“Oh no!” Olivia cried, before she could stop herself.
“You know, then?” Bertram said quietly.
“That Lord Embleton offered for Bea? Lady Esther told me in confidence, but it is not generally known, I think.”
“No, or Aunt Alice would never have invited Bea to dine with him, at least not so soon after the event. But Bea would not come, naturally. It would have been dreadfully awkward for him, sharing a table with the person who declined to be a duchess.”
“I cannot imagine how she could turn him down,” Olivia said without thinking.
Bertram smiled. “Can you not? Perhaps she had a better offer.”
“What could be better than being a duchess? Oh, cousin, I did not mean—! I am sure you are… well, you will be an earl one day, which is almost as good,” she said kindly.
He laughed out loud. “Now you sound just like Bea used to be, judging a man’s marriageability by his rank. She has learnt that there is more to a man than his title, and perhaps you will one day, too.”
“I know that, of course. But if there are two good, kind, honourable gentlemen, and one is going to be a duke one day and one is not… well, why not aim for the future duke?”
“Is that what you are doing? Aiming for the future duke? Is that why you invited him to dinner?”
Olivia felt herself blushing, but answered him composedly. “Cousin, I have no idea when, if ever, I might get to town or how I shall move in society there now that my circumstances are so much altered. I am merely taking the opportunity to meet as many distinguished gentlemen as I can.”
Bertram smiled kindly at her. “You should go and stay with Izzy. She often has a houseful of distinguished guests.”
“Izzy!” she muttered under her breath. As if that would help, to be under the same roof as her prettier, livelier, more popular sister — to be the lesser version, always compared and found wanting, always overlooked.
Fortunately, the marquess was announced just then, the earl moved forward to receive him and introduce him to Aunt Alice, and Olivia was too taken up with watching them to worry about Bertram. Kent appeared at her side and spoke to her, but she paid him little attention, so intent was she on her quarry.
Quarry! Now that was a nasty word, as if he were a fox and she a hound in hot pursuit. No, such a quiet man was more like a rabbit, and she was the fox wanting to devour him. Even nastier! There would be no devouring, for all she wanted was for him to fall in love with her, after which she would undertake to make him very happy. What was wrong with that?
The marquess sat with Lady Alice for a little while, but it was obvious that their conversation was strained. His stammer and her inability to see him made it slow going, and eventually Aunt Jane rescued him and took him away to be introduced to her daughters. Now that Olivia could not allow. She was very fond of her cousins, but she would not stand idly by and watch them making progress with her marquess.
She wandered over to the group as casually as she could contrive.
“Ah, Olivia, dear, there you are. Have you met Lord Embleton?”
What a bird-witted woman Aunt Jane was! Had she forgotten it was Olivia who had invited Lord Embleton to dine?
“We are acquainted,” she murmured, dipping into a curtsy. “How are you, Lord Embleton? Well, I trust?”
“Th-thank you, yes. And you, L-l-lady Olivia?”
“I am very well, thank you. Was your journey tolerable? The roads are so muddy after all the rain we have had lately, it is awonder that anyone can get about at all. But we are delighted that you managed to reach us. I hope you like venison, for cook manages to put twenty different forms of it before us at this time of year. And as for duck…”
In this manner, she managed to monopolise the marquess until Eustace arrived, late as usual, and dinner was announced. The marquess looked round, saw that Lady Alice was being escorted to the dining room by the earl, and offered his arm to Olivia, just as she hoped. She lowered her eyes demurely, for it would not do to be thought to be gloating. His actions were mere courtesy to the daughter of his host, no more than that.
Aunt Jane, who was a great organiser, took charge of arranging the seating, placing the marquess beside Aunt Alice, and Olivia next to him. Olivia had Cousin Bertram on her other side, but she did not mind that. He would not be offended if she devoted more of her attention to the marquess.
At first, Lord Embleton was concerned to attend to Aunt Alice, asking her in his painfully slow way what she wished him to do to assist her. Olivia listened in an agony of impatience as he stuttered his way through his little speech.
“How kind you are!” Aunt Alice said calmly, as he finally drew to a close. “However, I am well attended by my personal footman who prepares my food for me. If I need anything further, I have my brother beside me. Do, pray, enjoy the meal. We shall talk in a little while, but for now you may enjoy my niece’s company.”
He nodded and turned obediently to Olivia as the soup was handed round, and for a while the whole company attended to the needs of the appetite. As soon as the soup had been removed with the fish, and conversation had begun again, Olivia began on her list of topics with which to entertain and, she hoped, beguile Lord Embleton.
“I have been following the triumphs of your race horses, sir,” she began. “Such a success at Newmarket last year! Two winners, was it not?”
“Yes, I—”
“And a third later, as well. How proud you must have been! Such a proof of the efficacy of your methods. But this year was not quite so promising. So unfortunate! Crown Star must have been having an off day, such as all horses must have from time to time. My own horse is much the same. Some days he is full of life and keen to take me wherever I wish to go, and other days there is a reluctance in him, as if life is an effort, somehow. But then, people are just the same, is it not so? We all have good days, when we are full of energy and anything seems possible, and bad days, when we do not particularly wish to leave our beds.”
