Gavin’s eyes widened. “To Tattersalls and my clubs. I’ll wager Harrington is not the only gentleman seeking a wife this Season.”
“Indeed he is not.” Their aunt nodded. “I am delighted to see you are finally taking your sister’s desire to find a husband seriously. Please be back for tea.”
“To be sure, I will.” He grinned. “Never let it be said that I did not support my sister’s marital ambitions.”
“Well, that was not what you said about Merton!” Elizabeth reminded her brother.
“Merton wouldn’t have done for you, Lizzy.” Gavin bent down and kissed her cheek.
“Gavin,” Elizabeth said, suddenly worried over her lack of knowledge. “I do not know Lord Harrington well. What is he like?”
Her brother’s brows drew together slightly. “Nice chap. Gets on well with almost everyone. Devilish clever. Took a first at Oxford. One can’t call him bookish because he’s interested in sports as well. Not much in the petticoat line, which should make you happy.”
“Gavin Turley,” Aunt said in a derisive tone. “You know better than to mention a subject like that to your sister.”
“Better she knows now than find out later. Look at what happened to Lavinia. If anyone had bothered to tell her what Manners was, I doubt she would have married him.”
“I cannot deny that.” Aunt’s lips pressed together as if she’d eaten a lemon.
“Can we get back to discussing Lord Harrington?” Not that Elizabeth didn’t agree that her cousin’s marriage was the worst imaginable, but she needed to know as much as she could about Lord Harrington before his visit this afternoon. And now was her only opportunity to do so. “What else can you tell me?”
Gavin sat back down. “He can be a bit stuffy. Nothing like Merton, of course. But he, or rather his father, is concerned about breeding, scandals, and alike.”
“There is nothing wrong with the Turleys,” Aunt opined. “If there had been, your mother would not have been allowed to wed your father. And neither side of your family has had any scandals whatsoever. Not even an elopement.”
“We’re a dull set,” Gavin said as he grinned at Elizabeth.
“There is nothing dull about it at all.” Their aunt glared at him. “It simply means that we have more sense than many others.”
It occurred to Elizabeth that she was missing a crucial piece of information. “Gavin, what made you invite Lord Harrington to tea? You have never done anything like that before, even when I suggested it previously.”
“Ah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I was at White’s this morning trying to get some news on what the Corsican was doing, when he came in the morning room. We started talking and he mentioned he was in the market for a wife. I thought about it for a few moments, and decided that you and he might rub along well together. You have always wanted to travel, and, as everyone and their dog knows, he is going to work for Sir Charles Stuart.”
She almost groaned. This had the potential to be extremely awkward. “What you are saying is that we will both be attempting to see if we would like to come to know one another better.”
“Precisely.” Her brother looked relieved. “Look, Lizzy, you don’t have to decide to marry him today.”
“Well, that’s true,” she mumbled to herself. “If he comes.”
“Don’t worry.” He grinned. “I’ll bring him up to scratch.”
Chapter Three
After visiting his grandmother, Geoff strode into his rooms where his valet, Nettle, awaited him.
“Welcome back, my lord.” Nettle held the door open as Geoff entered. “Were you able to decide on a date for the wedding?”
Suddenly feeling weary, he handed the servant his hat and gloves. “There will be no wedding to Lady Charlotte. I’d like a brandy, bath, and luncheon in that order.”
The news appeared to stun his usually imperturbable valet as it was a moment before Nettle responded. “Very good, my lord.”
Not good at all. Several minutes later, Geoff had donned his banyan, and was sitting in his small, but well-appointed, parlor with a glass of madeira in his hand. Starting over again did not appeal to him in the least. Still, there was nothing he could do about it. Worthington evidently favored Kenilworth’s suit over Geoff’s own. If only he had not left Town, he was sure he could have either been wed to Lady Charlotte by now or had a date to marry. How could he have been so wrong about what he had thought was their understanding?
He took a large drink of wine, savoring the warmth as the liquid slid down his throat. He detested having to go through all the work of courting a lady again. Yet, whichever lady he decided to marry, he must press for an early wedding date and leave for the Continent directly after the ceremony.
The Austrians and Prussians had already fought and won their battles against Napoleon’s brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, King of Naples, and restored Ferdinand IV to the throne. But since then the Corsican remained ensconced in Paris raising an army, and Wellington was gathering his army in Brussels.
The duke wanted as many of his Peninsular army as possible. Unfortunately, many of them were still in America fighting a war England could not possibly win. Half of theton,including the Duchess of Richmond, had decided to remove to Brussels when Napoleon escaped from Elbe. Although to be fair to the duchess, her husband had been posted to Brussels. She was not there, as many of his other countrymen and women were, to frolic in Europe.
