Nathan said nothing. Now that he thought about it, his motherhadbeen talking about Miss Davenport a great deal during the Season. He’d assumed it was because their families were so close, and that she was fond of Miss Davenport herself.
Could there have been another motive? It didn’t matter, of course. Nathan was not in love with Amanda. She felt more like a younger sister than anything, and he was quite sure thatshefelt just the same.
“Upon my word,” Colin murmured, giving him a gentle nudge. “Here she approaches.”
Sure enough, when Nathan glanced up, he saw Amanda pushing her way through the crowd towards them, beaming.
Amanda Davenport was considered a great beauty, and for good reason. She had pale blonde hair, matched with fresh, creamy skin, and a pair of large, expressive brown eyes. Her clothes always suited her perfectly, and she seemed to prefer pale, pastel colours in her gowns, to better flatter her complexion.
“There you are, Lord Whitmore!” she announced, descending on them. She spared a brief smile and nod for Colin, but her focus remained upon Nathan. “I’ve been looking for you all night. I just opened the ball with Papa, of course, but none of the ladies here seem to have your name on their dance card! How can that be?”
He smiled nervously. “I haven’t asked anyone to dance, Miss Davenport.”
“Oh, you poor thing. Well, don’t worry.Ishall dance with you. See, I saved you a spot on my dance card.”
She fluttered the card in question in front of him, smiling coyly. Sure enough, there was one space left in her very full dance card. The next dance, the second one of the evening. Everybody got their ‘duty dances’ out of the way in the first set – dancing with fathers, brothers, relatives – and the second or third dance was when therealfun began.
“I see,” he managed. “Thank you, Miss Davenport.”
She seized his arm and towed him away towards the dance floor.
“I can’t bear to see you standing all alone,” she said, over her shoulder. “You are so funny, Lord Whitmore.”
He smiled faintly. “Thank you? And let me congratulate you, by the way, on a fine Season.”
She stopped dead, and he almost walked into her back. Spinning around, Amanda narrowed her eyes at him.
“Are you jesting with me?” she inquired with a hint of indignation.
Nathan felt rather cornered. “N-No, of course not! If I’ve given offence, Miss Davenport, I hope you’ll forgive me.”
She eyed him for a moment more, then sighed and continued her push towards the dance floor. Already, the musicians were starting up the strains for the next set. It would be a waltz, Nathan noticed, to his chagrin. The waltz was more or less established in polite Society these days, but there were a few families who disapproved of it. Up until recently, the Davenports had been among those families, but it seemed that they had changed their minds. Perhaps when it became time to find Amanda a husband.
“It was not a successful Season, and I am not betrothed,” Amanda explained brusquely. “I thought you might have known that.”
“Indeed, but you seemed to be having fun.”
She chuckled, shaking her head benevolently. “You are quite amusing, Nathan. However, it is not a matter of amusement. It concerns the prudent arrangement of one’s future. There were several gentlemen whom I considered with interest, yet alas, naught has come of it. Ah, well.” She shot a quick, thoughtful glance up at him. “The Season isn’tquiteover yet.”
He cleared his throat. “Are you sure you should be talking to me of this sort of thing? I am a gentleman, and you a lady, after all.”
She gave a melodic titter of laughter. “Oh, heavens, Lord Whitmore, youare indeed amusing. We’re old friends, aren’t we? I can talk to you as I would talk to an older brother.”
Nathan forced a smile. “Of course.”
Something like relief settled over him. She’d just referred to him as a brother, which meant that Colin was wrong, and she did not have anydesignson him. She simply liked him as a friend.
Well, I can be a friend, can’t I?
He had a feeling that Lord Davenport would be happy enough to see his daughter marry somebody like Nathan. Perhaps in years gone by, things would have been different, back when the Whitmores were poor and an embarrassment to the rest of theton.
But that was then, and this was now. Now, things were very different.
“I’ve never understood this madness for ladies to marry during their first Season,” Nathan found himself saying. They had reached the dance floor and took up their positions for the waltz. Amanda stood entirely too close, fluttering long, pale eyelashes up at him. “Why can’t you enjoy a few Seasons in Society instead of settling down right away?”
“Heavens,” Amanda chuckled, shaking her head. “I can enjoy Society once I’m married, can’t I?Thatis when the merriment commences.”
Nathan said nothing, but he couldn’t help thinking of all the ladies he’d known who got married, and a year later found themselves with a child and a house to run, a bored husband, and a palpable sense of dissatisfaction. And then, all Society would have to say would be that she had lost her bloom and would immediately lose interest in the girl. It had happened to many famous beauties, women who had the eye of Society upon them for a few glorious months, only to shrink back into obscurity.
