Page 40 of Lady Charlotte and the Lending Library
It was his turn to miss a step.
Lady Jersey laughed softly. “Yes, a politician attempting to bribe a member of the public. How very absurd.”
“I would do the very same if I thought I would get a positive result,” he replied with a grin.
Lady Jersey lifted an elegant shoulder. “Lord Ashford, if your only reason for being here this evening was to gain intelligence about Lady Lamb’s book, I am sorry to disappoint you.”
“I wouldn’t call a waltz with a beautiful lady a disappointment,” he replied gallantly.
The lady laughed again. “Do find yourself a good wife. Not only for your mother’s sake but for your own.”
There was no good excuse for him to dance with Lady Charlotte. He’d decided she was unsuitable, after all. Despite his best intentions, he knew he couldn’t resist spending more time with the outspoken miss.
“There is one other lady I would like to dance with this evening,” he said lightly.
“Oh yes?” Lady Jersey replied archly. “Do tell.”
“Lord Faversham’s only daughter Lady Charlotte.”
The patroness nodded. “Done. You may approach her.”
Despite her home’s proximity to his residence, he’d rarely spoken to the countess. He was always surprised at her kindness to him and his family, as she was said to be rude by some. He knew her merely as a woman who did not suffer fools with grace.
Ashford returned the lady patroness to her place beside Lady Cowper and made a quick departure from such formidable company.
* * * * *
Charlotte watched Lord Ashford make his way around the edge of the ballroom toward where she stood beside her mother, seated against the wall in a Dutch marquetry side chair. Charlotte composed her features into a polite expression.
“Good evening, Lady Charlotte. It is a pleasure to see you again.” The marquess bowed deeply.
She dropped a curtsy and replied evenly, “The pleasure is mine, Lord Ashford. May I introduce you to my mother? Lord Benedict Grey, Marquess of Ashford, my mother, Lady Faversham.”
The marquess nodded to her mother. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lady Faversham.”
“It is lovely to meet you, Lord Ashford,” her mother replied with a regal nod.
“Lady Jersey has selected me as your daughter’s next dance partner,” the marquess said to her mother, with nary a look at Charlotte.
“Please take her away,” her mother replied with a wave of one hand and a wide smile. “She rattles on so very much.”
Lord Ashford chuckled softly in response and held out his arm. Charlotte pasted on a serene smile, tamping down her nervousness at dancing with him again.
The marquess didn’t look as severe as he usually did. He almost looked happy. It was a good thing he didn’t like her. If he was too nice to her, she might forget his duplicity about his sister’s behavior. She steeled herself against the attraction she felt for him as his musky cologne enveloped her.
Once they were on the dance floor and engaged in the steps of a country dance, she said as they passed, “I’m surprised Lady Jersey chose you as my partner, as this is the first time I’ve seen you at Almack’s this season.”
“I may have told her I needed to speak with you,” he replied lightly.
Her heart sank. When they met again, she asked cautiously, “Not about my brother?”
“On another matter. I stopped by Thorne’s Lending Library today,” he said. “The hulking man has not returned. Robbie tells me there have been no other disturbances at the library. Perhaps Mr. Landry has decided to leave Thorne’s alone.”
She thought his reason for wanting to speak with her was a poor one, but why else would he need to speak with her, if not about Thorne’s?
Charlotte had fled his presence at the library because she realized that despite his disapproval of her, she was becoming enamored of him, and she knew it would lead nowhere. She must distance herself from the marquess.
“That is good news,” she replied woodenly.
