Like Clarissa, he far preferred the country to London. But his daughter was nearly ten, motherless for two years, and beginning to need things a father couldn't provide.
And so John was here to find her a mother.
"How's your evening going?" she asked. "Any progress on your end?"
"I don't know, Clarissa." He shook his head and nodded toward a cluster of young ladies nearby. "Trying to find someone who could love Lucy the way Eleanor did, the way you and I do…"
She bit her lip as she eyed her brother. He was handsome and titled, with a decent income to his name. Any lady would be lucky to be chosen by him. But she did not envy him such a weighty decision.
She followed his gaze to the ladies clustered nearby.
Clarissa recognized Lady Arabella at the center of the group. She wasn't closely acquainted, but everyone knew Lady Arabella. She was absurdly stunning with black, shiny locks and the sort of too-perfect beauty that was wildly intimidating.
With her lips curled up in a mysterious smile and her chin lifted high like a queen, the young lady seemed to be holding court with her entourage. And Clarissa understood her brother's weary expression.
Nothing about that young lady or those around her said “maternal.” And in those gowns with this lighting, it was nearly impossible to imagine any of them content in a quiet parlor in the countryside.
John echoed her thoughts. "Can you imagine any of these ladies reading fairy tales and hunting for mushrooms back home?"
Clarissa screwed her lips to one side to stop a veritable torrent of words. All about how lucky any woman would be to have John for a husband, not to mention Lucy as a daughter. But as loud laughter came from the group he'd nodded to?—
She had to concede to his point.
"There could be one among them who'd love nothing more," she offered.
And this was true. But how to know?
Everyone here was playing a part. Including her. And John, for that matter. And if that was the case, how did one know who was actually kind? Or who had the same sort of saintly patience Lucy's mother Eleanor had had?
One didn't know. That was the answer.
Clarissa had loved her sister-in-law dearly and understood better than anyone just how difficult John's mission was. To find anyone who might replace Eleanor seemed to be a Herculean feat indeed.
"I'll make a deal with you," Clarissa said. "If we both fail on our missions this Season, I'll become a spinster aunt, and the three of us will live quite happily in the country for the rest of our days."
John's lips curved up in a smile as he lifted his glass to clink against hers. "You have a deal. Though, I think you may be underestimating your own appeal."
She tilted her head to the side. Was she? "I suppose an earl's daughter is quite a coup."
He gave her a wry look. "That's not what I meant."
She smiled to make him feel better. He was trying to bolster her confidence, and she appreciated it. "All I need is to find one sensible, suitable gentleman. It cannot be that difficult."
"Do you know…" John's smile grew as he lifted his glass to someone behind her. "I think what you need before all that is to find some friends here in London."
"But I have you," she said. "And Mrs. Lennox, although I do not think that your cousin likes me very much. Do you think?—"
"Come." John interrupted her. Probably for the best. "Miss Hale has spotted us and she's waving us over."
Miss Hale. The mention of Miss Estella Hale brought a wave of mixed and rather confusing emotions.
Miss Hale was the first young lady to befriend her when she'd first arrived in London…the last time. Nearly a month ago to end her engagement with Lord Blackwood. What she hadn't realized then was that Miss Hale was in love with Lord Blackwood. Right after Clarissa asked him to call off the arrangement between them, Blackwood and Miss Hale had become engaged.
So, in short—she liked the young woman immensely. But it was awkward.
John caught her expression and laughed. "Come along. You might as well get this over with. I happen to know Miss Hale fairly well, and I promise you she will be happy to see you."
Clarissa forced another smile and let him drag her along toward Miss Hale on the far side of the room.
