“Miss Baldwin. Please wait.”
Diana spun toward the person calling her, and groaned. Could she be polite while talking with Lady Jane? Or would Diana say what was really on her mind? She faked a smile. “Good evening.”
The other woman lifted her nose as she looked down on Diana. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
Within seconds, Jane’s shadows caught up to her, each had a trace of malice in their eyes.
Diana nodded. “Yes, I am. Are you?”
“We are having a splendid time.” Lady Jane grinned haughtily. “The reason I stopped you is to inquire about your brother.”
“Cole?” Diana asked. “What is it that you’d like to know?”
“Is he here with your family?” Lady Margaret Cummings asked quickly.
Diana shook her head. “He could not make it. There were other things he had planned this weekend.”
Both Lady Margaret and Miss Lilly frowned. Jane merely lifted a thin shoulder in a shrug. “How unfortunate. I was hoping to become better acquainted with him.”
“I’m certain he would have enjoyed that,” Diana lied through clenched teeth. Vicious women like these three would have upset her brother so much he wouldn’t have acted in a gentlemanly manner around them.
“Yes, indeed,” Lady Jane said. “Well, I thank you for taking a moment to speak with us. I must be going now.”
Jane and the other vipers sashayed back into the ballroom. Diana thanked her lucky stars she hadn’t said anything rude, because Heaven knows she wanted to.
She turned and hurried to the refreshment table, hoping to get a cool drink soon because she needed something to calm her heated disposition. She fisted her hands at her side. Why couldn’t she have made it through the evening without talking to those rude girls? And why was she the one being punished for something her father hadsupposedlydone? She still didn’t dare ask her mother. Diana didn’t think she could bear bad news right now when this weekend had already started out badly.
When she reached the table, she hoped the footman would pour her a cup since she didn’t have a gentleman friend to get her a drink. But before she could ask the footman, a masculine voice came from behind her.
“Here, allow me.”
She jumped and looked over her shoulder. Lord Tristan stood entirely too close as he reached around her and took the cup from the footman. Tristan then presented it to her as if it were made of gold.
Her anger for Lady what’s-her-name and her hen witted friends quickly left Diana as her heartbeat hammered with excitement. She took the drink. “Lord Tristan. What a surprise.”
He smiled in that knee-melting, charming way of his. “I’m glad you think it is, because I have to admit, I was hoping for another chance to talk with you.”
Excitement pumped through her faster. “You were? Why, I wonder?”
A corner of his mouth lifted higher than the other. “I’m completely bored at this party—to tears, in fact—and I want someone to cheer me up.”
She laughed, and he joined her. “That shocks me, Lord Tristan, especially when I know how popular you are with the guests tonight.”
“Still, it was all I could do to not fall asleep during each conversation.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that, my lord.”
“It’s true. Not when I could keep company with you and enjoy the rest of my evening.”
Sipping her drink, she studied him over the rim of the cup. Humor tinted his eyes, making them sparkle, letting her know he was jesting with her. Yet, he stood by her side instead of with his friends in the other room so there must be a little truth to his statement.
“So,” he continued and held out his elbow, “I had hoped to convince you to take a stroll with me outside and free us from the hum-drum of this room.”
As much as she wanted to, she didn’t dare. Would it be proper? But of course it would. They wouldn’t be the only couple outside strolling around the dowager’s flower garden, Diana was certain.
She placed the cup on the table. Smiling, she hooked her hand around his elbow. “Lead the way, my lord.”
Diana walked beside him, feeling like the grandest woman in the room—whether her gown was outdated or not. Not once did Lord Tristan act as if he was embarrassed to be seen with her. Surprising, since she figured he’d heard the rumors by now.
