Chapter 2
Agently bred young lady of the ton had but one great expectation thrust upon her delicate shoulders and that was to marry well.
To marry, simply would not be enough.
One would have to find a most suitable match who was compatible with one’s wealth and social status, never mind if they would have driven each other out of their minds within a fortnight from their nuptials.
From the time she made her bow, Lady Evangeline Astor—or Evie, as she was known to her friends and family—had never questioned this, although she did find it quite amusing for young débutantes to treat the search for a husband as a quest akin to the search for the Holy Grail.
“Miss Annalise Covington has spilled her drink on her gown,” Lady Catherine Wilshire, one of Evie’s friends, sighed with sham solemnity. “Such a perfectly beautiful gown, too. A pity, really.”
At her words, Lady Alexandra Hadley giggled, hiding a mischievous, knowing smile with her fan. “And I suppose that was Lord Rowley who was solicitous enough to be of assistance.” She paused with a meaningful look and added, “That would make her the fourth for tonight.”
“Truly, she is getting far too bold,” Evie said with a shake of her head. “What if her Mama should find out?”
“Well, it is so very hard to tell when distinguishing faces is already an arduous enough task,” Cathy remarked. “Mark my words—Lady Covington will be none the wiser for it as long as they return before anyone notices.”
Indeed, her friend had a point—in a masquerade ball such as the one they were attending, it was so very hard to tell who was who. To add to one’s dilemma, some of the guests even purposefully altered their voices to seem like someone else entirely. It was enough to drive anyone insane.
“Well, if she does find out, Lord Rowley is considered quite a catch,” Alexandra added. “I think she would be more pleased than anything.”
Cathy smiled. “I heard they will be attending the Summer Festival together. Perhaps an announcement will be made soon.”
In that case, Lady Covington truly would not object to her daughter ‘spilling’ wine upon her dress again. If Lord Rowley had already expressed his intentions, then the dance of courtship could merely be considered as simply going through the motions.
“What about you, Evie? Will your Earl be in attendance this time?”
Evie felt a warmth creep up her cheeks at the mention of the Earl of Ripley.
It was tradition for most of the women of the Astor family to have their marriages arranged.
It had been the same thing for her mother and her grandmother before her.
Besides, her brother knew her best. Surely, he would not have chosen a gentleman whose temperament would clash with hers.
Or so I hope, Evie prayed silently.
“He… has made no mention of it,” she murmured hesitantly, shifting her gaze just a little so she would not see the pitying looks her friends gave her.
In truth, Evie had seen very little of the Earl himself, although she had heard about him from her brother.
The past two times that they had been set to meet had both been canceled, owing to the Earl’s busy schedule.
Colin, her brother, certainly thought nothing of this, but inwardly, Evie was beginning to think that perhaps this gentleman who was to be her betrothed was much too busy to do much of anything else.
A pitiful existence, one would think, but she had decided to reserve her judgment for when she finally did meet him.
“Well, there is certainly no reason why you cannot properly enjoy your time at the Summer Festival yourself!” Alex declared with a wide grin.
“Even those fops from London will be descending on Surrey to join in on the festivities. Perhaps you can try your hand at spilling some juice on your dress too.”
“Oh, no, no, no!” Evie emphatically shook her head. “I cannot possibly!”
“Oh, but of course you can!” Alex laughed. “Come now—we are in a masquerade ball, are we not? No one will ever be able to tell!”
Evie wrinkled her nose at this. “Now, this is how scandals are started—it takes but one foolish idea—”
“—and a heart daring enough to test uncharted waters,” her friend finished firmly.
“I am going to be betrothed soon,” she primly reminded Alex. “It would not do well for me to be gallivanting about with some other gentleman before the betrothal is announced.”
“Well, I do not see the Earl of Ripley anywhere,” Alex scoffed. “And he certainly is taking his own sweet time in getting to know the woman he is bound to marry. Perhaps he requires a little push in the right direction. You know, steer him down the course.”
Cathy, who was ordinarily more reserved than Alex, could not help but agree.
“Alex does have a point, Evie,” she said softly.
“The Earl has declined to meet you twice already. He might be… ah, persuaded, once he realizes that although the race has already been handed to him, someone might still try to contest him.”
“I seriously doubt that anyone would even bother to,” Evie groaned. “I cannot believe I am hearing this from you, too, Cathy.”
Her brunette friend colored a little. “Well, a little harmless flirtation cannot be all that bad. It is nothing serious. Besides,” she pointed out, “you do not have a partner for the dance contest yet. You cannot keep waiting for when Lord Ripley will arrive for the Summer Festival.”
If he ever will.
The words hung silently over a glum Evie.
Her friends certainly had valid points for their argument and she had been dying to join the dance contest since her coming out.
Her own mother, the late Countess of Langley, had also joined the contest prior to her own betrothal and won it.
If her father had no complaints about it, Evie gathered Colin would not protest overmuch if she joined in.
Besides, she had already agreed to the marriage he had arranged for her without a peep. As long as she adhered to etiquette, Colin should not have any complaints.
He would, however, object to a ‘harmless flirtation’ with another man.
Evie shook her head. “No, Colin would most likely kill me if I dared to be so…so…”
“So what?” a voice asked her teasingly from behind.
She whirled around and found her brother smiling affectionately at her. His blue eyes—so very much like her own—gleamed as he raised a dark eyebrow.
“Ladies,” he turned to Alex and Cathy with a charming smile. “I certainly hope you are not filling my sister’s head with mischief.”
“Oh no! Certainly not!” Cathy squeaked, turning pink in mortification.
Alex, meanwhile, had adopted a look of absolute innocence and even managed to look a little offended at the insinuation. “We would not dream of it, My Lord!”
As her brother teased and charmed her two friends, Evie’s gaze flicked briefly over to his masked companion.
He was tall with broad shoulders, his lips devoid of the practiced smile that was common amongst the gentlemen of the ton.
When her eyes met his, she saw the corner of his lips lift in a slight smirk and she felt a tingling sensation dance delicately down her spine.
That has never happened before, she thought to herself.
However, it vanished as quickly as she felt it and the next thing she knew, Colin and his friend had turned away from their small group. Evie could not help but feel an odd sense of loss when that strange gentleman walked away.
He did not even introduce himself, she thought ruefully.
“Well, that was certainly entertaining, coming from your brother!” Alex remarked huffily with a slight shake of her head.
Evie blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Why, him reminding us to stick to propriety at all times,” her friend replied with a wry smile. “Considering his reputation as a rake, we should be the ones watching out for the likes of him!”
“Well, first of all, he is not a rake,” Evie pointed out gently.
“Is, too,” Cathy chimed in. “Even my Mama has warned me not to be too comfortable with him.”
“Only because he has friends who follow in such an alignment,” Evie argued. “But Colin would never dare do something so ungentlemanly. I know him.”
“So do half the young ladies of London,” Alex snickered goodnaturedly. “And a quarter of them are absolutely convinced your brother will marry them and make them the next Countess of Langley.”
“Colin is simply… friendly.”
“Why do you think he is so concerned you will fall for the schemes of other rakes?” Cathy asked her.
“Because he knows the way they operate, that is why!” Alex finished for her.
Evie shook her head. “Well, he is far too busy with matters of greater import than to indulge in half the debauchery he is being accused of.”
“As busy as the Earl of Ripley, perhaps?”
“Not this again!” Evie groaned.
“Evie,” Cathy reached out and squeezed her hand with a worried look on her face. “You know that Alex and I would not object so much if we could see that this Earl values you as much as you deserve, but…” she trailed off and bit her lower lip.
“For all we know, he could be indulging in a dalliance before the announcement of your betrothal,” Alex scoffed. “I hardly doubt a gentleman truly could be too busy for a lady. If he wants to show up, what is stopping him?”
Evie sighed softly. As much as she wanted to contest what her friends were saying, she knew that they were only advising her because they were worried about her impending betrothal to a man she had never once met—and who kept making excuses to avoid meeting her.
“Dearest, this is your one last chance to see more of the world for yourself,” Alex teased her softly. “You know that most arranged marriages leave more to be desired. Would you rather be married having never known the thrill of a little dalliance?”
There was some truth there. Her own parents had not been in love in the way the poets declared, although her mother seemed quite content in her role as the Countess of Langley. She had always told Evie that her children were the greatest joy in her life, but she never spoke of her marriage.
“That is precisely the kind of statement that can get you into all sorts of trouble!” she pointed out instead.
“I never said that you were going to take it so seriously!” Alex replied defensively. “Just… live a little more, Evie. Feel how it is to have a gentleman express his attraction for you.”
Evie looked down and bit her lower lip. Alex certainly had a way of persuading with words. The young woman was blessed with a tongue of the finest silver and she soon found herself wavering.
In any case, she was hardly going to do anything inappropriate. After all, young ladies all over London had employed the same tactics to win the attentions of suitors since time immemorial. They certainly did not marry all of the men they flirted with, so what harm could a little flirtation do?
When she thought about it… not much, really.
Besides, it would at least get Cathy and Alex off her case and relieve some of their worries for her.
She might even be able to find a partner for the Summer Festival. Was that not a favorable situation overall?
“All right, all right,” she relented with a helpless look. “What would you have me do?”
The mischievous grin on Alex’s face somehow told her that she might be in for more trouble than she initially anticipated.
Her friend leaned in and in a low voice, whispered, “Now, Evie dearest, this is what you must do…”