Page 14 of An Heiress and An Astronomer (Gentleman Scholars #3)

P ierce tried to concentrate on the conversations taking place around him rather than wondering about the most recent arrivals. He didn’t wish to be rude to the assembled guests. But where was Miss Billingsley and her dragon of an aunt? Pierce was certain they had accepted the invitation. Had they run into difficulty on the road?

“Ah, there you are,” Lucy announced with a bounce. “Allow me to introduce you to whoever you are not yet acquainted with.” She prattled when she was nervous, Pierce knew, curiosity rising within him. Had Lady Gertrude already put Lucy’s nose out of joint?

“It’s likely you already know those who are active in the Season,” Lucy continued, gesturing around the room, “but you might not have met some of our scholars yet.”

Lincoln and Sydney stepped forward to bow over the new arrivals’ hands. The rest had left the property, taking the opportunity to visit family or tend to other obligations while the house was to be overrun. Pierce couldn’t help his grin over Lady Gertrude’s reaction to being introduced to the botanist and cartographer.

Lincoln’s handsome face would turn even the grumpiest woman sweet, Pierce suspected, watching anxiously as Gertrude and Greta accepted the introductions.

Sure enough, Lady Gertrude appeared slightly more mollified than when she’d entered the room. He was surprised, though, to note that Greta didn’t appear overly impressed with Lincoln’s perfect features. Pierce watched her quite carefully, anxious to know if she would fall under the botanist’s spell like most young women did.

Instead, she appeared to accept the introductions politely but was perhaps distracted with concerns over her aunt’s behaviour. Pierce was relieved on her behalf when Lady Gertrude turned to the other guests and had a more pleasant demeanour than when she had first arrived in the room.

“It shall certainly be an interesting few days, at any rate,” she said to the room at large, making eye contact with the other matron in the room as though commiserating over their presence at the not quite usual event.

“This is the lot of us, then,” Lucy called to the room, reminding Pierce that Greta and Gertrude were the last of the expected guests. “Would our newest arrivals care for some refreshments before we set out for a brief walk about the property?”

“Oh, a stroll would be delightful after being cooped up in the carriage for hours,” Greta said with a small smile and nod for Lucy. Gertrude sniffed a little but didn’t argue, even as she allowed the other lady to pour her a cup of tea.

“Perhaps in a few moments,” Greta said with an apologetic smile cast toward Lucy.

“But of course, we have all afternoon. We’ll be keeping country hours, of course, so we’ll have supper before we accompany Mr. Pierce to view the stars. If we have time this afternoon, the scholars who are on site would like to show you their studies, so we’ll stop in their buildings as we tour the property. Tomorrow, if the weather holds pleasant, we thought to explore some of the countryside during the day before another viewing party in the evening. I have been told there are spectacles to observe both nights, including the possibility of comets.”

“Comets?” Lady Gertrude repeated as though Lucy had uttered an expletive. Pierce had to bite his cheek to stifle his reaction when he saw Greta trying to hide her amusement.

“I’m ever so excited,” the young debutante, Lady Lily exclaimed with a bounce in her seat. “I’ve never seen anything scientific before.” This prompted some teasing from her brother and the room finally relaxed back into the comfortable conversation that had been interrupted by the latest arrivals.

It wasn’t going to be a crush, which to Pierce’s way of thinking was a relief, but he knew Lucy was anxious about her first official entertainment in her home. She had only invited Greta and Gertrude because of his suggestion about the star viewing. Pierce could only hope she didn’t have cause to regret her kindness.

Finally, Lady Gertrude couldn’t prolong her tea drinking any longer and the assembled guests got to their feet. The ladies claimed they couldn’t go out of doors without pelisses and parasols and all the frippery nonsense women tended toward, but it didn’t take too terribly long before they were all heading for the gardens.

Now Pierce could relate to Lucy’s nerves. He was relieved Lincoln’s laboratory would be the first to be toured. What if some of his devices got broken? He hadn’t thought of that when he hatched the hairbrained scheme of inviting the ton to view his invention.

Well, it wasn’t really his invention. It was a mere refinement on someone else’s work. The familiar sensation of inferiority swept Pierce as he thought about showing his work to others, especially those who had no understanding of the work that had already been done on the subject. And who was he to think he could refine upon the great Galileo’s work?

“I am really looking forward to tonight,” Greta said quietly as she came up beside him. “I’m sure Mr. Lincoln’s tour tomorrow will be prodigiously fascinating, but I most look forward to the stars.”

“Plants are great too.” Pierce tried to be supportive of his friends.

“Of course, and I’m sure Mr. Lincoln has plenty to tell us about them,” she agreed immediately. “But they’re earthbound like us. There’s just something about the celestial bodies, isn’t there?”

Pierce’s heart made a strange lurching sensation, or rather, he was almost certain it was his heart. He hadn’t paid terribly close attention during his anatomy classes. But he did know that nothing within his chest was supposed to make any sort of sudden movements. And it was somehow connected to a sudden surge in his emotions toward this young woman.

He couldn’t have sudden surges of emotion. It wasn’t time. He wasn’t ready. He hadn’t achieved what he had set out to achieve. But she was pretty and interested in his work and was looking at him as though he held all the solutions she sought.

No! She wasn’t looking at him like that. That was in his imagination. Scholars didn’t believe in imaginary. She was just a normal woman. A woman of Society, no less. Someone who was seeking an advantageous marriage in the Marriage Mart. Not someone he could possibly be mooning over.

It was just that he so rarely found anyone interested in his stars and lenses, that was all, he insisted to the unreasonable part of himself that wanted to preen under the young woman’s attention.

She was turning his head.

Unintentionally, of course. He didn’t wish to impute bad motives on her part. Perhaps she genuinely did find the night sky nearly as fascinating as he did. That was wonderful for her. But not something for him to trouble himself over. He had too many other concerns to be dealing with.

Thus decided, Pierce nodded politely to the woman and walked away.

He didn’t walk fast enough, though, not before he saw the puzzlement and disappointment clearly stamped on her face as she frowned in his direction.

She seemed like a sufficiently adaptable woman, though, Pierce assured himself. She would be able to find someone else to keep her entertained. And surely, as Lucy’s assistant for this entertainment, he needed to ensure everyone was having a good time, not focusing his attention on one guest in particular.

Pierce forced himself to circulate among the other guests, even taking a moment to speak with Lady Gertrude.

“Have you ever had an opportunity to see the night sky through magnifying lenses?” he asked the woman.

“Not that I’m aware of. I never considered such a matter before. I don’t consider the sky to be of much interest to me.”

“Oh, why not?” Pierce asked, curious to know what the woman would say.

“I’ve always figured I’ll have enough time to consider the sky when the good Lord calls me home,” she replied piously.

Pierce stifled his laughter. It wasn’t the first time he had heard religious people associate the literal sky with a heavenly abode.

But in all his time staring at the night sky, and the time had been prodigious, he had yet to see anything angelic. Majestic, yes. The stars and planets and galaxies were spectacular. But they were definitely matter, not spirit creatures.

He doubted he would be able to convince the woman of that, though.

“Well, you will be in for a treat tonight, in that case,” was all he said on the matter. “Was your drive over sufficiently comfortable?” He tried for another conversational track.

“We arrived in one piece, but it was a close-run thing. Greta’s coach isn’t as well-sprung as it ought to be, but she is stubborn about buying a new one. She said it was her father’s and refuses to replace it. But she really ought to consider the comfort of others, don’t you think?”

Pierce had no idea how to respond to such a question. Wasn’t the chaperone supposed to do nothing other than sing her charge’s praises? It almost sounded as though Greta’s aunt was deliberately trying to paint her as a pinchpenny or grudging in her generosity. Pierce couldn’t imagine how that would benefit Lady Gertrude. It was likely she was just being the sort of person that had to complain about something at all times.

“At least it wasn’t an overlong drive, in that case,” Pierce finally answered only to have the woman sniff her disdain.

“Any length of time is overlong if you’re bouncing all over the place, Mr. Darby.”

“Of course,” Pierce replied with a bow and a smile. “I must assist our hostess for a moment, please excuse me.”

He didn’t even care if it was a lie nor how craven it might be. He ran away. Metaphorically, of course. Or perhaps in reality.

Pierce wasn’t too proud to admit the woman scared him. He was used to professors on power trips and disapproving sponsors, he could handle those with his head held high. But a Society matron sporting full disapproval was enough to send him to his room with a bottle of vinaigrette.

Not really, he insisted to himself as he pulled up short, stretching to his full height and throwing his shoulders back while lifting his chin and looking around at the strolling guests. No one was staring at him or appeared to have noticed his ignominious exit from Lady Gertrude’s presence.

Or perhaps they were merely not judging him harshly for it since the woman seemed to be the sort to make everyone a little nervous.

Except perhaps the other debutante’s mother. It would seem they were birds of a feather. Or at least spoke the same language.

It was odd how having something so uniquely in common bonded people, Pierce thought, wondering what the psychology scholar would have to say about the matter. He thought feelings and influences were overrated in his field of study, but it was interesting to note what the gentleman focused on the psyche found in his research. There was often a great degree of truth to his conclusions.

But Pierce wasn’t about to give in to the odd feelings of inferiority that the woman generated in him. He was a scholar. Scientists relied on facts not feelings.

The fact was that these people were here to view his work. That was an understandable source of disquiet. But the fact that they were interested enough to wish to view his work ought to stir up pride, not feelings of inferiority or whatever was making him act like a missish child.

With a decided nod, Pierce went in search of Lucy to put truth to the words he had uttered to Lady Gertrude.

“Oh, thank you, dear boy,” Lucy said when he asked what he could do to help her, making him feel like a schoolboy despite having a couple years advantage over her. “If you could just make sure none of the gentlemen come to cuffs, that would be wonderful.”

Pierce stared at Lucy with a frown. “Are you expecting that might happen? Have there been any threats of violence this afternoon?”

Lucy laughed but it didn’t carry her usual lightness. “There haven’t been any threats, and I do expect everyone will be sufficiently well-bred to behave themselves, but you know how men can be, especially when their pride is under threat. I’m worried Lincoln or Sydney might take it into their heads to be offended if anyone is less than supportive of their work.”

“Do you think I might do so?”

“No, I know you’re even more afraid of the marquis’ disappointment than mine, so you would never so misbehave.” Lucy patted his arm in an attempt to let him know she wasn’t trying to offend him.

Pierce couldn’t argue with the truth of Lucy’s words.

“Besides,” she added, “How could anyone be less than thrilled with your lenses and the viewing we’re to have this evening?”

Pierce loved Lucy for her supportive spirit. He knew she offered her full support to all of them, but she really convinced each of her scholars that she believed in their science. He trusted her fully even though he knew not everyone would completely agree with her. At least not the likes of Lady Gertrude.

Lucy must have read his mind.

“Never mind if the dowagers or matrons aren’t terribly interested. It can’t be helped. If you aren’t a wealthy duke, you are as nothing to the likes of them. It isn’t anything personal to you.”

“I know,” Pierce assured her.

“But we’d best make sure the others understand that too,” Lucy reminded him, making Pierce grin and lightening his spirits considerably. This he could do. He had been raised from the cradle to be a diplomat. Despite his intense thirst for respect, he knew full well how to smooth the waters and keep the peace.

He suited his words to actions and went in search of the rest of the gentlemen. He didn’t have far to go. Lincoln was regaling their guests with all the scientific names for the mundane flora they were familiar with.

“But why not just call it a milkweed?” one gentleman called out, sounding querulous.

Pierce grinned while Lincoln sputtered over a reply. “That’s just what the average person calls it, that isn’t the scientific name,” he tried to explain.

“But why do plants need such a mouthful of a name?” Lady Lily called out with a furrow to her forehead, obviously genuinely trying to understand.

Pierce stepped forward and managed to defuse the escalating situation before the botanist exploded all over their guests. The afternoon carried on without any violent outbursts.