But it was certainly not what he was expecting when he came across his friend deep in conversation with the one person he couldn’t get off his mind, Lucy, of all the people present at the rout.
“Roddy, old chap, have you had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of this lovely lady?” Sean hailed him, far more comfortable than Rod ever would have expected his friend to be in any social situation, let alone in the presence of the beautiful and fashionable, Miss Lucy.
“I have had that pleasure, thank you for asking,” Roderick replied, confused, even as Lucy’s tinkle of laughter filled the space around them.
“Thank you, Mr. Smythe, for taking the time to explain your research to me. I would never have thought something like that could be so fascinating. And thank you for offering to introduce Mr. Northcott to me. You are a kind and generous gentleman. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your visit here in Town.” To Sean’s evident delight, Lucy dipped a small curtsy toward him. “I have already had a conversation with Mr. Northcott this evening, and I really ought to circulate a little more, thank you again for speaking with me Mr. Smythe. I am certain we shall see more of one another throughout the Season.”
And with that, she disappeared from before them. Or at least so it seemed to their dazzled eyes.
“You know that beautiful creature?” Sean asked, sounding breathless, as he followed her with his gaze while she flitted through the room, stopping here and there to exchange a few words with various fellow guests. It seemed to Rod as though she didn’t spend any real amount of time with any one individual or group, as though she couldn’t settle. Like a restless hummingbird, he thought with a frown.
“I’ve known her since she was a little girl and I was barely out of leading strings. Our older brothers went to school together. It feels like she’s always been around.”
“You always have the best luck,” came Sean’s almost reverent answer.
Roderick snorted. “No, I don’t. And knowing Lucy Scranton is certainly nothing to do with luck, I can assure you. That girl is trouble to someone like us. She’s beautiful and personable and she’ll melt your brain.”
“How can you say something like that about such a perfect specimen?”
“Don’t be daft, Sean,” Roderick scoffed. “What is so perfect about her?”
“Like you haven’t thought the very same thing,” Sean countered with a challenging tone.
“Perhaps when I was still a whelp,” Roderick insisted, ignoring the feelings she always generated in him, including even that very night.
“You’re a hard man, Northcott,” Sean commented, shaking his head. But then he brightened. “I guess that’s why we’re all going to trust you to do the business side of our work. If you can be this hard about feminine perfection, we can trust you to stick with what needs doing.”
“You didn’t need further proof of that.”
Sean grinned. “You know more evidence is the scientific way.”
Roderick returned his grin but turned the subject. “Now that I’ve convinced you that you don’t need to find yourself a wife this week, what are you going to do while you’re in Town?”
An expression of relief spread over his friend’s face. “Have we all told you how grateful we are for what you’re trying to do?” Sean asked. “I’m sorry that I panicked briefly. I hope my presence here isn’t going to interfere with your plans.”
“Of course not,” Roderick replied immediately. “Besides, you’re Lord Seaton’s problem, not mine,” he added with a chuckle.
“I am, aren’t I?” Sean marvelled. “And since the man’s being so ill-mannered as to cut me off, I ought to make a little more trouble for him by relying upon him for my entertainment this se’en-night.”
“Now there’s the spirit,” Roderick added as though to cheer him on. “But I shan’t mind tagging along with you a little, either.”
“That shall be acceptable.” Sean nodded with an imperial flair before dissolving into a fit of high-pitched laughter that was much more befitting of a schoolroom, making Roderick wonder if the man were tipsy or merely full of nerves.
“Do you think Miss Scranton might return to bear us company? You will never credit it, but I felt far less nervous when she was with me.”
“You’re right, I wouldn’t credit it. Of all of us, you’ve been the least able to speak with a female since we were boys.”
“There’s just something about her, despite how pretty she is and how much I fear I’ll trip and spill something on her or step on the edge of her skirt or some other equally horribly awkward thing. But she listens in such a way that makes me feel like she actually is interested. It made me want to tell her everything. It was dreadful and wonderful all at once.” Sean frowned intensely then shook his head. “Do you think there was something noxious in the punch?”
Roderick laughed. “I doubt you were drugged, Sean. You just have never encountered someone like Lucy. It can go to your head.”
“Is she on your list?”
Always supportive of each other’s’ endeavours, all Roderick’s friends knew he had intended to discuss his marital options with his sister-in-law.
“No,” Roderick answered firmly, if not completely truthfully. Lucy might have been mentioned by Caroline, but that didn’t mean Roderick would actually consider her a possible candidate for being the heiress to solve their problems.
Sean nodded, almost appearing sympathetic. “Not deep enough purse, I suppose.” He sighed and shook his head, not noticing Roderick’s surprise. “Are any of the women present this evening on your list?” Sean asked with another frown as he looked around the room suspiciously.
