The evening was made even more uncomfortable as Lady Margaret had decided to put herself in charge of Miles’ future and was quickly luring Harraby into the idea too.
“I see what you say, Lady Margaret,” Lord Harraby said. “A young man does well to wed, it settles him, you see.”
“I do not require settling, though,” Miles said.
Lady Margaret and Lord Harraby exchanged looks and then laughed heartily.
“Leave it to us, Dashlend,” Lady Margaret said. “It is time Lord Harraby and I got out and about so we might size up the ladies of the season.”
“Very good notion, Lady Margaret,” Lord Harraby said with enthusiasm. “I’ve got a pile of invitations I was not planning to accept, but now, with a purpose in mind, I find I have a bit of a spring in my step. I’ll write to the ones I know well and ask that you be included.”
“Excellent idea.”
“I could even arrange for you to ride in my carriage, if that would suit.”
Miles could not imagine how that would work. Harraby did not look as if he had the strength to lift Lady Margaret in and out of carriages, and she had conveniently not bothered to mention that requirement.
“Your carriage? That would suit very well, Lord Harraby. I sold my carriage and all my horses when my stablemaster died of old age.”
“Old age,” Harraby said thoughtfully, “it is a menace, is it not?”
Lady Margaret nodded. “Just two months ago, one of my aging footmen fell down the stairs and broke his frail old neck. Of course, he’d fallen down them several times, so I suppose his luck was bound to run out.”
“If these young ones only knew what old bones feel like… well, no time to think of that now! We’ll down a bit of brandy and carry on—we have a job to do!”
Miles whipped his head back and forth between them. It seemed he was not even to be consulted. How had this happened to him? How was he in possession of two old busybodies who were determined to direct his future? His own father was not so importuning.
How had Lady Margaret gone from shabby and deteriorating isolation to out on the town with Lord Harraby? Those two should not be let loose on society, Miles could not imagine what they’d get up to.
“Now Lady Margaret, you did mention one promising candidate already,” Lord Harraby said.
“Ah yes, Lady Grace, she is lovely inside and out.”
“That does sound promising indeed,” Harraby said. “Though, if we are to do a proper job of it, we must not put blinders on! All eligible ladies must be considered and thoroughly examined.”
“You have a very good head on your shoulders, Lord Harraby. That is full of sense.”
The dessert course had been cleared and there came a bit of an awkward moment. It would be the time the ladies would retire to the drawing room for tea, but that would have left Lady Margaret on her own.
“Might I suggest, Lady Margaret,” Harraby said, “that you stay on at table. If your bones are anything like mine, I imagine they will be gratified by a tipple of port.”
“Excellent notion, Lord Harraby.”
And so a glass of port was set in front of Lady Margaret. To Harraby’s credit, his butler did a terrific job of pretending nothing was amiss.
Miles took a long draught and signaled a footman for a refill. He had somehow acquired two elderly duennas and he was inclined to drown his sorrows in strong drink.
Chapter Ten
MONTCLAVE HAD DONEhis best to smooth things over with Lady Grace and Lady Lavender. In truth, he could not care less for Lady Lavender’s opinion, but Lady Grace was of possible interest to Dashlend, and so of interest to him.
He’d kept a close eye on the lady, and it might serve him that he did so. There was something odd in her dancing. She did not miss steps, but there were times she seemed to almost fall behind the tempo or otherwise look just the slightest bit awkward.
He was not certain how that information would serve him, but he was a firm believer in noticing details and storing them away for future use. He could not read Dashlend’s mind, but he did know that the fellow considered himself a Corinthian. Perhaps he would not be enthusiastic over a lady who could not keep a tempo or had no ear for music and rhythm?
As to how to steer Lady Grace away from Dashlend, as he’d mulled over the situation this way and that, his own situation had seeped into the various considerations and seemed to offer a possible solution.
He was, as always, short on funds. Two days before, he’d approached Lady Margaret for a loan, but the old bird had been in a mood and turned him away. All he could manage to leave with was a silver salver he picked up on his way out, counting on her bad eyesight to miss the maneuver. He’d promptly sold it, but it had not come to much.
