Chapter Four
Elias
Elias mentally chastised himself for how he continued to seek out the tempting Miss Cary.
She already seemed to have become good friends with Hannah and his sister.
Although, he supposed he shouldn’t find that surprising, given that Diana had invited her to the party to begin with.
He didn’t recall seeing Miss Cary at any of the balls, or among Diana and her friends, so they must have met during daytime events when Elias had escaped to his club to recover from his late-night entertainment.
All throughout dinner that evening, he kept glancing at the lady when he believed she wasn’t looking. She sat near Matt, and they appeared to be in conversation the entire meal. It irritated him to no end, and he’d have to gauge his friend’s interest once he could get Matt alone.
He wasn’t certain why he cared. She was an attractive woman, and that was that.
He was a warm-blooded man who rarely went for long without a woman beneath him, so of course he took notice when one of the most beautiful women of the ton crossed his path.
Well, not just crossed his path, but was also sleeping under his roof.
The realization did nothing to ease the tension that he carried in his shoulders, among other places.
A trip to the tavern appeared to be in order.
If only to get his mind off of the innocent marriage-minded miss who would be laid in a bed in the guest wing of his home—far too close to his own chamber—for the next several nights.
If there was one thing he had learned, he didn’t dally with members of the ton, nor did he dally with innocents.
He glanced down at the other end of the table and caught Betsy, Lady Billings, staring at him.
Based on the heat in her expression, she wasn’t harboring pure thoughts.
Another reason he no longer thought of her as Betsy, and she was only Lady Billings to him.
He had tried to put the formality back in their acquaintance, but she hadn’t made things easy.
He shifted his gaze again and caught Diana’s, who gave him a knowing look. Elias fought not to roll his eyes. The events were just another reminder of why he had rules, and why he would depart back to Town as soon as his sister’s party had concluded.
He noted how Jenny whispered to Grace about something, and then Grace covered her mouth to hide her giggles.
Jenny caught Elias watching them and then straightened a bit in her chair with a wide look in her eyes before giving him a one-shouldered shrug.
He was almost certain she had said something about him.
The younger girls would be allowed to attend some meals with the rest of the party and a few of the activities but would be with their governess directly after dinner.
It was the agreement they’d made with Papa since the girls weren’t out in society yet.
Elias decided that making eye contact with any of the women at the table wasn’t in his best interest, so he kept his eyes trained on his plate while maintaining a bit of conversation with Hudson, seated to his right.
If Hudson had dalliances, he kept them to himself and, in turn, stayed out of such awkward situations. Smart man.
When dinner ended, the gentlemen hung back to enjoy their port while the ladies departed to the drawing room.
Elias knew that when the men joined them, they would find that Diana had set up some kind of game to force everyone to play.
It had been like that at Christmas for many years.
Diana always fought to keep all of them busy so they wouldn’t have time to miss their mother.
He understood why she did so, especially for the benefit of their father, but sometimes Elias just wanted to miss his mother.
He wanted to remember her and speak about her.
They had all been too afraid to upset their father that they hardly spoke about her.
Jenny and Grace couldn’t even remember their mother, and how would they if he and Diana didn’t tell them what she was like?
So far, all they know is that she was a beautiful woman from the paintings that were done of her, and that she loved horses.
They mostly know that second part because of their father’s aversion to allowing any of them to ride.
Elias had learned before his mother passed, but didn’t get to practice often unless he was away from his father, given how much any of his children riding upset the man.
Father had been adamant that the girls wouldn’t learn to ride at all, much to Diana’s dismay.
She pleaded with him several times, to no avail.
One of the few times Elias had argued with his father had been over horseback riding, so he found it easier to just avoid the topic altogether in his father’s presence.
“She was watching you,” Jude said, capturing Elias’s attention when he moved to the seat on Elias’s left.
Confused, Elias narrowed his eyes. “Who?”
“Lady Billings,” Jude said, with a tone that conveyed it should have been Elias’s first guess. “Who else?”
Elias waved him off, masking his disappointment.
It would have been far more intriguing if Miss Cary had taken notice of him.
Even though nothing would come of it, he could still imagine what the miss might be like.
And he didn’t want Lady Billings giving him a minute’s thought.
“I hoped she would have moved on by now. Why don’t you fall on the sword, as it were, and keep her occupied? ” Elias asked, nudging Jude’s shoulder.
Jude didn’t bother to temper his chuckle. “So that I can have her pining after me? I think not. I warned you not to dally with women of the ton.”
“I recall,” Elias said through gritted teeth. He didn’t need the reminder. Another reason that even fantasizing about the beautiful Miss Cary was likely a terrible idea.
Jude brought his drink to his lips and swallowed. “But I shall join you when you wish to venture to the local tavern.”
Elias took a healthy swig of his own drink, swallowing the burn of the amber liquid. “Soon. Tomorrow, perhaps.” Escaping from the women of the house would provide a much-needed reprieve.
“That Miss Cary is a delightful conversationalist,” Matt said, moving to join them. He almost took the seat in front of Hudson, then thought better of it and shifted a couple of seats down to sit across from Jude.
And the mention of Miss Cary again caused Elias to lose control of his face, allowing his annoyance to show.
How was he going to overcome his obvious attraction to her?
And if Matt intended to set his cap at her, that would certainly impede the things Elias had planned for her in his thoughts later.
“Oh, don’t tell me that you are smitten, Matt?” Jude teased him.
Hudson perked up his ears at that, and Elias was thankful that it was Jude who broached the subject.
“No,” Matt scoffed. “Nothing like that. She just didn’t simper and enjoyed discussing the latest news. It was comparable to speaking with Diana or Hannah.”
Hudson balled the hand resting on the table into a fist. Elias assumed it was the informal address of his sister, which had been another point of contention between the pair.
“I’m sure we will all look forward to getting to know her better,” Elias said quickly, before Hudson could say something odious. Even if it caused his friends to cast him curious glances.
Elias continued, “I just mean that if she is a friend of our sisters,” he motioned between himself and Hudson, “she will likely be among their group of friends we accompany to the events.”
That seemed to pacify their curiosity, and Jude changed the subject to speak about the evening that he and Elias had before they arrived at the party.
Perhaps it was the nearness to the anniversary of his mother’s passing, but recalling their conquests irked him a bit. It couldn’t be for any other reason than that.
Once the gentlemen had all finished their port, his father directed them all to join the ladies in the drawing room. Elias went straight for the sideboard, giving himself a healthy pour of brandy and avoiding eye contact with anyone.
“Gather around everyone,” Diana addressed the room. “We shall play charades.”
Elias inwardly sighed. Couldn’t the ladies just sing or something? His sister would no doubt keep them all busy with nonstop games and activities.
“We will divide into two teams. The ladies on one team and the gentlemen on the other. If the ladies win, they will get to select their partners for an activity tomorrow, but if the gentlemen win, they will do the selecting.”
Elias scanned the room and noted that Lady Billings stared at him, a smirk playing on her face. He was suddenly far more invested in ensuring the men were victorious, if only so he could make certain that he didn’t end up with the unrelenting widow as his partner.
He refilled his glass and moved to the area of the room where the men had congregated. Elias had always excelled at parlor games, and so did Matt and Jude. But Diana and Hannah were spirited competitors, so the ladies wouldn’t make it easy for them.
The ladies took the first turn, and they selected Diana to act out a cue first. The ladies quickly guessed “Father Christmas” before the men could steal the point. Matt went next, and the men guessed “snowman,” earning them the point and tying the game.
Elias flashed his sister a smirk, her attention to detail in theming all of their activities after the Christmas holiday wasn’t lost on him.
They continued the game in that fashion for a few more rounds, keeping the game tied. The men had stolen a point from the ladies, pushing them ahead, but then the ladies stole one back.
Miss Cary got up to take her turn. She pulled a piece of paper from the vase on the table and then began attempting to act out the word, her eyes remaining locked where the ladies sat.
Knowing what the answer was, Elias called it out. “Angel.”