Page 42 of No Match for Love (Regency Love Stories)

It was a cruel twist of fate—or perhaps a cruel parent—that had Lucas escorting his mother and Miss Faraday to a ball that very evening.

Father was unable to go, and Mother had leaned rather heavily on Lucas to take them, with the reasoning that he had not been to a social event in a week.

Not since Miss Faraday had come to stay with them.

She was not wrong, but Lucas had hoped to keep it that way, particularly after the afternoon spent in the portrait hall with Miss Faraday.

His blood still ran hot just thinking of the way her chin had tilted up to maintain eye contact with him.

How soft her skin had been beneath his palm.

He’d been about to kiss her, he was certain of it, and if it were not for his years of well-practiced control, he would have.

To own the truth, he had never been more unhappy with that self-control than in the moment after he stepped from the room.

And now he was caught in a carriage with her, working his utmost not to allow his knees to touch hers across the aisle.

“Have you heard from your guardian?” Mother asked Miss Faraday, oblivious to the internal turmoil Lucas was experiencing.

“His steward wrote to me this afternoon, actually. The journey seems to have been difficult on Lord Tarrington, but he still had the strength to relay his wishes for me through his servant.” Miss Faraday sounded marginally amused at that.

“And what might those be?” Mother asked.

“To marry well and quickly.”

Lucas’s stomach lurched, but he tensed his jaw and made no remark.

Mother’s voice turned sly. “I believe we are well on our way to that. Several gentlemen left their cards today while I was resting. I meant to ask, did you find an enjoyable way to spend your afternoon?”

Lucas could not help glancing at Miss Faraday to find that her gaze flitted to his momentarily.

“Yes, indeed. I passed my time in the portrait hall. I find pictures fascinating; they tell so much about a person so long as the artist is competent.” She again glanced over at him, and he recalled the exchange they’d had over his excessive nodding.

It was enough to cause the beginning of a smile on his face.

How was she able to do that with only a small comment?

Come to think of it, how had she managed to get him to teach her any boxing at all?

He could say with certainty that he would never have bent to a lady’s request to do that even a few weeks before. What was different about Miss Faraday?

Everything. That was the problem. The way he felt around her was making his plan to marry without affection seem dull, but when he actually thought logically about it all, he knew it was the correct course of action.

The pain he’d felt with Marietta’s loss had been beyond compare, and he would not set himself up for such an injury again, not when he could prevent it.

Mother and Miss Faraday had concluded their conversation, and Lucas, so lost in his thoughts, had missed the ending of it.

They only had a minute or two of silence before they pulled to a stop in front of the ball.

Lucas assisted the women from the carriage, taking care to release Miss Faraday as soon as possible, and determined to escape for the card room the moment they were within the home.

Except that the moment they stepped into the glittering ballroom, a grouping of men seemed to flock to Miss Faraday, and Lucas could not bring himself to leave her side.

Uninvited jealousy flared and caused heat to boil in his stomach as the men requested various dances and complimented her on various aspects of her person.

All the while, her hand was on his arm, likely because he had closed his other hand over it after his mother had released him.

Speaking of his mother, she was surveying Miss Faraday with pride, as if it were her own daughter garnering this attention.

That introduced another emotion into Lucas’s chest. One that was a war of pain and realization—pain that Mother had lost her one daughter and realization that he and Charlie had the capabilities of giving her another through their marriages.

Not that Marietta could ever be replaced, but certainly Mother would enjoy having a woman to dote on.

That was yet another thing to consider in his future search for a wife, someone who got on well with his mother. As Miss Faraday seemed to.

Mr. Frank Colbert approached Miss Faraday. He bowed over her hand. The heat in Lucas protested that action.

“Is your supper set claimed yet, Miss Faraday?”

Unthinking, Lucas spoke before Miss Faraday could. “Yes, I have claimed it.”

Colbert seemed to just then notice that Miss Faraday still stood on Lucas’s arm. He raised a brow, but Lucas could not tell if it was in surprise or challenge. “Then I shall take your next available if that is agreeable.”

Miss Faraday agreed to a reel then bid Colbert farewell before meeting Lucas’s eye, brows lifted.

“I was not aware we had agreed upon a dance, Lord Berkeley,” she said under her breath.

Though the crowd no longer surrounded her, there were still a few straggling gentlemen and even a lady or two come to bid their group hello.

“Oh?” Lucas hedged. “Had we not?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I never knew you to have a faulty memory.”

“My mother will wish us to dance,” he said by way of excuse.

Her narrowed eyes relaxed, but they were replaced by an expression of... confusion? Disappointment? “Oh, I see.”

“I did not mean—”

Unfortunately, at that moment, the musicians concluded the previous set, and one of the lingering men cut in to take Miss Faraday’s hand.

Watching her be escorted to the dancers lining up was causing that heat in his stomach to burn hotter, so Lucas bid his mother farewell and strode for the card room.

He ought to have gone with his original plan and escaped there immediately.

He sighed, slipping silently into the parlor, where numerous men were seeking respite in the form of drink and cards.

“Berkeley!”

Lucas looked about for the man who had called his name, and his face split into the first smile he’d donned all evening.

“Henry, it is good to see you.” The men met in the middle of the room, surrounded by card tables and chairs. A question Lucas should have acted on days before sprung to mind. “I tried to come visit you but was told the house had been let.”

Henry’s expression changed, pulling inward. “Ah, yes. Julia did not like those lodgings.”

Lucas had never known Henry’s sister to be that particular.

“Where are you lodging now?”

Henry looked over Lucas’s shoulder then said, as if he had not heard his friend, “Did I see you with a woman just now? Has a lucky lady turned your eye?” Henry grinned, a crooked twist of his lips.

“Ah, no. Simply a favor of sorts for my mother.” The falsehood sat uneasily on his tongue.

“Good. I cannot lose both my friends to marriage.” Henry laughed, a tint of bitterness in his tone.

Lucas did not need to answer, as Henry immediately launched into a monologue on the misery that was life in London.

The two men headed for a pair of armchairs at the far side of the room.

Henry poured himself a drink as they passed the assortment of strong beverages.

Lucas turned down Henry’s offer to pour him one as well and frowned.

Henry and Lucas had been close since their years in school, but since James’s marriage two years before, Henry had seemed to begin a downward spiral.

Or perhaps he had been spiraling long before then.

The man had always been jovial and lighthearted, but now he tried much too hard at merriment and leaned heavily toward cynicism.

He also spent far more time in his cups than he likely even realized.

Lucas was growing alarmed, but he did not know how to interfere. Or if he even should.

Henry continued his one-sided conversation with Lucas until they were settled in their seats, giving Lucas time to stew in his own thoughts.

Everything had grown muddled lately. How would he regain control? Between the club, Miss Faraday, and the increasing belief that Marietta would be disappointed in him, he was feeling unsettled with his life.

Was it because he’d opened himself up to some happiness?

Had allowed himself to enjoy time with Miss Faraday when he knew nothing could come of it?

Was this the world reminding him he did not deserve it?

Yes, he found a sense of contentment with his friends and family, but he could never allow his control over his actions and emotions to waver.

That was how he made mistakes. That was how he’d lost Marietta.

If he’d been better prepared and had his wits about him the day their carriage had been attacked, he could have kept her from danger. He knew he could have.

That was why he needed to be more careful with Miss Faraday.

He could not let his emotions act for him—he needed to be logical about who he aligned himself in marriage.

Though, logically speaking, Miss Faraday was a fine lady.

She was the ward of a baron, and though she might not have many connections otherwise, that one was sufficient.

She was a good conversationalist. Witty. Not to mention beautiful and kind.

“And then I jumped into a lake and swam with the swans.”

Lucas nodded along with whatever Henry was saying.

His friend suddenly laughed loudly, drawing Lucas from his thoughts to raise a brow at Henry.

Henry shook his head, still chuckling. “You are not listening to a word I am saying.”

Lucas straightened. “I apologize. I became lost in my thoughts for a moment.”

A grin slowly spread across Henry’s face as he finished his drink and set the empty glass down. “That woman has turned your eye.”

Where had that come from? “I do not know what you mean.”

“I’ve never seen you so distracted. I can only assume you’ve gone and fallen in love.” He sighed dramatically, falling back into his chair. “Blast, man. I never thought the day would come.”

Lucas shook his head. “I am not in love.” But even as he said the words, a small voice in his head balked at the declaration.

Henry cocked a brow. “I hardly believe it.”

“Well, believe it. I do not ever intend to fall in love.”

“If only you were not so thick-headed, you may find you already have.” Henry’s chuckling was beginning to grate on Lucas. What did he know of love? Of anything serious in nature?

He very nearly voiced his thoughts, he was growing so frustrated, but at the last moment, he managed to control his tongue.

“See?” Henry said, pointing at Lucas. “There you go again, lost in your thoughts. Mark my words, Lucas, you’re in love.”