Candice Hern (14 page)

He was forced to stop and acknowledge greetings and congratulations along the way. He tried all the while to keep his grandmother and Emily in sight, as they were fast disappearing into the crowd, and he feared he might lose them forever in such a crush.

"Bradleigh!" a familiar cheerful voice rose above the din. Robert turned to find a tall, fair-haired gentleman making his way toward him.

"Sedge! Well met," Robert said, clapping the gentleman on the back. Lord Colin Sedgewick was one of Robert's oldest friends. He also happened to be at the top of the list of eligible gentlemen Robert had considered for introductions to Emily, who by now, he realized, was completely lost in the crowd. He sighed and looked back at his friend.

"I haven't seen you since the great announcement appeared in the Gazette, old man," Lord Sedgewick said, grinning broadly.

Robert had often thought that Sedge had the most infectious grin he had ever seen. His eyes crinkled up into tiny slits, and he looked positively impish. It was nearly impossible not to grin in return.

"I almost choked on my morning coffee when I read it," Lord Sedgewick continued. "Put me off my feed for the entire day. Why didn't you tell me?"

"No time. Sedge," Robert replied. "I hared straightaway off to Bath to tell Grandmother before she heard it through the grapevine. Unfortunately I was too late. She had read the Gazette only moments before my arrival."

"Poor boy. How did she react?"

"She boxed my ears."

"Ha!" Lord Sedgewick shouted. "I always liked the old girl." His eyes narrowed as he caught someone in the crowd. "Well, speak of the devil."

Robert turned to see three purple plumes bobbing above the crowd and heading in his direction.

"Robert!" His grandmother's familiar drawl reached him before he actually saw her emerge from between two animated groups, her plumes striking one outraged gentleman in the eye. "I've been searching for you this age," she said, ignoring the irate gentleman. "What a crush! Ah, Sedgewick. How delightful to see you again." She cast a meaningful glance at Robert.

Her meaning was not lost on him.

"Lady Bradleigh," Lord Sedgewick said as he took the dowager's hand to his lips. "You are a vision, as always. Bath agrees with you, ma'am, though we miss you here in London. What brings you to town?"

"Robert's betrothal, of course," she replied. "I have come to organize an engagement ball." She tossed another significant look at Robert.

He knew his role and glanced quickly at Emily, who was standing slightly behind the dowager. She looked positively delicious, he thought, like peaches and honey. Although the room was very brightly lit with hundreds of candles, it was nevertheless a flickering sort of light which caused Emily's dress and hair and eyes to shimmer. He could hardly tear his eyes from her. Suddenly the image of her at her dressing table filled his mind, and he realized the very sight of her was having a physical effect on him. Good God, this was madness. He blinked his eyes in order to regain control and rearranged his face into a polite smile as he reached out a hand toward her.

"Lord Sedgewick," he said, drawing Emily forward, "may I introduce Miss Emily Townsend, my grandmother's friend and companion. Miss Townsend, this is my good friend Lord Sedgewick."

"Your servant, Miss Townsend," Lord Sedgewick said as he bowed over Emily's hand. Robert did not miss the appreciative gleam in Sedge's eyes before they crinkled up into a smile.

"I am pleased to meet you, my lord," Emily said.

She was no less susceptible to Sedgewick's smile than anyone else, Robert thought as he watched her face light up with a dazzling smile of her own. Sedge asked her a question, which Robert missed as the dowager tugged on his arm and led him slightly apart from the other two.

"Good work, my dear," she whispered. "Sedgewick will do nicely. Who else have you lined up?"

"No one," he said with some exasperation. "I hadn't actually 'lined up' Sedge. We just happened to bump into each other."

"It doesn't matter," she said. "It was smoothly done. Who else have you seen tonight?"

"Before I met up with Sedge, I had been with the Windhursts and Augusta. I'm afraid I haven't had time yet to act as scout for your little campaign."

"Well, hop to it, my boy. I am counting on you." She glanced over at the other couple. "I suppose they have had sufficient time to become acquainted," she said as she returned to Emily's side.

"Well, Sedgewick," the dowager said, "I'm afraid you must excuse us. This is Emily's first visit to Town, and there are so many people I want her to meet. We must move along," she said, taking Emily's arm. "Shall we see you at the Rutland ball Thursday night?"

"I wouldn't miss it," Lord Sedgewick replied. He turned to Emily. "I hope I may be permitted a dance. Miss Townsend?"

"I would be honored, my lord," Emily replied.

When the two ladies had moved away, Robert turned to his friend and cocked a questioning brow.

"What a beauty!" Sedge exclaimed. "Where have you been hiding her?"

"In Bath," Robert said, frowning. "With Grandmother."

* * *

Emily stood near the refreshment table sipping a glass of champagne. She seldom indulged. In fact, having watched her father sink into dissipation after her mother's death, she had scorned spirits in all forms. But it was so warm, and she was so thirsty. Surely a single glass could not be considered objectionable. She felt the knots in her stomach begin to uncoil.

She could never have imagined such a gathering. Every inch of the staircases, reception rooms, anterooms, and corridors was packed with the cream of London Society. The human din was almost deafening, and Emily wondered why Lady Bessborough had even bothered to hire the musicians, who could not be heard at all. Beautifully dressed men and women stood shoulder to shoulder in a sea of swirling colors and flashing jewels. It was certainly not what Emily had expected of a "small rout." As for her plan to disappear into the background—well, there simply was no background. There was only a mass of teeming humanity as far as the eye could see. If she were not so exhilarated she would have to admit that such a gathering was not conducive to comfort or conversation, and therefore not very enjoyable. Perhaps she would consider such parties with more nonchalance as she spent more time in London. But for now, she was simply enjoying herself.

She had been
so
anxious about this evening, but she felt the tension melt away as she sipped more champagne. It hadn't really gone so badly thus far, and everyone had been surprisingly friendly and welcoming. Even the dowager's matchmaking efforts hadn't been too obvious or awkward. The several gentlemen she had met this evening had all been quite unexceptionable. She had never been made to feel uncomfortable. She was grateful that the first gentleman to whom she had been introduced had been so open and friendly. Lord Sedgewick had certainly put her at ease. She smiled as she recalled that introduction and her initial trepidation.

She had just been presented to Lady Bessborough, who had been most effusive in her welcome to the dowager. But before Emily had a chance to say two words to their famous hostess, she had felt her arm gripped tightly.

"There's Robert!" the dowager had hissed as she nodded toward the other side of the room. She had proceeded to pull Emily along none too gently in his direction.

Oh, Lord, Emily had thought, now it begins. She had taken a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and followed her employer. When they had at last squeezed their way through the room and reached Lord Bradleigh, Emily had noticed that he was speaking with another gentleman—but her eyes were automatically drawn to the earl. He looked very elegant in his black evening clothes and snowy-white linen. She caught the glint of a discreet diamond pin nestled in the folds of his neckcloth. His hair was once again combed straight back from his forehead, giving him a more severe look that set him apart from many of the other gentlemen whose artfully styled and oiled curls owed nothing to nature. Not for the first time, her eyes traced with admiration the clean cut of his profile, the firm set of his chin, the even white teeth revealed as he smiled at his companion. Emily had thought that even amidst this assembly of London's finest, he was surely one of the handsomest men she had ever seen.

Suddenly he had caught her eye. For what seemed an eternity, his intense brown eyes had held hers with an expression she couldn't read. She had been so caught up in his gaze that it seemed for a time that they were the only two people in the room. Then he had blinked, and the expression was gone, replaced by a puzzled frown. Emily had felt herself blush and dropped her eyes in confusion. Heavens, how long had she been staring at him? What must he think of her? And why did it seem that no one else had sensed the awkwardness of the moment? When she looked up again. Lord Bradleigh, smiling somewhat stiffly, reached out for her and drew her forward, and she realized he was about to present her to the gentleman at his side.

All at once, this first of the scenes she had so been dreading seemed preferable to the suddenly discomfiting proximity of the earl. She had recollected herself in time to be introduced to Lord Sedgewick. He was a tall, somewhat lanky, pleasant-looking gentleman about the same age as the earl, she guessed.

"I am pleased to meet you, my lord," she had said as he bowed over her hand. When he looked up and smiled, Emily had been instantly captivated by one of the friendliest, most open countenances she had ever seen. She smiled in return.

"Are you enjoying the rout. Miss Townsend?" he had asked.

"Frankly, I find it somewhat overwhelming, my lord," she replied.

"What? This insignificant little gathering? Surely you jest." He grinned down at her.

"I'm afraid I do not, my lord," she replied, smiling more in response to his own smile than his teasing banter. "The assemblies in Bath were never so ... well... so..."

"So crowded?" he completed for her. "So stifling? So noisy? So, shall we say, fragrant of humanity?"

"As you say, my lord," Emily had replied, smiling in response to the impish twinkle in his eyes..

"Yes, it does take some getting used to," he said. "Did you come from Bath with Lady Bradleigh?"

"Yes," she'd replied. But before she could continue, the dowager was back and leading her away. She had been pleased, however, when Lord Sedgewick had asked for a dance at the ball she was to attend with the dowager on Thursday.

Really, she thought, as she recalled the meeting, that hadn't been so very difficult. Except for that strange moment with the earl. She wasn't quite sure what exactly had happened, but something about the way he had looked at her made her feel somehow uncomfortable. Just the thought of the intensity of his look caused her to feel suddenly warm all over. Nonsense. It was just the effects of the champagne. She put her empty glass on the tray of a passing footman.

Well, she thought, Lord Sedgewick seemed pleasant enough, and he had the most marvelous smile. In fact, she had felt surprisingly at ease with him. Moreover, his friendliness had given her the confidence to face with greater equanimity the subsequent introductions engineered that evening by the dowager and Lady Lavenham.

And there had been many. Not all of them, of course, eligible gentleman. The dowager was well known in Town and seemed to be acquainted with everyone. Lord, how was Emily to remember all their names? Despite the fact that she had managed better than she had expected this evening, it was nevertheless a relief to steal a quiet moment alone away from her employer's sometimes overbearing manner.

She felt someone touch her arm and turned to find the dowager with a yet another handsome gentleman in tow.

"My dear," she said, "allow me to introduce Mr. Giles Hamilton. The Honorable Mr. Hamilton, that is. Giles, this is Miss Emily Townsend."

Chapter 10

"I insist, madam," Anatole said, "that your excellent port aspic be used with my
foie gras
. It will be,"—he brought his fingers to his lips—"
trés magnifique
."

"And if you will agree to roast those lovely little game hens," Mrs. Dawson replied, her blue eyes twinkling, "I will be happy to provide the puff pastry to encase them."

"
Aussitôt dit, aussitôt fait, madame
," the Frenchman replied with a sharp bow and a click of his heels.

Emily smiled as she listened to the two chefs reviewing the menu for this evening. No longer at odds, the two presented an almost disgusting display of mutual admiration. The dowager had sent her down to confirm that all was in order for her impromptu dinner party, but after listening to these two practically bill and coo over each other's talents, Emily decided that there was no need for her interference. She quietly slipped out the door without either chef paying her the least notice.

The dowager had decided to hold a small family dinner party in honor of Lord Bradleigh's betrothal. It was true that several of the earl's relatives were in Town for the Season, and it was proper that they should all gather to toast his engagement, but Emily suspected other motives had prompted her employer to organize this rather spur-of-the-moment evening. Emily had been called upon the morning after Lady Bessborough's rout to help write out the invitations, and to work with the Claypools to prepare the house and the staff to receive the dinner guests. She had been kept so busy that she hadn't had a moment to speak with the earl in private about his odd behavior at the rout. In fact, she had seen little of him in the last two days. Ah, well, perhaps it had only been her imagination that caused her to feel that she had somehow offended him. She had best forget the incident entirely.

Once upstairs, she ran Mrs. Claypool to earth and inquired about the preparations for the evening. The dowager was most particular about the flowers, and Emily was relieved to hear that everything had arrived from the florist. She volunteered to help with the floral arrangements but was told that two of the housemaids had almost completed the work. As if on cue, the housemaid called Sally entered from the service door carrying a large silver epergne decorated with a variety of lilies as well as freesias and irises. Emily followed Sally into the main dining room, holding the door open for her.