The Beast and the Baron's Daughter by Charlotte Darcy

Author:Charlotte Darcy [Darcy, Charlotte]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fair Havens Books
Published: 2019-02-03T05:00:00+00:00

8

“It is not so bad, is it?” Ariadne whispered into his ear once all his guests had arrived and were settled. “A little upending, I daresay, but it is not too terrible is it?”

“No, it is not terrible at all,” he said, thinking that it rather was but not wanting to say as much.

Nathaniel had to admit that his aunt had done a very good job with the numbers. There were just enough guests for them to break into little groups and chatter, keeping a low hub-bub of noise ever present so that the room never fell into awkward silence.

But the general atmosphere was awkward and there was no denying it. He was a stranger to these people now, even the ones he remembered well from his younger days.

“I was just telling your aunt, Lord Sotheby, that the end of the summer is rather a strange time. There are never enough events to go to and I am bound to say that I was very pleased when we received your invitation.” Appearing suddenly at his elbow, Lady Penhaligon was a woman he remembered well from his youth.

“Yes, I suppose the London Season is drawing to a close and it is not yet close enough to winter to start thinking about the festive events. It is a sort of social wilderness, I daresay,” Nathaniel said, trying to smile despite the fact that Lady Penhaligon stared at him so intently.

She was certainly of the type who stared rather than flinched, her curiosity overriding her manners with ease.

“And my youngest is now out in society. She came out in the London Season, but it is such an overwhelming time for a young girl. If I had thought, she would have made her debut in the spring. Still, she did very well indeed, and she even managed to receive one or two offers.” Lady Penhaligon was clearly in full bragging mode.

“You must be very proud,” Nathaniel said, remembering the speed and excitement of the London Season, a thing he had not known since before he went off to fight Napoleon’s men. “Am I to take it that we shall soon hear wedding bells?”

“No, not at all. But it is rather good practice for a girl to be proposed to a time or two.” Lady Penhaligon nodded as if to herself. “Yes, I had tutored her well in the art of a subtle rejection and I am bound to say that she managed very nicely.”

“There was some objection to the young men?” Nathaniel said, knowing he must say something since his aunt seemed suddenly and incredibly to have been struck mute.

No doubt she was forcing him to converse; if only it was not with the rather tedious Lady Penhaligon. He looked over to where her husband, Lord Penhaligon, was deep in conversation with Mr. Charles Lawton. No doubt Mr. Lawton was trying to convince Lord Penhaligon to invest in this scheme or that scheme, for he remembered well that he was a clever man who had made a great fortune in some very well-planned opportunities.

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