Grace murmured her thanks, taking one of the seats furthest from the door. It was surprisingly comfortable and she sank into the cushions, thinking that, if everything went well, she would ask where she could buy a chair just like it.
Lady Blackmore arranged herself on one of the longer settees, placing her daughter on her lap. ‘I have asked for tea and cake to be brought to us in a few minutes. Lady Edward will be here shortly, as will my other sister-in-law, Lady Christopher. She was not at the ball last night, but I am sure you will get along famously.’
Grace smoothed her palms along the armrests, debating whether to blurt out her reasons for being in England, now, when it was just the two of them, or wait for the others to arrive. The decision was taken out of her hands when Lady Edward entered the Blue Lounge followed by, presumably, Lady Christopher, a dark-haired woman with a warm smile.
After introductions were made, and they gave one another leave to call each other by their Christian names, Katherine, Edward’s wife, entertained them all with a brief description of what her wards were up to. Even though the story, which involved a ball of wool, the mysterious appearance of a kitten and a husband who was slowly losing his mind, was entertaining, it was hard to pay attention. Thestory was full of love and affection and Grace was so pleased that this family was one that showed both of these openly and without restraint. But there was also a reason for her being here and the sooner she got it over with, the better for her own peace of mind. It would complete the promise she had made to Clare, which she was determined to keep despite Clare never knowing she had made it.
A series of footmen in dark, crisp uniforms entered carrying trays covered in sandwiches and cakes. It all looked delicious, but Grace did not think she could eat a single thing. As the moment where she had to blurt out her news drew nearer, her stomach swooped and dived.
‘Are you enjoying your stay in England, Grace?’ asked Katherine when the servants had laid down their trays and almost silently melted away.
‘Everything has been delightful so far.’ Aside from exchanging words with the sternest man in England, but Grace had the impression he had not discussed the incident in the Serpentine with the rest of his family and she was not about to share the details of her indiscreet behaviour either.
‘How long do you intend to visit?’
‘I have no return date,’ she said.
All three women smiled widely at that and Grace’s nerves ratcheted up another notch. The way they were all staring at her as if they were delighted to see her was unsettling. Was it conceivable that they knew who she was to them? No. That was not possible. Even if Sebastian had written to them about her, which was highly doubtful given what a terrible correspondent he was, Wilmott was not her real name.
It seemed unlikely the three ladies were this friendly because of their exchange last night and even what had come after that. According to Mrs Hitchings, Grace had become something of asensation. After her first dance with the duke, she had been besieged by partners, and people had almost clambered over one another to talk to her. She was no antidote and had plenty of friends before everything had fallen apart, but she had never received attention like she had last night. It had been most odd.
Even if Mrs Hitchings was right and Grace had somehow become popular without really understanding why, that had happened after all the Dashworths had left. Gossip did move quickly, but surely it couldn’t be that fast.
It couldn’t matter if these women liked her. She had come here for a reason and she needed to get on with it. Shifting forward slightly and wishing she was somewhere else entirely, she said, ‘There is something I need to tell you…’
Chapter Five
Tobias tapped the sheaves of paper he was reading so that they aligned precisely and then set them down on his desk. The pages now neater, the words still wouldn’t go into his head. On any given day, he could have around five reports to read, ranging from estate management to parliamentary affairs and he prided himself on his ability to digest the information quickly and make sensible, rational decisions with said information. He allocated himself a certain amount of time to deal with each report’s contents. He never went over. Or rather, he never normally went over. Today almost all of his allotted time had gone and he had barely even made a start. Glancing at the carriage clock on his desk, he saw that it was half past the hour, which meant it was nearing the end of his assigned time limit.
The pocket-sized widow had been in his house since noon. He wasn’t a fanciful man, quite the opposite, but for the last thirty minutes he could have sworn the air was different, vibrating somehow.
He dropped his head into his hands and groaned, irritated with himself. This distraction was completely out of character and the only person he could blame was himself. Going to Mrs Hitchings’ ball had been a colossal mistake. Only, he’d heard that Mrs Hitchings was hosting a ball to introduce her new American friend to Society andthe chance of two Americans arriving amongst the Ton was highly unlikely. The lady who had tried to drown him had to be the same person and was someone he definitely needed to avoid because she was disrespectful and he didn’t need her chaos in his life. However, there were also two very strong reasons for going and speaking to her. Reasons that forced him to go. One was to ensure she was not a gossip. Dukes were supposed to be able to get away with behaving how they liked, but Tobias did not want it spread far and wide that he had taken an unplanned swim in the Serpentine. His position as the head of the Glanmore dukedom meant that he had to maintain a level of dignity, which knowledge of his flailing about in shallow water would greatly undermine.
The second was to show him that the American was not as beautiful as his mind kept insisting she was. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could see her blue ones staring back at him, her defiance and anger burning brightly in them, her eyelashes spiky from the water he’d undoubtedly splashed in her face. He had put the effect she had on his peace of mind down to him almost drowning. The shock of it had stolen his wits. It could not possibly be down to the woman, who was rude and insufferable and who clearly thought he was an awful specimen of a human being. Meeting her again would allow him to rationalise this strange urge to think about her every few seconds.
Then he’d gone and danced with her. A private word on the edge of the ballroom would have been sufficient. A businesslike discussion to assure one another that their paths need never cross again.
But no. He was a man known for not dancing. He was certainly not known for staring into a woman’s eyes like a drowning man clinging to a lifesaving plank of wood. That his family would notice him acting like that should have been foremost in his mind, but it hadn’t even crossed it. Instead, he’d once more been mesmerised bythose blue eyes, where every emotion Mrs Wilmott was experiencing played out as if she were a book he was hellbent on reading. It was very clear that she did not like him and that was… unusual. Oh, he was well aware he was not the best company. Not being one who spoke easily, he was never surrounded by people, unlike his younger brothers. He did not have a ready joke or a handy compliment at the tip of his tongue. But if people disliked him, they hid it well. Being a duke had some advantages after all. Not so this woman. He annoyed her and that spark in her eyes lit something he had never known was in him, something he wanted to stay very much unlit. One dance was enough. He need never do it again. It was inevitable that they would see him paying attention to a woman for the first time and read something into it that wasn’t there.
Luckily, he was adept at shutting down conversations. It would not be long before his family realised he had no interest in getting to know Mrs Wilmott and they would move on to something more…
A swift knock sounded on his study door, cutting off his train of thought. Emily appeared before he’d called for her to enter. The expression on her face had him standing and heading towards her.
‘Children?’ he managed to croak out.
‘All fine. Your brothers and wives too.’
He was grateful to her for supplying the extra information without him having to speak to ask. Even though she had reassured him, it was clear that something was very wrong.
‘You need to come with me,’ she said, slightly breathlessly, as if she had been running to fetch him. ‘There is something you need to hear.’
Without waiting for him to respond, she turned and hurried away. Emily was one of the calmest members of his household. If she was flustered, then it behoved him to find out the cause. His heart tripped over itself, which he assured himself was with worry and not at thepotential prospect of seeing Mrs Wilmott, who must surely be in his house.
The Blue Lounge was packed, or at least that was how it seemed to him. His three brothers and their wives were all facing Mrs Wilmott, who was picking at a loose thread on his favourite armchair.
No one acknowledged his arrival, although he noticed that Mrs Wilmott’s fingers stilled as he stepped closer, before tugging more aggressively at the thread.
Tobias moved to an empty wingback chair. It was the seat always left free for him. It was the least comfortable in the room and afforded no opportunity for anyone to get close to him; probably how his family thought he liked things. As he sat, Mrs Wilmott’s gaze hit him like a punch to the stomach.
