So why had her aunt dressed her in the ugliest garment I’d ever seen, complete with an abundance of ridiculous ruffles? It was also an unfortunate shade of green that did nothing to complement Diana’s brown hair and fair skin. Was that why the lively girl I’d once known was now a mousy young woman who seemed to fade into the background? I imagine she’d want to be invisible in such a dress.
But I couldn’t forget what Kendrick had told me about how Diana had stormed out into the gardens to save Caroline from certain ruin. That behavior was more like the girl I remembered.
“Is that Miss Atherton?” Fairfax asked. At my nod, he continued. “I hear you’re acquainted with her.”
I shrugged, taking another drink and frowning down at my now empty cup. I handed it to a passing footman and waved away his offer to fetch me another. “Our mothers were friends. They lived close to us and would visit on occasion. I can’t remember the last time I saw her before today.”
I turned and searched out her aunt and uncle. Tuttleford was speaking to one of the guests, but Lady Tuttleford was hovering near her charge. Something in her expression had my senses on high alert.
I turned to Fairfax. “What do you think of her guardians?”
Fairfax glanced at them. He was a master of appearing unconcerned, and few realized that he noticed everything. Lady Tuttleford was watching her niece with a slight frown, clearly displeased.
“She’s not happy to be here,” Fairfax said. “She must disapprove of being so close to the likes of us. Probably thinks we’ll corrupt her niece. The baron is harder to read.”
I nodded my agreement, but Fairfax’s words did little to ease my discomfort. There was something disturbing about this entire situation beyond the Tuttlefords’ displeasure at Diana’s association with the Legends, even peripherally.
Seeing Diana’s joy as she spoke to Caroline and Kendrick reminded me of the spirited girl I’d once known. The one who used to order me to play with her on those rare occasions I was home from school when she and her mother were visiting.
It hadn’t sat well with me to watch Diana shrink into herself during the meal, flanked by her guardians.
My eyes narrowed on her. Given her sallow complexion in that dress, I’d feared she was ill. But her entire demeanor was different now. As she laughed at something Moreland said, her eyes sparkled with amusement. This was not the mousy young woman who’d been glued to her aunt’s side since arriving at the chapel for the wedding ceremony a few hours earlier.
Lord Tuttleford approached his wife and whispered something in her ear. The two of them moved toward the hallway.
When I glanced at Fairfax, it was clear he’d also witnessed the exchange. But I couldn’t be sure if my suspicion that there was something nefarious happening here was justified. “What do you think?”
Fairfax nodded. “I’ll cause a distraction so you can follow and see what they’re up to.”
I nodded my thanks. Fairfax liked to present an air of unconcern and lightheartedness, but he had a depth he didn’t reveal to many. If he’d seen something questionable in the way Diana’s guardians were behaving, I could be certain I wasn’t imagining things.
CHAPTER 2
MISS DIANA ATHERTON
I was overjoyed for Caroline. Truly. But in spite of the happy faces surrounding me, it was impossible to enjoy the day. My aunt and uncle had been glued to my side from the moment we arrived at the church for Caroline and Lord Kendrick’s wedding. Their looming presence was always a damper on my mood.
It was a small miracle that they’d actually allowed me to attend the wedding today. When the invitation had arrived, Aunt Matilda had been very vocal about how it would be out of the question to attend an event hosted by one of the Legends. No amount of pleading on my part would change her mind. But then Lord Tuttleford had learned there would be several members of the ton present with whom he wished to curry favor.
He didn’t tell me who those men were, and I didn’t really care. I just wanted to be here today for Caroline. I had worried about her association with Lord Kendrick when he’d started paying her court, but I’m glad that her instincts had proven better than mine. If our positions had been reversed, I’m not sure I’d have been able to trust him. Clearly, she’d seen something in him that I hadn’t.
Now that we were at the wedding breakfast and the meal was over, Lord Tuttleford was seizing the opportunity to speak to the other guests. Many had crowded the chapel for the actual wedding, but few had been invited back to Kendrick’s townhouse. Just the Legends, Caroline’s family, me, and my guardians. The Duke of Castlefield and the Earl of Brantford, along with their wives, were the only other guests at the house.
I suppose those were the gentlemen Uncle had been most anxious to speak with. My guess was confirmed when Aunt Matilda leaned closer and whispered, “After your Uncle speaks to His Grace, we will be leaving.”
I tried to make my smile as genuine as possible as I turned to her. “Thank you for agreeing to come. I would like to thank Caroline personally for her invitation before we depart.”
My aunt’s face started to scrunch, and I could tell she was about to deny me.
I continued, “It would be most rude, and I think I saw Lord Brantford glancing at me and wondering why I hadn’t even spoken to the couple yet.”
Aunt Matilda searched out the man in question and froze when she saw that Lord Brantford was indeed looking at us. She turned back to me, her face a shade paler than normal. “Of course, my dear. You go do that now, but please be quick about it. You know how impatient your uncle gets when it comes to these things.”
I smiled and thanked her. I wouldn’t actually know what Lord Tuttleford was up to, because I rarely saw him. He was almost never at home, and on the rare occasions he’d attended a society event with Aunt Matilda and me, he usually left us immediately.
Caroline grinned when I approached and drew me into a hug. “I’m so happy you were able to come,” she whispered in my ear. “I feared your aunt was going to turn down my invitation.”
I hugged her back tightly. “It was a near thing,” I whispered before pulling back. “My felicitations to you and Lord Kendrick.”
