CHAPTER 8
“Lady Gen, you are looking resplendent this evening,” Miles bowed, kissing his godmother’s hand.
Lady Genevieve snorted, “I haven’t been resplendent in over twenty years. Thank you, anyhow for the compliment, my boy.”
Miles smiled at her fondly, “I speak only the truth.”
Lady Genevieve rolled her eyes, and yet her smile showed the affection that she had for Miles. “I do believe that you are familiar with everyone present?”
Miles nodded before greeting the other ladies. He bowed and kissed the air above each of their hands.
Hetty was the last one, and as he approached, her color mounted. His icy blue eyes took in every inch of her. Hetty felt naked under his perusal. Wondering if she passed muster, Hetty fumbled her greeting. “It’s always good to see you, Lord Chambers.”
A gleam of humor was laced in his response, “I am honored by your words, and yet I somehow wonder if you are being truthful, Lady Henrietta.”
Samantha tried to cover her laugh with a cough, but Hetty knew better. Tipping her chin up, her hazel eyes frosted over, “I was being polite.”
Miles laughed, the rich warm tones, sinking all the way into Hetty. He was devilish attractive, that could not be denied. His chiseled face and strong jaw drew many of the female’s attention his way. And when he smiled with that crooked grin, hearts all over London fluttered madly.
It was infuriating to Hetty, he simply got underneath her skin—like an itch one couldn’t quite reach.
“I think that we should dispense with the pleasantries,” Hazel interjected, trying to keep the peace. “They are asking everyone to be seated, I do believe that the program is about to begin. Shall we?”
As the group made their way to their prospective seats, Miles followed Hetty and sat directly on her right, and to the left of Lady Gen.
“Shouldn’t you be sitting with your sister?” Hetty whispered quietly.
Miles grinned, “And watch as she and Shore bask in their love for each other? I would rather not.”
Hetty let out an impatient sigh, “I believe that I saw Rose Darlington near the back, perhaps she has saved you a seat?”
Miles had no idea what Hetty was talking about. Certainly, Rose had attempted to spend more time with him. But he had no interest in her whatsoever. It did intrigue Miles to know that Hetty knew of Rose’s attention to him.
“I am quite comfortable where I am sitting, Lady Henrietta. Thank you for your concern. It is touching to see you take an interest in my comfort.”
Hetty’s lips disappeared into a line, “I could care less about…” It was then that she realized her voice had risen and people were turning to see what she was talking about. “The weather,” she ended with a stiff smile. “It is terribly unpredictable and often a pain in my side. The weather is something that must be tolerated, it won’t leave.”
Miles knew full well that she was speaking directly to him. With a smirk he replied, “It is true that there are times when strong outbursts are unavoidable. But surely they are provoked.”
Hetty’s mouth dropped, “Provoked? That’s asinine, I did no such thing. I was minding my own business and you took it upon yourself…”
Miles eyes were dancing, “Care now, Lady Henrietta, we are speaking of the weather after all. We wouldn’t want to cause any turmoil.”
“You are an insufferable pig,” Hetty muttered through clenched teeth.
“And you are a ray of sunshine,” Miles leaned back in his chair thoroughly enjoying their interchange. He was actually saddened when Lord Elias Mangrove quieted the crowd so that he could announce which ever famous vocalist that would be singing.
His blood was pumping and he wanted to continue his conversation with the prickly, Lady Henrietta. Somehow, she didn’t seem nearly as young as she had a year previous.
Perhaps it was her flashing eyes, or that lovely expanse of cleavage that rose and fell rapidly when she was angry. With her color heightened, Miles didn’t know if he had ever seen a woman look so lovely.
He knew that she was ignoring him. Her hands were clenched in front of her as she pretended to listen to the man belting out something in Latin.
Miles knew Latin, but couldn’t concentrate on the singing.
“Stop staring at me,” Hetty growled under her voice.
She was adorable to him. “Perhaps there is something on your face?” he whispered back to her.
Hetty whipped her head to look him in the eye. Her hand flew to her cheek, “Good Lord, remove it immediately!”
There was nothing on her face, besides her gorgeous skin, but he couldn’t tell her that. Taking his gloved hand, he brushed a few lose strands behind her ear. “You are perfection,” his voice had dropped several octaves.
Hetty was confused, “You took care of whatever was on my face?”
He took that moment to look her over. Her high cheekbones, clear hazel eyes, wide forehead and small but determined chin. “All taken care of,” he whispered in reply.
His breeches were considerably tighter than they had been upon sitting down. Hetty smiled uncertainly up at him, and he knew in that moment that he cared for her much more than he ought.
“Thank you,” she whispered before returning her gaze to the front.
Miles was more than a little bit confused by his actions. He wasn’t in the petticoat line, why was he flirting with a young unmarried female? Especially one that caused him no end of irritation. He glanced to the side to see if anyone had been watching his exchange with Lady Henrietta.
His godmother was looking directly at him with a raised brow. Miles flushed, knowing that he needed to save face he tried to formulate something.
A wide smile knowing smile broke across the older woman’s face.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” Miles quickly uttered.
Lady Gen’s smile deepened, “Of course, not. The weather is often flighty and inconsistent.”
Miles frowned, “That wasn’t very nice.”
Lady Gen laughed, a bit too loudly, causing many heads to turn. “I am old, I have no reason to be nice. I much rather prefer to be honest.” After a moment’s pause she added, “You should try it sometime.”