Page 17 of Enticed By an Earl
“And you believe this Miss Dryden is not empty-headed?” James asked.
“No,” Dev said, frowning once more. “I would wager that she is dazzlingly intelligent. But she seemed frightened and unsure of herself.”
James grinned. “Naturally.”
Dev paused at a point in the path where it bent closer to the Serpentine. “Why would you say that?”
James’s grin grew. “Because, dear brother, it is obvious that your Miss Dryden was not invited to the ball. Sheobviously feared that she would be found out at any moment and summarily dismissed.”
Dev sent his brother a flat look. “She was not an interloper,” he insisted. “Channing is far too diligent in his duties as butler to allow anyone into one of Mother’s balls unless they were invited.”
“How do you know Miss Dryden entered through the front door?” James argued. “She could have snuck in through the servants’ hall.”
“She would not,” Dev scoffed, walking on. “Why would she need to? She is obviously a woman of breeding and refinement.”
“Why do you say that?” James asked, delighting in vexing Dev with the conversation a little too much.
“The way she carried herself,” Dev insisted. “The refinement of her voice. The quality of her gown. Even the scent she wore.” Dev would never forget that enticing scent. “She must come from exceptional people.”
James laughed. “She could just as easily have been an actress,” he argued. “All of that refinement could have been put on.”
“Why would an actress arrive at a ball only to dance once, with me, and then to leave shortly after?” Dev asked.
James shrugged. “She could have been studying for a part. Or she could have been there to rob you, or to rob the house.”
“Miss Dryden is no thief,” Dev insisted, though for all he knew she was. “She had an air of kindness and geniality about her.”
“You hardly spoke to her.”
Dev stopped again, turning to his brother with a touch of anger. “Do you want me to discover who my mystery lady is and how to reach her again or not?”
James laughed harder than before. “So she’s your lady now? I never thought I’d see the day.”
Dev shook his head. “I simply wish to uncover the mystery of her identity,” he said. “And besides, haven’t you been on Mother’s side when it comes to the matter of forcing me to marry?”
“Perhaps,” James said, beaming with joviality. “I simply never expected for you to become so enamored of someone who would run from you at the first opportunity.”
“She did not run,” Dev said, frowning. “She merely…left.”
“And you cannot find her.”
“I have barely begun to look.”
The two of them resumed walking.
“What did Mother have to say about her?” James asked.
“Not much,” Dev admitted with a sigh. “When I asked for more particulars about Miss Dryden, she turned the conversation immediately to Lady Catherine Locke.”
“Ah, so Mama does have a favorite from amongst the eligible misses she plunked in your path,” James said.
“She does,” Dev said in a wary voice. It was not that he did not like Lady Catherine. The woman was lively and amusing, even though she snorted when she laughed. The fact of the matter was that she was not Miss Dryden.
“I will begin making inquiries about Miss Dryden as soon as?—”
Dev stopped and stood suddenly straighter as he spotted Lord Castleton walking swiftly toward him from much farther along the path. He did not think that the charming young earl saw him. Castleton was walking as if dogs were on his heels.
“Lord Castleton,” Dev called out, smiling, as Castleton drew nearer.
