Chapter 15
CAROLINE
Every eligible young woman in town for the season now wanted to be my close and personal friend.
The unending parade of gentlemen callers had disappeared and was now replaced by callers of the fairer sex.
It started when Diana paid me a visit shortly after midday.
We saw each other often, so I wasn’t surprised to see her.
Then the Miss Farleighs arrived. Their appearance was more surprising. After last night’s musicale, I would have expected them to stay home, waiting to see if any young gentlemen would call to pay their respects. Then one by one, a stream of other debutantes began to arrive.
And they didn’t just stay for the few minutes dictated by polite society. Instead, they made themselves comfortable in the drawing room, occupying every available space, and started chatting amongst themselves.
Normally, most of these young women tried to avoid me. I’d heard one of them say that standing next to me made their own beauty shine less brightly. Apparently, they had no such reservations when it came to visiting me privately today.
I wasn’t surprised when they started talking about the Legendary Lords.
“Baron Moreland married Victoria Wright last month,” the eldest Miss Farleigh said.
“When the season started, Mama warned us that the Legends weren’t interested in finding brides and that we shouldn’t entertain any attention they paid us. ”
I bit back my comment that it was unlikely any of those men would be actively searching for a bride amongst young women just entering into society.
Yes, it was true that Viscount Kendrick was paying me a surprising amount of attention, but they didn’t know the real reason behind his actions, and I wasn’t about to explain it to them.
Diana leaned forward in her seat next to me on the settee. “Victoria is the sister of the Marquess of Rexford. She must have known Baron Moreland for some time, so it’s not surprising that they wed.”
One of the others who normally shunned me—I couldn’t for the life of me remember her name—lowered her voice to the most outrageous of stage whispers and said, “I heard he ruined her first, and then he married her.”
Their voices were now a cacophony of speculation as another jumped in to add, “Do you think Rexford forced the baron to marry his sister?”
Diana shook her head. “I heard it was a love match and that anyone who sees the way he dotes on her wouldn’t believe he was forced into the match.”
I leaned back against the settee and crossed my arms. “Whatever the case, we must remember that Moreland wouldn’t ruin Rexford’s sister. They’re close friends, and from all accounts, they would never betray another Legend.”
The youngest Miss Farleigh, who was just in her first season, smiled shyly at me. “What can you tell us about Viscount Kendrick? People can’t decide whether he’s courting you or trying to have his way with you.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “If I allowed the viscount to take any liberties with me, there would be nothing to stop him from just walking away afterward.” I tried not to think about the kiss we’d shared. “Do you really think it would be possible to force one of the Legends into marrying?”
Diana frowned as she jumped to my defense. “Do the lot of you think Caroline is that foolish? She would never allow him to take such liberties.”
She carefully avoided looking at me when she spoke since the two of us knew I was that foolish. If not for Diana and her intervention out in the gardens, I might be ruined right now.
I didn’t miss the way the others smiled slyly at one another, and I knew exactly what they were thinking.
In their minds, the fact that I had blonde hair and blue eyes and was praised for my beauty all but branded me as also being empty-headed.
Diana was the only one amongst them who’d befriended me, and she knew that wasn’t the case.
It was bad enough when men assumed I was young and foolish.
I hated that other women believed that as well.
They were still whispering and talking over each other, wondering which of the other Legends might start paying attention to them.
It hadn’t gone unnoticed that the other Legends had attended the Henderson Ball.
I glanced at Diana, wondering if she would offer any information about the Earl of Clifton, but she was staring down at her hands.
Someone mentioned that Viscount Fairfax had been the only other Legend to dance that evening. Several eyes lit up at that news, but the eldest Miss Farleigh crushed their hopes when she pointed out that he’d only danced with widows.
Some of the women were so innocent they obviously didn’t know the significance of that statement, but when Diana glanced at me, I could tell she wasn’t one of them. Fairfax wasn’t looking for a bride. He was spending time with women who would be happy to warm his bed.
“Why do you think Kendrick is courting you?”
I didn’t catch who’d asked the question, but the middle Miss Farleigh made a small sound of disgust in response.
“She’s the diamond. Who wouldn’t want her?
Frankly, he’s doing the rest of us a favor.
Now that he’s made his interest clear, the other men might start paying attention to the rest of us. ”
There were murmurs of assent and agreement.
Henry chose that moment to enter the drawing room.
He paused in the doorway, pretending to be surprised to see so many young women present.
But I knew my brother far too well. One of the footman would have told him what was happening, and he’d decided to come down and see for himself.
He loved being the center of attention, and aside from Diana, the women gave him exactly what he wanted.
It was nauseating the way they vied for his attention, sitting up straighter and tilting their bodies so as to put their bosoms on display.
The eldest Miss Fairleigh, who was sitting near the door, dropped her handkerchief and tittered when Henry bent down to retrieve it for her.
Diana leaned closer and whispered, “Should we tell them that he has no money?”
I shushed her. “Aunt Augusta would murder us.”
She sighed. “We’ll just have to make do with taking notes and mocking them once they leave.”
I smiled at her. What would I do without my closest friend?