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Very little ever seemed to upset her calm.

As if she felt him looking at her, her head turned, and her gaze slid to his. Her eyes widened slightly when she realized he was looking back at her. The air between them seemed to shimmer for a moment, their gazes locked together, as if they were the only people in the room. Pink suffused her cheeks, then she turned away, returning to her composure but with a delicate blush now staining her face.

Feeling very satisfied with himself, Sebastian cast a glance around the table. The only one who seemed to have noticed was Tiffany, and she just shot him a bemused look before returning to her conversation.

Knowing he could disrupt Mei’s normally serene demeanor was more gratifying than he would have thought.

35

Mei

Playing Pall Mall with Astrid and Drake was entertaining if alarming… playing with Mr. Simon Fenley was downright dangerous. She’d thought pairing with him to go through the course would be an easy way to spend the morning in good company. But Simon, as he now insisted on her calling him since they were ‘Pall Mall partners’, was an absolute menace with a mallet.

Not intentionally.

He was playing as earnestly and eagerly as he did everything else, but somehow, the ball never seemed to go where he aimed it, and he’d dropped or even thrown the mallet more than once. Everyone had learned to stand well back from him when it was his turn, as there was no telling what direction something might go flying.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mei could see Sebastian watching her and Simon, tensing as Simon stepped up to his ball. Sebastian had managed to pair himself with Miss Fenley, which was causing Lord Owen quite a bit of consternation. Lady MarcyAnne had claimed him as a partner, but if she’d hoped to distract him from his infatuation with Miss Fenley, she was being sorely disappointed. Though it was impossible to tell by the placid expression on her face if she realized so.

Thankfully, Simon managed to hit his ball without incident, and Mei laughed, clapping her hands to cheer him on as he pumped one enthusiastic fist in the air in triumph. His elder brother came over, still shaking his head, to say something to him, which gave Mei a chance to look around at the others who had decided to partake in the games.

Lady Darcy had maneuvered herself into partnering with the Duke of Montagu. Lord Hayworth and Lady Juliette were together, of course. Mei expected no one was so foolish as to try to shift themselves between that pair at the moment. There was a silent understanding among the company that Lord Hayworth had all but declared himself and would be doing so as soon as he had the chance to speak with Lady Juliette’s father.

Most of the married couples had paired off as well. For once, Astrid had insisted on pairing with her betrothed, who seemed rather pleased with the arrangement until he’d realized how much easier she was able to sabotage his chances of winning when she was right beside him. The competition between the two of them became frighteningly intense as the game progressed.

In sharp contrast to them was the Duke of Northumberland and Lady Isabella. Like Lord Hayworth, there was no doubt where Northumberland’s interests lay; the real question was whether or not Lady Isabella would accept them.

“What do you think?” Astrid asked, sidling up to Mei while she was watching Northumberland coach Lady Isabella on a particularly difficult shot. Astrid nodded at the pair.

Mei glanced past her friend to see Drake glowering and assumed that the two needed a moment away from each other.

“I have not had much of a chance to observe them,” Mei said immediately, turning her attention back to the courting pair. “Nor do I know either of them very well.”

“I understand that, but what do you think?” Astrid was relentless. She turned to look at Mei, arching a delicate red brow. “I just want your general impression.”

“Generally… I think she is still grieving but is beginning to think about the future. I think Northumberland is already devoted to her and not just out of duty. He seems to have real feelings, and he will wait for her to take as long as she needs to make her decision.”

“I can see that.” Astrid swung her mallet idly in front of her, clearly thinking. “Do you think they will be good together, though? Will he make her happy?”

“That is never a certainty. But I think the possibility is there. I do think he would do everything in his power to make her happy.” Mei studied the pair. Northumberland was now lining up his own shot, glancing at Lady Isabella to see if she was watching. She smiled serenely at him. “I do not know if she will ever feel the same passion for him that he does for her, but it’s possible it could grow over time.”

Astrid sighed. “I worry that marrying him and being surrounded by all the things that will remind her of Sinclair might not be good for her, but he is so determined…”

“He is.” Mei nodded. “I think he would do anything for her.”

The way Northumberland looked at Lady Isabella was akin to how Hereford looked at Kalina or St. Albans at Johanna or Gregory at Tiffany… Mei turned again to where Drake was still glaring at Astrid. His betrothed was doing a splendid job of pretending to ignore him, but Mei saw Astrid’s lips quirk. No one looked at each other quite the way Astrid and Drake did, and that was probably for the best.

Mei turned again and caught Sebastian looking at her.

Very much the same way…

“What do you think of Lady Annabelle and Zachary?” Astrid asked, cutting off Mei’s thoughts. She jerked her own gaze back to her friend.

Astrid was looking directly at her now, a tiny smirk on her face. Her green eyes flitted to Sebastian’s direction, then back to Mei’s face, and Mei felt heat bloom in her cheeks.

“I think they are both going to end up miserable with each other,” Mei said primly. “They will do their best, but he will be consumed with guilt over how he feels about Delilah, and she will sense his guilt and know that his heart is not hers… and it’s going to be awful.”

“Mmm.” Astrid pursed her lips, and her gaze flitted in Sebastian’s direction again. “And what about⁠—”