“Forgive us. However, my husband does not choose to converse with Stratton. Nor would he want to cut him directly. You can see the conundrum.”
“I see it clearly. I am not sure I understand, however.”
The countess kept her gaze on the garden between them and the house. Clara moved so she could see it too. Stratton took his time in his stroll, pausing to greet other guests, but remained on a line that would end with them.
“He came back for reason. Notice how the men all greet him too heartily but grow sober as soon as he passes. He has come to find someone to blame for his father’s rash act, I assume. My husband would like to avoid a discussion with him about all of that,” Lady Hollsworth said.
“Lord Hollsworth cannot be worried that the duke will challengehim. Stratton is not without basic decency and would never dare to do such a thing with a man of senior years, especially after a simple conversation.”
Lady Hollsworth’s eyebrows rose. “I am sure many think so, but one never knows. Also, you are an odd choice to be his defender. Several times over. I expected you to follow my husband so as to avoid being a party to the meeting about to occur.”
“My grandmother has decided we should make an effort to end that old argument. Since no one seems to remember what caused it, I suppose she is correct.”
“This gets more curious by the second. Is the dowager not feeling well these days? She is not a woman to develop a faulty memory for any other reason.” Since Stratton was almost upon them, she fixed a smile on her face as he approached. “Let your grandmother suffer his inquisition about those jewels, if she has decided to make peace. My husband does not want to find himself parrying Stratton’s questions.”
“What jewels?”
“Stratton! How kind of you to seek out an old woman.” Lady Hollsworth greeted him and made a curtsy.
He exuded charm that should put any woman at ease. “I could not pass on the chance to speak with you.”
“You had only to call, and the chance would have been yours sooner.”
“I will take that as an invitation. And Lord Hollsworth?” he asked. “He is well?”
“Most well. He was just here a short while ago but sought the refuge of the flower gardens when Lady Clara and I began chatting about dress fashions.”
“I am sorry to have missed him. Perhaps I will cross his path later.”
“He would be most agreeable if you did, I know.” She made a display of rising on her toes and searching. “I should find him, I suppose. Clara, you and I will talk again soon, I hope. Call on me.”
She strolled away, leaving Clara with the duke.
“That was a little rude of her,” Clara said.
“I counted on her leaving, so you and I could be alone.”
“I do not think that will last long with all these people here.”
“I am sure it will. No one here is seeking conversation withme.”
He knew the reactions that followed him as he walked by.
“You cannot like how the men treat you with caution. It is as if they refuse to accept you as one of them.”
“With my station, they must accept me. I knew it would take some time for my absence to be forgotten or my return to be understood. Let us take a turn, if you are in the mood for it. Then some of the other guests can sit on these benches around the fountain, which I do not think they will do if I remain in this spot.”
The benches had indeed emptied once he arrived. Clara agreed to a turn through the gardens.
She still could not understand how blasé he remained about the social slights. “Do you know why men like Hollsworth avoid you?”
He bent his head to sniff the blooms on a lilac bush. “Some worry I will take offense at something they say. If they do not dishonor me, offense would be impossible. Yet it concerns them.”
“Hollsworth certainly knows that even if he insulted you outright you would never challenge an old man. I said as much to the countess. She said he wants to avoid a conversation with you.”
He merely strolled on.
“Do you not mind that they all consider you dangerous?” She gestured broadly with her arm toward the rest of the garden.
