Lord Powell turned to Lily and blustered, “What say you, Miss Preston? Are you willing to let such an insult stand in your parlor?”
Lily had no space in her mind left for the ridiculous outrage Lord Powell was experiencing. She hadn’t yet recovered from Bradford calling her lovely and valuable and using her given name.
It was a great enough shock that Lord Hayes called her by first nameprivately, but the fact that he’d done so in full hearing of the other gentlemen made her blink rapidly and consider the potential consequences. Indeed, Mr. Chapman frowned slightly, stood, and bowed his leave, though no one but Lily seemed to notice.
“Do notdaremake the lady uncomfortable in my presence, sir,” Bradford hissed. Both he and Lord Powell seemed to ignore the newly vacated chair on purpose. “If you and I have a problem, we will deal with it privately. Only a coward seeks to engage a lady to his defense.”
“Besides,” Lord Shaw said, his tone droll. “It’s technically Lord Cavendish’s parlor. Shall we call the gentleman in and see if he appreciates your manners?”
Lord Powell blinked. His lips screwed up into a mulish pout. Lily thought that if Rebecca had ever made such an expression in her direction, she would have disciplined her immediately. Thankfully, Lord Powell seemed to realize he was outmanned and undefended. He sketched a bow in Lily’s direction, turned on his heel, and left.
“A shame,” Lord Shaw said, sipping his tea. “I was looking forward to seeing what shade of magenta the man would turn next.”
“What an interesting way of putting it, Lord Shaw,” she said, desperately trying to regain a semblance of polite control over the conversation. “Magenta. It’s rare that a gentleman has such an appreciation of color.”
The man grinned. “I have three sisters of my own, Miss Preston. I’ve unintentionally attended several lectures on color in my lifetime.”
Lily laughed softly. “I suppose such distinctions helped you in the navy. I’ve heard one must memorize many different colors of flags.”
“Indeed.” He returned her smile evenly.
Lily thought that it might have appeared as if she and Lord Shaw were sharing a meaningful moment, but though she could clearly see that he was very attractive, she felt nothing toward him other than the same kind of appreciation she might extend to a well-done oil painting. He had clear eyes, straight teeth, broad shoulders, and long legs. Though his outfit wasn’t as fine of make as Lord Hayes’s suit, it was impeccably clean and pressed.
Lord Anderson studied Lord Shaw like he doubted the man had been in the navy at all. “As I was previously saying, Iwouldhave gone into the navy, and I daresay I would have achieved the rank of admiral in short order, had I gone. However, it wasn’t to be. My responsibilities at home kept me. Managing an estate is difficult work. Then again, I needn’t tellyouthat, Shaw.”
Lily frowned—the sentence had been delivered as a jab. Though she didn’t know what the insult had been, Lord Shaw narrowed his eyes as if he’d felt the edge of it keenly.
“Lord Anderson,” Hayes said mildly. “Tell me more about your holdings in Manchester.”
He frowned. “Manchester? You must be mistaken. I don’t have any holdings there.”
“My mistake. I’d thought you’d attempted an acquisition in the area. Some deal with the Duke of Whitby, wasn’t it? Never mind. I must have heard incorrectly.”
Sometime in the midst of Hayes’ speech, Lord Anderson had gone even paler than usual. Now he jerked to his feet and didn’t even bother bowing in Lily’s direction before he strode for the door.
“What on earth was that about?” She frowned at Bradford. “With you about, I’m not sure I’ll make a match this Season at all.”
“You don’t want that one,” Lord Shaw grumbled. He swigged the rest of his tea, set the cup on the tray, and stood, nodding to each of them in turn. “Miss Preston, it was a pleasure. Lord Hayes, I wish you well in your endeavor.”
After he left, Bradford said, “I think I might have initially underestimated the fellow. I do believe he’s a very smart man.”
Lily resisted the urge to throw her hands in the air. “Bradford, at the outset, I had four suitors. Now I have none.”
“On the contrary, my dear. I am still present.”
“Is this to be your punishment, then? To scare away all my suitors until—” Lily didn’t know how to finish that sentence, for what would his purpose be in shooing them all away? And yet there was no doubt he’d done so, quite efficiently.
Bradford waited several moments as if to give her opportunity to come up with something. When she didn’t, he said, “You may trust that I don’t have a devious plan when it comes to being here, Lily.”
“And another thing.” She jabbed her finger at him, then caught herself and glanced around. Everyone else was so involved with their conversations that they hadn’t noticed her breach of decorum.
Bradford looked infinitely amused. “What’s the other thing?”
“You must stop calling me by my given name.”
“Why on earth would I do that?” Bradford frowned at his empty teacup, set it upon the tray, then frowned at Lily’s. He filled them both. As she watched, he deftly poured a heavy dollop of cream and one pressed sugar flower into her cup, stirring it well before handing it to her on a saucer. She took it dumbly.
Lily was transfixed. She wasn’t sure what was more shocking to her—that Lord Hayes knew precisely how she took her tea, or the sight of those large masculine hands performing such a domestic task so skillfully.
