Page 36 of One Night of Scandal
“I do not.”
“Alas, I do not either.” He paused and looked down at her. “This is a rather dangerous topic, and you’ve brought it up twice now, which I find a trifle peculiar.”
Blast.Perhaps she wasn’t a very good reporter at all. “I heard a piece of gossip, ’tis all.” She spoke lightly and looked out over the ballroom.
They continued walking. “You should know not to listen to gossip.” His tone was condescendingly parental.
She fluttered her eyelashes at him in mock innocence. “Even you can recognize that gossip about such a thing would be intriguing. Or do you not care for the welfare of our prince?”
He sputtered for a moment. “Of course I care. That you would insinuate otherwise is, frankly, insulting.”
“I didn’t insinuate a thing, Lord Orford,” she said sweetly. “I asked you a question, and I’m glad to hear you admire the prince as much as I do.” Admiration was perhaps a shade excessive—the man was a hedonist and not a very good husband—but in this instance, it seemed the best thing to say.
Lord Orford opened his mouth to speak, then snapped it closed again. She suspected he wanted to ask what she’d heard, but to do so would encourage gossip, which he’d just denigrated. He’d pompoused himself into a corner, and Viola had to stifle a smile.
Thankfully, they’d arrived at her grandmother, who was seated in a chair against the wall. Her friend, the Dowager Countess of Dunwich, was no longer occupying the seat next to her.
Grandmama looked up at Viola and Lord Orford. “You looked quite lovely dancing. I trust you enjoyed yourselves?”
Viola withdrew her hand from his arm. “We did, thank you.”
Lord Orford bowed to the dowager and then to Viola. “Have a good evening.”
Perching on the empty chair beside Grandmama, Viola mentally bid the viscount good riddance.
“He would be a good match,” Grandmama said.
“So you’ve indicated. However, I find him arrogant.”
“All men are arrogant.” Grandmama’s tone was dismissive. “The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can settle on someone. You said the same thing of Ledbury.”
Perhaps Grandmama was right, though she would argue there was an arrogance scale. She’d place Ledbury somewhere below Orford, but far above her brother or Jack. The two of them were also arrogant, but not in a way that annoyed her. How did that work exactly? Their brand of arrogance was more confidence and self-awareness. Perhaps she ought to write an article about the arrogance of men…
“Viola!”
She snapped out of her reverie and blinked at her grandmother. “What?”
“I said there is a man for you. You just haven’t identified him yet.”
Viola wasn’t sure she believed that. She’d met an endless parade of men in the past seven years. What if she were doomed to be alone?
Doomed? Since when had the notion of being alone ever bothered her?
“What if I don’t…identify anyone?” she asked softly, not meeting Grandmama’s gaze.
“Nonsense. Mildred is back.”
Viola looked up to see Lady Dunwich. She stood, offering the woman, who was a few years Grandmama’s senior and walked with a cane, the chair.
“Did you have a nice dance, dear?” Lady Dunwich asked brightly. Her friendship with Grandmama had always puzzled Viola. Where Grandmama was austere and sometimes terrifying, Lady Dunwich was warm and charming. Yet they were as close as two friends could be. “Lord Orford is so very handsome.” She gave Viola a knowing glance.
“Yes, we had a nice dance.” Viola refused to acknowledge whether he was handsome. While he possessed an attractive form, he paled beside Jack, whose sparkling intellect and vibrant charm made him wholly alluring. Along with that arrogance or confidence or whatever it was. She caught herself scanning the ballroom for him again. Instead of finding him, she saw Isabelle and decided she’d rather talk to her than remain and discuss Lord Orford.
“Will you excuse me? I’m going to speak with Isabelle.” She curtsied to Lady Dunwich and inclined her head toward Grandmama, then took herself off with alacrity.
Isabelle greeted her warmly. “What a fetching gown,” she said, looking down at Viola’s dark green dress embellished with gold embroidery.
“Thank you. It’s earned me two dances tonight, which is a record since before Ledbury.”
