Page 47 of Waiting for Love

“Hire me a social secretary.”

Benjamin laughed.

“No, I am not joking.”

“Iversley, I know your calendar will be overfull, but the one thing you are good at is juggling your social engagements.”

Jasper wrung a smile at him. “The one thing?” Then he said, “This Season is different. Mother told me I must needs be more strategic. We are…we are ensuring Vanessa’s success. Which will be difficult. And launching Olivia. Which shouldn’t be, but we have made it so. There are events we apparently must attend.” He grimaced. “And parties we must throw. Including Olivia’s ball. And I have to make sure that our events don’t conflict with…with events that will give people excuse to send us their regrets. We can’t offend the Hobnarths or the Laytons or the Grenevilles by throwing a competing party. We can’t…God, Benjamin. It is all musts and can’ts.”

“Yes, I can see why you need help.” Jasper would never have bothered with such things before. He was welcomed everywhere. Peers would arrange their events around his.

“It’s absurd. Whomever you find will have to coordinate with Mother. I cannot keep it straight and it’s too important to get wrong.”

“I will ask around. We’ll find the right person.”

“Hazard will have some suggestions.” Jasper frowned, then said, “The deuce. I was so concerned about Vanessa, I didn’t give due consideration to Olivia’s debut. I thought my name carried enough weight…”

“It will.”

“At tea this afternoon, after Vanessa had gone to rest, Olivia volunteered to wait another year. Can you imagine?”

“What! No.” His pulse raced. “No, I can’t. Why?”

“To give the ton time to absorb the fact of Vanessa. Mother pointed out that if Olivia waited, she would turn twenty in the midst of her debut season.”

“Twenty is not old.”

“No. And it was rude of Mother to make a point of that in front of Alice. It raised a fracas.”

Benjamin winced. “I am glad I missed tea.”

He’d gone out to the cottage directly after luncheon on purpose to evade that invitation. Luncheon had been difficult enough. There had been a washed-clean lightness in the air, like the aftermath of a violent thunderstorm. Add in Hazard, and the conversation sizzled. Olivia’s animation seared a hole through Benjamin’s center. To his horror, he found himself picturing her that keyed up and playful in his bed. He had truly lost his mind.

And now they were discussing Olivia’s entrance into the Marriage Mart. It was unbearable.

“Alice is astounding,” Jasper said, continuing his train of thought without noticing Benjamin’s had drifted. “She was amused, not offended. I suppose it helped rather than hurt that Hazard teased her for being ancient. The two of them…” He shook his head. “At any rate, Georgiana explained very nicely that being twenty was no handicap. But that postponing one’s debut three times could well be. There were very good reasons the first two times and the ton would be sympathetic. But if Olivia demurred again, people would talk, and gossip would circle back around again to Vanessa.”

“So really, the only choice is for the countess and Lady Olivia to throw themselves headlong into the breach.”

Jasper hesitated, then sounding strangled, he said, “Yes.”

“Well, with the family behind you—”

“I would have no qualms. But it is unlikely Reg and Georgiana will be in London this spring. Arthur will be only a few months old—”

“Arthur?”

“Oh.” Jasper sniffed. “You missed that too. Apparently Haz was under the impression the babe will be named Arthur if it’s a boy. Crispin led him to believe the decision was made.”

Benjamin couldn’t help laughing.

“Yes, so now we are all needling Reg.” Jasper snorted. “Even Georgiana.”

For a moment, they grinned stupidly at one another. Then Jasper grew serious again. He drummed his fingers on his book.

“Georgiana would have been our ace in the sleeve. The Hovingtons have clout. They will still support us, of course, but Georgiana drips respectability.”

Benjamin admired how Jasper could so flatly praise the woman who had rejected his suit.