“Huh.”
“And that we are late to meet up with Lady Rebecca.”
Chapter Nine
Fortunately, they werewithin walking distance of Hyde Park and so had no need of a carriage. Mr. Bates had come by hackney, and Iseabail doubted the countess would grace him with hers. So she and Sadie set off at a brisk walk toward Hyde Park while Mr. Bates kept pace with ease.
Sadie was naturally irrepressible, so she spoke first, laughing at the thing that was on all their minds. “I hope you’ve no more need of the countess’s support,” she said. “You’ve set her back on her heels now and will have to work to get in her good graces.”
“Will I?” he challenged, his tone light and his expression filled with mischief.
“Well, of course you will,” Sadie countered. “You just said you had no interest in either one of her charges. That’s a supreme insult.”
He waggled his brows in challenge. “Perhaps you will change my mind.”
Sadie laughed loudly at that. Perhaps too loudly as others took notice, but she didn’t seem to care. She lifted her head to the sun and sighed happily. “I will not work to change anyone’s mind. I find it to be a complete waste of time.”
Which is to say that Sadie gave few opinions about anything, leaving her to appear empty-headed and focused exclusively on her own amusement. And that was the greatest lie of all. Meanwhile, Mr. Bates turned to her.
“And what of you, Miss Spalding? Are you insulted that I have not set my matrimonial cap at you?”
“No, sir,” she answered honestly. “I worry as to your mental ability.”
He laughed heartily at that. Clearly, he had no self-doubt whatsoever. “I am deficient because I do not want you?”
“No, sir. You are a fool to believe that all your machinations will net you a place among the peerage.” She slowed her steps long enough to look him in the eye. “That is what you are doing, is it not? Forcing your way into the ball, pressing for a walk in Hyde Park. You want to marry one of them and in so doing increase your status. Or at least that of your children.”
“And you think I cannot do it.”
“I think it is a waste of time and effort.” She glanced back at the countess’s home. “They will never accept you or your children. And I think you know that. Which leads me to question your sanity. Why work so hard at something that will never come to pass and that you don’t seem to want anyway.”
He twisted at that, his brows coming together. “Why wouldn’t I want a better standing for myself and my children?”
“If you wanted to be one of them, you would dress like them, act like them, become as polished in manners as royalty.”
“Do you find my manners rough?”
“I find you cheeky, and that is not something they like.” She lied when she said that. She found him to be bold and original. Rough in some ways and exciting in others. All of that was so much more intriguing than “cheeky.”
“The peerage likes cheeky, if it is bold enough.”
To prove his point, he tipped his hat to a very stern-looking matron who was approaching from the opposite direction. She was doing her best to appear outraged by his very presence, and while she was busy gasping her shock, he winked at her and spoke in an undertone that did not carry beyond their small circle.
“Your bosom is magnificent, my lady. Your lord is very lucky indeed.”
The lady sputtered in consternation, but as they turned the corner, Iseabail could see her lips curve and a girlish blush appear in the woman’s cheeks. She was flattered, and Iseabail was impressed.
“Do you know who that was?” she whispered. “That was Lady Graham. She’s an intimate of Lady Castlereagh who is a patroness of Almack’s.”
“Is that so?” he drawled. “And here I thought her just a beautifully endowed woman.”
She cast him a sidelong glance. He knew who Lady Graham was. He knew all the players in theton, probably much better than her. “With all your talents, this is what you spend your efforts upon? Teasing prickly ladies in the hopes that their sons will someday accept your sons?”
He prickled slightly as they entered the park. “I shall elevate my entire bloodline. Can you think of a more worthwhile endeavor?”
“Scores of them. Teach your people how to read, discover a new medicine or new technique for making something, spend your money on obtaining healthy foods. Something that will have more immediate impact than pleasing people who will refuse you no matter how big their bosoms.”
“Spoken like a lady who is already accepted as one of them.”
