“Go on,” she urged her aunt. “You were saying.”
“Lord Diamond hasn’t been much out in society until recently. His showing up at the Fenwicks’ home has caused something of a stir, especially when he left so abruptly. That gave him an added layer of mystery. If he was a few years younger, I would say he only wants to dillydally, dance with pretty ladies, and perhaps kiss a few, too. Anything else, we couldn’t even discuss. Yet at his age, it can only mean he’s ready to find a wife.”
“That seems like quite a lot to infer from a single ball,” Caroline said, although she couldn’t help thinking of the kissing as well as the “anything else” which they couldn’t discuss.
Aunt Cordelia shrugged. “Trust me. And trustThe Times!”
“Even if Lord Diamond is looking for a wife, and even if I wished to discover whether I wanted to be the one for him, what good does that do me when I cannot get near the man?”
“I can almost hear my late husband talking about plans of attack,” her aunt said. “We need to maneuver you into close proximity. You simply must attend the next ball at which Diamond may appear, then send an introductory volley over his right flank.”
They both chuckled.
Her aunt continued, “And you will need me by your side to permit this perilous mission, rather than my dear sister, who will forbid it.”
Caroline’s eyes widened. “You would do that?”
“As long as you promise not to do anything rash,” Aunt Cordelia said. “Simply dance with the man, see if you fancy him, and then we’ll worry about what comes next.”
Chapter Three
Geoffrey had made it extremely clear to anyone who asked that he would attend Lady Plain de Ville’s ball. He’d mentioned it to his tailor so his peers would know, to his butler and housekeeper, so the news would make it through the servant’s grapevine, and lastly, to his parents. If Lady Caroline appeared, then she had been forewarned. He hoped he’d seen something in her eyes that bespoke an interest in getting to know him, despite her mother forbidding any such occurrence.
And if Lady Caroline wasn’t at the ball, then he would take notice of the lovely ladies who were. He hoped one of them would be as alluring. One of them might make his heart speed up and take his breath away while causing that randy tightening in his loins that the mere sight of the red-headed beauty had produced.
When he entered the ballroom on the second floor of the grand house on Cowley Street, he knew within minutes she wasn’t there. Her flame-colored hair would be easy to spot, as well as the glow he seemed to recall emanating from her.
But that was probably only in his imagination.
He greeted the hostess and then began to make his way around the room, chatting with friends, gathering well wishes to give to his parents, and being introduced to a fewfemales with whom he thought it might be pleasant to dance.
In the midst of the Grand March, he saw her enter wearing vivid green silk that set off her fiery locks to perfection. On the other hand, he couldn’t think of what color wouldn’t. He easily pictured her in scarlet, in saffron, in sapphire blue, and even in black — looking equally stunning. Naturally, his brain added a vivid image of how perfectly spectacular naked as a needle against his cream-colored sheets, too.
She strolled the side of the room with the other woman he recalled from the Fenwicks’ ball. He didn’t know who she was, but she was definitely not the prickly mother. His luck was changing.
“Careful, my lord,” came the warning voice of his partner as he missed a turn.
“My apologies,” Geoffrey said and tried to keep his mind on finishing the dance with the lady at hand.
When he left the floor, however, and returned her to her chaperone, Lady Caroline was on the opposite side of the room. Worse, Lady Plain de Ville was introducing her to another man with whom she partnered for the next quadrille.
God’s teeth!Geoffrey refrained from asking another lady to dance, as he wouldn’t risk laying claim to Lady Caroline a second time. To that end, he approached Lady Plain de Ville.
“Will you make an introduction for me upon the dance’s end? I would very much like to meet Lady Caroline,” he confessed.
“Certainly,” their hostess agreed. Yet she smirked. “Given your two families’ histories, I shall be surprised indeed if anything comes of it.”
Geoffrey was taken aback. It seemed nobility of a certain age knew about his mother and Lord Chimes or maybe about his father’s wager with the man. Either way, it didn’t bode well.
“I merely wish to dance with her.”
“She is a lovely girl,” Lady Plain de Ville said. And then they waited for the interminable quadrille to come to a conclusion.
“Shall we?” their hostess asked.
Together, they intercepted Lady Caroline and her dance partner.
Geoffrey was thrilled to see the lady’s ready smile upon seeing him. If he was interpreting correctly, they shared a mutual attraction. For his part, he knew he had a large, foolish grin on his face, and he tried to quell it.
