Page 22 of The Truth about the Earl
“If there is, then I will say I am certain they will quickly ignore such nonsense, given they are already acquainted with you as I am.”
“Ah, but they may lack your trust and faith in my character,” Norah pointed out, a little sadly. “I may drop a good deal in their estimation.”
Lady Adlay sighed and nodded. “That may well be the case, I suppose. I should not like to be dishonest and pretend otherwise.”
The sudden, sharp pain that came into her heart at those words rendered Norah unable to speak for a few minutes. In her mind’s eye, she saw Lord Yardley turn away from her, no longer willing to have her in his company. He would not dance with her again, would not wish to speak to her again – she would be quiet without him.
And why does that matter so greatly to you?
Norah shook her head to herself and once more lifted her teacup to take a sip. At the last ball, she had been first offended by Lady Maude pushing herself into the fore and ignoring the fact that Lord Yardley had been in conversation with Norah rather than with her. She had then found her spirits sinking as Lord Yardley had seemed to be rather caught up with the ladybut had told herself that it was quite understandable, given that the young lady was a diamond of the first water. Having turned away, she had never expected Lord Yardley to hurry after her but the sheer swell of joy in her heart when hehaddone so had been a little overwhelming. She had felt significant, had seen herself so in his eyes, even with Lady Maude glaring furiously at him from behind. Even when she had drawn attention to the lady, he had not looked back but had focused all of his attention on her.
What would he think of her now? Despite Lady Adlay’s assurances that the news would soon pass and that thetonwould find something else to discuss, Norah’s heart began to beat a little more quickly as fear took hold. If Lord Yardley was to remove his connection from her entirely, Norah knew that there would come both upset and frustration – and she wanted to endure neither.
She could only hope that he knew her well enough not to allow himself to believe it. Yes, she could speak of it to him if he would permit her, mayhap laugh at the very notion in the hope that he would think it just as ridiculous as she, but there was always the chance that he would think it was true. And what would she do then?
Chapter Eight
The moment Lord Huntsford walked into the room, James held up one hand, silencing him in an instant.
“Before you say anything, yes, I have heard the news. I have even gone so far as to read it.”
“Most extraordinary!”
James shook his head. “It is nonsense, of course.”
Lord Huntsford began to walk up and down the room, his eyes gleaming. “Is that so? How can you be so certain?”
James set back his quill and sanded the note. “Because I am well aware of the lady’s character. This is, no doubt, some ridiculous lie that has been spread in the hope of smearing her reputation.”
Lord Huntsford tilted his head. “And why would anyone do such a thing?”
“Well, the women of this ton are often very protective of their status and standing in society and mayhap one or two of them feel that Lady Essington is….pushing them aside somehow.” He had thought of this in the time before Lord Huntsford’s arrival when he had first learned of what had been said of Lady Essington. His first reaction had been one of horror, only toallow himself some time to consider not only what had been written but the lady herself. Now, he had come up with what he considered to be a very reasonable explanation as to why someone might have written such an untruth about her.
The frown on Lord Huntington’s face told him he did not outright agree. “You believe that the debutantes are jealous of the widowed Lady Essington?”
“In case you have not noticed, she is remarkably pretty and has gained the interest of many a gentleman.”
“I am well aware of that fact, but that would not make the young ladies of London envious of her, for there are some remarkably pretty creatures amongst them at present.”
James shrugged. “That is true. But all the same, I would not be surprised if some of the young ladies did not like the fact that a widowed, independent young lady was garnering more interest from gentlemen of the ton than they.”
Lord Huntsford’s brows lifted. “You mean to say that those who might soon be drawing close to spinsterhood could seek to damage her reputation, in the hope that they might be more in favor?”
“Precisely.”
“So, you do not believe a word of it.”
“Certainly, I do not. Besides which, this ‘Mrs. Fullerton’ wrote only that it was someone who looked like Lady Essington. Which, in truth, surprised me somewhat given that you assured me she only ever wrote the truth in all of her articles. This postscript did not seem to fit with such a particular determination.”
“On that, I shall agree with you.” Lord Huntsford grimaced and shook his head. “There is no easy explanation for her change in tone, I grant you. I do hope that she will not say such things again unless it can be proven to be true.”
James shook his head. This was yet another reason he disliked the society pages. The articles contained within were not worth his reading. Yes, they could be of aid to some, but this recent piece about Lady Essington had proven to him that they were not worth his conjecture or his time. “I must hope that Lady Essington does not shrink away from society because of what has been written about her.”
“We shall have to wait and see, I suppose.” Lord Huntsford cast a sharp eye toward James. “Are you quite ready? You do not appear to be.”
“In that regard, you are certainly mistaken!” Pulling the white cover from the neck of the shirt carefully, he flung it down onto the desk table as he rose to his feet. It had protected his crisp white shirt from any flying drops of ink that might have danced away from his quill. “I shall need my cravat and then will be quite ready.”
Lord Huntsford groaned and threw back his head, making James grin. “Come now, it shall not take me long.”
