“Yes, I think that is how I shall feel. It has its place.” He held her hands high as they turned.
“Do you like the country better?”
“At this point I do. However, as I said, the Season has just begun. Which county do you call home?”
“North Yorkshire, near the North Sea. My father is the Marquis of Normanby.” That was an idiotic thing to say. She would have been made to study the peerage, and it made Crispin sound as if he was boasting.
“Indeed.” She did not appear to be particularly impressed. But then, her father was also a peer. “It must be cold in the winter.”
Ah, that was the problem. He couldn’t blame her. Winter on the North Sea could be damnably icy. “When Yorkshire is too cold, we have an estate in Cornwall.”
A smile curved her lips. “That must be a great deal warmer. I have heard plants from the tropics can grow there.”
Never having been interested in agriculture, Crispin had absolutely no idea. “I believe you are correct. The weather is a good deal milder.”
At the end of the set, he escorted her back to her circle, where her sister-in-law, Lady Wivenly, eyed him critically. He wondered if there was something amiss with his appearance, but that could not be possible. His valet would never have let him leave the house if he hadn’t been perfectly turned out. It must be her way of inspecting all the gentlemen with whom Lady Adeline stood up.
He bowed over her hand. “I trust I shall see you soon, my lady.”
“I look forward to it, my lord.” She smiled as she curtseyed.
As he strolled away, Crispin kept his smirk to himself. After he’d corrected his misstep, their first meeting had gone exactly as he’d wished. He initially intended to find Sarah, but decided against it. He didn’t wish to arouse suspicions by spending too much time in public with her. Instead, he went to a group of older matrons. If he was to continue to pursue Lady Adeline, he must first receive cards for other entertainments.
* * *
By early the next afternoon, Adeline was amazed at how many bouquets decorated the drawing room. Once she had got over her initial fear, Almack’s had not been at all bad.
Although Lord Littleton had sent a lovely bouquet of pink roses with a card expressing a wish to dance with her again, she could have done without her dance with him in the first place. Not because he was boring, but because of the way he had hurt her friend. He had done nothing to dispel her notion he was a rake.
Adeline had greatly enjoyed her waltz with Lord Anglesey after he had ceased prosing on and on about his Grand Tour. And he was a better prospect. He was almost as handsome as Lord Littleton and not a rake. After all, Dorie told them all what a stickler Mrs. Drummond-Burrell was; therefore, it stood to reason that she would not recommend Adeline dance with a rake. He too had sent a nice posy of flowers. Lord Lancelot sent a poem, but as he’d spent most of his time staring at Augusta, Adeline did not think anything of it. He probably wrote them to all the ladies. Her brother had called him a wet-behind-the-ears puppy, and the other gentlemen in their group agreed. Still, she had flowers from several other gentlemen she had danced with as well, many of whom she would see again at Augusta’s come out ball.
Eugénie strolled into the room, surveyed the blooms, and smiled. “As I knew it would be. You are a success.” Then she glanced at the clock. “But you must change. Today is your mother’s at-home.”
Oh, dear. Adeline had completely forgotten. Both she and her sister-in-law were expected to be there for the entire time, and she would be the one to serve tea. The at-homes in the country were rather dull, but she was interested in seeing which ladies would come today. “Tell her I shall be down directly.”
Adeline arrived back in the front drawing room just as the butler opened the door to their first visitors. Henrietta and her sister, the Marchioness of Merton, were announced.
“Have you recovered from Almack’s?” Henrietta took a seat on the sofa opposite Adeline.
“I feel as if I was nervous about nothing.” She handed her friend and her ladyship cups of tea. They had spent enough time together that she knew how they took it.
“The first time is always the worst,” Lady Merton commented. “At least, that is what I thought.”
This was Adeline’s opportunity to ask about Lord Anglesey. Her mother only remembered meeting him when he was a child. “Do you know anything about Lord Anglesey?”
Lady Merton set her cup in its saucer. “No. I asked Merton as well, but no one appears to know him. Apparently, he did not attend school.”
“That is not at all unusual.” Mama’s lips twisted into a wry smile. “Many heirs do not. Wivenly only went because his tutors never remained long.”
Eugénie chuckled. “That does not surprise me at all.”
More ladies were announced, and the teapot was replenished several times. Adeline’s other friends and their mothers or sisters—except Augusta, whose ball was that evening—visited, as well as other ladies, including Lady Jersey.
Adeline was impressed that none of the ladies, even their friends, remained for longer than fifteen minutes. Toward the end of the second hour, three other young ladies arrived with their mothers. Then the knocker was plied, and Lady Littleton and Lord Littleton were announced.
Adeline could not believe he had come. Glancing at the delicate chair that was the only place to sit, he grimaced, then propped himself up next to the fireplace while his mother took the chair near Mama.
Mama reached out and took Lady Littleton’s hand. “Cristabel, I am so pleased to see you in Town.”
