Page 18 of King of Clubs (The Ladies’ Wagering Whist Society #9)

~May 3~

“A h, look, there is Lord Keppel,” Gwendolyn’s father said, not two minutes after they’d entered the Mortenson’s ball.

“Who is that, Mr. Sherman?” the duchess asked, looking in the direction he was indicating.

“He’s a friend of Lord Welles’. I met him at Powell’s not long ago,” her father explained.

“You don’t mean the older gentleman with His Lordship?” she asked, squinting her eyes a little.

“I do. Very nice fellow. Just the sort I want for my Gwendolyn.”

“Oh!” The surprise in the duchess’s voice was unmistakable. Gwendolyn nearly laughed but managed to bite down on her tongue just in time.

“Your Grace, shall we join the other ladies? I see them off to the side, there,” Gwendolyn said, looking in the other direction to Lord Keppel.

“Yes, yes, let’s do that!” The Duchess immediately headed off toward her friends.

As they moved through the crowd, Gwendolyn made a quick decision not to pass up the opportunity to try to speak to some women about her club. She paused by one lady whom she’d met through Bel.

“Lady Mossley! How lovely to see you again,” she said, giving the lady a curtsey.

“Oh, yes, er…” the lady frowned at her.

“Miss Sherman. We were introduced by Lady Conway the other day in the park?” Gwendolyn reminded her.

“Oh yes, of course! You were amongst the young ladies riding in that large group,” the woman remembered.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m friends with Lady Conway and Lady St. Vincent and am now honored to count so many other young ladies as my friends, thanks to them,” Gwendolyn said with a smile.

The woman nodded. “It is wonderful to have good friends.”

“It is. Of course, it would be so much easier were there some place where we could all gather and have tea, but, well…” Gwendolyn gave a little shrug and a laugh.

The woman frowned again. “Do you mean other than your own drawing room?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking. Don’t you think it would be lovely to have a tea room—for ladies, of course.”

“Why, I never gave it much thought, to be honest.”

“Oh, Lady Conway was saying that it was something she and her sister had been discussing recently. I suppose she and her other friends and, of course, the ladies of the Wagering Whist Society, have been discussing such a thing,” Gwendolyn commented, praying her little fib wouldn’t come back to haunt her.

“The ladies of the Wagering Whist Society were saying this? How very interesting!” the lady said, immediately perking up at the name of the infamous group.

“Yes. Oh, in fact, I see the Duchess of Bolton looking for me. She is there with the other ladies,” Gwendolyn motioned toward her chaperone who was, in fact, wondering where she’d gone off to. Gwendolyn gave her a little wave before excusing herself.

She could feel the lady’s eyes following her as she headed over to the esteemed group of ladies, barely containing the broad smile on her lips. She was just debating whether she should stop once more to plant another seed into a lady’s mind before joining the duchess when she noticed her father waving at her. He was standing with Lord Keppel and clearly wanted her to come over to make nice to the older gentleman. She truly didn’t want to encourage that fantasy of her father’s.

Straight ahead of her was Lord Wickford, standing with a very beautiful older lady. Her black hair was piled high on her head in an impressive coiffure complete with a diamond tiara, and her skin was a lovely, rich brown just a touch darker than Lord Wickford’s. Gwen wondered if they were related. She was scarily impressive-looking with her nose in the air, looking down on everyone within her view.

If Gwen hadn’t been quite so desperate to avoid her father and Lord Keppel, she would have avoided them both, but she didn’t think she had a choice in the matter. Gwendolyn grasped onto Lord Wickford’s arm, forcing him to turn around.

“Oh, Miss Sherman,” he said, clearly surprised.

“Good evening, my lord. Could you… would you please…” She spied her father out of the corner of her eye. He was watching her closely while speaking with His Lordship.

“Would I what? Are you all right, Miss Sherman?” Lord Wickford asked.

“Er, yes, of course.” She burst out laughing as if what he’d said was very funny. “Oh, my lord, you are so droll!” she said loudly.

She took a quick look toward her father. Did he look closer? He did look closer.

“He’s coming to me ?” she whispered under her breath.

“Who’s coming to you? What…?” Poor Lord Wickford was so completely confused, as well he should be.

Gwen’s stomach tensed.

~*~

Joshua had absolutely no idea what Miss Sherman was doing, aside from acting very strangely. He had just entered the ballroom with his mother. It was a grand entrance into society for Lady Wickford, he was sure. There could be nothing more impressive than an enormous ballroom filled with all the glittering ton .

He had done his best to be sure his mother would fit right in, even going so far as to have his steward send all the Wickford jewels his father had inherited with the estate. That the last Lord Wickford had died without issue and had been the only son of an only son had, incredibly enough, provided him with some impressive pieces. And now his mother looked absolutely stunning in her diamond necklace with the matching earrings dangling gently, accentuating her long, elegant neck. The tiara she wore stood out in her perfectly coiffed black hair. She looked nothing short of the princess she’d been born.

“It is everything I have imagined, Joshua,” his mother had said with a nod. With a lift of her chin, she placed her hand on his arm and allowed him to lead her down the sweeping staircase into the ballroom proper.

He’d just suggested that he introduce her to the ladies of the Wagering Whist Society when he’d been accosted by Miss Sherman. His poor mother was standing there staring at the young woman and, honestly, Joshua didn’t wonder why. She was behaving very strangely.

“Wickford,” Mr. Sherman said as he came up to him. “My sweet,” he said to his daughter, “you remember Lord Keppel?”

“Yes, of course,” Miss Sherman said, giving the man a smile. “Oh, I do beg your pardon, I believe the duchess is calling for me.” She made a quick exit.

“That girl!” Mr. Sherman whispered fiercely. And suddenly it made sense. Her father had wanted her to meet Lord Keppel, but clearly the girl had no interest in the older gentleman. Joshua nearly laughed. So she’d been attempting to use him to avoid her father. Well, that, at least, made sense.

He felt a light touch on his arm. “Joshua…” His mother was by his side, staring at Lord Keppel. He couldn’t believe he’d completely forgotten about her with Miss Sherman’s shenanigans.

“Oh, Mother, may I present Lord Keppel and Mr. Sherman,” Joshua said, introducing the two men.

“Lady Wickford, what an honor it is to meet you,” Lord Keppel said, bowing.

Strangely she didn’t respond but with a lift of her chin.

“How do you do?” Mr. Sherman said.

She hardly deigned to look at the man.

“Er, Mother, these gentlemen are members of my club,” Joshua explained. “Lord Keppel arrived in London a short time ago, just as you have.”

She gave a nearly imperceptible acknowledgement of his words.

Joshua didn’t quite know what to do.

“I would like some refreshment,” his mother informed him, ignoring the two men.

“I would be more than happy to fetch you a glass of ratafia, my lady,” Mr. Sherman said, practically jumping to do so.

“Thank you,” she said, giving him a slight nod.

“Excuse me, Lord Wickford, might I have a word?” another gentleman came up to him. It was Mr. Shelby. He’d been petitioning Joshua for membership at Powell’s for the longest time, but Joshua had heard some unpleasant rumors about the man and wasn’t certain he wanted him in the club. He would have to come up with another reason quickly.

“Excuse me.” He stepped away to speak with the man.

~*~

He had left her alone—with a man! A man she didn’t know! When she’d asked for refreshment, it was in the hopes that he would take her away from these strange people, not leave her alone with them!

Hannah looked after her son as he moved away to speak to some fellow in an awful yellow waistcoat that made him look sallow. What was she to do—

“How are you liking London so far, my lady?” Lord Keppel asked, giving her a kind smile.

She lifted her chin once again. Did she have to speak with him? She supposed she did. She had to be polite. But what to say? Never in her life had Hannah felt more nervous. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She could hardly breathe.

“Are you all right? You look… scared,” he finished quietly. “I’m not going to eat you, you know.” He gave her a little smile.

She shifted her eyes toward him. Was he funning or… he was smiling, yes, he had to be making a joke. “How… what would make you think I am scared?” she asked.

“Because I don’t think your chin could get any higher without your head having to tilt back at an awkward angle. And because you’ve hardly said a word.”

She swallowed. “I am not only new to London but to England,” she admitted. “I… I’ve never been to a society party before.”

“Really?”

She gave a slight nod. “Amongst the women, I might be comfortable. I… I know women. I know how they speak, and these… these people Joshua was going to introduce me to… they look kind.” She indicated the ladies who were still standing close by, chattering amongst themselves.

“I see Lady Welles there—she’s the wife of a good friend of mine. She is, indeed, a very sweet girl,” he said, looking over at the women.

“Yes? Some are very young. Do you mean one of the older ladies?” Hannah asked, looking over at the group.

He chuckled. “No, Lady Welles is one of the younger ones—er, my son’s friend’s wife. So many of them are but children.”

She turned to look at him. “You do not look much beyond that, my lord.”

This time he laughed right out loud. “I am probably older than you, my lady. I am in my mid-forties.”

Her mouth dropped open. He didn’t look to be so old. “You are older than me! But you look very young. You have very little white hair.”

He shrugged and gave her a smile. “And you have none.”

She nodded. “So, you are new to London as well?”

“No. I just haven’t been here for some time. My wife… she passed a year ago after a long illness,” he explained.

Hannah’s heart went out to the gentleman. “I am sorry. That must be very painful.”

“It has been. My son insisted I come to Town. He thought meeting new people would help,” he admitted. “What of you?”

“I have just arrived from the West Indies.”

“Ah, that explains that beautiful accent of yours.”

“No, no, my accent is from my people,” she said before even realizing what she was giving away.

He tilted his head in curiosity. “And where would that be?”

“I am from the Western coast of Africa. My people are the Fante. My father was the king of a Fante tribe,” she told him with another lift of her chin.

“Really? So you are a princess?” he asked, clearly intrigued.

“I was.” She nodded.

“Then how did you get to the West Indies?”

The beautiful face of her husband swam into her mind’s eye. “I fell in love with a British man. He had come exploring to my village. He, he was fascinated by me, by my people, by the way we lived. He stayed some months, and we fell in love.”

“How did your father feel about that?” he asked astutely.

She laughed. “Not happy at all. He was even more unhappy when I agreed to leave with him. Ronald arranged the purchase of a sugar plantation in the West Indies. We married and… I left my family, taking with me only one maid and a handful of servants.”

A deep sadness overcame her as she thought of that difficult time—leaving her family, her village, everything she knew. She was homesick for months afterward, but she had had her Esi with her. Dear Esi, who had passed only months ago. She gave herself a little shake. “Joshua’s birth brought joy back into my life.”

“Children are a blessing,” he agreed.

She nodded. “I have come to be with my son.” She didn’t see any reason to tell him how her husband had inherited his title, then left her all by herself when she’d refused to come to this cold country.

He’d said he would come back once he’d settled things with his new estate. He’d said he had no desire to live here either, but he had responsibilities. And he’d taken their son with him, so that he could become English. And then… tears sprung to Hannah’s eyes. And then he’d died before he could return to her.

But she was here now, and this gentleman was very kind and understanding.

~*~

“Mr. Shelby, what can I do for you?” Joshua asked with as much patience as he could muster. He could tell that his mother had been unhappy about being left alone with Lord Keppel, and he wanted to get back to her as quickly as possible.

“I know you’ve been avoiding me, my lord, and I know why, but I want you to know that I am a man of my word. I can be trusted,” the gentleman told him.

“I am certain you believe—”

“Listen, to prove to you that I only want the best for your club and will be a good addition to the membership, I thought I’d share with you some information…” He paused for affect. “Regarding the new club that will soon be opening up on Ryder Street.”

Joshua crossed his arms over his chest. “All right. You have my attention.”

The man’s smile sent a jolt of ice along Joshua’s skin, and he began to wonder at the price for this information.

“I know it’s going to be called the Ryder Street Club.”