“My dear Lord Baderston,” Lady Margaret said. “I am pleased that you attend my little card party. One of my advanced age is well aware of how many invitations a young man is in receipt of.”
“Nonsense to the idea that your age is advanced,” Roland said. “I was delighted to receive the invitation. I say, I wonder if in the pairing up, you might consider matching me with Lady Viola Bennington for piquet. We’ve spoken about the game and she is keen on it.”
Of course, he and Lady Viola had not spoken of piquet. He did not even know if the lady preferred to play it. He almost wondered how they hadn’t, as they had seemed to talk about everything in the world at the masque.
But that was no matter. It would give them an excellent and extended time to talk even further.
Roland was puzzled by the look on Lady Margaret’s face. Should he not have asked? He did not perceive anything shocking in it.
“Lady Margaret?” he said.
“Oh, well, I am sorry,” she stuttered, “I do not believe Lady Viola attends this evening.”
“Really? We did discuss it. She did say she would come.”
“Perhaps some other amusement presented itself?”
Could that be true? Could it be that some other invitation was received that was thought to be more attractive when she knew he would be here?
He did not flatter himself, but he did not think so.
“I find that hard to believe, Lady Margaret,” he said. “Did she in fact send you her regrets?”
Now Lady Margaret looked almost panicked. She took his arm and pulled him to the side. “Lord Baderston, I have been put in a most difficult position!”
“What position?” he asked, a feeling of dread creeping over him.
Lady Margaret sighed. “I am sure you are aware of the current rumors circulating about Lady Viola. Now, I do not tend to pay any attention to that sort of thing, as I was once the victim of an untrue falsehood myself.”
Roland stared at her, willing her to go on.
“But you see,” she said, “there was pressure from all sides! Lady Rumsgartner threatened to throw me off her committee for raising up the paupers, and Lady Jellicoe said she would wonder if her son were really suitable for my daughter if I were not careful of the company I keep. There is to be a match there! And then, of course, Lady Clara’s family has been quite vocal about it. I was quite overwhelmed.”
Lady Margaret may have felt overwhelmed, but Roland was positively stunned. He had grown certain that the rumor had not taken flight. Nobody at Lady Bloomington’s had seemed to know it.
He supposed it had been too soon. He supposed that today, as calls were being made, the story had wended its way through the town.
That understood, it was one thing for people to talk, and even for Lady Rumsgartner to snub a person. That lady had snubbed so many people in the past and was so generally unpleasant that there were those that claimed theywishedto be snubbed by her so they could be done with her. But for her or anybody else to attempt to influence another hostess in her invitations…it was outrageous.
“I hardly knew what to do,” Lady Margaret said, stealing a glance at Conbatten and his wife. “I was being forced to disinvite the duke’s sister-in-law.”
“But you did disinvite the lady?” Roland said, anger seething through him.
“I had no choice,” she said, “but I did it in the politest terms possible. I said we had an uneven number of couples and that I was certain she was drowning in invitations and would be happy to hear it.”
Before Lady Margaret could go further, Viscount Setterdown, Lady Clara’s brother, interrupted.
“What ho, Baderston,” he said in his usual coarse style. “I’ll suppose you don’t dare challenge me to a game of piquet. I’m known at my club to be quite the sharp.”
Roland stared at him. Who did he think cared if his friends at Boodle’s thought he was a good card player? It was probably a lie anyway.
The scoundrel’s family had been part of the cabal putting pressure on Lady Margaret. He was one of the reasons Lady Viola was not here.
Roland could not fault Lady Margaret too very much. Her daughter’s engagement had been held hostage over it. But this buffoon…
“Hahaha,” Setterdown said, “I can see it on your face, you’re afraid to try it.”
“Viscount,” Lady Margaret said weakly, “I hardly think the earl—”
