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He laughed again and shook his head. “Some of the billets we found—no, I shall not miss that! But the friendships I forged there are past price. That camaraderie and the knowledge that I served my country in its time of need, I shall always treasure.”
“As well you should!” Knowing his preference for home, she found Rob even more noble for having put aside his own desires to endure nameless privations in the fight to defeat Napoleon.
Besides, preferring home and hearth was an admirable trait in a husband. And wasn’t settling down in a permanent location what she wanted too?
By now they’d reached Hyde Park. To her surprise, it was much more crowded than when she’d accompanied Tavener here. “What a throng! Is today a preferred visiting day?”
“No, ’tis the usual afternoon hour,” Rob replied. “I expect you were here too early the other day—fortunately, for there would have been fewer people of rank to notice you with Tavener. Did you meet anyone, by the way?”
“No one he wished to present,” Allegra replied, heat flushing her cheeks as she recalled the rude appraisal she’d received from Tavener’s rakish acquaintances. No need to further inflame Rob’s dislike of Tavener by revealing that incident, despite being able to describe how quickly her escort had routed the two rogues.
Rob snorted. “That I can believe. We shall go about changing that at once. Ho, Sir Thomas, well-met!”
Rob pulled up the curricle beside a gentleman on a bay hack, whom he introduced as his old Oxford mate, Sir Thomas Reede. Before Sir Thomas could ride off, a landau approached them, bearing another of Rob’s friends, Mr. Richard Radsleigh and his mother. After presentations were made all around, calls promised and an invitation to Mrs. Radsleigh’s upcoming rout secured, they drove on.
Allegra’s hope for more private talk with Rob was frustrated as it seemed around every bend of the carriage trail they met another of Rob’s friends, often in a carriage accompanied by female relations. Soon Allegra’s head was swimming with names she would never all remember.
Though their arrival put an end to the private chat she’d wished for, still it was a novel experience to be the center of attention. To receive compliments from the gentlemen and invitations to call from their ladies.
And what a large number of friends Rob had! Though ’twas hardly surprising, given his sterling character, that he had earned the affection of so many.
Sitting in the midst of the latest gathering, smiling up at Rob as he joked with Colonel Jessamyn and several former company mates, Allegra reflected that simply gazing at the object of your admiration could be satisfying. Even, she added with a mental sigh, if that person’s stated goal was to show you off to other prospective suitors.
AS HIS HORSE PICKED its way through the crowd, Will chided himself again for succumbing to the urge that had propelled him to ride at a place and time he normally avoided. Until now, he’d not had enough interest in the parade of society ladies displaying themselves for their prospective beaux—and gentlemen preening before the ladies—to endure the slow pace resulting from this packing of so much humanity on trails he preferred to gallop. There was, however, some amusement to be had in watching the demimondaines flirting with their admirers while well-bred ladies pretended to ignore them—and greeting acquaintances startled to find him here at this hour.
Finally, he spotted the reason behind his compulsion to ride seated in a curricle some thirty yards away and surrounded by mounted guardsmen. He noted Lord Lynton at the vehicle’s reins and smiled. Should he join them and turn Lynton’s pleasant expression into a frown?
He urged his horse forward until forced to halt by the press of vehicles, still twenty paces from his quarry. Perhaps he’d wait until the guardsmen departed before trying to approach further. Anyway, ’twas a pleasure just looking at her, radiant in a gown and bonnet that borrowed brightness from the sun itself as it cast a golden halo about her olive face and dark eyes. Those apricot lips parted slightly as she smiled up at her escort.
Then his contented smile faded. The gaze she had fixed on Lynton was more than admiring—one might almost call it adoring. Then Lynton said something that made her laugh, blush—and snuggle closer to him.
Suddenly Will felt sick, as if an opponent he deemed less skilled had unexpectedly landed a punch to his gut. So the wind sat in that quarter, did it?
So shaken was he by the discovery, he was nearly out of the park before he realized he’d turned his horse toward the exit. Pulling up, he tried to regain his composure.
There was no reason to feel this keen, deep-seated sense almost of—outrage at discovering Miss Antinori’s favor rested on her cousin. Surely he wasn’t coxcomb enough to believe he alone could bring a smile to those mesmerizing lips. After having shared a single stroll through a ballroom and one carriage ride, he could hardly have any claim over her, nor could he accuse her of deliberately throwing out lures to entice him.
Though enticed he certainly was.
Just because she responded to Will—and she did respond to him, of that he was certain—didn’t mean she couldn’t harbor a tendre for Lynton. The man was a distant relation she’d known and probably admired from childhood. Lynton possessed fortune, breeding and he was a handsome military hero, too—the very stuff of a young girl’s dreams.
Had Miss Antinori encouraged him only to pique Lynton? If she had, Will didn’t really blame her. Though somehow he couldn’t make himself believe that.
Not that it mattered. Conveyed in one look was all the evidence he needed to persuade him to take Lucilla’s excellent advice and find another lady to charm.
And yet…something simmered between them when he was near Miss Antinori, something beyond mere attraction—something she felt as strongly as he did. Will would bet the last of his dwindling stack of guineas on it.
So, how to proceed? If he looked at it from a different angle, his discovery of Miss Antinori’s inclination for Lynton made it easier for him to continue pursuing her. Not even he was chuckleheaded enough to lose his heart to a girl who was pining for another man. Then too, if Miss Antinori’s hopes were fixed on Lynton, Will had no chance of winning her hand and disappointing Lucilla, who wanted a more conventional bride for him.
By maintaining the connection, he could obtain the lessons he needed in the proper deportment around young maidens, amuse himself in Miss Antinori’s engaging company—and annoy Lynton. Which, in addition to the innate enjoyment Will would derive from it, might assist the lady by spurring on her disapproving suitor.
His mind made up, Will turned his horse toward home and urged him to a trot. Refusing to admit he had any reasons other than those he’d just detailed for deciding to continue his acquaintance with Miss Antinori, he set his mind to savoring the possibility of seeing her again.
CHAPTER NINE
A WEEK LATER, ALLEGRA SAT in the carriage beside Rob on their way to Lady Harrington’s musicale. He had initially been uneasy about allowing her to attend a musical event, concerned that her appearance at such a function might remind the ton of her father’s profession. But then Mrs. Randall, who usually meekly agreed with whatever pronouncement Rob made, ventured to disagree.
“I understand—and indeed share—your concern, dear Lynton, but I most particularly desire to attend. So I asked Lady Lynton, whom I’m sure you must agree possesses an impeccable knowledge of the ton, her opinion on the matter. She assured me that at so large a gathering, Allegra will hardly be noticed.”
She could well believe Sapphira had said exactly that, Allegra thought acidly. But ’twas another proof of Rob’s kindness that he put aside his own misgivings so as not to deny his timid cousin the pleasure of being present at an event she’d expressed a strong desire to attend.
Gazing admiringly up at Rob, so handsome in his elegant evening coat and crisp white cravat, Allegra admitted she was anticipating the evening as well—particularly with Rob at her side.
Since her drive in the park with Rob, she’d attended three small dinner parties and been called upon by several gentlemen, activities only mildly more amusing than shopping or paying morning calls. Growing up surrounded by professional musicians, she’d had the pleasure of listening to practices or performances almost daily. Not until she came to London into the silent isolation of tending her dying uncle did she realize how great a part music played in her life. With the resources of the metropolis now available to her, she hoped tonight’s event would be the first of many musical evenings.
Lord Tavener had called as well, though she’d acceded to Rob’s wishes and refused his invitation to drive. The rather stilted conversation produced by her other gentlemen visitors made her appreciate all the more his teasing wit—and regret having to turn down his tempting offer.
Perhaps she would see Lord Tavener tonight, she thought and felt an immediate kick in her pulse. Having his clever and amusing commentary on the performers and personages present would add further luster to what promised to be a wonderful evening.
Excitement bubbling up, she turned to Rob. “What musical groups will play tonight? Soloists? Ensembles?”
