Matthew rose to his feet and staggered. “I have sway a-plenty.” And he roared with laughter again.
Sober and bathed, Matthewhanded his calling card to the butler at Lord and Lady Hollidge’s home on Grosvenor Square the following day. Perhaps he should have brought Quinn withhim in order to vouch for his character. After all, it was his friend’s half-baked idea, which had sounded spectacular at the time.
However, not only did his success seem less certain while he was standing upon a stranger’s doorstep, bringing his friend along would have been childish, even spineless.
The butler allowed him into the entrance hall and asked him to wait while he climbed the stairs. This gave his nerves time to prickle with doubt until he was pacing in a circle.
Purity was worth the discomfort of coming hat-in-hand to win over her sister.
The butler returned and escorted him into a serene and sunny drawing room.Better than being shown the door,Matthew thought.
It occurred to him that Lady Hollidge might not know he was on the outs unless Purity had come to see her between the slap and this morning.
Footsteps had him turning to see ... Matthew startled. For a moment, he thought Purity had entered the room.
“I receive that expression quite a bit,” her sister, Clarity, promised. “I am sure Lady Purity does, too. The impression only lasts an instant, and then you can easily see I am not she and vice versa.”
While she spoke, she did a quick tour of the room, picking up each pillow, fluffing it with a solid thump, and setting it down again.
“If your eyes don’t tell you, then our differing natures quickly will.”
“Indeed, my lady. Your sister was on my mind, so naturally you reminded me of her.”
Matthew had only met Lady Hollidge at the Syon House gala. She had been always in movement, whether playing the lawn games or chatting with other guests, laughing a great deal,and appearing genuinely happy. Her husband had been always by her side, not somber but decidedly less animated than his viscountess.
The only time Matthew remembered her being still had been during the picnic, but she and Lord Hollidge had not sat near Matthew, so he hadn’t talked with her. They’d departed while he had been stupidly destroying Purity’s reputation next to the ridiculously endowed statue.
“Would you care for tea?” she offered.
Her question reminded him of Purity. He ought to say no since he was uninvited and imposing, so he did, just as she’d instructed him.
“Thank you, no. I have no intention of taking up much of your time.”
“Shall we sit?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you.” Matthew waited for her to take a spot on the sofa before he sat in a chair opposite.
“I suppose you are here because my sister no longer wishes to marry you,” she began before he could think how to start.
The devil. He’d hoped she hadn’t been privy to an earful of his faults. On the other hand, he appreciated her direct manner. Apparently, she had no qualms about making her guest feel uncomfortable.
“You know about that, then,” he said lamely.
“Frankly, I was surprised when I learned of her decision. You seem to make my sister happy, albeit a little nervous. I watched you two at the gala.” She shook her head. “And you certainly shall never get a finer woman than her. So why did you cock it all up?”
“I honestly don’t know what I did wrong.”
“Engaging in certain amorous activities upon your sofa with Lady Varley might be top of the list,” Lady Hollidge said, and her tone was no longer the least bit welcoming.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lady Hollidge sounded downright fierce, and Matthew realized she had been playing at the part of kind hostess every bit as well as Purity. Her sister was, in fact, blazing angry. He would be lucky not to receive another stinging Diamond slap.
“I most emphatically vow I did not tup her on my sofa,” he said, thinking too late how he ought to curb his vulgar language. In any case, he distinctly recalled always going to Emilia’s townhouse. But that Lady Hollidge should even bring up the sofa was a mystery to ponder.
“You vow and yet you appear to still be considering,” she said.
“It’s not that. I admit I had an association with Lady Varley before she was married, but how on earth didyouknow she was on my sofa recently?”
