Charlotte wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a sideways hug. “Why are you so worried? I haven’t heard anything that would lead me to believe there’s any danger of Holbrook acting dishonorably. I’ve made several discreet inquiries on the matter.”
Lucy shouldn’t have been so surprised, yet she was. “When? Why?”
“Before we invited him to dinner on the eve of the ball, of course. As the only single gentleman on the guest list, I wanted to ensure I wasn’t inviting a snake into our midst.”
“Like Mansfield.”
Charlotte looked away. “Exactly.” She forced a smile and faced Lucy again. “But everyone said complimentary things about him. And if Ladies Cranston and Hargrove are to be believed, he played an instrumental role in helping their husbands overcome their reluctance to marriage.”
Lucy hadn’t heard anything about that. “So he’s a matchmaker?”
Charlotte laughed. “Not as far as I know. But apparently he does have a steady nature and is very good at seeing what one is trying to hide under the surface.”
Lucy felt a spark of alarm. Had Holbrook been able to see what she’d been trying to hide? That she was unhappy and felt a tiny bit jealous of her friends’ marriages?
She let out a soft sigh. Of course he had. She suspected everyone knew that.
The clock struck eight, and Lucy shook off her reverie. It had been more than five minutes. She should go see whether Holbrook was still here or if he’d escaped out a side entrance. The thought that he would give up on her had her jumping to her feet.
“I should go check on them…”
Charlotte grasped her arm, preventing her escape. “They’re coming.”
Lucy listened and realized her friend was right. The soft murmur of deep voices, growing louder by the second, reassured her that Holbrook hadn’t fled.
“You should have seen the look on his face when I told him I wasn’t going to support his bill,” Alex said.
Holbrook was clearly amused when he replied. “No doubt it was the same sour expression he donned for the rest of that session.”
Both men were laughing when they entered the drawing room. Holbrook’s gaze sought her out immediately. He winked.
And Lucy’s heart turned over in her chest.
Chapter 12
Lucy was driving him to distraction. Two weeks had passed since their first ride in Hyde Park, and Holbrook’s certainty about her had only grown. His heart was fixed on having her forever.
When he’d witnessed Cranston and Hargrove wrestle with their feelings about the women who would become their wives, he’d done what he could to help them overcome their reluctance. But it was an unsettling sensation to find himself on the other side of that equation. Especially when he found himself doubting he’d be able to convince her to marry him.
He’d never enjoyed a woman’s company quite so much, and the more time he spent with the widowed baroness, the more intrigued he became. He wanted to know everything about her—her likes and dislikes and her opinions on all manner of things.
It was more than a little surprising just how often he thought about her.
She was unlike any woman he’d ever known. He hadn’t lied when he’d told her that he’d had love affairs but there hadn’t been anyone he’d ever wanted to see more than a handful of times. As far as he knew that casual indifference had been reciprocated by every one of those women. But despite her insistence that she only wanted a love affair, Lucy always seemed genuinely happy to see him.
They’d made a point of attending the same entertainments over the past weeks. When she told him which invitations she’d accepted, she teased him by saying she didn’t want him racing through London searching for her. He hadn’t denied the accusation because he would have done just that.
There’d been balls, routs, musicales. Once, during a play—he couldn’t remember the name because he’d been so distracted by Lucy, who’d been one of the theatergoers sharing his box—she’d tugged him to one side during the intermission. He’d leaned close to hear what she was saying above the conversations taking place around them, and she told him that the theater box next to theirs was empty.
He’d raised his brows, thinking that surely she wasn’t suggesting what he was imagining. But her wicked smile in response told him why she’d chosen to share that piece of information with him.
When they returned to their seats, she gave his arm a little tug as they were passing the empty box. And everything inside him screamed at him to accept her invitation.
The all-too-brief taste of pleasure he’d given her that first afternoon when he’d called on her had only whetted his appetite. He wanted to do so much more with her. To give in and engage in the love affair she’d told him she wanted.
But Holbrook was playing a long game. He couldn’t deny he worried that if they made love, she’d take what enjoyment he could give her before moving on to another man. It was an irrational fear since she’d given no indication she was interested in someone else’s attention.
And he was very aware of just how many were interested.
