“Augusta,” her mother chided. “You are not a child. You must greet your hosts as a lady would. Honestly.”
Lord Timbrell clasped Augusta’s hand. “Nonsense. I would be disappointed if my niece did not give her old uncle an affectionate greeting. I might start to think she doesn’t like me.”
Lady Camden opened her mouth to argue when Lord Camden set his arm around her. “You are both right. Can we not agree that Augusta’s enthusiasm is well-earned? She has decided to become a lady but has not neglected her true self at the same time.”
I could certainly agree. I was so impressed with how smoothly he had handled the situation that I did not notice that everyone had turned their attention on me.
“Forgive me, Uncle. This is my new companion, Miss Lewis.”
“So, I have heard. You are as lovely as my wife claimed, and I like the way you make my niece smile. I have a good feeling about having you around. Lady Camden was right to snatch you up. What a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lewis.”
I lowered myself into a curtsy. “The pleasure is all mine, Lord Timbrell.”
“Uncle Timbrell,” he corrected.
“That won’t be necessary,” Lady Camden said. “Lord Timbrell is a respectable title worth using.”
“I must agree,” I said, but I could not hide my grin. In my mind, I would call him Uncle Timbrell because I secretly wanted him to be my relation. His eyes twinkled with goodness.
We ushered ourselves into the drawing room to wait with the other guests for dinner to be announced. I heard the door open again, and more guests arrived behind us. I turned to look when Lord Camden drew up short, and I bumped into the back of him. He quickly turned around, cupping my arms with his strong hands.
“Pardon. Did I hurt you?”
I didn’t mean to find myself in Lord Camden’s arms so often. It just happened. Oddly enough, it was feeling less embarrassing and more satisfying. I rubbed my cheek, hoping it was not red. “Not at all.”
“Good.” A smile crept over his mouth and he whispered, “You smell like lilacs again.” He dropped his hands and stepped away from me.
It was not a compliment—not exactly—but his tone and nearness had left me breathless.
Augusta made the smallest gasp. Both of us looked at her, as she stepped back behind us and schooled her expression. “Brother, dear,” she said, opening her fan and raising it to cover her mouth. “It seems Lady Timbrell has included yourfriendsin the party tonight.”
Lord Camden stole a glance over his shoulder, and his face turned grim. “How very kind of her.” I looked for myself. There were two groups circled together. One was composed of two couples similarly aged to Lady Camden, who went straightaway to greet them. The other group kept stealing glances at us and were closer to our age. Two men, one tall and wiry who smirked under his waxed mustache, and the other short and broad-shouldered with long side whiskers, gave us a look of definite concern. But it was the woman of exceptional beauty standing between them who caught my attention and kept it.
The off-the-shoulder neckline of her bold red gown sat dangerously low, and her bell skirt had more fabric than I had ever seen on a gown. With one hand on the hip of her tiny fringed waist, she pushed back a long gold lock off her shoulder with the other. She stared at Lord Camden with a demanding sort of hunger.
I didn’t know her, but I knew right away that I wouldn’t like her at all. Where Lord Timbrell had exuded kindness, the air about her reeked of overindulgence and self-importance. Reginald had given me a large allowance for clothes and nice things, but this woman wore them differently—as if she desired to flaunt her wealth and her person.
“What are you waiting for, Atlas?” Augusta asked. “You must be the one to make introductions.”
“Of course.”
Lord Camden could be serious, but I would never call him somber. However, the lines of his face seemed leeched of the relaxed happiness I had seen before entering this room, and the hard set of his eyes left mewondering if he were angry, wary, or both. There was a story between our guests and Lord Camden, and though I had no business knowing it, my curiosity burned worse than a hot drink.
There was no time to inquire. Lord Camden led the way to his friends. They opened the circle to include him, but he stopped short before completing it. Augusta pulled me forward, so we stood even with him.
“Camden,” the taller man greeted, his smirk still fixed under his mustache. “You have finally found the strength to join us. I do hope this means you are completely healed.”
I immediately disliked this man too and his condescending words.
“I am fully recovered.” Lord Camden did not expound. “You know my sister, Miss Wilde. This is her companion, Miss Lewis. Ladies, this is Mr. Matthew Barry,” he said, pointing to the tall man. “This is Mr. Fredrick Abramson,” he said, motioning to the shorter man. “And this is Miss Mary Anne Klein.”
I dipped into another curtsy, my mind connecting the name of Mary Anne to the one Augusta had told me about—the one who Lord Camden had wanted to marry before his accident.
When I lifted my head, it was to meet Miss Klein’s sharp, appraising eyes. In a flash, she shifted them back to Lord Camden. “It has been some time since we have had the pleasure of your company, Miss Wilde,” Miss Klein said. I think it was dinner at Rosemont, if I recall. But that was, what? Seven months ago?”
Lord Camden cleared his throat. “It was last August, I believe.”
His face closed off, and I could not read his emotions at all. If he had invited them to dine, then they really were his friends . . . or at least they had been at one time. But he had not acted at all excited to see them.
