At the back of the house, French doors led to a conservatory, while Asher guessed the doors within the ballroom led to a terrace and a garden. The open space was one thing Asher missed about his country estate.
Otherwise, he was just as happy to be in London.
This house was beautiful, yes, but Asher sensed that even its design was calculated to impress and to observe those moving within its opulence.
“Your grace!”
He had just entered the ballroom for the one drink he had promised his mother when Lord Julian Hartford found him. They had been friends since their days at Eton, when they had bonded over their roles as second sons with little responsibility. Asher still appreciated Julian’s friendship as much as he envied the fact that nothing had changed for Julian, who still lived his life with solely his own pleasures in mind.
“Lord Julian,” he returned. “Good to see you.”
“I wasn’t sure that you’d be here,” he said, “what with all the suspicions that you stole the Paragon Diamond and all.”
Asher groaned, rubbing his temple. “Can we not discuss that ludicrous idea?”
“That anyone would believe such a thing is beyond me. You could buy yourself a diamond anytime you pleased.”
“I could,” he agreed. “But apparently, I wanted this one.”
“Along with Lady Evelyn Stratford, it seems.”
“So it does.”
Julian looked around the room. “Your lover is over there, in case you are interested.”
Asher cast him what he hoped was a withering glare.
“You know as well as anyone that she is not my lover. I didn’t even know who the woman was until a few days ago.”
“You didn’t?” Julian looked at him in surprise. “She is one of the most beautiful, eligible young ladies. Although,” he tilted his head in consideration, speaking out of the corner of his mouth now, “she’s far too much of a bluestocking for me. Why her father allows all of that, I will never know."
Asher felt heat rising within him. Who was Julian to say what interests and activities she should be allowed? If he had discovered one thing since meeting Lady Evelyn, it was that her intelligence was something to be celebrated, not hidden away.
But to object to Lord Julian would only make Asher seem interested in her, so he kept his mouth shut.
That didn’t stop him from seeking her out with his gaze, finding her standing near the edge of the ballroom across the room, deep in conversation with another young woman. Lady Evelyn wore a dress that was somewhere between cream and a pale blue, hugging her in all the right places before draping around her while tendrils of dark hair dipped over her forehead.
And those eyes. He should forget them, but he couldn’t forget their distinct color, hazel with a touch of green.
He saw them in his sleep, especially after she had eyed him with such assessing interest.
Julian chuckled beside him, and Asher startled, realizing that he had been staring for far too long. He took a sip from his drink.
“Enough,” he muttered.
Which only made Julian laugh even louder, drawing attention from those around them.
And that was when Lady Evelyn looked over and met his gaze.
Evelyn had arrivedthat night with her head held high.
She was not one for society events, but when she had seen the invitation, she’d known this was the perfect opportunity to speak to other young ladies and learn what she could without being too obvious. Attending would also allow people to speak of her without risking her name becoming scandalous, showing that her life remained unaffected.
“Are you nervous?”
Lady Verity Merrow had met her halfway through the room, as though understanding that Evelyn needed support tonight.
Verity, cousin to the Marquess of Eastclere, was kind, steady, and perceptive, observant more than the cause for any attention.
