Walter blinked. “What?”
“You heard me, and I fear Elizabeth’s unexpected departure is my fault. I evidently offended her when, after Elizabeth kept pressuring me to have you spend most of your time with her instead of other ladies, I refused to give in to her demands. She didn’t react well to that, and after she lost her temper, which I wasn’t expecting because Elizabeth had consistently presented herself as the consummate lady, I may have become ... annoyed.”
“Should I assume matters between you and Elizabeth went downhill from there?”
“Indeed. I’m not one to tolerate condescension, and that’s the attitude Elizabeth was taking with me—because of my lowly social status. I didn’t hesitate to inform her I wasn’t going to have you spend the majority of your time with her because I wasn’t convinced she was well suited for you. She didn’t seem to hold much interest in your children,andshe’d apparently been hiding a somewhat volatile temper.”
Gwendolyn rolled her eyes. “Mrs. Ellsworth arrived at Mrs. Parker’s cottage yesterday, claiming her daughter was extremely distraught over my suggesting Elizabeth lacked maternal instincts—which, to be clear, I did nothing of the sort—and possessed a temper, which I did more than suggest. So they’re off to spend the rest of the summer in Saratoga Springs, hoping Elizabeth’s unfortunate nerves will have an opportunity to recover before she prepares to take the New York Season by storm.”
Walter gave Gwendolyn’s arm a pat. “You realize you can’t actually be blamed for speaking your mind after Elizabeth turned demanding and condescending, don’t you?”
“Of course, but Mrs. Parker is disappointed to have lostthat sponsorship. She relished taking possession of an antique brooch Mrs. Ellsworth promised her if she found Elizabeth an advantageous match.” She blew out a breath. “And even though Mrs. Parker can be a trial at times, I’ve come to believe underneath her slightly greedy nature is a lady who has suffered a disappointing life and finds relief from her disappointment when she adds new pieces to her impressive jewelry collection.”
For a long moment Walter merely considered Gwendolyn because, in all honesty, he’d never met a woman quite like her.
She’d been turned into an assistant matchmaker without having any experience to draw upon to help her succeed. And while she was finding some impressive successes, and had done so within a week of the opening of the Newport Season, she still had to have reservations about the position Mrs. Parker had foisted on her. Any other lady of Walter’s acquaintance would have been indignant over such a situation, but Gwendolyn didn’t seem resentful at all. In fact, she apparently held empathy for her employer, which spoke volumes about the kindness of her heart.
A smile tugged his lips, which, curiously enough, earned him a narrowing of the eyes from Gwendolyn.
“Why are you smiling?”
His smile turned into a grin. “There’s no need to sound so suspicious. I do occasionally smile. In this instance, I’m doing so because underneath your sensible and rather terrifying character is a lady possessed of a caring nature and an ability to see the best in some of the most difficult people.”
She waved that straight aside. “Well, for heaven’s sake, don’t tell anyone that. I’m having enough difficulties dissuading ladies and gentlemen from approaching me as it is.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you,” she said, a hint of a smile curving her lips until she glanced to her left, stiffened, and prodded him into motion again.
“We need to keep moving. If we don’t, I’ll become a target fornew requests, especially when you’re still smiling—and you’re far too appealing when you smile.”
Male satisfaction immediately began coursing through his veins. “Appealing?”
She came to an abrupt stop. “I’m sure I meant to say approachable.”
He fought a laugh. “Or perhaps you didn’t and are now taken aback because you’re finding me more on the lines of appealing rather than irritating.”
“I’m sure you’re mistaken about that, but again, you need to stop smiling. If you haven’t noticed, Tillie Wickham is heading our way, probably because you’re looking far tooapproachablenow. I’d hate for her to suggest I meet her next on an archery field, because that would be far more dangerous than facing her on a tennis court. If you want me to continue as your matchmaker instead of lying about in a hospital room with an arrow sticking out of me, I suggest you summon up a more intimidating expression.”
Walter pressed his lips together, then narrowed his eyes—the urge to laugh settling over him again when Tillie suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her gaze settled on his face for a second before she did an about-face and hurried off in the opposite direction.
“Much better,” Gwendolyn said, pulling him around guests who were now scooting out of their way. “You may want to keep that particular look settled on me, though, because discouraging Tillie is one thing, given her questionable nature, but we don’t want any of the other young ladies to think you’re a surly sort.”
“But then everyone will believe I’m annoyed with you.”
“Given the contentious conversations society has witnessed us exchange, I don’t believe anyone would be surprised to discover you’re annoyed with me yet again. Frankly, that state might assist me with fending off potential candidates tosponsor, because I’ve learned you have quite the reputation as a fearsome man of business. If I don’t appear frightened of you—what with how I frequently annoy you—that will surely dissuade at least a few gentlemen.”
“You have a very odd way of looking at situations,” Walter said, his lips twitching, something he tried to put an immediate stop to when Gwendolyn sent him a telling look.
Any sense of lingering amusement disappeared straightaway, though, when he spotted Frank Lambert standing beside Daniel Mizner, who seemed to be talking his ear off even though Frank might not have been listening since his gaze was focused on Gwendolyn. When Frank took a step forward, as if considering approaching Gwendolyn again, Walter stepped ever so casually in front of her, drawing Frank’s attention.
For a long moment, they simply considered each other, until Walter gave a curt shake of his head, which left Frank scowling before he finally gave a jerk of his head and returned his attention to Daniel.
Deciding he wasn’t in the proper frame of mind to warn off additional gentlemen, Walter steered Gwendolyn across a grassy knoll, not stopping until they were underneath a shade tree well removed from the crowd.
“May I assume you spotted someone you didn’t care to speak with, hence putting more distance than I was expecting between us and Mr. McAllister’s guests?” Gwendolyn asked.
“Frank Lambert seemed anxious to join you. I noticed him bothering you earlier and thought you might appreciate being taken out of his orbit.”
