Chapter Five
Drake was still pondering her answer, trying to find something that would make her smile when they entered the ballroom, and though he scanned the room for his cousins, it was someone else who caught his eye.
Michael Knight, the Duke of Turnbill, gave him an acknowledging nod.
Drake instantly replied with a nod of his own.
The two of them had been friends for years, until almost two years ago, when Drake had informed Michael that the woman Michael was seeing, Martha Grossman, wasn’t all she appeared to be.
His frankness had damaged their friendship, but thankfully, they’d repaired that a few months ago, and since then, Michael had found the woman standing beside him. One who was fitting to be his duchess.
Drake hadn’t seen the two of them since they’d got married and was eager to congratulate them. ‘I’d like to introduce you to someone,’ Drake said to Meridith. ‘Some friends of mine.’
‘All right,’ she replied.
As they wove their way through the crowd towards the duke and duchess, Drake noticed several more sets of eyes on them. All male. ‘It appears you have acquired a mass of admirers,’ he said.
‘They are not admirers,’ she said. ‘They are vultures, willing to marry me in hopes of obtaining some of my brother’s wealth. That won’t happen. Other than a small dowry left to me by my father, I am worthless.’
‘You are far from worthless,’ Drake insisted. ‘You have many qualities that are worth far more than money.’
‘You say that as a man not looking for a wife to supplement his income,’ she replied.
‘That is true, but I also say that as someone who plans on enjoying the entire evening with you. A delightful young woman whose eyes shimmer like the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean Sea when she smiles.’
‘They do not,’ she said.
‘Have you ever seen the Caribbean Sea?’
‘No.’
‘I have, and your eyes are the same shade of blue.’ He’d noticed that on their first meeting and found it just as true each time he looked at her. It also made him hope that someday she’d understand the freedom of the sea was inside her, if she chose it.
That was what he’d done. Chosen freedom over everything else.
She looked up at him and shook her head. ‘You certainly are different from anyone else I know.’
‘It would be a dull world if we were all the same,’ he said.
‘Because you wouldn’t have anyone to haul cargo for, because they’d all have their own ships.’
‘Exactly,’ he said.
Her giggle was soft, but he heard it, and he winked at her.
To his delight, she was still smiling when, a couple of steps later, they arrived near the duke and duchess.
Years ago, when they attended school together, people had often thought he and Michael were related because they both had black hair and blue eyes and the same height of six foot.
‘I hear congratulations are in order,’ he said, shaking Michael’s hand while also slapping his friend’s shoulder.
‘Indeed,’ Michael replied, smiling brightly. ‘Thank you. I believe you know my wife.’
Drake laughed. ‘I do.’ He bowed at the waist to the duchess, a woman he’d come to know since his return to London. ‘Lady Rosemary. I hope you will forgive me for not warning you about this man the first time you brought him to see Hugo.’
Smiling up at her husband, Rosemary shook her head. ‘I’m afraid even then wouldn’t have been soon enough.’
Drake laughed, knowing full well that the two of them had already been in love when Rosemary and her young brother, Thomas, who had visited the zoo regularly, brought Michael along with them to meet Hugo.
‘I’m as aware of that now as I was that day.
I was very happy when I heard about your marriage. ’
‘Thank you,’ Rosemary said.
With brownish blond hair and glowing brown eyes, she was a very pretty woman and clearly as head over heels in love with her husband as Michael was with her.
‘Allow me to introduce Lady Meridith Downs,’ Drake said. ‘Meridith, these are two of the finest people I know. Michael Knight, the Duke of Turnbill, and his wife, Lady Rosemary, the Duchess of Turnbill.’
Once their round of greetings was concluded, Drake told Meridith, ‘Rosemary can assure you that riding on Hugo isn’t as scary as some might expect.’
Meridith looked from him to Rosemary. ‘You rode Hugo?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ Rosemary replied, with yet another adoring look at Michael. ‘I merely sat on his back, along with my young brother, but I assure you, it wasn’t scary at all. Have you ridden on Hugo?’
‘No,’ Meridith replied.
‘Not yet,’ Drake supplied. ‘We will be rectifying that soon.’
‘My young brother, Thomas, is utterly enthralled with Hugo,’ Rosemary said.
‘So is the Baroness Montgomery’s son, Adam,’ Meridith replied. ‘We were just upstairs and visited him. Drake promised to let him have a ride on Hugo. How old is Thomas? Perhaps he could join Adam. Another child might make him feel more comfortable.’
It didn’t surprise Drake that Meridith mentioned Adam, or a way to make him feel more comfortable. She clearly had a love for children. Nor was he surprised by the way Rosemary’s smile grew even brighter.
‘Thomas is six and would love that.’ Rosemary looked up at Michael. ‘We’d have time to take him tomorrow, wouldn’t we?’
‘Yes,’ Michael replied, clearly willing to do anything for his new wife.
‘That’s perfect—Adam is seven. We’d have to confirm it with the baroness, though,’ Meridith said.
‘You will excuse us for a moment?’ Rosemary asked, glancing between Drake and her husband. ‘The baroness is talking to Maud, my stepmother, right now, so it’s the perfect time to ask both of them.’
Drake smiled at Meridith, but let Michael answer in the affirmative.
As the two women walked away, Michael asked, ‘How is your hunt for a partner going? I’d still be interested in being a financial backer if needed.’
‘I’m still working on things,’ Drake replied. ‘Finances are not the issue. Finding the right partner is.’
Michael gave a slight glance towards the women still crossing the room and, obviously familiar with Meridith’s family, asked, ‘Are you hoping to secure a partnership with the Duke of Chesterfield?’
‘I am,’ Drake said, pulling his gaze off Meridith. ‘As long as things don’t get too complicated.’
‘Complications are a part of life, my friend,’ Michael replied. ‘Let me know if you need me to vouch for you, or anything else.’
‘I will, thank you.’ He slapped Michael’s shoulder again. ‘Marriage seems to agree with you.’
‘Far more than I ever imagined, and I owe it all to you for being the best friend I’ve ever had. Thank you for saving me from almost making the biggest mistake of my life.’
‘That’s what friends are for,’ Drake replied. ‘Let’s find a drink and toast to your success.’
Meridith didn’t believe that all a person had to do was decide to be happy and it happened, but she was enjoying the ball far more than she’d ever enjoyed a social activity in the past. The Duke and Duchess of Turnbill were wonderful people.
Rosemary had quickly set up a time for Adam and Thomas to meet at the zoo tomorrow, along with their mothers, who were both delighted with the prospect of their sons getting to know each other.
After that was all settled, and Drake had confirmed the time would work for him, the two of them found his cousins, Della and Grace.
Meridith had met them in the past, but had never really talked with them.
They were delightful, and the way they teased Drake about being at the ball made her smile.
They told her that she must be a miracle worker, because he never attended social events.
She proclaimed she wasn’t, but that she was happy he’d agreed to escort her to the event.
That was a truth she couldn’t deny. She was happy that Drake was her escort.
He introduced her to other people, who were all very pleasant and genuine.
Unfortunately, the only people she could introduce him to were men whom her family had at one time or another, tried to encourage her to consider as a husband—a fact that should have embarrassed her, but didn’t.
She felt comfortable being completely honest with Drake.
That, too, felt surprisingly pleasant. She rarely could say what was on her mind without getting some sort of reprimand from one of her siblings, mainly her sisters.
‘I’ve come to the conclusion that you may not want to get married,’ Drake said, after Meridith had introduced him to Chester Hillman, a man who owned twenty-six dogs. Though she enjoyed animals, twenty-six seemed a few more than one person needed or could properly care for.
‘You are wrong,’ she didn’t mind telling him. ‘I do want to get married and have children, but it has to be the right man.’
‘Describe him to me,’ he said, taking a sip from his glass of champagne.
Her heart began to thud, and she had to look away for a moment, afraid that what she might describe could sound an awful lot like him.
Except that he’d already said, more than once, that he was heading back out to sea as soon as possible.
‘Well, he has to be kind and generous, trustworthy and committed, hard-working and well-established, so my family’s money won’t be of interest to him, and he needs to want to get married and have children. ’
‘That doesn’t sound too demanding.’
‘Because I’m not demanding,’ she said.
His skeptical chuckle said he didn’t believe her words, but the jocular light in his eyes let her know that he was only teasing. She playfully slapped his arm. ‘I’m not.’
‘I think I’ve met a dozen men tonight who might think otherwise.’
That was true. Meridith could only justify herself by saying, ‘I’m particular. We are talking about the rest of my life.’
‘You have every right to be particular about that.’ He took her glass and handed it along with his to a passing servant. ‘Let’s dance.’