“James,” Hudson interrupted firmly. “I believe I see someone attempting to wave at you.”
James turned, then nodded briefly before facing Hudson once more. “A business associate,” he explained quickly. “If you’ll excuse me. We simply must speak. Otherwise, he will never forgive me.”
With that, he was gone.
Hudson released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Augusta turned to him, uncertainty in her eyes.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “For your trust.”
“Thankyou, Your Grace,” she replied, still formal yet softened by relief. “For your understanding.”
The letter from Joseph rose in his mind, making his chest tighten.
He would speak with her tonight, after the music ended and the house was quiet. He would explain all: her sister’s longing to bring her to Scotland, the choice she still had.
He would make sure that she knew the truth and that she remained safe in his care.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Your Grace!” a woman’s voice called out.
Augusta turned and watched as a cluster of ladies made their way through the ballroom with the unmistakable air of women on a mission.
They moved as one entity, their heads bent close together in whispered consultation, their eyes fixed on a single target: Hudson, who stood a couple of feet away from her, apparently unaware of the approaching horde.
They were a study in deliberate prettiness, dressed in gowns of pale blue and cream and the shade of pink that Augusta had once heard a modiste describe as “virginal blush.”
Augusta instinctively stepped back, her shoulder blades pressing against the wall behind the refreshments table. It was an old habit: the ability to make herself smaller, less visible, to fade into the background when important people entered a room.
Cassie, thankfully, remained at her side, one hand wrapped firmly around her wrist as she finished the last of her lemonade.
The ladies reached Hudson en masse, surrounding him.
One of the ladies laid a hand on his arm. “Your Grace,” she said, her voice carrying just far enough to be overheard, “you simply must tell us what you think of Lady Jersey’s upcoming musicale. We’re all dying to know whether you plan to attend.”
The woman to her right leaned closer. “We’ve missed you terribly at these events, Your Grace. It’s been ages since we’ve had the pleasure of your company.”
A third lady giggled. “And we were just saying how delightful it is to see Lady Cassandra looking so well. She’s grown so much since Christmas! Why, she’s nearly a young lady already.”
“Indeed,” the fourth lady agreed. “Though I must say, she takes after her mother more with each passing day. Don’t you agree, Your Grace? The resemblance is quite remarkable.”
Hudson merely lifted an eyebrow. “My sister is very much her own person,” he said, his voice even. “As was my mother.”
An awkward silence fell over them.
The ladies exchanged glances before the blonde lady recovered first.
“Of course,” she said. “What we meant to say was…”
But Augusta was no longer listening. She had just noticed what happened when Hudson turned to accept a glass of champagne from a passing footman: the way the ladies’ smiles slipped, the momentary curl of the youngest one’s lip, the almost imperceptible shudder from the brunette as Cassie, drawn by the sound of her name, stepped forward.
“You have a smudge, Lady Cassandra,” the brunette murmured, her voice pitched low enough so that Hudson did not hear. She reached for Cassie’s face with a handkerchief that might as well have been dipped in acid, given the expression of distaste that accompanied the gesture. “Right there on your cheek. Chocolate, I imagine.”
Cassie ducked away from the proffered cloth. “It’s not chocolate,” she said, her chin lifting in a gesture so like her brother that Augusta felt a surge of pride. “It’s a beauty mark. Miss Norton says they’re perfectly natural and nothing to be ashamed of.”
The ladies exchanged another glance, this one laden with amusement that stopped just short of mockery.
“Of course they are, dear,” the blonde lady said. “Now, run along and find your governess. I’m sure she’s wondering where you’ve gotten to.”
