Potherby was on the point of speaking to her again when he was addressed by Lady Mays. His lordship looked up, startled, to discover that he was the last visitor remaining. He started up at once. “Lady Mays! I apologize, for I have outstayed my welcome to an outrageous degree.”
“Not at all, my lord,” said Lucinda cordially. She glanced from Lord Potherby to her sister-in-law. “I am glad that Agnes was able to entertain you to such good effect, for I fear that I was unable to bear my part in doing so! But my friends and admirers have all taken their leave, and now I may extend a proper invitation. I have consulted with Miss Blythe and we are agreed that we have no dinner engagement tonight. If you are not otherwise engaged, my lord, will you come to dine with us and perhaps afterward escort us to the theater?”
Lord Potherby bowed deeply. “I shall be most honored, Lady Mays. I shall repair to my lodgings at once and come back when I have returned my hired hack to stable. I drove up to town in my own curricle, of course, but that will not be appropriate for this evening.”
“We have a suitable carriage, my lord, so there will be no need for you to make other arrangements,” said Lucinda. She held out her hand to his lordship. “I am glad that you have come today, my lord.”
Lord Potherby bowed over her fingers. As he straightened, he said, “As am I, my lady.” He politely took his leave of the other two ladies and exited.
“I must go upstairs and see what my maid has set out for me to wear this evening,” said Miss Mays, rising from the settee. There was a dash of color in her face, and her eyes held a bit of sparkle.
“Of course, Agnes,” said Lucinda, nodding. She waited until Miss Mays had hurried from the drawing room before turning to Miss Blythe. Raising her slender brows, she said, “Well, what do you think?”
“It would do very well,” said Miss Blythe decisively.
“Are you going up straightaway to revise your list of eligibles, then?” asked Lucinda with a wry smile.
“You must see the necessity, my dear,” said Miss Blythe with a chuckle. “Lord Potherby is the only gentleman that she does not appear to fear.”
“Yes, I was amazed at how well they seemed to deal. Well, I have set the stage, Tibby. Lord Potherby will be sitting in our pockets all the evening. Let us do our best for Agnes, for he would make her an excellent husband.”
Miss Blythe agreed. “He would take her away from London and everything that frightens her. Is he well situated, Lucinda?”
“Lord Potherby has a very snug manor house, and his lands are extensive. Agnes will be able to walk about to her heart’s content, inspecting crops and irrigation systems and tending to infant lambs,” said Lucinda. She shook her head. “It would not do for me, but I am a very different sort.”
“I would find it a dull life, too, I fear. However, it will do very well for Agnes. She will adore it,” said Miss Blythe. “I suppose that we should also go upstairs and ready ourselves. I suspect that Agnes will be back down between-times for fear of keeping his lordship waiting.”
Lucinda walked with Miss Blythe toward the door. “I only hope that we are able to bring him up to scratch, Tibby.”
“Why, my dear! I never thought that you would enter so wholeheartedly into matchmaking. After all, you have such an aversion to it!” said Miss Blythe blandly.
“It is a personal aversion only,” said Lucinda, laughing.
They were ascending the stairs by then. Lucinda trailed her fingers casually along the banister. “It occurs to me that we will have unequal numbers at dinner. Perhaps I should also invite Lord Mays and another gentleman.”
Miss Blythe paused at the top of the stairs. “You shall do just as you think best, my dear. However, I do feel that it will appear less obvious if there are a couple of other gentlemen at table.”
Lucinda smiled. “I shall do just that, then! I shouldn’t wish to put anything in the way of Agnes’s chances.”
Miss Blythe agreed to it, and the ladies went their separate ways.
Chapter Twenty-six
The dinner party and theater outing was an unqualified success. Lord Mays chanced to be free that evening, and so was another gentleman of whom Miss Blythe had previously expressed her approval.
Lucinda’s original thought had been to invite Mr. Weatherby to even the numbers, but in the end she decided against it. Mr. Weatherby had not called in some time, and these days whenever the ladies chanced to meet him in society, he lingered only long enough to exchange pleasantries. It was a pity, for Lucinda had liked the gentleman very much, and she had thought that her former governess had seemed to enjoy his tales of exotic places.
At the last minute Lucinda had the happy thought of sending an urgent summons to Lady Thorpe, expressing a desire for her ladyship’s assistance in promoting a match for Miss Mays. Just as she had known it would, her message had the effect of bringing Lord and Lady Thorpe to her door.
As Lucinda greeted Lady Thorpe, that lady whispered, “I could not resist! Gerald was rather bewildered when I suddenly changed our plans, so you must think of something to reconcile him to not attending a masquerade.”
“A masquerade! But is that not rather fast of you, Cecily?” asked Lucinda teasingly.
Lady Thorpe twinkled up at her. “Oh yes, but it doesn’t matter if you go with one’s own husband.
That
makes it very dull and respectable!”
Lucinda laughed. “I am certain that it does! Wilfred is here, you know.”
Lord Thorpe, who had been busy handing his gloves and hat to an attentive footman, came over in time to overhear Lucinda and his face lit up. “Just the fellow I wished to see. I wanted to thank him for steering me to that hunter.” His lordship strolled happily into the drawing room, already quite contented at the sudden turn in his evening. Lucinda and Lady Thorpe followed, chatting amiably.
All the rest of the guests had already arrived, and dinner was shortly served.
Since it was such an informal party where everyone else knew each other, Lord Potherby was without doubt the honored guest. His lordship was naturally seated beside his hostess, with Miss Mays on his other side. Past Miss Mays were seated Lord and Lady Thorpe. On Lucinda’s far side was Lord Mays, and beyond him, Miss Blythe and an Admiral Carter. It was a sociable group, and the time passed quickly with light conversation and an excellent repast.
Lucinda was reminded by Church of the hour, and surprise was expressed when she announced that it was near time to leave for the theater. There was a flurry to gather together shawls and other such things. Then the party embarked in two carriages for the theater.
The offering that evening was a comedy. Nothing could have better guaranteed the complete conviviality of the gathering. When the curtain dropped for intermission, Lord Thorpe exclaimed, “I am deuced glad that we did not go to the masquerade!”
“Yes, it has been a delightful evening,” agreed Lady Thorpe. She glanced at her hostess, her eyes brimful of mischief. “I daresay we have all thoroughly enjoyed your hospitality, Lucinda.” She gave the faintest of nods toward Lord Potherby and Miss Mays, who were in earnest conversation. There was a glow about Miss Mays’s countenance that was unmistakable.
Lord Mays did not miss the significance of that gesture. He looked with curiosity at Lord Potherby and his cousin. Then he glanced at Lucinda. She was smiling and exchanging pleasantries with the admiral and Miss Blythe, but her eyes lifted suddenly as though she had felt his gaze. Inexplicably, a faint color came into her cheeks. Lord Mays grinned and turned to Lord Thorpe, remarking, “I much prefer these roistering fellows over the tragic figures that the ladies seem to like.”
“By Jove, so do I,” agreed Lord Thorpe.
The door of the box opened, and the first of a stream of visitors entered. Lucinda greeted them all civilly, even her cousin, Mr. Stassart. He was no longer wearing the sling, she noticed. As she gave her hand to him, she said, “Well, Ferdie. You appear in much better trim than when I saw you last. And you are returned to London! I had heard that you were on a repairing lease. How is that you have returned?”
Ferdie waved an airy hand. “Why, as to that, I enjoyed a rather good streak at the races, which persuaded me that my luck was in. You behold me plump in the pocket, dear cousin, and firmly established on my way to amassing a fortune.”
“I am glad to hear it,” said Lucinda quietly, though inside she wished that her cousin would waken from his delusions. She knew that he would merely repeat the same cycle over and over. It was a pity, in a way, for even though she did not much like her cousin, she yet cared what became of him. However, there was nothing that she could do for him but to continue to keep him in her nightly prayers.
“I know that you are acquainted with everyone else, Ferdie, but I fancy you have not yet had the opportunity to meet a friend of mine who has recently come up to London for a visit.” She introduced her cousin to Lord Potherby, and the gentlemen exchanged greetings.
There was an instant antagonism between Mr. Stassart and Lord Potherby, each recognizing in the other the qualities that he most disliked.
Ferdie saw a complaisant worthiness of the sort that had always made him grit his teeth. His father was just such a one and had always sat in critical judgment of him. He assumed that Lord Potherby was already staring at him in an overbearing way.
Lord Potherby sensed a carelessness, a selfishness, about Mr. Stassart that disallowed the claims of either duty or honor. He was convinced of it as he observed in what manner Stassart pressed his acquaintance with Miss Mays. The lady was obviously uncomfortable around the raffishly handsome gentleman, and she was completely unequal to turning aside of Stassart’s fulsome gallantries and his sly glances.
Lord Potherby’s protective instincts rose with startling force. His color became heightened with anger. This harassing flirtation was no way in which to treat a lady. He interceded a time or two on Miss Mays’s behalf, which earned him grateful looks.
Stassart’s eye was caught by a lady across the way and he bowed to her, before blowing her a flourishing kiss.
Observing this, and taking note of the sort of female that Stassart was giving his attention, Lord Potherby concluded that the dandified gentleman was a regular bounder who should not be allowed anywhere near a decent woman. He was shocked that Lady Mays tolerated the fellow.
Lord Potherby’s opinion was reinforced when he overheard Lord Mays’s murmured exclamation. “Why, Stassart just got the nod from the widow Marie Clare. He’s leaving now to go to her. What would she want with him? Everyone knows that she is a high flyer.”
“Didn’t you hear? Stassart is rolling in blunt just now. And he does have a hand with the ladies,” responded Lord Thorpe, yawning behind his hand. He had slumped in his seat and was waiting for the curtain to be raised again. This business in the box had always been a bit tedious to him.
“Oh, don’t I know it! I once caught him making up to Agnes,” said Lord Mays.