Page 42 of Scandal’s Daughter

Chapter 20

“Wherein the ton holds its breath.”

“I’ve brought you a sensible man this time, Georgiana.”

Looking up, Georgiana found Seymour advancing on them once more and felt sorry for the old lady who’d barely had a moment’s peace all evening. Georgiana had been rather hoping for a little rest herself after having been danced off her feet for the past two hours. But beside Seymour was a tall and terribly gaunt young man with spectacles. He seemed rather serious and ill at ease in his own skin, as if not quite sure what to do with his height. Bending to greet her, he remained a little stooped, as if his lofty frame might offend somehow.

“He’s shy but kind, and as rich as Croesus.” Seymour hissed in her ear. “Miss Bomford, may I present Lord Nibley.”

Georgiana curtsied and looked up, to her amusement finding the poor man had blushed scarlet, but there was a kindly and intelligent pair of brown eyes behind the rims of his wire spectacles.

“I am very happy to meet you, my lord,” she said, smiling at him.

“The pleasure is mine,” he said, and then swallowed hard.

They stood in rather awkward silence for a few minutes while Georgiana racked her brain for a topic of conversation.

“It’s very ...”

“Do you ever ...”

They laughed as the two of them had finally spoken at once.

“I do beg your pardon,” Georgiana said. “Please continue.”

Lord Nibley shook his head in a rather shamefaced manner. “I’m not sure it would be worth the effort. I’m afraid I don’t have much talent for this sort of thing.”

“If you are a sensible man, as Lady Russell said, I hardly doubt it. A great deal of talk about nothing very much cannot be something you aspire to, surely?” she said, grinning at him.

He let out a breath and seemed to relax a little. “Oh, but I do,” he replied, his expression quite earnest. “I would give anything to be able to converse with ease at ... at these gatherings but I’m afraid the knack of it escapes me.”

He seemed to prove the point by falling silent again and Georgiana cast around once more.

“What do you usually do when you’re not in town?”

His face brightened perceptibly, and she hoped she might have struck gold.

“Rocks,” he said, with some enthusiasm.

Georgiana smothered a grin and wondered if she had a guardian angel with a twisted sense of humour. Somehow, she doubted he was speaking of golden rocks.

“Yes, geology you see, fascinating subject,” he said, with real passion lighting his eyes now. “Do you know anything about it?”

“Not a thing, no,” she admitted, wondering with some amusement if she was going to be able to keep it that way.

She began to lose the will to live sometime after he uttered the words rock strata and began a detailed explanation about the different kinds of fossils to be found in each layer.

Eventually he fell silent again, apparently having become aware he was monopolising the conversation by the look of embarrassed chagrin on his face. Taking pity on him she tried again.

“Do you have any friends here tonight, my lord?”

He shook his head and clasped his hands behind his back with a sigh, putting her strongly in mind of a gloomy heron and then brightened as a thought occurred to him. “Oh, yes. Of course, the Marquess of Beaumont is here. He’s a devilish fine fellow, we were at school together.”

Georgiana chuckled. “Well, devilish I can believe.”

Lord Nibley gave her a rueful smile and scratched his nose. “He does have something of a reputation I suppose. Sindalton is here too of course. Usually if Beau’s around Sin’s not far behind ... been saying that since Eton, like brothers they are.”

Georgiana’s heart seemed to give a little stutter in her chest and her stomach clenched.