Page 15 of The Duke of Distraction
“What’s brilliant?”The Countess of Dartford swept into the room.She was an attractive woman with ink-dark hair and a shrewd gaze.Felix rose.
Dart stood and turned toward his wife.“I’ll let Ware explain.It’s his secret.”
“It’soursecret since you’re sharing hosting duties.”
“I’m merely providing the location,” Dart said.
The countess looked at him in confusion.“Location for what?”
Dart smiled at her.“You’re going to love this.Ware will finish his races—in secret—at Darent Hall next week.”
Her face lit up like a bonfire.She turned her head toward Felix.“How wonderful!”
“Now you can truly become champion,” Dart said, putting his arm around her.
“IfI beat Lady Exeby.What’s this about it being secret?”she asked.
“I think it best to keep people like Childers away,” Felix explained.
The countess nodded.“Good idea.”
“I’ll apprise you of the specifics, my dear,” Dart said to her.
“How exciting.”She glanced toward Felix once more.“Thank you for planning this.It will be nice to finish it.”
“Happy to,” Felix said.“I’ll be in touch.”He excused himself and left their town house, stepping out into the bright mid-May afternoon.
A short while later, he made his way home and summoned his secretary to his study.He’d barely sat down at his desk when she breezed in the door carrying her typical ledger in which she kept all her notes and information.She called it her bible.
“How did it go?”Felix’s secretary, Georgiana Vane, sat in her usual chair beside his desk.A pencil jutted from the blonde pile of hair twisted atop her head.Just a bit younger than him, she was astonishingly efficient and organized.She was also exceptionally beautiful—a fact that hadn’t been lost on Felix’s valet, who had married her last year.
“As expected.The party will begin next Wednesday.”
George opened her bible and scratched her pencil across the paper.“Two dinners?”
“Dartford insisted on sharing the expense.Draft a letter asking for the menu—I’ll buy what’s needed, and his staff can make it.”
“Wine?”She didn’t look up.
“I’ll let him provide that.”
“Shall I do the same for other meals?”
“Whatever you think is best,” Felix said.He was renowned for his entertainments, and yet without George’s oversight, they wouldn’t be nearly as successful as they were.Hell, they probably wouldn’t happen at all.
She snapped the ledger closed and slid the pencil back into her upswept hair.“Have you completed your list of guests?”
He hadn’t seen George since visiting the Coltons earlier.“Not yet.And there’s been a bit of a change.This will be forty people instead of thirty.”
“I suspected as much,” she said with a hint of a smile.“You always think of people you’ve forgotten.”
“In this case, I need to think of people.Bachelors, specifically.I need to find a match for Sarah Colton.”
George had met Anthony before but not Sarah, though she’d heard enough about her to know who she was.“You’re adding matchmaker to your activities?Why am I not surprised?In fact, it’s a wonder it’s taken you this long.”
“I am not becoming a matchmaker.I’m helping a dear friend.”And escaping the parson’s trap himself.In truth, the Coltons’ suggestion that he marry Sarah wasn’t terrible.If he had any interest in marriage, he would consider it.Or at least he would have before he’d known Sarah wished to marry for love.Now he would help her fall in love.
Hell, hewasa matchmaker.
