Page 4

“ I confess, I am a little disappointed!”

Rosalyn looked in surprise at Lady Amelia. “Oh? And why would that be?” They had only just concluded the meeting of the bluestocking book club, and Rosalyn had enjoyed every moment of it! It was a little surprising, if not disappointing, to hear her friend say such a thing.

“I am disappointed that we have no mystery to solve,” Lady Amelia replied, with a twinkle in her eye as Rosalyn’s shoulders dropped, her smile returning.

“Though I did enjoy our conversation about all we have each been learning of late and indeed, of the new books we have been reading, there was a part of me hoping that we would have some great and mysterious event to discuss as well!”

This made the other ladies laugh, though Rosalyn too had to admit there was a part of her that felt the same.

“I know how you feel, Amelia,” she admitted.

“I think we found such contentment with the affair of the necklace because it felt as though, for the first time, our skills and our knowledge were being taken seriously and that we could use them for the good of someone else.” She lifted her shoulders and shrugged, sighing heavily.

“Most of the time, we are left to feel as though everything we are doing is quite wrong and ought to be stopped in an instant!”

“Yes, I feel that too,” Lady Isobella agreed, her lips in a rueful smile. “We are so often pushed away, are we not? And yet, when it mattered, all that we have learned and all that we have within ourselves was of use!”

“Mayhap I can have Lord Albury lose his heirloom again,” Miss Trentworth said with a smile, making every other young lady laugh. “Though, mayhap, it will come to us soon enough.”

Rosalyn smiled, nodded and made to say something, only for the door to swing open and, much to her surprise, her brother strode into the room with another beside him.

He stopped short upon seeing them all gathered there and Rosalyn, lifting an eyebrow, tilted her head a fraction, silently asking him what he was doing striding into the room as he had done.

Had she not told him over breakfast that her friends would be coming to call later that day?

Had he truly been so very distracted that he had not listened to a word coming out of her mouth?

“R – Rosalyn.” Lord Fairchild blinked quickly, his gaze on every other face before finally returning to her. “I did not realize that you had company.”

Rosalyn lifted her eyebrows. “Is that so, brother? I am certain I spoke to you about it all over breakfast this morning.” Her gaze went to the gentleman beside her brother only for her heart to lift with a sudden delight.

“Though now that I see who you have brought with you, I cannot hold any sort of frustration against you!”

“We shall all take our leave.” Miss Sherwood came towards Rosalyn and smiled, just as the other ladies gathered their things. “We have finished our meeting already, have we not?”

“Yes, we have.” Rosalyn smiled at her friend, then looked to the others. “Though are you not all attending Almacks this evening? I will see you all then.”

With nods and murmurs of assent, the ladies left the room, with Lord Fairchild bowing to each one before they quit the room. The moment the door closed, Rosalyn moved quickly to greet Lord Waverley, a bright smile on her face and happiness bubbling in her heart.

“Rosalyn.” Lord Waverley made to bow but Rosalyn, holding nothing back, embraced him quickly. His arms went around her and Rosalyn held him tightly, feeling him just as much family as her brother was.

“Oh, Waverley, I am so very sorry for the loss of your father.” Stepping back, she caught his hands and looked up at him. “That must have been very painful indeed.”

He smiled sadly, his green eyes searching her face, his brown hair swept lightly to one side of his forehead. “It has been, though I am sure you have heard all the whispers and rumors about him, yes?”

Rosalyn said nothing, seeing the pain in his eyes.

“But I am come to London nonetheless,” he continued, when she remained silent. “I could not let my mother continue to reside at the estate any longer, for she has been melancholy for a long time and I do not want to see her so.”

“And she has found some friends here?” Rosalyn asked, pressing his hands and then releasing them.

“You both have, I hope?” She did not mention that she had heard everything that there had been to say about the late Marquess of Waverley, for some of the rumors had been very dark indeed – and part of her had not wanted to believe them to be true.

At the same time, she knew very well that he would find it a little difficult to find many friends here in London, for there were many whispering about his father’s antics, with many wondering just how much of a fortune Lord Waverley still had.

“I have found enough to keep me contented,” Lord Waverley answered, though the smile was a little tight.

“It is a great frustration to me that so many of the ton will not listen to what I have to say nor judge me on my own character! Instead, they are determined to think what they please about me, based solely on the sort of character my father had.” A heaviness settled into his expression, his eyes going to the floor, his shoulders dropping.

“You should, I think, be careful of being seen in my company in public, Rosalyn. I am sure it will do you no good whatsoever.”

“Nonsense.” With a wave of her hand, Rosalyn disregarded his warning and then gestured for him to sit down, with her brother going to ring the bell for them all. “As my brother will tell you, the opinions of the ton mean very little to me. Much to his displeasure, I might add!”

“Oh?” Lord Waverley settled down into a chair, though his eyes went from Rosalyn to her brother and back again.

He did not ask any specific questions, did not ask what it was that she meant by that, and yet Rosalyn could see the curiosity glinting in his eyes.

With a chuckle, she glanced towards her brother and then smiled.

“Are you going to tell him or shall I explain?”

Lord Fairchild sighed and rolled his eyes before sitting down heavily in a chair. “My darling sister is just as she has always been, Waverley. I am sure you know what I mean by that.”

Light came into Lord Waverley’s eyes, and he smiled warmly. “Ah. You mean to say that you have continued with your reading and the like, Rosalyn?”

“Indeed I have.” Drawing herself up in her seat, she sent her brother a supercilious look. “Much to my brother’s displeasure, I might add.”

Lord Waverley’s eyebrows lifted. “And what troubles you about that, my friend? I have always thought Rosalyn a most excellent young lady.”

“Even with her learning?”

The slight sneer in Lord Fairchild’s voice made Rosalyn scowl, but Lord Waverley nodded fervently.

“Yes, of course! I do not think it is any gentleman’s desire to have an ignorant young lady in their home, is it?”

Rosalyn could see from the way her brother’s chest puffed out that he was about to go into the specific details as to why he did not find that notion particularly delightful and all the difficulties that Rosalyn’s bluestocking ways were causing him, and thus, she spoke before he could.

“You have always been most understanding, Waverley. Now, tell me, are you in London for the Season for any specific purpose?” She grinned at him as he looked away, seeing the color in his cheeks. Evidently, he understood precisely what it was she was asking but mayhap he did not want to answer.

“Although I know that I must soon marry, I am afraid that my purpose here in London this Season is not to find a bride,” he told her, though strangely, this statement made Rosalyn’s heart leap up as if she was rather pleased about this.

“I am here mostly to bring a little happiness to my mother, though I also am eager to see just how little the ton thinks of me! That might give me a little hope or a little despondency for the future… I shall have to wait to see which.”

“I am sure you will have plenty of hope, come the end of your time in London,” she said, firmly. “Society will soon see that you are not at all as your father was.”

“I must pray it will be so.” He smiled at her, the light still lingering in his eyes and Rosalyn returned it with a smile of her own, truly glad to be in his company again.

They had known each other since childhood, with his mother and their own being very dear friends.

That friendship had meant a good many weeks in each other’s company over the years, making Rosalyn think very affectionately of him indeed.

“Your own dear mother is not yet in London, I hear,” Lord Waverley said, as the maid brought in a tray of refreshments. “Though is she soon to join you?”

Rosalyn nodded. “Mama went to spend some time with her sister before coming to London. We expect her in a month or so, though I will not be surprised if she stays in Wales a little longer! I know how fond she and my aunt are of each other. Though if she hears that your mother is in London, then that shall spur her on, I am sure!”

Lord Waverley nodded. “I know her letters have been a great comfort to my mother. You and your family have always been so very kind.”

“You shall have to come to dinner soon,” Rosalyn told him as her brother nodded. “That will help your standing in society. And why do you not host your own dinner thereafter? I am certain that will be good for your standing also!”

Running one hand over his chin, Lord Waverley considered this. “I suppose I might do such a thing, yes.” His gaze went from Fairchild to Rosalyn and then back again. “And you, Fairchild? Are you here in London for any particular reason or is Rosalyn’s standing in society your only concern?”

With a laugh, Lord Fairchild nodded. “Yes, yes. I am here to find a bride, as I must. My mother almost continually reminds me of my duty and therefore, wearied as I am by her words, I have determined to do as is asked of me.”

“And you, Rosalyn?”

“My brother thinks that it will be quite impossible for me to find a suitable match,” she told him, throwing her brother a sharp look.

“But I am determined to be just as I am, and I have no desire whatsoever to be as society expects or demands. If I am to make a match, then it will be with a gentleman who not only cares for me but is supportive and understanding of my interests; someone who does not think poorly of me because I am considered a bluestocking.”

Her brother snorted and shook his head. “I have told her that there are very few gentlemen who would ever consider a bluestocking but she will not listen.”

Looking back at Lord Waverley to see what he would say, Rosalyn’s heart quickened. Would he too have the same opinion as her brother? She had always valued his thoughts but in this situation, she wanted him very much to tell her the opposite of what Fairchild had said.

Then, he shrugged his shoulders lightly and smiled at her.

“I think, Rosalyn, that you should be just as you wish,” he said, clearly heedless to her brother’s snort of ridicule.

“You are quite right to do so. If you are to make a suitable match, then the gentleman in question will need to know you, will he not? And it is not as though pretending you do not love to read and to learn will be a good thing!”

“Why not?” Lord Fairchild threw up his hands. “That is precisely what I have suggested and she will not have it!”

“Because how can one make a suitable match when one cannot truly know the other?” Lord Waverley asked, his tone quiet and his eyes gentle. “That would do no good at all. Rather, though it might bring a suitable marriage, it will not bring happiness with it.”

Rosalyn’s heart warmed. “Precisely.”

Instead of agreeing with her, however, instead of even seeming to think about what Lord Waverley had said, Lord Fairchild made a dismissive exclamation and shook his head.

“I think one needs to know how to behave properly and that is all,” he said, firmly. “A suitable match needs nothing more than that.”

“I heartly disagree,” Rosalyn answered, though her brother only rolled his eyes at her again.

“As do I.” With a wink, Lord Waverley grinned at her, then turned his attention back towards Lord Fairchild. “Tell me about the young ladies you have been pursuing, Fairchild. That will take your thoughts from your present frustrations, I am sure.”

As Rosalyn listened to the conversation, getting to her feet so she might pour the tea, she considered why it was her heart had leapt in such a strange fashion when she had heard him say he would not be pursuing any young ladies this Season.

Did she not want the best for him? Did she not want to see him happy?

Yes, she concluded, she did… so why was it she had seemingly been delighted to hear he would not be seeking out matrimony this Season?