Percy snatched a champagne flute from the tray of a passing servant. “Miss Baker has a large dowry.”
“Yes.” Isaac sniffed and cleared his throat.
“And she is very accomplished.” He smirked as he took a sip from his glass. “And attractive.”
“Yes, I know.” Isaac couldn’t hide the vexation from his voice. He ignored Percy’s smug grin. He continued surveying the crowd, searching for any sign of Miss Baker’s fiery red hairor that of her brother’s. It was not easy to miss, even with the costumes.
“Then why, pray tell, did you change your mind?” Percy asked. “If she was such a fine catch, and you are in pursuit of a wife…you must have known how it would enrage her brother?—”
“I didn’t expect to change my mind. I just…” Isaac paused, his jaw tightening. “I never wanted to hurt Miss Baker. I thought if it ended amicably, then her brother would be forgiving. I didn’t expect him to blackball me.”
“One enemy is all it takes to be banished from the elite clubs.” Percy clicked his tongue. “It seems you have become even more of a heartbreaker than I am.” Percy seemed to take pride in the statement, even as it simultaneously crippled Isaac’s heart with guilt.
“That was not my intention.”
“Yet it is so.” Percy’s teeth flashed white beneath his mask. “Why commit yourself to only one woman?” His eyes followed a blonde woman in a roman costume with a crown of gold laurels. She cast a demure smile in his direction.
Isaac’s shoulders tensed. He wanted to explain himself, but Percy would think him a fool. In this case, it would be best to let him assume Isaac was a disinterested rake rather than a man desperately in love with a woman he hadn’t seen for four years. A woman who had, quite brutally, broken his heart and left it useless. Percy would never understand. No matter how hard Isaac tried to fall in love and commit himself to another, he failed. He ran away.
And now he had to face the consequences.
“Idowish to marry,” Isaac said, his quiet voice becoming lost in the music. “I am simply not very good at it.”
“At marrying?” Percy blurted out a laugh. “Nor am I. Although that may change soon.”
Isaac’s eyebrows shot up, shifting his mask and fox ears higher. “You? Marry?”
Percy’s smile turned sly. “I am considering it. I have taken an interest in a certain young lady. Our courtship is new, and her sister has proven to be…problematic, but I don’t see any reason why I won’t succeed in the venture.”
“You have set your cap at her, then?”
Percy took another sip of champagne. “I suppose I have.”
“Who is she?”
Percy froze, a thoughtful look entering his brown irises—for that was all Isaac could see through his mask. “She is the stepdaughter of a new acquaintance of mine. The Viscount Blackstone. Have you met him?”
Isaac shook his head. He had been in London less than two months, and he had spent all his energy on his courtship with Miss Baker. He had already managed to strain a great deal of his connections through that reckless courtship. Making new connections was going to prove difficult.
Percy crossed his arms, tilting his head to one side. “I managed to win Lord Blackstone’s favor by pretending I had a great interest in the behavioral patterns of the great horned owl. In truth, I can think of nothing more excessively boring. At any rate, he has regarded me highly ever since, and seems to have a tendency for overlooking the flaws of men he thinks share his peculiar interests. I’m a recent member of his club. Blackstone’s—on the edge of Mayfair and St. James’s.”
Isaac gave him a curious look. “And how does Lord Blackstone feel about you courting his stepdaughter?”
“He is surprisingly accommodating.” Percy lowered his voice with a grin. “But I have been treading carefully. It is a delicate subject. Lord Blackstone is rather…protective of his stepdaughters and has high standards for them.”
Isaac gave an understanding nod. “As he should.”
Percy’s upper lip curled. “It’s deucedly inconvenient. I have work to do still in procuring his favor before I make my intentions known. Perhaps you should apply at the club. You can vouch for me when the time comes.”
Isaac hesitated. That would test his loyalty to his cousin, to be sure. He wasn’t certain he could vouch for Percy while keeping his own honor intact. He knew how Percy treated women, and how he spent his spare time gambling, drinking, and keeping questionable company. Isaac was fond of the man, in a detached way—an obligatory, familial way—but he would never recommend him for marriage.
Isaac excused the idea with a wave of his hand. “I’m sure I won’t have the opportunity. I’m not likely to be accepted.”
“He elects his own members.” Percy leaned closer with a whisper. “Lord Blackstone himself was blackballed from White’s, Brook’s, and Boodles years ago. He sympathizes with outcasts like you.”
Isaac narrowed his eyes. He wouldn’t have chosen such a harsh word, but hewasintrigued. If he found a new club at which to socialize, he would certainly feel less hopeless in his marriage endeavors. Perhaps he could start afresh with his connections…andavoid courting any of their relatives this time.
“Would you be willing to introduce us?”
