Miss Nothing (Unexpected Heirs)

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

K eynsham leaned against the wall and put his hand to his forehead. What had he been thinking? He’d very nearly blurted out some sort of… of sentimental confession to Miss Ryder!

It was fortunate that the housemaids had come in before he’d said anything. He didn’t know what had come over him. Whatever it was, he must reason himself out of it—and quickly.

All he knew was that, from the moment that he’d first seen her—standing beneath that lone streetlight, trying to look brave—his heart had gone out to her. And when he’d witnessed her alone and miserable—treated as nothing by Mrs. Fairleigh—he’d seemed to feel her pain as though it were his own.

And yet he’d known for all of a few hours.

“Ah! Keynsham! There you are.” It was Lady Cowles, looking pleased with herself. “What do you think of my addition to the guest list?”

He scrubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to drag his thoughts away from Miss Ryder. “I beg your pardon?”

“The gallant Captain Woodward.” Her eyes were dancing with mischief. “Only this morning—after a certain gossip sheet item came to my attention—I happened to hear a rumor that Miss Fairleigh was, in fact, secretly engaged. I may have arranged for the captain—who recently arrived from Brighton—to be sent a last-minute invitation. ”

“So you are responsible for….” He lost the power to complete the sentence.

“Oh, I cannot accept all the credit!” She tapped him with her fan. “The results were even better than I could have hoped. I do not believe that Mrs. Fairleigh will give any more trouble. Detestable woman!”

And she sailed away, leaving him dumbfounded.

A grey dawn was beginning to lighten the windows. The few remaining guests were gathered below in the entrance hall, yawning and putting on their wraps and waiting for their carriages to be brought around. Just outside the card room, a footman was collecting sticky wineglasses and abandoned dessert goblets onto a tray.

Keynsham’s spirits were depressed. He tried to tell himself that these were just the thoughts of an early morning after a long night. His feelings had nothing to do with the confusing situation with Miss Ryder, and the prospect of never seeing her again. After all, he scarcely knew her.

“Ah! My sincerest congratulations.” Monty, leaning back in a chair at the now-empty card table, raised a glass of port in a mock toast.

“Congratulations?”

“I have just heard that Miss Fairleigh’s secret engagement to a cavalry officer has been revealed to the ton in the most dramatic fashion possible—and that Prinny himself gave his blessing to the happy couple!”

“Oh. Yes. That.”

Monty rose, adjusted his lapels, and gave him a suspicious look. “Is that all that you can say?”

“You would have seen the events for yourself, if you had not been hiding in the card room with the old men.”

“But my dear fellow, the old men have all the money. Or—well”—he coughed modestly—“they did .” He slung an arm around Keynsham’s shoulders and began walking him toward the door. “Now then. Explain something to me. Earlier this evening you were in the very depths of despair. You were talking of running off to Constantinople to avoid Mrs. Fairleigh’s matrimonial schemes, and so on. And yet now that she has been foiled, your response is ‘Oh. That.’”

“Constantinople was your idea. And the scene with Mrs. Fairleigh was actually rather unpleasant.”

“Ah well.” Monty tossed back his drink and set the glass upon a table. “Your grandmother’s soirées have gone off without a hitch for years now. Perhaps this scene was what was needed to give next year’s ball a frisson of suspense. From now on, no one will know what to expect.”

Next year’s ball . The premonition that Keynsham had felt earlier was back. There wouldn’t be a ball next year. He didn’t know how he knew it, but a change was coming. He hesitated. “Have you ever been… in love?”

Monty let go of him and reeled backward, clutching his chest dramatically as though he’d been shot. “Good God! Love? I should hope not! Why, there is nothing like love for ruining a perfectly enjoyable life!”

Keynsham frowned. “Then you do not mean to marry?”

“ Marry ? Why? Marriage is misery. Surely I do not have to tell you that. Look at your parents! Besides, there have to be some advantages to being an orphan. No, no. My sister has had her son now—and a very taking little fellow he is, too. He will do perfectly well as the heir.”

Keynsham snorted. “What you mean is that you have had your own way since the age of eight, and think that a wife would interfere with your continuing to have it.”

Monty squinted at Keynsham. “You have been blue-deviled all evening. And if I spend any more time with you while you are like this, I shall be blue-deviled too. And I am in no mood to be in a low mood.” He considered a moment. “That rhymes. At any rate, you have just had a narrow escape. The very last thing that you ought to be thinking of is love .”

Keynsham wished that he hadn’t said anything. Still, Monty was right. And besides, he couldn’t be falling in love with Miss Ryder. He scarcely knew her—and what he did know revealed her to be unsuitable in almost every possible way.

He gave his head a quick shake to clear it. “Have you the money I asked you about earlier?”

“Good God, but you do dun a fellow.” Monty patted his pockets. “Well, you will shocked to learn that luck returned to me at the last minute, and I was able to recover all my losses and relieve Sir John of three hundred guineas. Can you credit it? Even when things are at their bleakest, fortune may turn in one’s favor.”

Keynsham folded his arms. “Yes. Fortune is odd indeed.”

“Counting cards is hard work,” said Monty, piously. “Should not work be rewarded? Besides, not everyone is cut out to be a paragon of virtue as you are. Now—how much is it that I owe you, again?”