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“On his attentions,” Lady Shrewsbury said with a smile. “He has promised to be on his best behaviour tonight. Come, let us talk with Miss Grove again. I long to hear what she has to say on Miss Anning’s discoveries that she was talking of earlier.”
Lady Shrewsbury took her hand and drew her away. Annie was interested to hear the conversation too, but she couldn’t help looking back at Lord Yeatman again, wondering why she felt a little disappointed at the prospect of Lord Yeatman having to stay away from her.
He met her gaze, but it was not for long. Merely a brief glance of those dark eyes before he turned away again, leaving her bereft and empty.
***
“If you do not wish to spread any more whispers, then stop looking at him so much,” Peggy’s hasty whisper in Annie’s ear made her return her stare to the plate in front of her. They had been seated at dinner for some time and were already onto their final course, but in that time, she had found it difficult to stop glancing in Lord Yeatman’s direction at the distant end of the table.
“I am not that bad,” Annie whispered, so only Peggy could hear her.
“No?” Peggy said, lifting her glass to her lips with an amused smile. “The only one at this table worse than you in this manner is Lord Yeatman himself. If he continues to stare at you for so long, the whole table will know of it.”
“You are merely looking for it. No one else is,” Annie murmured back, but Peggy’s raised eyebrows cast serious doubt onto the statement. “It is not that obvious.”
“It is. Almost as plain as the Duchess of Bannerman’s behaviour at this time.”
Annie sighed as she followed Peggy’s pointed gesture to the lady in question. The Duchess of Bannerman was seated beside Lord Yeatman, and the conversation between them was causing Annie to shift uncomfortably in her seat repeatedly. She told herself it was because the chair was not comfortable, but the truth was that it was the way the Duchess kept leaning toward Lord Yeatman in obvious flirtation.
It was evident for anyone who gazed in the pair’s direction, especially obvious to Annie, for she had looked that way so many times, that the two enjoyed each other’s company. They both laughed at one another’s jests, and the Duchess of Bannerman frequently reached out to try and make some connection between the two of them, with a touch to his wrist or something similar. The latest touch made Annie look down at her plate once more, bemoaning her envy.
What is wrong with me?
Her curiosity defeated her, and she glanced up at the Duchess once again. She was certainly both a captivating and wealthy woman, so much so that many other gentlemen at the table were eager to talk to her too. It was hardly surprising Lord Yeatman would be one of them.
“Do you think he is flirting with her?” Annie asked, leaning toward Peggy. When Peggy smirked, Annie glared at her. “Do not ask me why I asked such a question, please.”
“Very well.” Peggy turned her focus on the pair. “It is hard to tell when one cannot hear the words, but if he is, then he’s doing a very good impression of appearing like he’s not. No, the Duchess is the one so keen to lay a hand on his arm and gain his smile. He is still more concerned with looking at you.”
Annie didn’t know whether to be happy or sad at such an idea.
“I did hear a whisper about the two of them a few months ago, though.”
“Oh? What whisper?” Annie asked, glancing Peggy’s way.
“Are you certain you wish to hear it?”
“Yes. I want to be sensible, not foolhardy. At the moment, it seems I am being a great fool as I cannot stop looking in his direction, so please, make me sensible again,” Annie pleaded with her friend. Peggy seemed to take pity on her, nodding and leaning toward her to utter the words quietly.
“There was some gossip that the two were involved in some sort of romance a few months back, but I have heard nothing of it for so long, I presume if there was such a thing, then it must be at an end. Beyond that, I know nothing more.” Peggy shrugged and returned her focus to her plate, yet Annie couldn’t eat any more now.
She looked at Lord Yeatman and the Duchess of Bannerman, startled to see that once again the Duchess was trying to gain his attention, but he didn’t appear to notice, for he was staring straight at Annie.
He is a rake. I know that, so why do I like it when he looks at me in this way?
Annie feared she knew the answer, and it made her swallow all that was left in her claret glass.
***
Luke had to take this opportunity. There had been no other all evening, what with the Duchess of Bannerman constantly trying to get his attention and Jemima watching his every move, he had to play the moment right. He may have initially decided that evening he would stay away entirely from Miss Storey but seeing her there made it impossible. He had to speak to her.
He waited until her mother was absorbed in conversation with Jemima and the Duchess of Bannerman had left for the evening, then he approached Miss Storey. She was sat at a card table with Miss Grove and Adam, leaving an empty chair that was just perfect for Luke to take.
“May I?” he asked, sitting down in the empty chair.
“It seems you have already,” Miss Storey pointed out with a wry smile as she dealt him into the cards.
“What is the game?”
