Page 33 of Distracting the Heir

He wasn’t prepared to offer for her himself, but he could only hope that dancing with her might have drawn the other gentlemen’s attention to her. And it turned out to be a correct guess. The young woman spent the rest of the evening dancing with a different partner each time. He didn’t pay too close attention so he couldn’t be certain if anyone’s attention was more marked than the other, but there was a slight possibility the girl would find her match after all.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Florent almost allowed the entire ball to complete without dancing again with Lady Constance, but he realized that might be too pointed. Yes, she had offended him, but that was his problem, not hers. Her behaviour wasn’t so out of the ordinary. It was his reaction that was the unusual element. He shouldn’t make it obvious to his friends and neighbours. And really, he didn’t want her to know she had bothered him either.

“Lady Constance, might I have the pleasure of the next dance?” he asked, making her an elegant leg. He was probably doing it rather too brown. He didn’t have to be dramatic about it, especially not after their most recent encounter.

One of Constance’s agile eyebrows rose to a peak, nearly disappearing into her elegant hairstyle but she didn’t say anything, merely putting her hand into the one he was holding out to her.

“You have been avoiding me,” she commented pleasantly as they swept into the steps of the country dance. Florent nearly faltered in the pattern as her words registered.

“I beg your pardon.” He meant it as a question as though to ask her to clarify, but she smiled coolly, as though she were considering not granting her pardon.

“You heard me plainly, I am sure, Mr. Alcott, you are just trying to wriggle out of answering for your actions.”

“And which actions might those be?” He thought to tease her, even though he shouldn’t. He thought her questionable due to her friendship with Mr. Wagner, but he really had no foundation for such suspicions. He didn’t believe in intuition. Florent’s lips twitched with grudging amusement. The lady had a point that he couldn’t dismiss, he had been avoiding her. But he would make a valiant effort anyway. He couldn’t very well tell her his true thoughts. Without waiting for her to come up with something else to say, he added his excuses.

“There are many neighbours and acquaintances present with whom I have not socialized much. I owe them my attention this evening since they will most likely not be present the rest of the week.”

“Hmm.” Her response was noncommittal, as though she accepted his words but didn’t believe them. But her eyes also looked sad despite the sweet but subdued smile upon her face. Again, Florent had to suppress an inappropriate urge to comfort or protect her. The woman was an intelligent companion and he enjoyed conversation with her. But he had no desire to be part of a pack of gentlemen vying for her attentions.

He managed to guide their conversation into neutral territory and the dance passed pleasantly enough. Her gaze was watchful as he bowed over her hand in farewell when it came to a close. Florent had no desire for her to search his thoughts with her piercing gaze. He kept his smile as generic as possible as he took his leave of the beautiful woman and went in search of his sister.

“I haven’t seen much of you this evening, Daisy dear. Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Immensely. What about you? From what I’ve observed, you have made every heart in the county pick up its pace.”

Florent laughed over his sister’s exaggeration. “Better to be prolific than specific, I would say.” But then he blinked over his words. Was Constance doing the same as he had done? Perhaps she wasn’t being vulgar, she was merely spreading herself around so that no gentleman would get the wrong idea. Except that he had. He had thought there was something special or unique in their interaction. It was disconcerting. And terribly judgmental on his part to fault her for the very thing he had done as a means of protecting himself. It was entirely possible she was doing the same.

And when he reflected upon her lack of reaction to Mr. Wagner’s greeting again, Florent had to admit she had not appeared overly eager for that man’s presence. Florent had judged her harshly because he had an aversion to the newcomer. That was unfair on his part. But still, she was evidently acquainted with the oily gentleman, besides the fact that she obviously didn’t fit in with his provincial life. She was not for him, he reiterated to himself.

Really, Florent assured himself, he needn’t be thinking anyone was for him at this point. It was time for him to experience a little bit more that Society had to offer before he made such a permanent choice for his life. Just as he had told his sister, he didn’t want her rushing into any decisions, he oughtn’t to do so either. When Daisy returned to London, he would accompany her for at least a week or two and really see how she fared and what all was involved in the Season business. That ought to give him a better idea of what he could consider for his own future.

But he couldn’t really muster a great deal of enthusiasm for the prospect. And it was all Lady Constance’s fault. Why did he have to go and find the least appropriate female the most appealing?

Florent turned his back on the very unhelpful thought. He was going to give her the least amount of thought possible. He would be as polite as he could manage during the house party and then he would never see her again.

With effort he brought his attention back to his sister. “My apologies, Daisy, I was wool-gathering.”

“They seemed to be rather heavy thoughts for such a light-hearted occasion.”

“Is it truly light-hearted, though?”

To his surprise, Daisy’s grin only brightened. “It truly is, Flor. You ought to try it. You will become truly ensconced in your old stick ways if you aren’t careful.”

Florent laughed as he knew Daisy was expecting, but he feared she might be correct. This made him even more suspicious that she was up to something, and he tried to assure himself that he would keep a closer eye on her even as he tried to enjoy the house party.

Thus resolved, he finished out the ball, polite to everyone, smiling where appropriate, and then gratefully tucked himself into bed with a sigh of relief. Two days down. He could surely survive a few more.

The next day dawned sunny and bright. A perfect day for country pursuits. The assembled guests were all pleasant company, and Florent really had no reason to find the shine had gone out of his existence.

When he entered the breakfast room, thinking he would have it quite to himself, he was surprised to find Foster and Daisy sitting side-by-side with their heads close together as though sharing secrets like schoolchildren.

“Good morning,” he called curtly, irritated at feeling as though he were interrupting a private interlude. “Ought you to be this private with my sister, Frost?”

His question only caused Daisy to giggle before Foster touched her elbow and got up from the table. Florent was just about to take his sister to task for her forward behavior with their neighbour when they were joined by other guests seeking to break their fast.

The morning was filled with conversation and laughter as the guests milled about the public rooms of the grand house and spilled out into the gardens. Just as nuncheon was announced, Florent was surprised to see Foster ride into the Everleigh courtyard with his father, Lord Alcott, beside him grinning.

“Father, I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you couldn’t get away from the House of Lords.”

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