Chapter 6
A number of men swamped Meredith after the Prince of Wales escorted her off the dance floor.
She was asked multiple times if she would be home for gentleman callers the next day.
Flustered, she answered she would be, but she hoped that Darius would not be upset with her for saying that.
She hadn’t had a chance to speak with him since George had waltzed with her, and she was still stunned that the prince had offered to help her catch Darius as a husband.
A voice cut through the din of gentleman, all trying to speak to her at once. “I say, let the lady breathe, gentlemen.”
At this new voice, several young men retreated away, allowing her to see who had spoken. A tall, dark blond man with startling gray eyes and a wicked smile parted the crowd without effort, his strides confident as he came towards her. He wore a red waistcoat that matched his daring attitude.
“That’s right, pups, off you go.” The man gave a shooing motion with one hand, chasing off the rest of the crowd that had threatened to overwhelm Meredith. When she and the man were alone, she realized she recognized him.
“I know you!” she exclaimed and then blushed at her girlish outburst.
He winked. “Felix Hawkins, the Marquess of Grey, at your service, Miss Montague.”
“Lady Kentwell pointed you out to me at the theater,” she added more softly. “You are one of Darius’s friends.”
Felix chuckled. “She is a dear creature, our Suzannah,” Felix said with genuine honesty. Again, Meredith wished she knew how a woman like Suzannah had been so fortunate to be so adored by these men.
“But enough about Kit’s fair lady. I want to know why Darius hasn’t yet introduced you to us.”
“Us?” Meredith asked.
Felix gestured with a nod to someone behind her, and she saw three other men ringing around her, the other men from the night Darius had taken her to the theater.
“It seems Darius has sought to keep you away from us scoundrels.” Felix gestured toward something across the ballroom. “Therefore, we had to devise a way to distract him.”
Meredith saw Darius arm-in-arm with Lady Hazlitt. The older woman was engaged in animated conversation, and it was clear from his surreptitious looks around the room that he was desperately looking for someone, anyone, to aid him in a polite escape.
“A bit unkind of us, I admit, but ultimately harmless,” said Felix. “Now, for the proper introductions. Miss Montague, this is Mr. Vincent Windham.”
A dark-haired man with soft, seductive brown eyes stepped forward and bowed to her.
“This is Lionel Thistlewaite, Viscount Basildon.”
Lionel was also dark haired, and had captivating hazel eyes. His face, while not cruel, held a distant, analytical quality that gave Meredith the impression he was studying her for faults or charms, but which one she wasn’t sure. This man would take his time in making his opinion of her.
“And lastly, this is Mr. Warren Burville.”
“We’ve already had the pleasure,” Warren said with a roguish grin. “I see you survived your dance with the Prince Regent. You created quite a stir. Well done.” He raised the glass of punch he carried in a toast.
“Thank you.” Meredith relaxed a little. Even though Darius’s friends were intimidatingly attractive, she felt no fear, just a feminine shyness that she wasn’t used to.
But they were all wonderfully kind, and it was rather fun to have them all wanting to meet her.
She’d never experienced such excitement in Yorkshire.
“Thank you, for chasing those men away, Lord Grey. I was becoming quite flustered.”
“Anytime, my dear, anytime. Those pups will be lining up at your door tomorrow after your excellent showing with the Prince Regent. If Darius fails to chase them off, send a messenger and we will come to rescue you. We live on the same street, after all.”
“You live on Knightley Street as well?” she asked Felix.
Felix chuckled. “Of course! We’re the reason they call it Devil’s Square, you see.”
Rather than be frightened by that, or at the least, reasonably hesitant, she wanted to laugh as well.
These men didn’t strike her as devils, but simply charming men like Darius who seemed deeply interested in her, not just as a woman, but as a person.
They were teasing, affectionate and without artifice, just like Darius.
They peppered her with questions about her dances, what she thought of London, and if Darius was behaving himself, which made her blush.
A wonderful warmth filled Meredith’s chest as she spoke to them.
She believed them. They might be known as rogues to the general populace, but these friends of Darius were honorable men, and would protect those Darius would protect, even if that person was less conventional than the usual debutante.
Perhaps they would not even mind if Darius were to marry one such as her. Perhaps they would stand alongside Darius and the bride he chose, accepting her into their ranks with the same warmth they had for Suzannah.
But Suzannah was not tainted by the illegitimacy of her birth as she was.
Meredith decided against telling them—even the possibility of being rejected by men and their golden touched lives, was too much for her to consider.
She would enjoy these precious moments while she could—the truth of her birth would come out soon enough.
“Blast, he’s escaped Lady Hazlitt,” Vincent warned as Darius strode toward them, his expression thunderous.
“Felix, you—” Darius stopped whatever he’d been about to say when he saw Meredith hidden amongst his friends. “Ahh, Meredith, there you are.” Darius’ expression softened. “I see you’ve met my friends.”
“Are we your friends?” Lionel asked with a wry grin. “Because the way you are acting makes us feel like you see us as some sort of Drury Lane villains.”
Darius stared at her, searching her face with concern.
Warmth blossomed in Meredith’s cheeks at the intimacy that she felt from that simple look.
She wanted to dive into those eyes, which were a sea of purest blue.
What she wouldn’t have given in that moment for him to steal her away to the dance floor, or the gardens, it didn’t matter.
She just had a desperate need to be alone with him.
“I’m quite fine, Darius. Lord Grey and the others rescued me from an overly eager group of men.
I must warn you, I was pushed, and I said I would be receiving visitors tomorrow.
I hope I have not spoken out of place. It is your home, after all.
I have no right to accept callers without your permission. ”
“It is quite fine,” Darius said, albeit a little stiffly. “It is, after all, what you are here for, to meet eligible young men. I shall be present, of course, since we don’t yet have a suitable chaperone.”
“This I must see,” Warren replied. “Expect me to join you.” The other men began teasing Darius that they ought to come as well to ensure that the standards of propriety were met with. Darius soon silenced his friends with a glare.
Warren winked at Meredith while Darius was looking away. Meredith nearly choked as she stifled a giggle. Then Darius turned his focus on her still-red face. He offered her his arm with a warm smile that melted her entire body.
“I believe it is time to take you home, Meredith.”
She glanced at the others and mouthed a silent thank you at Felix before letting Darius take her away.
Felix gave a playful salute as though she were a general in the king’s army.
Was this how Suzannah felt? To be included in the secret circle of these men’s lives?
Meredith held a little tighter onto Darius, feeling for the first time, if only briefly, that she belonged here. Belonged with him.
* * *
“Do you think he knows?” Warren asked Felix as they watched Darius and Meredith leave, parting the crowds in their wake. Warren had never seen Darius so ruffled before, or so fixated on a woman. And the poor girl had only been in Darius’s life less than a few days.
“That he’s in danger of falling in love?” Felix chuckled. “No, the poor sod has no idea at all. I wager it will take three months before he figures it out.”
“A hundred pounds says that it takes him two,” Lionel countered.
Vincent grinned. “You know how Darius is…it doesn’t take much for him to leap into action once his instincts are engaged. I wager a thousand that he won’t last two weeks.”
“What are you devils up to?” Kit demanded, but he said it teasingly as he joined them. Suzannah was on his arm, and she too eyed them with suspicion.
“Nothing, old boy,” Warren said quickly.
Kit’s darling wife arched a brow in challenge. “Nothing certainly looks an awful lot like something.”.
Warren stifled his laugh with a cough. “We were merely discussing how… protective Darius seems to be over his new ward.”
“She was important to his uncle, and now that his uncle has passed, he feels he must do all he can to assure Miss Montague’s future is secured,” Kit said as if the solution was simple enough.
“One does not throw daggers with one’s eyes over a woman unless one is jealous,” Vincent said. “And Darius is positively hurling weaponry at anyone daring to get too close to her.”
“Which is hardly the best approach when his task is to find her a husband,” Lionel agreed. “Darius is in trouble, and he simply doesn’t know it yet.” He crossed his arms, his brow lowered in thought.
“You believe Darius has feelings for Meredith?” Suzannah asked.
“Yes.” They replied in unison. Suzannah’s eyes widened.
“Then it is good they will be interviewing a chaperone soon. Meredith will need protection from the rest of the world, and him as well.”
Kit chuckled softly. “Darius is too noble to do anything he shouldn’t.”
“Temptation is a powerful thing,” Suzannah warned. “Sometimes, the more something is forbidden, the more thrilling it is to acquire. I seem to remember you had sworn to destroy me, only to kiss me instead. And that kiss led to far more serious things.”