Lucy remembered the one conversation they’d had on the subject. Charlotte had asked her if she was certain she wanted to marry Mansfield. There had been something in her friend’s tone that Lucy knew meant her friend was worried about their betrothal. But Lucy had been young and foolish and had gone on and on about all the nice things he’d done for her and how he’d proclaimed his love with such fervor.
The truth was she’d wanted to believe that she could have what Charlotte had found with Alex. And Mansfield had taken advantage of her naivete.
Lucy turned so she could face her friend. “You don’t think I’m being too rash now? I was so certain last night about what I wanted, but now… I’m having second thoughts.”
“I think Holbrook is a good man. No one knows what the future holds, but it’s normal to be scared. I was, too, when we came up with that crazy scheme to see if we could make Alex fall in love with me.”
Lucy laughed, remembering her brother’s annoyance when she and Mama had insisted he accompany them to Almack’s. And when their mother had urged him to dance with Charlotte, it was a miracle he hadn’t slipped out through a window. “He was less than pleased with us, but everything worked out in the end.”
“Yes. For what it’s worth, I support your decision. I think getting to know Holbrook better will be good for you.”
Lucy took a deep breath, preparing to disappoint her friend. “I’m not looking for love.”
“No.” Charlotte’s smile held more than a hint of sadness. “But perhaps you’ll find it anyway.”
Lucy didn’t argue. There was no point, after all. Love wasn’t in the cards for her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t find a measure of happiness.
A footman approached and stood off to one side. He held out a silver tray upon which rested one item—a white calling card. Charlotte took it, and together they looked at the name.
Viscount Holbrook.
“Thank you,” Charlotte said. “We’ll join him shortly.”
The footman bowed and turned to leave. Lucy waited until he was out of sight before standing.
“Should I go with you to the drawing room? Or perhaps I should go alone.” She was filled with indecision again.
Charlotte stood as well and clasped both her hands. “What would be easiest? I can go see him first, and you can join us in a few minutes. Or perhaps I can tell him to join you here in the garden.”
Lucy took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes for a moment, weighing the options. An image of Holbrook smiling down at her while they waltzed last night filled her mind. Then one of him standing by the sidelines, his annoyance clear while he watched her dance with another man.
And she realized that the emotion surging through her wasn’t fear or anxiety. It was excitement. She couldn’t wait to see him again.
“I’ll go see him,” she said.
Charlotte smiled and gave her a quick hug. Without another word, Lucy made her way into the house.
She was about to proposition a handsome viscount.
Chapter 7
When she entered the drawing room, Holbrook was already rising from an armchair. He bowed and greeted her with a smile that tugged at her foolish heart. There was a warmth in his eyes that was almost enough to convince her she was the only woman in the world instead of just the only one here now.
She asked the footman to bring refreshments before moving farther into the room. Her heart was already racing when she lowered herself onto the end of the settee that was closest to his seat.
She clasped her hands together in her lap and tried to appear composed. It was more difficult than she would have imagined. “I’m pleased to see you, my lord. I hope you enjoyed the ball last night.”
“I enjoyed the beginning. And our waltz, of course. But I’m afraid my enjoyment plummeted when I had to watch you dancing with every unmarried man in the room.”
Good heavens, it appeared she wouldn’t need to worry about how to discreetly bring up the subject of having an affair. But it was a relief to know she hadn’t imagined his interest in her. He had been watching her. It was one thing to have Charlotte say as much, but it carried more weight coming from Holbrook himself.
She couldn’t hide her amusement. “I seem to recall a fair number of young women there. And it was impossible to miss the way many of them were going out of their way to gain your attention.”
He settled back into the armchair, his eyes focused on her. “There were other women there?”
She laughed. It was the sort of ridiculous flattery other men used, but for some reason she didn’t mind it coming from Holbrook.
She took a deep breath in a vain attempt to settle her nerves. Until that moment, she hadn’t been certain she was going to go forward with the crazy scheme. But there was something about Holbrook that set every one of her nerve endings on fire. It was a sensation so far outside anything she’d ever experienced, and she felt a bone-deep need to explore it further.
