"In that case, Lord Redford, this Season is in dire need of your services."
"And you, Lady Esme?What is your calling?"
They turned, parted, met again in the pattern of the dance.
"I should like to retire from the marriage market," she said, "and take up the study of being left alone."
"In Mayfair?"he said."Ambitious."
"I could be very dedicated," she assured him.
He believed it.He also believed peace and quiet would never suit her as well as mischief.
"That would be a tragic loss," he said."If you retreat, we shall be left with nothing but Lord Watford's penmanship to sustain us."
"You are unkind to Lord Watford," she said, though her lips curved.
"Not unkind.Accurately descriptive."
She looked up at him then, as if taking his measure.He let the humor soften into something more honest.
"You are not at all what I expected," she murmured.
"Ah," he said lightly."I do my best work when no one is expecting it."
The set ended amid polite applause.James bowed over her hand, lingering a moment longer than necessary."Come," he said."If I am to be executed by your brother, I should like a glass of lemonade first."
She allowed him to escort her toward the refreshments.As they walked, her posture altered.Some of the tightness eased from her shoulders, as if stepping out of her assigned orbit had shifted the balance.
"Do you always wager on other people's evenings?"she asked, half-teasing.Her smile thinned a fraction, and her fingers tightened around her glass.
"Only when they are in danger," he said."You, Lady Esme, were moments away from a discourse on ink viscosity."
"Lord Watford is very proud of his ink," she said gravely.
"I am sure he is.Some men have estates.Some have titles.Some have...handwriting."
"You are terrible," she said, failing to entirely smother a smile.
"I am efficient."
"Efficient?"
"One cannot save everyone," he said."But one can, on occasion, rescue the most interesting person in the room from aneveningof ledgers."
Before she could answer, a whirlwind of pale blue muslin descended upon them.
"There you are," Miss Genevieve Moreland exclaimed, finding them at last."I have been searching everywhere, only to discover you in the most obvious place possible, monopolizing the only man guaranteed to irritate your brother."
"Genny," Esme sighed."Please do not start."
"I've clearly arrived in the middle," Miss Moreland said, eyes bright as she took in the sight of Esme on his arm."Lord Redford.I compliment your timing.You swooped in like a particularly well-tailored hawk."
"I strive for usefulness," James said, bowing."And entertainment."
"You have saved us all," Miss Moreland said solemnly, accepting a glass of lemonade."If I had to watch Esme endure one more remark about the moral superiority of columns, I should have hurled myself into the orchestra."
Esme's fingers tightened around her own glass."Apparently," she said, "my brother has appointed you to moderate me."
