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“I am not,” Matthew answered, quickly. “But I do know of him. One of my acquaintances is sitting with Lord Fitzherbert at this present moment and informed me of his return only some minutes ago, before I came to sit here.” He gestured carelessly towards Lord Fitzherbert, knowing that there were a few gentlemen now sitting with the fellow so that Lord Stevenson would not be able to guess which of them was acquainted with Matthew. Some of them were clearly enjoying the spectacle that Lord Fitzherbert was making of himself, whilst others watched with a glimmer of concern in their eyes.
“A rather odd thing to do, I must confess,” Lord Stevenson murmured, sending a jolt of surprise up Matthew’s spine which he had to fight to hide from his expression. “To go on the Grand Tour when one is already titled, wealthy, and of an age when one ought to marry? It is most unusual.”
Matthew shrugged. “It appears from this evening that Lord Fitzherbert does whatever he wishes, without consideration for what is expected of him,” he stated rather quietly. “And the Grand Tour is something that one might be able to boast about in years to come.”
Lord Stevenson snorted. “It appears you have the measure of Lord Fitzherbert without being acquainted with him, Lord Watt. Yes, he is a gentleman eager to let others know of his t
riumphs, of his wealth, of his many, many supposed talents.” Lifting his glass to his mouth, he took another sip. “He is a gentleman who has no talents, no great amass of wealth, and very little talent in any regard.”
The harshness of Lord Stevenson’s words gave Matthew a very clear understanding of exactly how he felt about Lord Fitzherbert. There was no love lost between them, it seemed. Did Lord Fitzherbert feel the same way about Lord Stevenson? It was a trifle odd, Matthew considered, given that, from what he understood, both Lord Fitzherbert and Lord Stevenson had been friends some years ago, back when Lord Harrogate had been attempting to work out which one of the four was involved with the French.
Of course, he knew he could not reveal such a thing to Lord Stevenson. The man had only just begun to converse, albeit with a hardness that Matthew had not expected, and he could not dare to do anything that might upset the situation. Lord Stevenson was something of a volatile character it seemed, and Matthew had to be careful.
“You are well acquainted with Lord Fitzherbert, might I surmise?” he asked, beckoning the footman over and setting down his now empty glass and holding up two fingers so as to indicate the fellow was to bring back two fresh glasses of brandy. Lord Stevenson looked to be almost finished with his, and he had to hope that this time, the offer of a drink would not be rejected. “You appear to have a very certain opinion of him.”
There was a moment of silence, a moment where Matthew thought Lord Stevenson might descend back into his solitude and quietness all over again, but then Lord Stevenson let out such a loud snort of apparent derision that Matthew jumped visibly.
“Yes, I have a very solid opinion of the man,” Lord Stevenson said, a little louder now that Lord Fitzherbert’s voice was beginning to rise in intensity again. “I was acquainted with him well once.”
“Yes, I believe you said so,” Matthew commented, accepting one glass from the footman and gesturing for him to give the other to Lord Stevenson. Thankfully, Lord Stevenson accepted it without hesitation, although he did not thank Matthew in any way. Matthew smiled inwardly. Lord Stevenson was beginning to speak with a good deal more openness now, and he wanted to ensure that such a conversation continued.
“He was a fool then also,” Lord Stevenson said with a grim smile. “We were almost friends some years ago, but now that I have seen him again, I confess that I think him a good deal worse than before.”
“Goodness,” Matthew murmured, as Lord Fitzherbert let out a bark of laughter and collapsed into a chair with such force that it tipped backwards, meaning that the fellow lost his balance and then fell to the floor with a clatter. A roar of mirth rose from amongst the crowd watching, whilst Lord Fitzherbert himself laughed uproariously.
Matthew saw Lord Stevenson close his eyes.
“Why I ever thought him a decent fellow, I cannot say,” Lord Stevenson muttered, passing one hand over his eyes as though even the sight of Lord Fitzherbert embarrassed him. “Thankfully, the man has decided not to approach me again after our first conversation.”
Matthew arched an eyebrow. “He came to speak to you?”
“He did,” Lord Stevenson answered quickly, throwing up one hand as though the very memory appalled him. “Wanted to boast about our acquaintance to his newfound adoring young ladies, I think, but I made it quite clear that I was not about to continue our friendship.”
And it would have been a sharp put down, I am quite certain of it, Matthew thought to himself, grimacing. “I can well understand that,” he said quickly—so that Lord Stevenson would not think the grimace on his face was for anything other than an expression of distaste over Lord Fitzherbert’s behavior. “You are quite right to call him a fool, Lord Stevenson, for that is precisely what he is.”
“You will not seek out an acquaintance with him then?” Lord Stevenson asked, a small glimmer of a smile on his face. “Not after what I have told you, I do not think.”
Matthew hesitated. He had to become acquainted with Lord Fitzherbert if he was to encourage him towards Miss Williams. But if he stated that he would, in fact, acquaint himself with the gentlemen, then Lord Stevenson might think very ill of him and end their acquaintance before it had even begun.
“You do not answer.” Lord Stevenson’s voice had become hard now, cold and angry as he had been at the first. Matthew held up one hand as though in defense, shaking his head.
“It is not as you might suspect,” he said quickly, hoping to calm Lord Stevenson’s ire. “I would not wish to acquaint myself with the fellow, no, but I have promised to do so to a dear friend of mine.”
This, thankfully, seemed to pique Lord Stevenson’s interest, for the coldness left his eyes and he gestured for him to continue.
“I was acquainted with Lord Harrogate, God rest him,” he said, watching Lord Stevenson for any sort of reaction to the name. He did not even flinch. “His daughter was a close acquaintance of mine, and…”—he leaned forward conspiratorially—“I enjoyed her company and her attention, if you understand me.”
Lord Stevenson frowned, then chuckled, his eyes glinting darkly as he took Matthew’s meaning. “You enjoyed being fawned over by a young lady, Lord Watt,” he said, sending a chill running down Matthew’s spine at the cruelty in Lord Stevenson’s laughter. “But you did not wish to pursue the matter further.”
“I was not – am still am not – ready for matrimony, Lord Stevenson,” Matthew said firmly, bringing another smile to Lord Stevenson’s lips. “But Miss Williams is quite intent on finding a husband now that she has returned to London – and Lord Fitzherbert has caught her eye.”
Lord Stevenson blinked rapidly, the smile suddenly fading from his lips. “You mean to say that Miss Williams, the daughter of the late Lord Harrogate, has some sort of interest in Lord Fitzherbert?”
Matthew nodded, intrigued by the fellow’s reaction. “That is so,” he agreed calmly, as though this was the most understandable thing in the world. “Lord Fitzherbert garners a good deal of attention, as you know, and it is this that seems to have caught Miss Williams’ interest.”
Lord Stevenson turned his head away, his expression somewhat troubled.
“I said that I would acquaint myself with Lord Fitzherbert and give Miss Williams my opinion of the fellow,” Matthew explained quickly, before Lord Stevenson could say anything. “It aids me also, of course, because it means that she will not seek out what was once a close acquaintance between us both.” He laughed, and Lord Stevenson seemed to snap out of a trance, his eyes filled with worry but a small smile on his face, as though he did not know what Matthew was laughing at but was attempting to pretend that he had listened to every word instead of being distracted by his own thoughts.
