The Honourable Fortune Hunter (Scandalous Miss Brightwells 5)

Mrs Dalgleish nodded. “True, true. You are always the first to see the best in a bad situation, Harry. It is your fine and noble nature shining through, of course, but then, you are young and have not witnessed life’s tribulations as I have. Still, I concur, Lizzy. I am very glad to see you here, looking so robust, and indeed, glowing with good health. Silver is a colour that becomes you, to be sure.”

The compliment that followed the set down filled Lizzy with such relief that she burst out, “I am not a person who seeks drama. Truly! I certainly hope that others won’t think it, either!”

The idea that falsehoods and innuendo might hamper her marital prospects was simply too dampening. It had been bad enough at the several Ladies Seminaries she’d been forced to attend, but nothing could compare in perfect horridness to living with Mrs Hodge.

No, Lizzy was here to find a husband. And although she felt a twinge of disappointment at Mr McAlister’s cavalier dismissal, the way Mr Dalgleish was standing up for her, after he’d kissed her in the little chamber just now, were all conspiring to make her feel that the proposition he was leading towards making was the best she could hope for.

When Ladies Fenton and Quamby stopped to compliment her on her ensemble, her pleasure was nearly complete.

The room was quite crowded now. Some guests were dining formally with their hosts in the grand dining room but here, in the card room, a table in the centre had been heaped with delicacies, while in the saloon a small orchestra had begun to play.

Paper-thin ham and pies and jellies of all kinds were a thrilling proposition, for the fare at Mrs Hodge’s was limited. Mrs Hodge indulged her sweet tooth when Lizzy was not in attendance.

“Restraint is a very necessary virtue for a young lady,” she heard behind her, and turned to see Mrs Dalgleish looking pointedly at her plate before Harry laughingly told his mother that he hardly thought gluttony was one of Lizzy’s faults. “Have you ever seen a more well-put-together young lady? Why, Lizzy must be the envy of every woman in this room,” he went on in gushing tones, spearing another slice of ham to place on her plate.

“A good thing I don’t live near my mother or I would be under constant siege, myself,” he added in an undertone, which was immensely reassuring. “My home, Rawlings, which I inherited last year, is very commodious and very…empty,” he added, meaningfully. “I am so looking forward to filling it with laughter and, in time,” a wistful look crossed his face, “children. My sister, Mary, is blessed with four of them in as many years. She lives across the river, and I’m sure you and she would like each other very much.”

The picture he painted of domestic harmony was so enticing Lizzy felt buoyed by an inner glow when he took her hand a little later to lead her into the dance. And though she hoped she did not betray the flare of disappointment she felt when she saw Theo dancing with a plain young miss with a poor complexion, she felt hopeful that the silent scold she gave herself would effectively dampen any yearning in the wrong direction. Theo had been nothing but honest about his intentions to marry another.

Therefore, by the time her dance partner next locked eyes with her, Lizzy was able to quickly paste a happy smile upon her face and to declare herself very ready to fall in love with Harry Dalgleish, as long as he said and did the right things over the next four days.

By chance, Theo found himself placed next to Amelia during the next dance, and as they locked eyes, he wondered what she was really thinking. But Amelia had always been guarded. Unlike her sister.

“I wish Catherine was here,” she now muttered, referring to her adored and vibrant sibling. She glanced down at her dancing slippers before directing at him a guilty look. “Oh Theo, that was too ghastly of me to say it. I am so sorry.”

He wanted to say that he wasn’t offended but this was hardly the moment. No doubt there’d be some eagle eyes amidst the onlookers, and the mere fact he was speaking with Amelia would cause tongues to wag.

“Lord Leighton is on his way back from the Continent.” She stared stonily ahead, waiting to perform her dance steps. “I received a letter from my uncle telling me that he’s cut short his sojourn in France and coming here. He wishes us to marry at the earliest.”

The couple immediately before them had nearly finished their figures. Theo could not respond in the seconds available. But as it was his turn to take Amelia’s hand and move her through the dance, his heart was suddenly beating very hard and fast. Lord Leighton’s return to England was much sooner than he had expected. Than either of them had expected.

“Oh Theo, I don’t know what to do! It’s not fair for me to ask you—”

“There’s no other way,” he said, aware that his words sounded gloomy and wooden. With an effort, he added a little more brightly, “Providence has obviously sent me here so that I shall beat Lord Leighton to it, eh?”

He’d hoped for a smile of confidence, but the sheen of Amelia’s doe-like eyes was uncharacteristic. Amelia was the most practical and self-sufficient young lady he knew.

She moved along the line to grasp the hand of the next gentleman with whom she was to dance her figures, saying softly over her shoulder, “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without you, Theo.”

Chapter 11

The evening had been one of immense emotional heights, and Lizzy was glad to finally be told by Mrs Hodge that she must go to bed.

Harry bade her a fond farewell in the saloon, pressing his lips to the back of her hand as he gazed soulfully into her eyes, while his mother and Mrs Hodge looked on in evident satisfaction. For the first time, Lizzy was actually glad that she could please the woman, even if she were brokering a match that offered her financial advantage.

Everything was about money, after all.

Harry had danced with Lizzy three times and been attentive all evening. He had been amusing and charming, and Lizzy had almost been able to put out of her mind the gentle, ironic twist of Mr McAlister’s lips and the amusement in his eye when he spoke to her. At the time it had given her hope, making her feel that he considered her more than he’d like to admit, but as he had not so much as made eye contact with her the whole evening, she realised she was being fanciful.

The fact was, he was promised to another.

“Good night, Mrs Hodge. Sleep well.” Lizzy bobbed a curtsey. Although she was tired, she saw she was the first to leave the festivities, and although she thought about making a last-minute objection, the state of continual warfare that had reigned in the household during the year since she’d left the last of the Ladies Seminaries she’d attended had been more exhausting than she’d realised at the time. If she could be patient a little longer, freedom beckoned.

“Thank you, Lizzy. And don’t you be diverted by the wondrous antiquities in the Long Gallery, either. I want you to wake me with hot chocolate at nine o’clock as I have some letters to write, and I wish you to read the news sheets to me.” Though Lizzy knew she really meant the gossip sheets. Mrs Hodge looked vastly pleased with her, for once and, when Dalgleish mother and son had taken their leave, went so far as to say as she walked Lizzy to the door, “Matters are proceeding very well, and I do not want you to spoil the harmony and goodwill I feel towards you right now. You would do well to continue as you have, my girl.”

Lizzy had no wish to see the harmony between them spoiled, either. So, although the delicious smell of beeswax from the flickering candles, and the beautiful jewels and gowns of the young ladies, now seemed too enticing to making her want to go, she did so.

Furthermore, when she entered the vast Long Gallery, she was determined to keep her eyes on the ground in front of her and not be distracted by a sideways glance at the marble statues and coats of armour that Lord Quamby and his forebears had acquired during the Grand Tour.