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Someone, I don’t know who, stood and came to my side. She was alarmingly young, with blonde hair and dimples. She threaded her arm through mine and dragged me into the center of the room.

“We’ve been waiting here for ages,” she said, her voice clear and high.

I scanned the small crowd for my sister and stepmother and found them sitting at the end of the settee. Their faces were devoid of expression, but I could tell by the way my stepmother’s lips were pressed together in a thin line that she was displeased.

“Surely not for me.”

“Of course for you,” someone else said. “Tell us all about your outing.”

Another chimed in. “Is Lord Greyson courting you?”

The questions came all at once then, a constant barrage, but one voice rose above the others. “Yes, Claire dear, please tell us how you became acquainted with the Earl of Greyson.”

My stepmother. Given the way she’d been thwarted at Greyson’s hotel recently, she was surely beyond angry.

Seeing all the interest our one outing had stirred renewed my determination to keep Greyson safe. It was a ridiculous urge since he could take care of himself. But if he was willing to ask for my assistance in this matter, he must be feeling the strains of all this unwanted attention.

One young woman stood and all but pushed me onto the settee next to Georgiana, who turned to me with a sickly-sweet smile. “Yes, sister dear, please tell us all about the events that led up to the Earl of Greyson appearing here and asking to take you for a drive through Hyde Park.”

I reached for the excuse we’d already discussed in the carriage. “We met briefly during one of my visits to the charity school at which I volunteer.”

Several young women started talking at once. “We must volunteer there as well.”

I smiled serenely. “Oh no, it’s nothing like that. I’ve only seen Lord Greyson there that one time. It’s not somewhere one would expect a Legend to spend time. And he made it clear he wouldn’t be visiting again.”

Which was true, after all. I’d seen Mr. Grey on a handful of other occasions over this past year, but I’d only seen the man I now knew was Lord Greyson once.

I made an effort to keep my voice steady as I continued with the falsehood. “One of the trustees invited him. I think he was hoping to raise money for the children. That happens often enough. People will visit once and then never be seen again.”

“And Lord Greyson took one look at you and decided to court you?”

I couldn’t be sure who had spoken, but she hadn’t tried to hide the skepticism in her voice.

I raised one shoulder in what I hoped was an indifferent shrug. “Honestly, I’m as surprised as you.”

“I’m sure he’ll grow bored soon enough,” someone said.

The look of relief on several of the women’s faces was a balm to my wounded ego. They’d actually believed someone like me could hold the attention of a Legend.

“So what happened during that meeting?” the young blonde who’d dragged me into the room asked. “Do you think Lord Greyson will be devoting time to the school?”

I raised a brow. “I doubt there’s a person in this room who believes one of the Legendary Lords would decide to spend his days with orphaned children.”

The young woman visibly deflated. “No, of course not.”

When several other voices rose in agreement, I found myself offended on Lord Greyson’s behalf. If everyone believed him to be a scoundrel incapable of performing any good deeds, why were they all so determined to gain him as a husband?

“So what did you talk about?” someone asked.

I shrugged. “I told them about my work at the school.”

“That must have been dreadfully dull,” Georgiana said. She’d always been baffled by my insistence to visit weekly.

“I also became acquainted with Lady Kendrick.”

Another voice chimed in loudly. “It was such a relief when she married Lord Kendrick. All the other gentlemen were so intent on courting her. She has quite a large dowry. Now that she is married, some of the rest of us have a chance to find husbands.”

“Lord Greyson is so very handsome,” the young blonde said.