Later that evening, Mama and Louisa accompanied Lucinda to Lady Bellamny’s elegant town house near St. James Square.
After greeting Louisa warmly, Lady Bellamny, a plump lady swathed in a purple gown, with gold feathers in her hair, leaned forward and kissed Mama on her cheek. “Madeline, I am so happy to see you in Town. It has been far too long.”
Lucinda had to keep her jaw from dropping. She had never heard anyone speak to her mother with such familiarity. Despite Mama’s misgivings, she had friends here that she did not have at home.
“Thank you, Almeria. I have missed you as well.” Mama smiled happily, making Lucinda blink. “Perhaps I shall spend more time in Town.” Mama drew Lucinda forward. “Almeria, this is my eldest daughter, Lady Lucinda. Lucinda, please meet an old and dear friend, Lady Bellamny.”
Lucinda curtseyed. “My lady. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
For a moment, she felt as if she were being inspected, then her ladyship nodded. “You’ll do well. Not a diamond of the first water, but very pretty and unaffected.”
Pasting a polite smile on her lips, she said, “Thank you, my lady.”
“And intelligent.” Lady Bellamny’s feathers waved as she nodded again. “No girl likes to hear that she is not the most beautiful lady of the Season, but you’ll be better for it.”
Louisa took Lucinda’s arm. “Come, you should meet some of the other ladies.”
Once they were out of Lady Bellamny’s hearing, and she was greeting a new arrival, Lucinda asked, “Is she always like that?”
“If you mean straight to the point, even if you do not wish to hear what she has to say?” Lucinda inclined her head. “Yes. She told me being beautiful was as much a curse as a blessing.”
That was hard to believe. “Was she right?”
Louisa tilted her head to one side, and her eyes narrowed slightly. “Yes. There are too many gentlemen who fail to look beyond a pleasing face and form.” With her dark hair and lapis-blue eyes, Louisa must have been one of the most beautiful ladies of last Season. “I will tell you one thing I have observed. When you find the right gentleman, he will believe you are the most beautiful woman in the world.”
That did not make any sense at all. One’s looks did not change. “How do you know?”
Louisa smiled. “I have seen the way a man in love looks at his lady. Even when others have decided she is only passably pretty, she will be beautiful to him.”
“Your grace?” a fashionably dressed lady with blond hair addressed Louisa.
“Lady St. Claire.” Louisa smiled, holding out her hands. “How are you this evening?”
“Quite well.” The lady took Louisa’s hands, leaned forward, and kissed her cheek. “I wish to introduce my niece, Miss Marlow. She is my brother’s daughter. I am sponsoring her this Season.”
Louisa introduced Lucinda. After she greeted Lady St. Claire, Lucinda held out her hand to Miss Marlow. She was one of the most perfectly featured ladies she had ever seen. Glossy, golden curls framed her oval face. Her eyes were cornflower blue, and the faintest of blushes colored her perfect complexion. She looked almost like a porcelain doll.
An image came into Lucinda’s mind of Miss Marlow and Lord Quorndon as figurines placed side by side on a fireplace mantel or in a highly polished cabinet.
Could it be that she was the answer to Lucinda’s problem with his lordship? Indeed, as fastidious as the man was about his clothing and person, Lucinda could imagine he would like a wife whose looks complemented him.
She could not have stopped the smile from forming on her lips if she had wanted to. “I am very pleased to meet you, Miss Marlow.”
“Thank you,” the lady replied. “I am happy to meet you. I think coming to know other young ladies will be of help to us all.” Lucinda could not agree more. Miss Marlow glanced at her mother and Louisa. “Would you mind if I take Lady Lucinda to meet some of the other ladies?”
“Not at all,” her sister-in-law responded. “That is, after all, the purpose of the soirée.”
Miss Marlow introduced Lucinda to Lady Alice Wexford, the daughter of the Marquis of Grantham. Lady Alice was above average height with a serious demeanor.
Holding out her hand, Lucinda smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Alice.”
“And you as well, Lady Lucinda.” Lady Alice glanced around the room and sighed. “Is this your first time in Town?”
“Yes. I was to have come out last year, but we were in mourning for my father.” Lucinda held her breath, waiting to see if the other lady would comment on her father.
Instead, a sympathetic look entered her gray eyes. “I am sorry for your loss. Did you wish for a Season?”
That was an odd question. Did not every young lady want a London Season? “I have been looking forward to it for a few years now.”
“Oh.” Lady Alice looked at a loss for words. Then she leaned closer. “I did not want one at all. I would have been happier to have remained in Lincolnshire with my books and attended the local assemblies. I am only here to please my father.”
“Perhaps you will have a better time than you think.” Lucinda made a mental note to invite Lady Alice to go walking or for tea.
Miss Marlow once again took Lucinda’s arm. “Please excuse us, my lady. I have promised to introduce Lady Lucinda to some other ladies I have recently met. Shall I see you next week at Almack’s?”
“My mother received the vouchers yesterday.” Lady Alice imparted the news with so much dread that Lucinda almost put her arms around the lady to comfort her.
“I am positive everything will be fine.” As Lucinda patted the young woman’s shoulder, she caught Miss Marlow struggling not to grin. “We shall see each other after Easter.”
Next, Lucinda met Miss Tice and her good friend Miss Martindale. The two ladies had been friends since infancy and appeared to be inseparable.
“We have decided,” Miss Tice said, “that we must find husbands whose estates run together.”
Miss Martindale nodded vigorously. “That way, we will not be forced to live far from each other.”
“I wish you luck.” Lucinda exchanged a look with Miss Marlow, whose lips were twitching so much she had to put her hand over her mouth. Had they pored over Debrett’s and a map of England to make a list?
Once Lucinda and Miss Marlow were far enough away from the ladies that they wouldn’t be overheard, Lucinda commented, “I feel sorry for Lady Alice.”
“I think she is making a great deal over nothing,” Miss Marlow said indignantly. “I cannot imagine not wanting to marry.”
“To be fair, she did not say she had no wish to wed. She just did not want to come to Town.” That begged the question of whether there was a gentleman at home Lady Alice liked.
Miss Marlow linked her arm with Lucinda’s as they strolled around the room. “What are you looking for in a husband?”
“I have decided I want a love match.” She glanced at her new friend. “As for requirements, he must be a gentleman, able to support a wife,”—she could not imagine being allowed to marry anyone who could not afford a family—“and he must like horses as much as I do, and not keep me from reading what I want. What do you wish for?”
Miss Marlow pulled a face. “I would have to say that I agree with your first two requirements, but I would ask that he not make me ride a horse. I have been afraid of them since I was a child. My father would like me to wed a peer, or a man who will become a peer. I have not decided if that is so important.”
Lucinda remembered that her sister-in-law had found a match for a suitor she had not wanted. Could she do the same thing? Lucinda was hard pressed to keep her smile to herself. It appeared that Miss Marlow would be perfect for Lord Quorndon. Somehow, Lucinda would have to arrange an introduction.
Fortunately, the opportunity came much sooner than she thought it would. Just as they were finishing supper, there was a small commotion at the entrance to the supper room.
Miss Marlow, as did everyone else, glanced in that direction. Her eyes widened. “Who is that?”
Lucinda looked at the door as several gentlemen strolled in. Among them were her brother and Lord Elliott, who looked extremely elegant in a black jacket, striped waist coat, and a perfectly tied cravat. Not to mention shirt points that were not so high he couldn’t see. “Which one?”
“No, over there, bowing to the lady with the blond hair sitting next to the older lady.”
The older lady was Lucinda’s mother. But the man—resplendent in a Prussian blue jacket and matching satin breeches—bowing to his mother was Quorndon!
A slow smile drew her lips up. “The Marquis of Quorndon. Please allow me to introduce you.”
“How kind of you.” Miss Marlow’s bow lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Lucinda linked her arm with her new friend’s and led her across the room. “My lady, I did not see you earlier.”
Lady Quorndon fluttered her hand. “I did not wish to interrupt you. Fortunately, there is no need to chaperone you young ladies at this event, so we older ladies may chat all we wish.”
“Good evening, my lord.”
Lord Quorndon smiled politely and bowed. “My lady.”
Lucinda curtseyed before turning her attention to Miss Marlow. “Mother, Lady Quorndon, I’d like to introduce you to Miss Marlow, Lady St. Claire’s niece.” Lucinda waited until the ladies had greeted her friend. “Miss Marlow, may I introduce Lord Quorndon to you?”
She performed an elegant curtsey and held out her hand. “A pleasure to meet you, my lord.”
Lord Quorndon’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed slightly as he bowed over her fingers, taking them in his hand. “The pleasure is mine, Miss Marlow.”
Lucinda was glad to see that he held her friend’s fingers a little longer than necessary.
She cut a look at her mother, but the older ladies had gone back to their comfortable coze. Miss Marlow and Lord Quorndon’s reactions to each other were promising. Lucinda must find some way to arrange another meeting between them before they left the soirée. And—before Mama and Lady Quorndon noticed the looks of interest on the couple’s faces.
But where? Not the Park. It was too crowded during the Fashionable Hour.
Think, think, think. There must be somewhere…“Miss Marlow, have you been to the British Museum yet?”
She glanced at Lucinda. “I have not, but I have heard I should attend while in Town.”
“I would be delighted to escort you ladies.” Lord Quorndon made the offer so quickly, Lucinda’s head spun.
Yet they must attend early in the day. Did his lordship arise before noon? Well, if he was interested in Miss Marlow, he would. “Perfect.” She kept her smile to herself. “Would tomorrow at eleven suit?”
“What a wonderful idea.” Miss Marlow clapped her hands lightly.
Lucinda thought she saw a slight grimace on his face, but he bowed. “Ladies, I am at your disposal.”
This might be easier than Lucinda had thought. She glanced around and saw her brother making his way through the crowd. “Miss Marlow, we should look for your aunt and my sister-in-law.”
As they strolled away, Lucinda saw Lord Elliott still standing near the door. What would it take to convince him to join them at the museum tomorrow? Perhaps she could mention it if she saw him riding in the morning. At least he would be awake long before eleven. Or perhaps she need not wait that long.
Gerald and his friends were ushered into Lady Bellamny’s elegant supper room. Potted plants lined the walls, and round tables were scattered around the room. It seemed as if they were not the first gentlemen to arrive.
Quorndon was on one side of the room, greeting his mother and the dowager duchess. Gerald scanned the gathering until his eyes rested on Lady Lucinda sitting next to another lady. She glanced toward the door, and, for a brief moment, their eyes met.
Then the other lady claimed her attention by pointing toward Quorndon. A sly smile appeared on her face. She took the lady by the arm and led her across the room.
“What the devil is my sister up to?” Rothwell’s low growl sounded behind Gerald, who had not taken his eyes off Lady Lucinda.
“She appears to be introducing Quorndon to her friend.”
“If she’s scheming, I hope she doesn’t catch cold at it,” Rothwell responded. “I’m going to look for my wife.”
“We’ll come with you.” Kenilworth surveyed the room. “Where your wife is, ours will be as well.”
Merton nodded as he and Kenilworth followed Rothwell.
“I’ll just remain here a moment.” Gerald glanced at Lady Lucinda again.
What scheme could her brother mean, and was it something about which he should be concerned?
This looking after a young lady was much more involved than he’d originally thought. Not only that, but if he spent all his time chaperoning her, he’d have no time to look for a wife of his own.
The lady with Lady Lucinda curtseyed, and Quorndon bowed. The tableau reminded him of one of his mother’s Meissen porcelain figures, albeit not in last century’s clothing.
Devil a bit!
Gerald would bet his last groat she was matchmaking.
The next thing he knew, she was headed directly for him. Now what was she up to?
“Good evening, my lord.” Her eyes sparkled with the look of a cat who’d got into the cream.
“My lady, good evening. Are you looking for your brother?”
“Not yet.” She addressed the other lady. “Miss Marlow, may I make Lord Elliott known to you?”
Gerald did the pretty and waited for Lady Lucinda to tell him what she wanted.
She glanced at him hopefully. “Miss Marlow, Lord Quorndon, and I are visiting the British Museum tomorrow. I wonder if you would like to join us.”
“It has been a long time since I have been there. I should be delighted to accompany you.” It would also give him a chance to find out if she really was scheming.
“Excellent.” Once again, she gave him a brilliant smile. “We shall meet there at eleven.”
“In the morning?” He couldn’t believe she had convinced Quorndon to rise before noon.
Her brows drew together, and she gave Gerald a stern look. “Of course in the morning.”
“Naturally. I was just surprised that…It doesn’t matter. Eleven is a perfectly good time of day to visit the museum. I shall see you then. It should not be too crowded.”
“My thoughts exactly.” She reassumed her sunny demeanor. “We should find my brother and Miss Marlow’s aunt.”
The two ladies ambled off, and Gerald wondered if he’d see Lady Lucinda riding in the morning. If he did, he intended to ask her some pointed questions about her plans for Miss Marlow and Lord Quorndon.