“It can’t be!” Mark laughed.
“What?”
“The great Earl of Ridlington smitten by a mere lass and one he only just met at that.”
“I am not smitten. I am simply observing.”
“Indeed,” the Viscount remarked, amused. “Pick up your sword then; the least you can do is give me a good fight before you go chasing love.”
“I am not chasing lo—” Gerard muttered an expletive as his friend thrust his sword at him. He ducked and countered, the topic at hand momentarily forgotten.
Half an hour later, Gerard ventured back to his chamber to change his clothing. He was about to visit the gentleman’s club when he heard some voices ring out in laughter in the drawing room.
“Such a pity!” he heard his grandmother say.
“Indeed, it is,” said another voice. Gerard walked toward the drawing room to see whom his grandmother was gossiping with.
“Gerard! Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? Come closer, let me set my gaze on you.”
Gerard grinned. “Lady Camry, how is it possible that you look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you?”
“Oh! Stop your teasing. Deceiving a poor old woman like me,” Lady Camry scolded, but she was smiling happily. She turned to her old friend the Dowager Countess. “Pray tell me why no young lady in Society has managed to get their hooks into a young handsome bachelor like Gerard?”
“I have been curious myself,” the Dowager replied. They turned to Gerard expecting answers.
“Why, Lady Camry, I am simply trying to be worthy of your attention,” Gerard smirked.
“Gerard, put your sweet tongue away from Lady Camry at once. She is a grandmother who has effectively raised the whole of England.”
“I am afraid it is true. Your grandmother and I used to be the Belles of the Season in our day, but look at us now: grandchildren, book clubs, and all that,” the old woman sighed.
“Speaking about grandchildren, I heard today that there have been no callers on the Diamond of the Season,” said Gerard’s grandmother. His ears pricked up immediately.No callers?That was odd although the news secretly pleased him.
“Impossible! None at all?”
“Not a single one—thanks to her hotheaded brother.”
“I have never heard of a Diamond not being called on. Why! It’s the whole benefit of having a special stamp of approval from the Queen herself!”
“I fear the Queen might have to recall the title,” Lady Camry said gravely.
“Can it be done? I have never seen it happen.”
“Only because there has never been a cause for it to.”
“So, there’s been no callers on Lady Ellen, is it?” Gerard suddenly mumbled. The two old ladies turned to him, surprised that he was still in the room. “Yes, I only wish I had introduced Gerard to her at the ball. I can’t believe it skipped my mind.”
“Gerard, do you think you could be a dear and pay them a visit in London?”
“Do I smell a matchmaking in the air, Grandmother?”
“Would that be so terrible?”
Gerard sighed. “I will think about it,” he said and left the room.
“What was that for?” Lady Camry asked after Gerard was gone.
The Dowager’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Would not you agree that the Diamond of the Season would make a fine match for my grandson?”
