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“Marsden, your disappearance has beenquitethe talk of the ton. Arlington and I here have several bets.”
Cavendish joked in a booming voice, eliciting a laugh from his companion.
“Indeed, I’ve been asked numerous times by various ladies where you’ve disappeared to. Being your friend seems to bring me a lot of female attention, though I’m not sure I should be pleased about tha-”
Arlington’s sarcastic quip cut off abruptly as he registered my appearance in the room. They were assembled at the front of the drawing room, and as their eyes fell upon me, I suddenly felt as if I was on a stage with a bright spotlight shining on my face.
I saw a quick flash of confusion on Lord Cavendish’s face, but it was replaced with polite blankness almost immediately. Arlington looked embarrassed.
“My lady, forgive my… boisterousness.” Arlington said, bowing his head slightly in my direction. Cavendish bowed as well, his face still blank.
“Yes, my apologies as well. Lord Marsden did not inform us of any guests.”
I felt my face begin to flush red. Will was standing as still as a statue, but his agitation was evident, even despite his lack of movement.
The silence continued for a moment, until I finally had the volition to stand and curtsy. I threw the smallest look of desperation at Will, which roused him from his silence.
I saw Cavendish observe the interaction, and his eyes narrowed.
“I present Miss Amelia Allen. Miss Allen, these are my friends, Lord Cavendish and Lord Arlington. Miss Allen is… an old friend of mine.”
If I had been blushing before, now Ireallywas. An old friend? It was the truth, but I could hear the judgments in the minds of the Lords standing before me. Surely, they had heard the rumors by now… something on the order of, “Oh, that rake Marsden has run off with some orphan harlot…”
In their minds, I was surely a ruined lady. But, as I’d already told Cassandra, my new reputation didn’t, to my own surprise, bother me nearly as much as I’d thought it would.
On the contrary, it gave me a bit of confidence.
Sure, I had been ruined by Will – or at least everyone thought I had. But I had been of no consequence before, so what did it matter?
I gave a small smile, my heart beating a million times a minute. Once again, the room fell into silence. It was so unlike Will to be quiet at a time like this; he was usually the life of the party.
It was clear thateveryonewas unsure of how to behave.
“How do you do, Miss Allen?” Arlington said with a small, yet genuine smile.
I realized I actually had to speak.
Bollocks.
“Uh, hello.” I managed, my voice unused to speech after a day of mostly silence. “I am well. How about yourself?”
“Getting on, I suppose. Better now, that I’m in such an exceedingly stylish setting…”
Cavendish guffawed, and I realized it was a joke. He was making fun of Will’s decorating taste.
“You’ll have to excuse us, Miss Allen,” Cavendish said, his expression serious but a twinkle in his eye. “We are old friends of the worst sort, and Marsden is simply too easy of a target.”
I found myself laughing, and the mood in the room seemed to lighten a few shades.
Will, on the contrary, still looked agitated.
“Could I fancy myself to a drink?” Arlington said, nodding his head meekly towards the liquor cart.
“Indeed, count me in.” Cavendish responded.
They both made their way to the cart, not bothering to wait for Will’s permission. He remained frozen in place; his gaze fixed on my face. We locked eyes, and I thought I sensed a turmoil – and potentially just the smallest hint of vulnerability – in the blue depths.
But in a flash, it was gone.
