He couldn’t very well refuse her. She was Lady Huntington’s sister, and Finn had made it clear enough he wanted Hyacinth to finish her season. Lachlan still didn’t think she’d make it through to the end—no doubt she’d take fright again, or fall into another swoon over some foolish thing, but he kept these thoughts to himself.
“Your apology and your offer to make amends.” He bowed, then held out his hand to her, and after another brief hesitation, she rested the daintiest fingers he’d ever seen in his palm. His hand swallowed hers up, right down to her wrist, like a pelican scooping up an entire fish in a single gulp.
“Thank you. I’ll make whatever amends I can, but as I said before—”
“Lachlan?” Ciaran wandered into the stables, squinting into the gloom. “Lord Huntington is…oh, there you are, Miss Somerset. Your sisters have been searching for you this half hour. Lord Huntington wishes to see everyone in the drawing room.”
They followed Ciaran out, and when they entered the drawing room they found the entire family assembled, and Lady Huntington serving tea from a low table in front of the settee.
Lady Chase was sitting next to her, nibbling on a biscuit and fretting over someone named Lady Bagshot. “I’m telling you, that wretched woman will have tattled this business from one end of London to the other by now. Oh, what a pity you invited her to the ball at all, Iris! But I suppose it’s too late to do anything about thatnow.”
“I had to invite her, Grandmother. I couldn’t snub her without risking a return snub, and you know all thetonclamors for an invitation to her annual ball.”
“Yes, yes, I know.” Lady Chase took up another biscuit from the tray and snapped its head off with one bite. “Though I don’t see why. It’s the dullest affair in London, and her refreshments are a disgrace. I’ve had better cake at Almack’s, and as you know, their cake tastes like dry toast.”
Lord Huntington entered the drawing room then. He closed the door behind him, took a place at the head of the room, and got right to the point. “I don’t need to explain to any of you the change in our family’s circumstances. We’re all aware the Ramseys have come, and that they intend to make their home in England now.”
Lachlan glanced around the room. He half-expected to see everyone rise up in open rebellion at the thought of welcoming the previous Marchioness of Huntington’s scandalous offspring into their family. Despite Finn’s assurances, Lachlan was still amazed his new brother intended to publicly acknowledge them. As for the rest of the family, he doubted they’d be overjoyed at the prospect of the scandal. After all, the Ramseys had no claim on Lord and Lady Dare, or on Lady Chase.
No one batted an eye. They sat quietly, munching their biscuits and sipping their tea, their attention on Finn as they waited for him to continue.
“There’s a great deal that needs to be sorted out, of course, and it will take time, but there is one immediate question we must answer at once. What do we intend to do about Hyacinth’s season?”
“I don’t see what can be done,” Lady Chase said, with an air of doom. “It’s already caused an uproar, and soon all of London will have heard of it. Lady Bagshot was sitting right beside me when poor Hyacinth took such a fright, and you all know what an awful gossip she is.”
“Now, Lady Chase,” Finn said in a soothing tone. “It’s not as bad as all that.”
Lady Dare shook her head. “Bad enough. An unfounded murder accusation, Finn? A dramatic swoon in the middle of the ballroom, with all thetonlooking on? I agree with Grandmother. I don’t see how we recover from this.”
Hyacinth dropped onto the settee, her shoulders slumped as if the weight of the scandal had just crashed down upon them. Whatever spirit she’d shown in the stables seemed to drain out of her, leaving her pale and deflated. “Dear God. It’s a disaster, isn’t it?”
Finn blew out a breath. “It’s not a disaster unless we let it be so. You made a mistake, Hyacinth—an unfortunate one, yes, but a simple, forgivable mistake nonetheless. There may yet be a way to repair the damage.”
Lady Chase snorted. “I’ve never known thetonto be very forgiving.”
“How is it to be repaired, Finn?” Lady Huntington gave her husband a sharp look. “No, I think it would be best if you withdraw from your season at once, Hyacinth. The other night was…well, Violet and I are concerned the strain will be too much for you, and Grandmother thought—”
“I thought perhaps we’d take a holiday to Brighton instead.” Lady Chase gave Hyacinth a bright smile. “You have delicate sensibilities, dear. Worry or anxiety of any sort may make you ill. Such a pity to see all those lovely gowns go to waste, but no matter. It’s not to be thought of, when weighed against your health.”
“Miss Somerset doesn’t look ill.” Lachlan’s voice was harsher than he intended, but damn it, not half an hour ago Hyacinth Somerset had been well enough to call him an ass. It wasn’t until she’d entered the room that she began to look like a crushed flower trapped under a muddy boot heel. If they kept on like this, they’d have her convinced she had the plague.
“She doesn’t look ill to me, either. Quite the opposite,” Ciaran said, with a flirtatious smile at Hyacinth.
Pink washed over her cheeks, and she looked away, as if she was flustered by Ciaran’s compliment. Lachlan frowned. A beauty like that, and she didn’t know how to flirt? For God’s sake, her grandmother and sisters must keep her wrapped in cotton wool.
“She’s not ill, only delicate, and easily overwrought.” Lady Dare frowned at Ciaran. “It isn’t good for her to remain in London at the mercy of all the gossips.”
Overwrought, delicate, ill…
Lachlan rolled his eyes. Jesus, he’d never heard such nonsense in his life. “Surely Miss Somerset isn’t as fragile as all that.”
Lady Dare took Hyacinth’s hand and cradled it gently in hers. “You did enjoy your holiday in Brighton last year, dear, and the sea air did you a world of good. You were so refreshed when you returned to London. Wouldn’t you like to go again?”
“Well, of course Brighton is…that is, the sea air…” Hyacinth looked down at her hands. “It’s just…I didn’t expect much from my season, but I hadn’t imagined it would be over in a single night.”
Lachlan glanced from Lady Huntington to Lady Dare, and then to Lady Chase, but none of them seemed to notice Hyacinth was shrinking right before their very eyes. The more they fussed over her, the smaller she became, as if their suggestion she were ill was enough to make her believe it herself.
“But of course I’ll go, if you all think it best,” Hyacinth said at last, her eyes downcast.
