Chapter 11
Kalina
Venturing forth with her mother, Kalina quickly found that she was not the only lady who had noted the matchmaker’s arrival.
All the young ladies and several of the older ones had left their rooms and come to the parlor.
The tea cart had been brought out and set in the center of the room, with all the necessities as well as some biscuits.
Lady Blackstone was there, seated on a couch and happily chatting with Lady Emeryn and the Duchess of Clarence, leaving her daughter to escort their newest visitors around the room and introduce them.
Currently, they were speaking with Lady Kari and Lady Nichole, who were very animated, apparently thrilled to meet the matchmaker. Lady Astrid turned as Kalina and her mother walked into the room and smiled brightly at them.
Though Lady Hu appeared to be deep in conversation with Lady Nichole, Lady Astrid took Mei by her arm and turned her toward Kalina.
Smiling serenely, Mei moved with Lady Astrid to greet Kalina and her mother.
Up close, she was stunningly beautiful, with black hair as dark as Kalina’s and rich brown eyes that were filled with warmth.
“Kalina, Mrs. Little, this is my friend Mei, the matchmaker. Mei, this is Mrs. and Miss Little.”
Mei shot Lady Astrid an amused glance.
“My grandmother is the matchmaker,” she said, curtsying deeper than she should have for Kalina and her mother’s stations.
Her English was completely unaccented, her voice soft in both tone and quality and very fluid.
It almost sounded like an affect, rather than her true tone.
Lady Astrid gave Mei a sharp look, but the other woman smiled serenely.
“I am merely her apprentice, though I do pass on my observations and thoughts to my grandmother.”
“And has your grandmother ever disagreed with any of your observations or thoughts?”
“No.” Mirth danced in Mei’s eyes. Her voice had changed as well, no longer quite so soft.
From the back and forth, Kalina was left with the distinct impression that Mei’s opinions counted very much, and Lady Astrid knew it, but that Mei preferred her grandmother to receive the credit.
She thought that was probably wise, as she was unsure how the ton would react to matches being made by such a young lady. Especially one as beautiful as Mei.
“How do you decide on who to match?” Kalina asked, hoping to stem the back and forth between Lady Astrid and Mei and also because she was truly interested in the process.
“Well, first we must meet both parties, of course. We gather our first impressions, then we take a closer look. I do a good deal of research for my grandmother on both the subject and their families. After that…” She spread her hands wide.
“Some of it is intuition. Some of it is experience. My grandmother just knows.”
“And so does Mei,” Lady Astrid murmured.
Mei shot her another amused look, raising her eyebrow, and Lady Astrid shrugged unrepentantly. It was clear that the two of them were very comfortable with each other, speaking to a longstanding friendship.
That made Kalina even more curious.
How did a lady of the ton, who had been betrothed since birth, meet a Chinese matchmaker?
“It is lovely to meet you, Mei. We appreciate you and your grandmother making the journey,” Kalina’s mother said, smiling warmly. “I would certainly appreciate hearing any observations or thoughts you have on the gathered gentlemen.”
As four out of six of the attending dukes were unwed and currently in need of brides, that was really who Mei and Lady Hu would be observing.
“I look forward to meeting them,” Mei replied smoothly. “Right now, I would love to sit and get to know you and Kalina, if that suits you.”
Kalina and her mother exchanged a glance.
“I think that suits us very well,” Kalina said. Some might think that Lady Hu was the one to meet, but she trusted Lady Astrid. If she wanted Kalina to speak with Mei rather than Lady Hu, there was a reason.
Nathanial
A knock at the door of the billiards room made both Nathanial and Christian turn to see who was there. Matthew hung in the doorway, grinning widely, Sebastian just behind him with a resigned expression.
“The matchmaker is here. The ladies are gathered for tea with her in the parlor. Do you want to come meet her with us?” Matthew’s interest and excitement were clear, though perhaps that was no surprise.
A man who let his life be decided by a coin flip was hardly going to balk at the idea of someone directing him on a certain path.
Sebastian accompanying Matthew was more surprising. He was skeptical but still willing to see what the fuss was about.
As Nathanial had already agreed to speak with her, he was also interested in meeting her as swiftly as possible.
He wanted to see if he could get a sense of her and how she made her choices, whether he might be able to trust her suggestions.
While he was not so cavalier as to leave his marriage to the hands of fate, or a coin flip, an experienced matchmaker was a bird of a different color.
“I would like to,” he said, setting down his billiards stick.
For a moment, Christian hesitated, then he shrugged. “I will come as well. It seems a bit of a lark, does it not?”
“No Gregory or Drake?” Nathanial asked as he stepped out into the hall with Matthew and Sebastian, Christian only a few paces behind him.
“Drake seems to have disappeared again, and Gregory is… napping.” Matthew chuckled as he put extra emphasis on the word, making Sebastian scowl furiously.
It must be very awkward to have your sister marry your closest friend.
Nathanial made a mental note to keep Juliette away from his friends until she was safely affianced to someone else.
He certainly did not want to think about her… napping… with any of his friends.
“Where does Drake keep getting off to?” Christian asked, and they all shrugged in response. “Do you think he’s gotten a lead on… on our fathers?”
On who had killed their fathers, he meant. All of them slowed in their steps. Exchanged a glance.
“He would tell us if that was it. Wouldn’t he?
” Matthew frowned, not entirely sure of his declaration.
Drake did tend to hold things very close to his chest. The last bit of information he’d shared was from Sinclair’s heir, the new Duke of Northumberland.
The man had found no threatening letters or anything that might lead to a clue among either of his predecessors’ effects, though he’d promised to look.
Drake had also reported that the new duke was as eager as ever to make friends with him.
However, none of them could look at Northumberland, or even hear the title, without thinking of Sinclair. It was bad enough to have lost their fathers; losing their friend so quickly in the wake of the tragedy had cemented their bonds… and the new Northumberland was left on the outside.
“Not if he were unsure of the information,” Sebastian replied, his frown deepening. “He would wait ‘til he was sure. We should question him when he reappears.”
“He may have just gone out for a ride. The social whirl always grates on him.” Though if Drake did have any new information… The confliction Nathanial was all too familiar with rose up in his chest again. His relief that his own father was gone. His grief for his friends for their loss.
Most times, he shoved the mystery to the back of his mind. He was not as eager as his friends to solve it. His focus was, by necessity, on the future and on what he needed to do right now to provide security for his sisters and his people.
He also knew his friends wanted answers. Needed them.
They wanted justice.
They deserved it, too.
Nathanial would have to fight the urge to shake the murderer’s hand for what he had done for Nathanial’s family—saved them from complete and utter financial ruin, most likely.
Sometimes, he wondered why his friends did not suspect him more. He’d certainly considered patricide more than once. He had not done it… but he had thought about it. The fact that so many others had died in the explosion was likely the only reason he was not viewed with more suspicion.
“We will find out soon enough,” Christian said, his voice sounding slightly distant, as though he had pulled into himself.
They had gone far enough down the hall that they could hear light feminine laughter coming from the open door of the parlor.
“Unto the breach we go,” Matthew muttered under his breath as they walked to the doorway. He was not wrong. The moment they appeared, every eye immediately turned to their entrance. Fans went up, fluttering, creating a wave of air puffing through the room.
Nathanial scanned the room, looking at everyone, and certainly not for anyone in particular.
He spotted Miss Little immediately in one of the chairs near the unlit fireplace, with her mother beside her.
They looked to have been talking to Lady Astrid and a young woman dressed in a spectacular outfit of green, cream, and gold that set off her beauty.
She was now studying the four dukes with a sharp, intelligent gaze, despite her youth.
Mei Lady Astrid had said her name was when he’d spoken with her this morning, traveling with her grandmother.
“She is no older than a debutante,” Sebastian muttered, huffing and eyeing the young woman with obvious suspicion.
So as not to allow his gaze to linger, Nathanial had already moved on and spotted the older woman speaking with Lady Kari and Lady Nichole on the other side of the room. Her outfit was similar to the younger’s, though in more muted colors. Not as flashy. That must be Lady Hu.
“Where are they from, do you think?” Matthew whispered.
“China, of course.” There were plenty of traders, merchants, and others who had moved to London and other cities in England over the years. Nathanial recognized their particular set of features.
As he had not been able to afford much in the way of staff, speaking with merchants was a task that had fallen to him, which allowed him to meet a far greater number of people than he might have otherwise.
There was an absolute madness for Chinese dishes and fabrics among the ton, though the spices seemed to have recently fallen out of fashion.
The flavors had grown in popularity among the lower classes, so they were still available and finally at a price that Nathanial’s kitchen could afford.
The difficulty of travel had been much reduced over the past few decades and allowed for a much greater quantity of goods to reach England than was previously possible.
“Oh. How interesting. She’s very pretty.” Matthew tilted his head and reached for his pocket.
“Stop that.” Sebastian grabbed his wrist, pulling it away. “You cannot marry a matchmaker even if your blasted coin says to.”
Sighing, Matthew dropped his hand.
“I suppose grandmother would be upset if I do not at least marry gentry,” he conceded with a hefty sigh. “I will not flip for her.”
Because if he did flip and the coin said to marry the matchmaker, he would do so regardless of whether it upset his grandmother. Nathanial’s lips twitched. No, he could not imagine living the way Matthew did. He had so little control already; giving up the rest of it was out of the question.
“Ah. That must be the real matchmaker,” Sebastian said, tilting his head toward where Lady Hu was speaking with Lady Kari and Lady Nichole. She had barely glanced toward the dukes, while her granddaughter was still silently studying them.
“Not that you need her, eh?” Christian murmured, nudging Sebastian in the side. He grunted a noncommittal response.
Lady Astrid came to greet them, smiling widely. Nathanial steeled himself.
To his surprise, they did not meet the matchmakers immediately.
They found themselves seated together with tea to coddle their innards, waiting for their turn after the ladies.
Their surrounds stymied any true conversation, especially anything about their fathers or their marriage prospects.
There were too many ears to overhear, and more of the older ladies arrived soon after them, drawn by their own curiosity.
The room soon relaxed into the usual banal social chatter, despite the new additions to the house party, with various conversations happening all around.
Nathanial was slowly able to unwind as well, allowing him to behave more naturally when Lady Astrid brought Lady Hu and her granddaughter over to meet them.
He greeted the pair warmly, as did Matthew. Christian seemed a bit more wary, though with him that meant he reverted to his most charming social mask. Unsurprisingly, Sebastian was the holdout, staying coolly reserved with his greeting and the following conversation.
Nathanial was not sure what he had expected. Something more like an interview, perhaps. Forthright questions or at least leading questions. Instead, it was a normal conversation. More social banality.
Yet he felt as though both ladies’ sharp eyes were catching everything. Every move he and the others made. Each change in facial expression. Even a moment’s hesitation in speaking.
He did not dare look in Miss Little’s direction, not even once.
But he felt her presence in the room, a little tingle along his skin that ensured he could not forget she was there.