“It will not be beyond me to charm her, I do not think,” Tristan said, with a grin.
“And who is she?” Alistair demanded. “I must know the future Countess of Silvermere’s name.”
“It is Lady Grace Kingsman,” Tristan said simply, thinking as he spoke of the very pretty young lady and how her eyes had sparkled as they had stood by the lake yesterday. Yes, she would do very well indeed as his countess. “She is the perfect younglady to satisfy my family’s expectations and allow me to continue on my lineage.”
“You do speak of it all in such a calculated manner,” Alistair said. “But I suppose that you will not be the first gentleman in your position to approach it in such a way. And I was the same, of course, until I met Cecilia.”
Tristan saw the glint in his friend’s eye at the mention of his wife, but chose to ignore it. “I will not be the first man to marry for practical reasons, no, and I am sure I will not be the last. And Lady Grace will learn to see the world the same way as I do, once she has outgrown her youthful ideals.”
“She is quite young, is she not?” Alistair asked. “I think she has only been out for a year. And of course, she has an older sister.”
“Well yes,” Tristan replied, feeling a little surge of something unfamiliar at the thought of Diana. “Lady Diana is a very interesting young lady.”
“Interesting?” Alistair queried. “I thought that you thought she was boring, when you met at Nathaniel’s wedding party all those years ago.”
“She is very interesting indeed,” Tristan conceded. He was not going to admit to Alistair that he had spent rather more time thinking of Lady Diana over the last couple of days than he had spent thinking about her sister. But it was simply because she was so infuriating, nothing more.
“It is a shame that she has ended up a spinster,” Alistair said, pouring them both another glass of whiskey. “Everyone wanted me to marry her, but there was nothing between us. It would not have been fair of me to pursue it. And then, of course, there was Cecilia.”
Tristan nodded. “You made the right choice,” he replied. “It would not have been the right thing to do for you to marry Diana.”
“But it would have been a marriage of convenience, just like the one you are proposing!” Alistair shot back. “Why should that suit you, but not me?”
Tristan laughed. “We are very different men, Alistair,” he said simply. He sat back in his chair and looked around the room, at the various groups of gentlemen sitting around the low tables, sharing drinks and dinner together. “It takes all sorts, you know, to make up this world.”
“Quite the philosopher you are tonight!” Alistair said. “Tell me, though. What do you mean when you say that Lady Diana is interesting? It seems a strange word to use to describe a woman.”
Tristan let out a sigh. “She is quite exasperating. She seems to harbor a genuine dislike for me, which is quite remarkable. I do not think anyone has ever disliked me before, or not as much as she seems to, anyway.”
Alistair raised an eyebrow. “You usually manage to charm everyone, especially the ladies. At least until their mamas come and drag them away from you,” he commented. “What can you have done to trigger the wrath of Lady Diana? It is indeed a rarity for anyone to hate you. I would go so far as to say that you are the most charming man in all of London.”
“Well, quite,” Tristan said with a wry smile. “I pride myself in being likable. But she stares at me as if she wishes I would disappear from the face of the planet.”
“You must have done something to annoy her,” Alistair said. “When I knew her, I thought her to be very sensible. She is a very proper lady, very practical. Almost too practical, in fact. I do wonder if that is one of the things that has put other suitors off her.”
Tristan was quiet for a moment, remembering the defiant flash of her eyes as she glared at him in her fury. It was a look that he would not forget, not for a long time.
“She does not approve of me,” Tristan conceded. “She thinks me a rake, and that I am not good enough for her sister.”
“Oh, so you will need to charm her, too, then, if you want to marry Lady Grace?” Alistair chuckled. “Perhaps you have met your match at last.”
“She is infuriating. I cannot stop thinking of ways to overcome her opposition..”
Alistair regarded his friend with a mixture of amusement and concern. “Tristan, you must tread carefully. It sounds rather as if Lady Diana has captured your attention. But if you wish to make Lady Grace your countess, then you cannot afford to be distracted by her sister, for whatever reason.”
“What is life without a little amusement, though?” Tristan said dismissively. He could see that Alistair suspected him of having some dishonorable motive with regards to Diana, but that was far from the truth. “It is very simple, really. She is always so poised and collected, and I confess that I am enjoying breaking her mask of perfection.”
“You must be careful, Tristan,” Alistair urged, his voice serious. “You do not want to ensnare yourself in a trap of your own making.”
Tristan waved off Alistair’s warning, though a flicker of uncertainty crossed his features. “Perhaps you are right, but I cannot help but admire her spirit. It is refreshing in a world so often filled with pretense.”
“But do not forget that your actions could have consequences,” Alistair warned. “I know that you are used to getting your own way, Tristan, but do not forget that society has its rules, and a young lady such as Diana will never break them.”
“And I would never dream of breaking them either,” Tristan declared. He refilled his glass and topped up Alistair’s; he could not help but notice that his friend was not drinking quite so quickly as he was.
“Just remember your duty,” Alistair said. “If you truly want to make Lady Grace your wife, then you must manage these thoughts about her sister, and cease to indulge in them. Marriage is a serious matter and you must not undermine it with your games.”
“I will do no such thing,” Tristan promised, and he meant what he said. He did not intend to do anything wrong, or scandalous. He would court Lady Grace in the traditional manner, and marry her, and then everything would go back to normal. And if he allowed himself to think of Lady Diana occasionally, and the furious flashes of her bright blue eyes, then who was to know?
