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“I heard the same,” the second added. “Lady Pettigrew is certain she will accept him before the year is out. But mind you, his lordship is her only son, and she will demand grandchildren.”
“Yes. I know it was a great disappointment to the late viscount to be without an heir. He had such high hopes for Lady Arlington, especially given her rather—er, prolific family.”
The second lady nodded as if this was a perfectly reasonable comment to make in a ballroom. “One must make some allowances, of course, given the viscount’s age, but if she still can’t produce with a younger lad, then I’m afraid of what will happen to her.”
Henry’s grip tightened on his cane, and he pressed his lips together. Was this how the upper class talked about one another? All this fuss about bloodlines was nothing more than animal husbandry trussed up in silk and linen. If the names had been changed, this conversation could easily be had in a barnyard.
“If it does come to that, an annulment wouldn’t surprise me,” one of the women pronounced. “Not in the least. And then she would be an outcast. Poor girl.”
“Oh, naturally.”
Henry couldn’t listen to another minute of this drivel. He skirted his way through the crowd as nimbly as he could manage and kept going until he reached the terrace doors. The cool evening air was a relief on his overheated skin.
It wasn’t that he had any illusions about the aristocracy. Henry knew very well that they were all horrible snobs, and that young women were often treated like little more than prized cattle, but it was still a shock to hear Lady Arlington discussed so casually and with such authority. Who were those women? How did they know such intimate details about her? And to then speculate about herbreedingpotential with another man…
Not once in all these years had he ever felt sorry for Lady Arlington, but the confounding mixture of jealousy and irritation that had been heating his blood just minutes earlier slowly seeped away. It was one thing for people to gossip about social calls or speculate on engagements, but Henry hadn’t realized thatanythingwas ripe for public dissection.
What a fool he had been. All he had ever seen—ever allowed himself to see—was the extreme privilege granted by her position. But of course it came at a price. And it was steeper than he had imagined. He turned around and looked back through the open terrace doors. The waltz had ended. He found her in the crowd just in time to see Lord Pettigrew place a chaste kiss on the back of her gloved hand. Lady Arlington gave him a close-lipped smile. Demure and polite, as usual. She had always known how to present herself in public. Henry had long thought it had been a mark of her class, but now he considered that it was her own suit of armor. A necessity when moving through these treacherous waters.
On those few occasions when they had been truly alone, she had given him such dazzling smiles. They had always made him feel like he could conquer the world. After everything between them had ended, he had assumed those smiles had meant nothing. Just the flirtations of a bored, spoiled girl trying to see how many hearts she could collect before the season ended.
But she stilldidsmile that way. And only for trusted family and friends in more private moments. Not him, though. Never again.
Lady Arlington glanced over and caught him staring at her. As that close-lipped smile faded, Henry realized he had been glowering, but just before he could turn away, someone else came into view.
Tobias Harrington.
Lady Arlington and Lord Pettigrew greeted his old friend, though perhapsformer acquaintancewas a better term. They had met during Henry’s London season, and Tobias had quickly taken him into the fold on account of his talent with cards. Together they had visited nearly every gambling hell in the city, where Henry had watched Tobias lose more money in an evening than he had ever possessed in his entire life. The excess had been sickening.
Henry instinctively stepped back into the near darkness of the terrace, but not before Tobias caught sight of him and approached. Tobias had once been strikingly handsome, but the years of indolence and late nights had taken a toll.
“I thought that was you,” he said with that same old rakish smile, though his jawline was now soft from bloat and there was a sallow look to his face.
Henry nodded. “Harrington.”
“It’s been a long time. Too long.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Yes, I heard all about your exploits. One could barely get through a dinner party last year without someone waxing on about the heroic Captain Harris,” he said with a slight touch of disdain. Then he raised an eyebrow. “I saw you talking with Georgiana earlier.” And before Henry had seen him. That didn’t sit well. “Reggie Fox says he hired you to investigate these beastly threats.”
Henry tempered his surprise. “He told you about that?”
“Of course.” Tobias looked affronted. “I’m a trusted family friend. And it’s a terrible shame, really. Poor girl has worked so hard.”
Henry grunted in surprise. “I didn’t think you’d approve of the viscountess running a factory.”
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t wantmysister working. If I had one, that is. But then Georgiana has always been…different.” Henry could agree with that. And it was good of Tobias to notice.
“I don’t suppose you’ll be renewing your suit?” he added.
Henry wasn’t fooled by his light tone. Tobias had made it abundantly clear eight years ago that a lowly naval officer wasn’t good enough for the likes of Georgiana Fox.
I know what you’re after, but I suggest you valiantly step aside, old chap. She’s intended for the viscount.
A pity for him he hadn’t listened.
“No. I’ve decided I’m not the marrying kind.”
