Chapter 7 #2
It must refer to a predetermined meeting spot, and there were a thousand oak trees in London and the surrounding areas.
Did it mean a literal tree in Hyde Park?
Or perhaps oak did not refer to a tree at all, but to a landmark or a building?
London may as well be a dense forest, and he had less than two days to find the right tree.
A glance at the clock revealed he needed to return to the ballroom. He left the library with more questions than answers about Henry’s death, the missing shipment, and the woman who was slowly upending his carefully ordered plans.
He reentered the ballroom and slipped on the familiar mask he always wore in public. Confident, charming, and seemingly unconcerned with anything more serious than the usual worries of a titled bachelor. These were the tools of survival he knew best.
The din of the crowd and the bright lights replaced the quiet intensity from the library, and he found himself wishing he were behind the curtain again with Kate.
He immediately sought her out. She was speaking with her mother and Lord Barrington, an elderly gentleman who by all accounts was happily married.
He was likely speaking with them about one of the charities he supported.
James allowed himself to relax. The supper dance had not commenced yet, but Kate could hardly encounter more trouble between now and then.
He still did not know how she had managed to wander into the library at precisely the wrong moment.
He scanned the room for anything or anyone likely to complicate the evening further.
He spotted Thomas near the doorway, watchful and apart from the crowd.
With a familiar flicker of guilt, James threaded his way through the crowd toward his friends Alex and William, who were in deep conversation along the far wall.
Nicholas was no doubt somewhere in the room charming a lady.
Their group was only missing Hugh tonight.
James offered pleasantries to those who acknowledged him and exchanged a brief nod with Lord Greystone, an older gentleman with the sort of influence that never needed to announce itself.
Without warning, a large figure jostled his shoulder in passing.
“Brenton, I apologize. This crowd is abominable.”
“Lord Markham, I quite understand. Think nothing of it.” James offered the congenial gentleman a warm smile. He had been a close friend of his father’s.
“As it happens, Brenton, I have been meaning to speak with you about the upcoming vote. Why don’t you come by for a visit this week and we can discuss the details?”
“I would be honored, Lord Markham. I’ll send a note.”
The man offered him a friendly nod before they both continued on their paths. This time, James did not stop until he reached his friends.
William eyed him with a teasing glint. “I know better than to ask where you have been during this set, but the fact that Kate was absent as well tells me all I need to know.”
A jolt of apprehension struck him. “How did you know Kate was not in the ballroom?” The question came out too quickly.
A steady grip landed on his shoulder. Alex Drummond, tall and broad with a soldier’s build, gave him a reassuring look.
“Dinna worry,” Alex said, his light Scottish brogue still coloring his words at times despite spending much of his life in England.
“No one has said anything, and I do not believe anyone else noticed. Watching you stare at Kate while she dances with half of London has been the most entertaining part of our evening.”
“Nothing untoward happened,” James said, pretending nonchalance at having been caught watching her.
At their amused expressions, he amended his claim.
“Well, nothing terribly scandalous.” He could not keep his lips from curving upward at the memory.
“I only hope that I have not permanently harmed my chance at persuading her to marry me.”
“Kate is an intelligent woman, my friend.” Nicholas joined them. “Your chances were never very high.”
James narrowed his eyes at Nicholas before letting his gaze settle on his friend’s brown hair.
It lay in studied disarray, lending an air of effortless charm that James knew from their days at Eton actually took quite some effort to achieve.
“Are you sure you don’t want to retract that, friend?
” James lifted a threatening hand to Nicholas’s head.
Nicholas darted out of the way. The group broke into laughter.
“Besides, Nicholas, we have not all been blessed with your effortless charm and good fortune with the ladies,” James said, dropping his arm. “But I am not wholly without finesse. Have you no faith in my ability to court a lady?”
Nicholas quirked an eyebrow. “My faith in your finesse was shattered after we were caught swapping Edmund’s inkwell with tea in fourth form.”
James smiled at the memory. “Yes, well, had we not been discovered, you should never have gained such an excellent understanding of Virgil.”
“I would forgo the knowledge if it meant gaining back several weeks of tedious copying and far too many hand cramps.”
Perhaps the inkwell caper had not been his most carefully considered plan, but he had learned much since his school days.
His instinct then had been to strike back at bullies who preyed on the weak.
That conviction had never changed. He had simply grown better at executing his plans.
James’s friends had taken up the cause alongside him back then, and though Eton was years in the past, the friendship between the five of them had remained unbreakable.
James would trust any of them with his life.
If only he were allowed to tell them all of his secrets.
“Not all of us can be the handsome Lord Haverly, the ton’s favorite flirt,” James reminded him.
Nicholas’s smile broadened, all easy confidence and practiced mischief.
“It is a difficult title to live up to, but someone must take up the mantle, and I find myself well suited to the task.” His grandfather, a powerful man with a reputation for cruelty, left Nicholas few avenues of defiance.
Adopting the air of an unserious flirt was one of them, though James suspected there was more beneath his friend’s carefree demeanor.
Alex rolled his eyes as William let out a laugh but covered it up with a fake cough.
“If you need help winning over your lady, James, all you have to do is ask,” Nicholas offered.
“I do not need your advice, my friend. I am fully capable of convincing her to say yes.”
“And what plan have you devised?” Alex asked. “What tactics will you use?” Of course the former soldier and aide-de-camp would expect courtship to be like a military campaign. Though in Kate’s case, it was possible he was not entirely wrong.
“Perhaps you should all attend to your own romantic affairs and leave mine be.” James avoided the question since he did not, in fact, have any sort of plan beyond winning her regard and keeping his darker secrets hidden.
“And let you muddle through this on your own? I am not certain why you finally proposed to Kate,” William said, “but we only wish for your happiness.” The others’ expressions made it clear William spoke for them all.
“We have all known from the beginning that you and Kate were intended for each other, and based on how she looked at you when she was younger, we all assumed it would end in a love match.”
James let out a huff. “Trust me. Kate has no romantic regard for me. Why would she ask for a courtship instead of marrying straight away? Besides, it would be unfair to expect her to develop affection for me when I have no intention of falling for her.”
His friends shared meaningful glances. He knew what they were thinking.
“Though Alex may disagree, love is not something you can plan for,” William said. “It happens when you least expect it. Love may find you, James, whether you want it to or not. ‘But to see her was to love her; love but her, and love forever.’”
Nicholas gave William a dry, sidelong glance. “Now you are quoting poetry at a ball?”
Alex bristled, his Scottish pride showing. “There is never a wrong time to quote Robert Burns.”
James regarded each of them in turn. “When one of you manages to win a woman’s hand, then you may offer up your advice, but since everyone here is a determined bachelor, I believe I will trust my own judgment.
” He raised an eyebrow, and no one pressed him further.
Their talk turned to Hugh’s accident, each wondering how their friend could have been injured while riding.
The musicians finished their current piece with a flourish. It was time for the supper dance.
“Gentlemen, if you will excuse me.” He gave them a mock bow.
“A lady awaits, and I have delayed long enough.” He turned, refusing to acknowledge Nicholas’s parting jests.
Kate was at her mother’s side, and he was pleased to find her watching for him as he crossed the room.
Was she dwelling on their shared moments in the library as well?
Though he doubted he would recognize the muted voices from the library, he scanned the crowd anyway, searching for a face that would match the hurried French whispers.
At the thought of Kate in danger, a cold unease ran through him.
He hoped that was the first—and last—time she ever came that close to it.
He reached her, struck again by her graceful beauty but now recognizing the glint of mischief in her eyes.
“I believe the supper set belongs to me, my lady.”
Kate accepted his offered arm, her touch light as silk yet powerful enough to claim his full attention as they walked toward the floor to take their positions.
“Are you recovered from earlier?” James asked.
“Quite, my lord, though I confess the entire affair is curious. My escape in search of fresh air certainly did not unfold the way I had planned.”
They faced each other as the orchestra struck the first chord.
“You did anticipate adventure tonight, Lady Katherine,” he said as they moved in time with the music.
Her answering look held more spark than regret, and James began to suspect the true danger to his peace of mind was standing opposite him on the ballroom floor.