Priscilla glanced at her and frowned. “Are you not feeling well tonight? You have been awfully quiet.”
Bridget put forth her best smile under the circumstances. “I’ve had much on my mind, but I’m well, I assure you.”
The carriage stopped, and she waited for the driver to open the door. Inhaling deeply, she prepared herself for her role at tonight’s ball. She would perform as a woman who was happy to be here. But if she could have her way, she’d wander outside after the first hour and find a thicket of trees in which to hide.
The driver opened the door and assisted Bridget out of the vehicle first. Priscilla followed, then came the giggling Felicia and Jannette. The younger sisters hooked their arms together and followed their father up the grand stone steps of the manor.
Father stopped and scowled at the pair, motioning with his hand for them to stop and wait for the elder sisters to proceed first. Bridget walked next to Prissy, but neither of them spoke another word to each other. Bridget was certain her sister was in awe of the place, just as she had been when she found her younger sisters sneaking around the grounds earlier today.
Embarrassment crept over Bridget as she recalled seeing the irritation written over that man’s very judgmental face. Her mind stalled, trying to remember his name, but he hadn’t given her one. All he’d said was that he was the earl’s cousin.
Although he seemed irritated when she first started talking to him, by the end of their brief conversation, he had grown slightly more pleasant. He was a handsome man, too, which she found distracting—or was it his dirty clothes and messy hair that had distracted her? Regardless, she hoped to see him this evening, and perhaps she should beg him to make introductions to his cousin, the Earl of Hanover, Collin Worthington.
However, something in the back of her mind disturbed her about her chat with the earl’s cousin. She found him very haughty for not having a title and living in the country. He had acted as if her sisters had trespassed onhisland. Whatever it was, he was generally quite unpleasant to converse with, so perhaps it best that shedidn’tsee him again.
Pushing aside her irritation with the Worthington cousin, Bridget stopped just inside the hall as a servant took her and her sisters’ wraps. The mirror along one wall allowed her to glimpse her reflection. She had worn her fanciest gown. It was a grayish-blue, with a light peach sash and an overskirt of white lace. The white lace was also repeated on the bell-shaped sleeves. The heart-shaped bodice fit her snugly, just as it should, to emphasize her bosom. If not for her hair, Bridget would think she looked quite pretty. Maybe it was the sparkling lighting in the room that made her feel this way.
As Bridget and her family stood in line to meet the earl, rumors moved down the receiving line that the younger brother, Lord William, was not at the party. It mattered very little to her, only because it was one fewer man she needed to consider for a husband.
Bridget’s father introduced himself to the earl then turned to introduce his eldest daughter. The earl was a handsome man, tall with broad shoulders, hair the color of wheat on a clear day, and hazel eyes. He smiled at her and bowed while she curtsied.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lord,” she said sweetly.
The earl didn’t speak much before turning to Bridget’s sisters and giving them the same bland smile. Perhaps this was the only expression the man used during parties with strangers.
Her father had asked after Lord William’s welfare, and the earl stated that his brother had business elsewhere that would keep him out of the area for approximately a month.
Father hooked his arm around Bridget’s elbow and pulled her away from the crowd. He bent his head to her ear.
“Tonight, you must do everything you can to get the earl’s attention. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Pa,” she muttered meekly.
Her enthusiasm sank even lower. Why couldn’t she just enjoy herself tonight like her sisters would be doing? Instead, she had to think of herself on a mission to catch the wealthiest husband. Truly, this wasn’t fair—not to her, and especially not to the man. Then again, most titled lords were used to this. She wished there was a way to get out of doing such a dastardly deed, but alas, she must think of her family and not her own misery.
All the guests were people Bridget had met before, and it was good to chat with her close friends. But she did as her father requested and made certain she was within the earl’s line of sight. Occasionally he glanced at her, but there was no indication that seeing her had caused a sudden love infatuation or, at the very least, given him a starry-eyed gaze of interest.
When the dancing began, the Earl of Hanover moved toward Lady Margaret, which was no surprise at all. Lady Margaret’s family came from old money, and although the woman was nearly a spinster and not the most attractive woman at the party, she was still considered to be in the marriage market.
From across the room, Bridget’s father threw her a scowl and motioned with his head toward the earl. She bunched her hands. What did he expect her to do? It wasn’t as though she could throw herself in front of the earl, fall to her knees, and wrap her arms around his legs to keep him from dancing with Lady Margaret. That wasn’t Bridget’s way of catching a man’s interest. However, shecouldimagine Felicia or Jannette doing something that ridiculous.
The brush of someone’s fingers against her elbow snapped her attention to the person touching her. When her gaze met with the earl’s cousin, she sucked in a quick breath. Although he didn’t look as dignified as the earl, he was still rather handsome. More so now that he wore his evening attire and had cleaned himself up from their earlier meeting.
He smiled and bowed. “Miss Hartwell. How happy I am to see you have come.” He glanced at Prissy, Felicia, and Jannette and arched an eyebrow before looking back to Bridget. “And you brought your two sisters… plus one more.”
Bridget tried not to feel offended by the irritation in his voice. “But of course. Our whole family was invited.”
She quickly glanced at her sisters, who were standing in a group with some of their friends, giggling louder than necessary. Bridget half expected the earl to watch the ladies who bothered him, but he didn’t look away from her.
Meeting the cousin’s eyes again, she forced a smile, feeling even more uncomfortable now. Although she didn’t really want to converse with this condescending man, she would try to be nice. “I’m very… um, happy to see you are here, too.”
He shrugged. “Where else would I be? I’m the earl’s cousin who has been invited for an extended stay at the manor, and so I’m expected to be at these boring events.”
She couldn’t believe his rotten attitude. Earlier today he’d dressed like the gardener, yet now he acted as thoughhewas the reason the earl arranged tonight’s event.Unbelievable!
“Boring, you say?” she asked.
He nodded and leaned closer to her. “Didn’t you know”—his voice lowered—“that it is my duty to weed out the social-climbing ladies who are not well suited for my cousin?”
