Page 43 of An Affair at Stonecliffe

They returned to their house, where they found the butler waiting for them as soon as they stepped inside the door. “Mr. Thorne, a visitor is waiting in the drawing room.”

“You let him in to wait?” Carlisle asked in surprise.

“I thought it would be what you wished, sir. It’s Lady Halder.”

“Heaven help me,” Carlisle muttered. “Mother?”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A TALL WELL-DRESSED woman rose from the sofa to greet them. Carlisle gave his mother a brief nod, and said, “Why are you here?”

“Cannot a mother simply want to visit her son?” Lady Halder turned toward Noelle with a gracious smile, more or less forcing him to introduce them.

Noelle and Lady Halder took a seat on the couch. Lady Halder studied Noelle closely as they exchanged the meaningless sort of questions and answers that constituted polite conversation. Carlisle stood by the mantel, watching his mother as closely as she observed Noelle, his expression vaguely suspicious. It occurred to Noelle that he might be afraid she would make some social slipup with his mother.

Carlisle shifted restlessly and cut into the conversation. “Mother, why are you here?” he said again. “There must be some reason beyond curiosity or a wish to see me.”

“Why, Carlisle, not everything I do has an ulterior motive,” she said in a wounded tone, but her eyes sparkled with amusement rather than hurt.

“More often than not they do. And how the devil did you know so quickly that I was in town?”

Lady Halder smiled, seemingly pleased by his question. “Surely you’ve learned by now that I know all the news. Well...if you must go straight to the point, I came to invite you to a small soiree I’m having on Friday. Do say you will come, my lady,” she said, turning to Noelle. “And you, too, of course, Carlisle.”

“How kind of you to add me to your invitation,” Carlisle said dryly. “I take it you want to ensure a large attendance at your party. Scoring political points, I presume.”

“It’s imperative that Mr. Halder gets the ear of Lord—”

Carlisle held up a hand to stop her. “Much as we would love to be pawns in your political machinations, I am afraid we will be unable to attend.”

“Dear, you might want to ask Lady Rutherford before answering for her,” his mother pointed out.

“Yes, you might,” Noelle agreed, fixing him with a cool stare. In truth, she had no interest in his mother’s soiree, but she was not about to let Carlisle arrange her life. “I think it sounds quite nice.”

Carlisle snorted. “Clearly you have never been to one of Mother’s soirees. If you knew how dull and—”

“What a thing to say!” Lady Halder looked more genuinely insulted than she had at Carlisle’s earlier questioning of her motives. “Really, Carlisle. My parties are considered entertaining, and my guests are of the highest order.”

Was that it? Noelle’s chest suddenly felt tight. Was Carlisle worried that Noelle would be out of place? An embarrassment because Noelle was not of the highest order? That she would stumble over names and titles, make some faux pas?

“Doesn’t mean they aren’t dull,” Carlisle retorted. “Anyway, we cannot attend because we won’t be in town then. We are leaving for Dorset tomorrow.”

“Dorset? Good Lord, why?”

“Because we need to talk to someone who lives there. After that, we are headed back to Stonecliffe.”

The woman’s set jaw was comically similar to her son’s. “Have you thought that this poor girl might not want to be shut away in the country?”

“Why don’t we ask her?” Carlisle turned to Noelle with a challenging look. “Perhaps you would like to remain here in London for Mother’s party while I go to Dorset.”

Noelle refrained from rolling her eyes at him. “I am indeed sorry, Lady Halder. I would love to attend your party, but I’m afraid I must accompany Mr. Thorne to Dorset. I hope you will excuse me this time.”

“Of course.” Lady Halder acceded gracefully. “I hope you will let me know when you return to London, so that I may invite you again.” The glance she gave Carlisle implied that he was not included in her invitation.

After Lady Halder left, Noelle went up to dress for dinner. The London dressmaker had finished the evening gowns Adeline had ordered for Noelle and had delivered them to the town house. Much as she enjoyed and appreciated the everyday dresses the village seamstress had sewn, Adeline’s modiste’s creations were clearly a cut above. These were beautiful, elegant gowns. One was a gossamer creation of sea green voile, another a rich, vivid blue satin that did wonderful things for her eyes, and one a delicate pink silk.

Noelle couldn’t resist trying them on and modeling them in the mirror. She had spent the last five years striving to be as plain and unnoticeable as she could, and it was wonderful to be able to enhance her looks instead of detract from them. Admiring the delicate, sea green gown, she thought of wearing it down to dinner. Would a spark flare in Carlisle’s eyes when he saw her?

She wanted quite badly to see his reaction, to know that the kiss in the library last night was not just a casual, momentary spark. But that was a foolish thing to do. Even though the wealthy dressed up to dine, this dress was too grand for a small simple supper at home. It was appropriate for a ball or some other elegant party—Lady Halder’s soiree, for instance. If she swept into supper like this, Carlisle would know she was wearing it for precisely the reason she was tempted to put it on. And the last thing she wanted was for him to think she desired his attention. That she desired...him.