Page 12 of The Truth about the Duke
“And this is how you intend to get to know some of them, is it? Standing alone, in amongst a small group of trees while the rest of thetonmake their way through Hyde Park?”
A trifle irritated at his friend’s sarcasm, Henry let it wash over him. “I am only observing the young ladies present at the moment.” He nodded his head in the direction of one gentleman standing with another lady. “I can see my uncle, in fact. I did not know he was in London and I must, of course, go to speak with him.”
“Your uncle?” Lord Kendall followed the direction of Henry’s gaze, then nodded. “Ah, Lord Chesterfield. He is an Earl, is he not?”
“He is. I have not spoken with him in some time. I shall certainly have to speak with him this afternoon. But, I do not yet want to make my way down into the crowd until I have seen whoelseis present. The debutantes in particular, you understand.”
Lord Kendall snorted. “It is the fashionable hour, there is barely going to be grass left to stand on soon enough! You must decide who it is that you wish to speak to and, thereafter, go to do so without hesitation. Otherwise every face will become blurred and you will lose any awareness of who you have spoken to and who you have not.”
A trifle confused, Henry looked to his friend. “I do not know what you mean.”
Lord Kendall flung out one hand towards the slowly increasing crowd. “I mean to say that there are somanyyoung ladies here, you shall find yourself surrounded! Despite your intentions to speak to only this young lady or that young lady, you will be so overwhelmed that you will be quite overcome.”
Henry frowned. “So what should I do?”
“You should decide on one or two young ladies that you intend to improve your connection with and, thereafter, go to do so. Once you decide that they do not bring you all that you desire, then you choose another young lady to replace the first and so on and so forth.” Lord Kendall’s eyes glinted as he attempted to hide a smile. “And then, once you have made your way through every single young lady in London, you shall admit to me that you were entirely unsuccessful, that your list of requirements was quite ridiculous and you shall beg me for guidance and advice. Which, of course, I shall be glad to give.”
“Is that so?” Henry chuckled as his friend grinned and nodded. He considered for a few minutes, slowly coming toaccept that his friend was quite correct in his suggestion that he choose only a few young ladies to consider, rather than looking through the crowd and wondering who he ought to speak with on this one occasion or who else he might be introduced to. “Very well, you are right, I suppose.”
“I am?” Lord Kendall’s eyes widened only for him to laugh. “Greater words have never been spoken!”
Ignoring this, Henry shook his head. “Might you come down from your lofty position and be able to tell me who it is that you think I ought to improve my acquaintance with first?”
The smile left Lord Kendall’s face as he considered this, looking around at the crowd near them. Then, he nudged Henry, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
“There, that is Lady Judith, daughter to the Marquess of Kent. You have been introduced to her, yes?”
Henry frowned. “Is it the young lady with the feathers in her bonnet?”
“Yes.”
“Then yes, I have. Though I do not recall any sort of conversation that came thereafter.”
Lord Kendall nodded, seemingly satisfied at this. “Then she is one. And what about Lady Ann? Her brother has recently taken on the title from his late father, the Earl of Gateshead.”
“Very well.” Henry recognized the second young lady at once, recalling how her laugh had sent a shiver down his spine. “Though Lady Ann did laugh a little too sharply for me and – ”
“And she might have been very nervous when it came to speaking with a Duke and you will not base your consideration of a young lady on whether her laugh pleases you or not.” Lord Kendall frowned heavily, though Henry was sure there was a smile still lurking there. “That was not one of your requirements, I am sure.”
“Then it should have been,” Henry muttered, as a choked exclamation came from his friend. “Come then, join me, if you would.”
Lord Kendall shook his head. “No, indeed not. I have my own bride to find, recall?”
Henry chuckled, a question lifting his eyebrows. “And given that you are so determined I shall fail in my endeavors, what is to say that you will not find delight and compatibility where I do not?”
This gave Lord Kendall pause. “Ah. Yes. You might find Lady Ann’s laugh displeasing but I might find it delightful.”
“Precisely.”
Lord Kendall grinned as he spread out one hand towards the ladies near to them. “Then of course, I shall join you. Please, Your Grace, lead the way.”
With a roll of his eyes and a wry smile on his lips, Henry marched past Lord Kendall and made his way directly towards the young lady with feathers in her bonnet, pausing only to shake his uncle’s hand with a promise that he would return to speak at length with him very soon. He did not think much of the feathers, finding them a little tooredand ostentatious, given that she was a debutante and meant to only be wearing light colors given her standing. Though, he reminded himself, that directive was not in his list of requirements either.
“Lord Kent,” Henry muttered, inclining his head as he came closer to the gentleman. “Good afternoon.”
“Your Grace!” The gentleman’s eyebrows lifted though he bowed quickly, seeming to be surprised that Henry had come to speak with him. “Good afternoon.”
“You are acquainted with the Marquess of Kendall, yes?” Henry gestured to Lord Kendall, who was already smiling at Lady Judith and, much to Henry’s irritation, Lady Judith was blushing gently at the gentleman’s attentions. Clearly, LordKendall was not going to make it easy for Henry to seek out whether or not a lady would be suitable for him! Perhaps it had been a mistake to ask him to join the conversation.
