“Because I’m responsible for securing matches for Elizabeth Ellsworth and Hannah Howe. If it turns out Thurman truly is a dish, I’ll need to consider presenting Elizabeth and Hannah to him.”
Walter leaned forward on the bench. “I thought you had your eye on Elizabeth forme.”
“Since you didn’t have much to share with me pertaining to the time you spent dancing and dining with her, I got the impression you weren’t interested.”
“And that means you’re going to steer her in another direction?”
Gwendolyn swallowed a sigh. “I’m merely investigating all options. Frankly, I’m not convinced Elizabeth is a good match for you. I didn’t glean through the snippets you shared with me last night that she asked you much about the children.”
“True, but she was very complimentary about my house on Fifth Avenue.”
“Another reason to hesitate about her appropriateness. Her interest in your house suggests she’s more intrigued by your wealth than she is by your children.”
Walter brushed a piece of lint from his sleeve. “A worthy consideration. But if not Elizabeth, and definitely not Frances because you went and matched her up with E.J., who do you have in mind for me?”
Gwendolyn tapped the pencil against the notepad. “I’m not certain, but I took the liberty of asking Cordelia Lowe to join us in your pew today. She, out of all the ladies I’ve met thus far, seems to possess the best chance of handling your children. She didn’t hide herself away from society after receiving that black eye, nor did she hesitate to engage in a public dispute with Tillie Wickham at Bailey’s Beach.
“Tillie isn’t a lady I imagine anyone wants to tangle with, given her questionable temperament. Cordelia also didn’t blink an eye over trying to bribe me with a hat to secure more time with you, though I’m not convinced that’s a mark in her favor.” She jotted down a bit about Thurman Chandler and flipped to a blank page. “But if we could return to Suzette, what was said that left you knowing she’s definitely not suitable for you?”
Walter inclined his head to a passing society matron who was watching them with blatant curiosity and then frowned.“I didn’t like what I learned after I tried to return the pony Suzette gave me.”
“You tried to return the pony?”
“It’s the most contrary beast I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting.”
“Contrary or not, you can’t give it back. The children must consider it their pet by now.”
Walter blew out a breath. “There’s no need to fret about that, because Suzette refused to retake possession of the pony, not that it was actually hers to begin with.”
Gwendolyn’s eyes widened. “She gave you a pony that wasn’t hers?”
“It wasn’t stolen. It belonged to Thurman Chandler, who is apparently an old friend of Suzette’s. He regretted purchasing the contrary beast and even tried to give it away, with no takers because it nipped every prospective owner. Thurman seemed delighted with Suzette last night for rectifying his pony problem, even though I’m now saddled with it and am not delighted by that in the least.”
Gwendolyn riffled through the notebook and drew a line through Suzette’s name. “Suzette is most assuredly not mother material. She seemingly never considered the pony might nip one of your children.” She scratched her nose with the end of her pencil. “It also doesn’t speak highly of Thurman that he wouldn’t take the pony back, but perhaps he realized your children would become distraught if he retook ownership.”
For some reason, Walter released a grunt.
“Why are you grunting at me?”
He narrowed an eye on her. “Because, if I’m not mistaken, we’re once again talking about Thurman because you’re still wondering if he’d be a good candidate for Elizabeth Ellsworth or Hannah Howe.”
“Perhaps I am, but you must realize that the Season isn’t all about you. I’m obligated to apply myself to the plight of theladies Mrs. Parker is sponsoring as well. Besides that, Mrs. Parker has her eye on a diamond-studded choker she saw in the small Tiffany shop down by the Newport Casino. The only way she’ll come into possession of that is if she, with my assistance of course, fulfills her promise to Hannah Howe’s mother.”
“She may have her eye on a diamond choker, but she accepted a diamond bracelet from me, handed over to her with the expectation you would make a concerted effort to find me a wife. You don’t seem to be directing much attention my way, because you only have one viable option for me right now, that being Cordelia Lowe—although I’m not sure you’ve completely taken Elizabeth Ellsworth out of the running. Truth be told, I don’t think you’re putting much effort into finding a lady for me because you seem to be matching up everyoneexceptme and thereby decreasing the number of eligible ladies for me to consider.”
“You should think of that as a strategy I’m employing to remove ladies who aren’t your match from your orbit, while also allowing poor Mrs. Parker to acquire jewelry her husband refuses to purchase for her.” Gwendolyn gave a wave of her hand toward Mrs. Parker, who was sitting in her wheeled chair under a tree, a footman standing behind her waiting to wheel her into the church once the crowd thinned out. “She gets great pleasure from her jewelry collection. In fact, it took quite a bit of coercing from me to convince her the tiara delivered to her cottage from E.J. this morning was not appropriate to wear to church.”
Walter pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re deliberately avoiding my accusation of not devoting enough time to my situation.”
Gwendolyn let that settle for a moment before she bit her lip. “You may have a point.”
“You’re agreeing with me?”
She rolled her eyes. “There’s no need to sound so incredulous.I’m not a lady who believes I’m always right. In all truthfulness, my attentionhasbeen directed elsewhere. But since you’ve kindly pointed out my neglect, I’ll make a concerted effort to focus on you for the entirety of this new week. You mark my words, we’ll soon have a concise list of appropriate names for you, and then you can spend the next few weeks escorting those appropriate ladies about Newport. Hopefully, you’ll discover a spark with one of them, and then I’ll be able to close my notepad on your case and move on to another.”
“I don’t need a spark. I only need a lady who possesses a semblance of maternal instincts.”
“And I respectfully disagree with that. Yes, maternal instincts will be necessary because you have children, but a spark... Well, that will allow you and a new wife to enjoy a marriage instead of merely endure it.”
