If Cherish was not dancing, then neither did he care to dance.
This afternoon, the young ladies were again enlisted to entertain the gathering with songs. Cherish, not wishing to be featured once again, volunteered to accompany them on the pianoforte. He almost felt guilty for not helping out, but Reggie had stepped up and was doing an excellent job of organizing entertainments for Fiona’s male guests. On top of it all, he had done it while sober.
But Gawain knew it was time for him to step in when he heard Reggie’s woodpecker laugh resounding through the hall.
This meant his nephew had been drinking again.
Not that he blamed Reggie, for all the young men had spent the past few days foggy with drink to relieve their boredom. Many of the ladies had tippled, too.
He set his book aside and was about to rise from his comfortable reading chair when he heard a light rap at the door. “Come,” he intoned.
A moment later, Cherish stepped into the library. “Um, Your Grace…”
He had avoided the girl fairly easily these past rainy days, but the sight of her now simply took his breath away. She was a ray of sunshine and her radiant smile had his heart beating ridiculously fast. How did she manage this?
Her gowns were nothing fancy, including this one she had on, which was a dark green muslin barely trimmed with silk. It had little white flowers embroidered around the bodice and hem that added just the slightest frivolity to her otherwise serious nature. Her throat was bare, as usual. All she had on were those small gold earrings dangling from the lobes of her little ears.
Gad, she drove him wild. He wanted to spend the night nibbling her ears, her throat—
Which was why he had made it a point to avoid her in the first place. “What is it, Cherish?”
“Fiona needs your assistance.”
He cast her a wry smile. “I was just about to seek her out. I heard Reggie’s woodpecker laugh.”
Cherish arched a delicate eyebrow and tossed him another smile. “It is hard to miss, but don’t judge him too harshly. The young men are bored and have little to do other than dance and drink.”
“I know. I was young once, too.” He held her back a moment before they walked out. “How are you and Reggie getting along?”
“He is very nice, but…”
“Are you irritated that he is drinking?”
“No, they all are. He is actually more sober than the rest… Well, Lord Durham also has his wits about him. He’s anotherone like you who always prefers to remain in control of his senses.”
“Then what is your hesitation?”
She cast him a look of dismay. “I am not hesitating. In truth, I have been mingling with the others and quite enjoying myself. But…besides your nephew, I think there may be another young lord interested in me.”
“There is?” That she should have a genuine suitor hit Gawain hard. To his dismay, he felt a sudden heaviness course through his body, as though he were about to be buried beneath a crushing pile of stones.
She nodded. “But I doubt it will lead to anything. Who would seriously offer for me without knowing the details of my dowry? It is absurd that I am left completely in the dark about my trust fund or any other arrangements my father made for me before his passing.”
“Who is this other man?”
“Oh, he isn’t important. It will never come to anything anyway. I think he truly likes me, but he needs to marry an heiress.”
Gawain’s insides began to churn.
Obviously, the man’s taste in women was excellent and could not be faulted. What if he decided Cherish was worth more than any advantage an heiress could give him, and offered for her?
It was all he could do to tamp down the apish part of him.
He did not press her for the name of this new suitor because right now he wanted to rip the man’s head off.
Bollocks.
What was happening to him? He had never felt this way about any woman, not even the one who had betrayed him all those years ago.
