Kitty looked at Lord Grayson in some surprise. He’d denied the acquaintance with rather more vehemence than would be required.
Penny seemed to find his answer all too satisfactory. She said, “The gentleman is of a serious turn of mind and not a very practiced flirt, and so I would doubt you had much in common.”
Lord Grayson smiled thinly and wrote his name down for the first. He bowed and strode away.
Lady Penderton looked at Penny curiously. “You were quite sharp with Lord Grayson. Do you harbor antipathy toward him? I understood him to be a particular friend of Lord Cabot.”
“Heisa particular friend of my husband’s, Lady Penderton,” Penny said. “And while I do not despise the gentleman, I am cautious of him in regard to any unmarried ladies in his vicinity. He is a collector of hearts, I am afraid.”
“He is quite ridiculous, Mama,” Kitty said.
“Yes, I see,” Lady Penderton said thoughtfully. “He seems rather fun, though. He is handsome and has a certain charm to him.”
Before Kitty could explain to her mother that handsome and charming was precisely the problem with Lord Grayson, gentlemen began to approach. Lord Burke was known, as he’d often been to their neighborhood in Devon. Others were not, but took advantage of Penny and the baroness standing nearby to make the introduction.
Kitty’s card was filled before a half hour had passed.
*
Giles put hisname down on a series of eager-looking lady’s cards. He was not particularly discriminating about it—it felt more of a job than it ought. He joined Cabot on the far side of the ballroom.
“I see Lady Cabot has accomplished her aim this evening,” he said to Cabot.
“Has she?” Lord Cabot asked. “I quite lost sight of her in the crowd.”
“She is over there,” Giles said, indicating the direction with a nod. “She stands with Miss Dell and Lady Penderton. Sir Gloomy has put himself down for Miss Dell’s supper.”
“If you mean Sir John, I told you she meant to make the match,” Cabot answered.
“But have you seen him?” Giles said heatedly. “I had him pointed out to me. There, over there, that fellow who looks like an undertaker!”
Lord Cabot looked where he was bid. “Yes, I see what you say. I suspect Lady Cabot was not wrong in describing him as an overly keen scholar. He’ll be the type who hurried to dress and threw on the first clothes he encountered as he’d lost track of time in his library.”
“Scholar, indeed,” Giles said dismissively.
“He may not bring any joie de vivre in his dress,” Cabot said, “or in his manner as far as I can tell from here. But it is my understanding that Miss Dell is not at all moved by a well-cut coat.” Cabot suddenly laughed and said, “Perhaps she is one lady who will not fall for your charms, such as they are.”
“Certainly, she will not be bowled over by anythingthatperson will have to relate from his ridiculous library,” Giles said.
“Good God, Grayson,” Lord Cabot said, sounding out of patience. “Move on. The room is filled with adoring young ladies who will swoon over your compliments. Do not attempt to climb a mountain when a hill will do.”
Giles did not answer, but silently fumed. As it happened, a hill would not do. He’d set his sights on Miss Dell at Newmarket and he’d never failed at a conquest. He did not see why he should be felled by the morose Sir John. He would not be.
Oh, Miss Dell liked to tease him for his shallow font of knowledge. However, she only teased and he was certain she liked dancing with him. As he had her first, and Sir John must wait until supper, he thought he might cement her opinion of the fellow. He would make Sir John appear tedious and that would be the end of Lady Cabot’s schemes in that direction.
The idea cheered him immensely as he gazed across the ballroom at the lovely Miss Dell. She really was marvelous in her dark blue gown, surrounded by a sea of pastels. Tall, slim, her intelligent dark eyes flashing. She was in no way suited to the awkward Sir John. Certainly not.
*
The baroness hadgone off to the card room and her predicted disasters at whist with Mrs. Cheldup. Frederick, though he was meant to keep a sharp eye on Kitty, was still deep in conversation with his friend, Jost. Kitty well knew that her brother would not pursue putting his name on any particular lady’s card. Rather, he would wait to see who had not been paired and gallantly step in. He would ensure that every lady wishing to stand up danced at least one set. He had always done so in Devon, as he was of the opinion that when he could not claim Miss Crimpleton, he should make himself useful to his hostess. As a result, hostesses everywhere adored Frederick Dell.
While Kitty and Penny waited for the musicians to strike up, Penny chattered on about her new life as Lady Cabot. Kitty was vastly amused to hear of how they enjoyed long romantic dinners, where they spoke of equine bloodlines over excellent wine. She found herself ratherrelievedto hear that Lord Cabot was now fully acquainted with the real Penny. Not the always happy and bright lady presented to society, but the Penny who Kitty knew well—so easily hurt and bruised. Penny claimed she’d wept a dozen times already and that her poor lord only wrung his hands and asked if it was his fault until she could not cry longer for laughing. She’d had a particularly long cry over the news that Miss Austen had passed, not because she so loved the lady or her books, but because she had once compared herself to foolish Marianne Dashwood. She’d tried to explain it to Lord Cabot, but he had been completely mystified.
While Kitty was delighted to hear of her friend’s happiness, she could not wholly put her mind to it. There was a small part of her thoughts that would keep drifting to Lord Grayson. He’d taken the first and so she could not be many more minutes away from his florid compliments and empty phrasings. She was loath to admit it, but she was also not many more minutes away from his skill at dancing. She’d experienced it at Newmarket at the club ball—there was an expert ease to it that had thrilled her.
“In any case,” Penny said, bringing her back to the present, “he is a darling to me and we are having enormous fun expanding the stables and buying horses. We shall be the premier horse breeders in England, you shall see. My own father will come to us. Ah, here comes Grayson.”
Penny squeezed her hand and whispered, “Resist all suggestions that your eyes are the night sky and your flowing locks throw shame on Aphrodite.”
