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“Actually, he is still a client. He would rather work with a matchmaker than his mother.” By the time Mei finished updating her grandmother on her trip to Clarence House, the duke’s appearance there, and the decision for the Duchess of Clarence to throw a house party, her grandmother had finished in the garden.

Before her grandmother could protest, Mei hopped to her feet and picked up the basket of vegetables. Although her grandmother narrowed her eyes at her, she forbore to comment, which was actually a bit concerning. Normally, she would have at least scolded Mei for assuming she could not carry her own basket. Perhaps she had not been entirely feigning not feeling well earlier.

“A house party, hmm?” Her grandmother nodded. “That is an inspired idea, Mei, very good. And I agree about the debutantes you’ve selected for invitations.”

“I think Lady Darcy is probably the best suited for him, but I did want to provide variety.”

“Mm.” The noncommittal response was maddening; Mei could not tell whether her grandmother agreed—and she could not tell if her grandmother was only being noncommittal to annoy her. If the latter, it worked far too easily. “Well, I look forward to hearing how it goes.”

Mei startled, coming to a halt in the kitchen and spinning in place to stare at her grandmother. “You will not be coming?”

Even though her grandmother had sent her to Bolton House alone, she’d assumed…

“No, no. You know how difficult travel has become for me. You will be fine on your own for the duration of a house party, and this way, I can remain in London and continue our work here. The Baroness di’Calvi’s granddaughter is newly arrived from Italy to stay with her, and she is hoping I can assist with her introductions around the ton, see if there is a gentleman here who might suit.”

And Grandmother would not want to turn the baroness down. The two of them had become rather good friends in their own right.

“I do not like the idea of you staying here all alone… Perhaps I do not need to attend the party, either. The whole point is to introduce him, and he will have to take things from there, anyway. Just by inviting them, the introductions are ensured.”

“No, no, you should go.” Grandmother sat down at the kitchen table, waving her hand at Mei. “I shall go stay with Elizabeth.” That was the baroness’ first name. “She has been asking me to for ages, and it will help move things along faster with her granddaughter.”

“Very well.” The baroness would take good care of her grandmother, and Mei… well, Mei would have her friends. As a test to see how she did on her own, at least this one would be while she was surrounded by women she knew and knew well.

Hopefully, seeing the Duke of Bolton would also help shake the unsettling reactions Mei had begun having to his presence. She could not hope he did anything too odious, as she still had to match him, but spending a dedicated amount of time with a person could often reveal their defects. So far, getting to know him a bit better had only brought forward his more admirable qualities.

Surely, the detractions had to follow.

6

Sebastian

The swiftness with which ladies could put together an event was a wonder. The very next afternoon after visiting his sister, the invitation arrived.

So far, everything with his mother had been rather quiet. She’d spent the afternoon directing the unpacking of her clothes and other items before a quiet supper in on her own—as reported by Riggs. Sebastian had taken his supper at the club before going to Viscountess Hood’s soiree, where he’d done very little more than make an appearance before leaving.

As far as he could tell, none of the ladies he was to meet at the house party had been there, and he had not wanted to ask after them. Neither had he particularly relished the idea of attempting to dance with or speak with any of the ladies who were present. The only real entertainment of the evening had been watching the Countess of Spencer deliberately spill an entire glass of red wine down the front of Lady Hatchett, whose subsequent screeches rivaled those of the violins.

One would think that—given the countess’ penchant when it came to jealously protecting her claim to her husband from the advances of the ladies of the ton—said ladies would eventually give up, but they seemed to consider it a challenge. That, or perhaps they assumed that the earl would eventually choose a lover, given his past reputation as an unabashed rake, and they wanted the cachet of being the first.

So far, though, the countess continued to defend her claim to her husband’s attentions, and he gave every evidence of enjoying her outrageous behavior. As Sebastian left, he’d been privy to the sight of the earl dragging his countess down the hall and into a room. Not that he’d had to drag very hard; she did not appear to be protesting overly much. In fact, she’d seemed quite pleased with herself.

Though he could not fault their devotion to each other, Sebastian shuddered at the idea of such a tumultuous marriage. He should inform Miss Hu, or Lady Hu, that he desired a wife with very little penchant for drama. Someone sensible, practical. Who would conduct herself with calm equilibrium even in trying situations.

Someone… well, someone very much like Miss Hu herself, he realized. So, it was a quality she should easily be able to identify in others. He had never seen her be anything other than utterly unflappable, even when he’d been rude enough to dismiss the need of her profession for someone of his stature right to her face. Yes. He desired a wife with the same ability to keep her calm and her temper that Miss Hu had.

When he’d gotten home that evening, his mother had already retired to her room after her supper alone. Mrs. Mays, the housekeeper, had assigned one of the maids to be her new lady’s maid, and Winnie had reported that she’d left the duchess reading in bed for the evening. Sebastian had gone to bed, relieved he’d not had to speak to her again.

At some point, he’d woken in the middle of the night with the odd feeling that someone was out in the hall, but when he went to look, there was no one there. He presumed it could only be because he was unused to having someone in the duchess’ rooms after weeks of his mother’s absence.

As usual, she’d slept in very late the next morning, and so she was just coming down to break her fast when the invitation arrived.

“Good afternoon, darling,” she said, coming down the staircase and walking over to give him a kiss on the cheek. She glanced at the embossed square envelope in his hand. “What is that?”

“Tiffany is throwing a house party,” he replied, tucking the invitation back into the envelope before she could see any of the details. Not that it mattered, he supposed, but for some reason, he was feeling very protective of the event. “I will be attending, of course. I hope you do not mind me leaving you here alone for a few days.”

“Of course not.” His mother waved her hand at him, smiling airily, though there was a hardness in her eyes. Or was he imagining things? “I have no interest in going, as I have just returned to the capital. I hope you understand.”

“Of course.” Not that she had been invited, but at least that issue had now been neatly sidestepped. There was no need to point out that she was being excluded, as she had good reason not to want to attend. “What are your plans for the day?”