Ariana narrowed her eyes. “Has he set you to this?”
“Of course not.”
“Then I can’t see it’s any business of yours.”
“You didn’t hesitate to poke into my concerns.”
“So you play tit for tat?” She snatched back her fan. “Look to yourself, Kynaston, for you have many more problems than I do.”
She returned to the hall, and heard, like a rescuing bugle, the name Lord Sellerden. She went over to brightly welcome her last hope.
•••
He was exactly as Kynaston had implied—a pleasant, healthy man with brown curls, excellent manners, and a couple of inches on her.
He’d do, she decided, squashing down all temptation to be more particular. She could sense some dullness, but it wasn’t extreme.
She chatted to him, introduced him to her mother, and then, most of the guests having arrived, took him up to the drawing room for the first entertainment. This was a reading by a new author whose novel was a humorous take on society’s foibles. As it was gentlydone, everyone chuckled along and applauded warmly at the end.
That was followed by a piano performance, and Ariana could exchange a few quiet words with Sellerden. How to set her hook?
“It’s many years since I visited Town, my lord. What new attractions should I sample?”
“What sort of attraction would interest you, Lady Ariana?”
Another point in his favor that he asked rather than prescribed. She decided to be honest. If he couldn’t tolerate her true nature, she’d have to extend her search.
“I confess to an interest in ancient history, my lord. Greece, Rome, Egypt, and such.”
He didn’t seem dismayed. “Then have you visited the British Museum?”
“No, and I do want to.”
She expected him to offer to escort her there, but he missed his cue. “There’s also the Egyptian Hall,” he said. “Only a few years old, mind you, but generally admired.”
“Oh yes!” Ariana said, layering on the enthusiasm. “I gather it isn’t particularly authentic in its portrayal of Egypt, but Idefinitelywish to visit it.”
This time it worked. “Be delighted to escort you there, Lady Ariana, if you wish. At your convenience.”
She beamed on him. “Howverykind of you, my lord. I’m free tomorrow morning, if venturing out before noon is not too unfashionable.”
He looked taken aback by the haste, but agreed. “Shall we say eleven?”
Rather later than Ariana had in mind, but she agreed. She paid attention to the music for a while, and then excused herself with the need to check on other guests.
She left the room feeling satisfaction and even virtue.She was keeping to her dutiful course, and there was every chance she could get Lord Sellerden to the altar before the New Year. Whatever his virtues and vices, he seemed easily led.
It would be preferable, however, for Norris to be at the altar instead. Where was he?
She looked into the library, where eight people were playing whist with two others watching. A young couple was going through some prints she’d put out on display. From their manner, they were using the activity as an excuse to court. Indeed, the very angle of their bodies spoke of it, and of a sweet, innocent yearning she’d never experienced.
She shrugged off regret. People were different, and she’d never attempted to fit a conventional mode.
In the dining room, some were already enjoying the dishes laid out, and the servants there seemed to have everything under control. Norris had insisted on a smoking room being set up toward the back of the house. She couldn’t intrude there, and could only hope few men would lurk there for the whole evening—especially him.
She went down to the kitchens to be sure there were no hidden disasters, and then took the servants’ stairs back up to the drawing room floor. She could hear that the pianist was still playing, so she decided to go up one more flight to check her appearance in her bedroom before returning to the company. The kitchen had been rather hot and steamy.
The mirror assured her that she’d not stained her gown or acquired a smudge on her face. She adjusted some pins to catch stray wisps of hair and reapplied a slight touch of rouge to her lips, wondering if Kynaston would find that attractive or too bold.
