She led the girls into the drawing room and motioned for them to sit. “My husband will join us shortly. And we’ve invited a few others to spend the evening with us. Do you know the Duke of Thornton and the Marquess of Markham?”
Mattie’s chest froze and she couldn’t inhale. She must have misheard.
Charlotte saved her. “I met Lord Markham at his sister’s wedding, but Mattie has known him for some time.”
“Yes,” Mattie squeaked. She cleared her throat. “We’ve been acquainted many years.”
The irony! While she had come there to avoid boredom, she’d hoped to cross paths with Markham at some point. Yet to have it happen so soon in her visit was better than she’d imagined. And most likely, he’d think she’d planned it all.
She tried to focus on conversation and blamed her travels for her inattention, when either woman asked. Tiredness couldn’t explain why she jumped at every sound from the street, or footsteps in the hall. When would he arrive?
Finally, the butler announced the two men.
Thornton entered first and Mattie joined the other two women in curtseying. He was handsome enough, but he didn’t compare to Markham in the least.
Markham, himself, entered next, looking more handsome than she remembered. Well, that wasn’t quite true. She’d gone longer than a few weeks without seeing him and noticed no change in his appearance, so her attraction to him must be what had changed.
He smiled, even in his eyes, when he met her gaze. “Lady Matilda, I had no idea you were in Town.”
“I only arrived today. I’m staying with Miss Harrow. You remember her from the wedding?”
“Yes.” He nodded to her. “I’ve known her for some time. Are you acquainted with His Grace? Thornton, Lady Matilda is one of my sister’s dearest friends.”
One of his sister’s dearest friend. No mention of their own friendship. That should be all she needed to hear to put aside all thought of him.
But she’d thought of him so long, she didn’t believe she could ever stop.
Lord Adam entered behind his friends, and Mattie was introduced to him, too. Not long after, they ate a splendid meal with four courses, and returned to the drawing room sated.
Markham stood behind Mattie’s shoulder, resting a hand on the back of her chair. “What brings you to Town? Merely your friend Charlotte?”
“Yes. We got on quite well at Stanhope Abbey.”
“How charming. And what will you do for entertainment?”
She was about to claim she wasn’t easily bored, but that was precisely her reason for coming. That, and the hope of seeing him, and she couldn’t mention that, either. “We…haven’t decided. As I said, I’ve only just arrived.”
“Well, I can make some recommendations, if you wish.”
“I thank you, but Charlotte has many ideas, and not everyone has removed to the country. We’ll attend the opera, or the theatre before it closes for the summer. Charlotte’s cousin and his wife live not far…you see, we have many entertainments at hand.”
“Very good to hear.”
Was that disappointment in his voice? She glanced back at him. “Of course, I include you among my friends, Lord Markham. May we look forward to your company before I return to Nottinghamshire?”
His smile gave her shivers. “I’d be delighted.”
Upon taking their leave from Lord and Lady Adam, Markham and Thornton rode to White’s to begin their search for Sir Rollo. As luck would have it, they found him there and were able to join his table.
“Markham and Thornton. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Sir Rollo was banker, as usual, and he dealt to the two of them as well as the other three men at the table.
“I never miss a good game of Vingt-et-un.” Markham turned up his face-down card. Added to the face-up one, he had a total of seventeen. He’d watch the others before deciding to ask for another card. Most importantly, he watched Sir Rollo.
“I’m surprised you aren’t at Shipley’s tonight,” Thornton said to Sir Rollo.
“Once I’ve beaten a man repeatedly, he rarely wants to join me again.”
Markham stared at the man with his near admission of cheating. “Do you attend a different club every night? Or do you have to go to more than one in an evening?”
Sir Rollo chuckled. The others requested additional cards or stuck with what they had, and Sir Rollo flipped his second card to show a pontoon. He’d had an ace showing and revealed a king. Twenty-one.
No one else held more than twenty points, so the money went into the bank. Sir Rollo wasn’t a meticulous player, leaving the coins piled rather than stacked. Even if he wasn’t concerned about the man stealing coins from the bank, the sheer disorder of it all drove Markham mad.
In the next hand, Sir Rollo went bust, dealing himself twenty-three, so he paid back the bets.
Several hands later, Thornton’s face up card was an ace, increasing the odds he had a pontoon. His expression after checking his first card didn’t change, so Markham had no idea what he held.
Markham went bust, and he watched the other players finish their play, all waiting to see what the dealer, Sir Rollo, had. He turned up two tens.
The other three men flipped their cards, muttering about losing again. Thornton waited until last, watching Sir Rollo’s expression when he turned up a jack. His pontoon beat dealer’s twenty, so the bank and deal moved to Thornton.
This was what Markham had been waiting for. Thornton slid the pile of coins in front of him and very slowly and carefully stacked them, ten coins to each stack, so everyone—most importantly Markham—could calculate the total.
Not knowing how much was in the bank before they arrived, Markham couldn’t determine how much, if any, the total was off. But now he could keep track. They might have to play late into the night to have the bank return to Sir Rollo and then back to one of them, but they’d do so tonight, and the next, and as many as it took to catch the man at his game.
Chapter 8
Two mornings later, Markham stood in the drawing room of Miss Charlotte Lumley’s parents’ home awaiting Mattie’s presence. Quiet taps on the floor outside the room announced her, and he looked up to see her glide in as if she floated on a cloud of white lawn and purple ribbons. “Good morning, Markham. Would you care to sit?”
She was a vision with loose brown curls framing her face. She appeared more relaxed than at his parents’ home. Perhaps being in Town away from their families allowed her to avoid the gossip and plots and simply enjoy herself. He hoped so.
“Would you like to join me for a drive? It’s nowhere near the fashionable hour to be seen, so turn me away if you will.”
“Since my mother isn’t in London, I’m not afraid to be seen. Nor am I longing for it. I’d enjoy a ride with you, Markham. Let me fetch my gloves and hat, and let Charlotte know where I’m going.”
He wondered if Miss Lumley was the type to encourage matches, and if she’d push him in Mattie’s direction. That was easily enough avoided, if he didn’t go out of his way to call on her, as he was now. He couldn’t fool himself into believing he was here for Mattie’s sake. They were sure to cross paths throughout her visit, since he and Miss Lumley apparently had friends in common. Clearly it was himself he’d been thinking of by calling on her.
As he helped Mattie into the curricle, a series of excuses ran through his thoughts. She was a close friend of his family, so it was his duty to make certain she enjoyed her visit to Town. She was his sister’s dear friend, and Lavinia would never let him rest if he hadn’t called on her once or twice. He was practically a brother to her, and he must make certain she doesn’t cross the paths of any rakehells who would destroy her self-respect and reputation.
Well, the brother part took this a bit too far. A brother wouldn’t find her so pretty, wouldn’t enjoy the ring of her laughter when she was truly pleased. A brother wouldn’t want to kiss—
He stopped that thought immediately. It was only the memory of her kissing wager that
brought that to mind. She’d better have rid her head of that idea because she couldn’t kiss men indiscriminately like that. Who knew what it could lead to?
Mattie’s silence as she sat beside him worried Markham. “Have you heard from my sister? How is she enjoying married life?” he asked.
“She and Ringley are quite happy, as you would expect. They are in Bath at present and will go to Ringley’s home from there.”
He’d forgotten Ringley had a home of his own, small though it was. The man spent most of his time staying with others to avoid his father’s displeasure. How would he adapt to waking in one place each morning? Well, as he would be waking beside his bride, he’d likely adjust very quickly.
“And your mother…she had no qualms about letting you come to Town alone?”
“I’m hardly alone. Charlotte had too much common sense to lead me into questionable places and I’m old enough to travel with friends. Why do you insist on treating me like I’m still twelve years old?”
He glanced down to observe whether her rosy lips were in that petulant frown she’d favored at that age. Foolish move, for they stirred his thoughts about kissing her. Her figure was too ripe for a child, too alluring to be allowed to gambol about London unchaperoned.
“Forgive me,” he said. “I cannot stop being protective of you simply because you’ve had another birthday.”
Her smile spread and she peered up from beneath her hat brim. “You’re feeling protective? Or is it jealousy plaguing you?”
He laughed a bit too loudly. “Minx, that’s what you are. I pity the man who catches your eye.”
Or, lord, he didn’t just utter those words. He didn’t have to look to know how deeply he’d struck her. “Why is it I keep having to beg your forgiveness? I can’t speak to you like other ladies. I know you too well. And I can’t continue to treat you like Lavinia’s little friend. You’re too grown-up for that. Perhaps this was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have called on you this morning.”
Mattie touched his arm, then said, “Please, don’t avoid me. You should be able to say anything you wish to me, and soon enough I’ll have forgotten what happened at your parents’ home.”
“I hate to see you hurt, though. Especially if I’m the cause of it.”
“If I promise not to try and kiss you, will you feel safer in my presence? Or we could bring Charlotte along to chaperone us so I don’t land you in a scandalous situation.”
He shook his head, chuckling. “You are so very different from the child I believed you to be. How did I not see this side of you before?”
“If you had, would you have allowed Lavinia to continue our friendship?”
“Hm. Now I’m afraid to learn how my sister behaves when you all are together. Please, I beg of you, never let me find out.”
Markham felt the pressure of her fingers wrapping around his elbow, but he didn’t pull away for chastise her. He liked the feel of her hand tucked at his side, whether it should allow it or not. He grimaced, shaking his head. If he wasn’t careful, he’d lose this battle to remain safe from falling in love.
One evening on the way to the opera, Mattie told Charlotte how she felt. “I’m so happy you invited me to come. I’ve had more fun with you than in an entire Season with all of Society in town. And it’s not because of Markham, although he does play a very large role. You, Mary Jane and Adam are so good to me. I hope you’ll come visit me in Nottinghamshire in the fall or winter.”
“I’d enjoy that, thank you. But let’s not talk about your leaving. There’s still so much we can do. I’m pleased you’re here in time to see the last opera of the year. Father and his friends share the box throughout the Season, and he always reserves it for the final show. Have you been?”
“Yes, once. I’m thrilled to be going again.”
So many carriages arrived at the same time that they had to wait for a spell until they drew close to the entrance on Drury Lane. Gentlemen and ladies were dressed in finery even more lavish than they wore to Almack’s or the grandest balls. Mattie wore her peach silk gown with embroidered hem and a matching fascinator, carrying her head high when they walked upstairs to their box.
Mrs. Harrow made certain Charlotte and Mattie had the better seats in the small space, and Mr. Harrow bought the book containing the cast and libretto. They were perched for a perfect entertainment.
“Who can we see?” Charlotte leaned forward and scanned the other boxes and the people filing in to the seats below.
Mattie looked also. “Is that Lord and Lady Castlereagh? And Lord Byron!”
“Not as many recognizable faces as I would expect,” Charlotte said.
Mattie searched the boxes opposite them, part of her wishing to borrow Mrs. Harrow’s opera glasses, and the other part feeling that was too much an intrusion into those people’s lives. She wouldn’t want someone watching her that closely.
In the third box from the stage, Mattie saw the one face she never expected. Markham. Why hadn’t he asked her to join him tonight? His words and manner when she last saw him made her think he would. They had yet to attend any event on their own, however, so maybe he wasn’t as earnest as she assumed. She was still little Mattie Franklin, his sister’s playmate.
As she watched, he was in conversation with the person next to him, who was blocked from Mattie’s vision. Then that person leaned forward. It was a woman, and not one Mattie recognized.
The woman was older, perhaps the wife of a friend? But no one else sat in the box with them, even after the opera began. Mattie was unable to concentrate on the performers, so distressed was she. Who was the woman? Was she the reason Markham never spoke of a future together, insisting he wouldn’t marry?
Charlotte nudged her arm and whispered, “Who has your attention?”
Mattie sat back and looked toward the stage. “No one.”
“You’ve watched one of those boxes more than the actors.”
“No one, I said.”
Charlotte continued to observe the patrons in the boxes. Then she gasped. “What is he doing here, and who is that woman? Do you know her? Is she a relative?”
“I’ve never seen her.” Mattie’s voice cracked. I will not cry, I will not cry.
Patting her thigh, Charlotte said, “Do not fret over it. I’ve seen him when he’s with you and know how much he cares for you.”
Mattie tried to convince herself of that, but by the end of the evening she still worried.
When they joined the other patrons pushing toward the stairs at the end of the show, Mattie prayed she wouldn’t see Markham outside while they awaited their carriage. Her bad luck continued.
“Don’t look to your right. They’re three couples over and behind us.” Charlotte slipped around Mattie, placing herself between her friend and Markham.
Never one to resist temptation, Mattie glanced over her shoulder. The woman, curvaceous and beautiful, held his arm very familiarly as they talked and laughed. Who was she?
Memories rose, the gossip that had led, in part, to his being called a miscreant. He frequented a bawdy house, one of the finer ones, but still, a disreputable place of debauchery. That rumor alternated with one saying he kept a woman, and she was definitely the reason he avoided marriage. But would he be seen with his paramour in such a public place?
Obviously, the answer to that was yes. Whoever she was, he had no qualms at being with her in Polite Society.
Charlotte continued to chatter in an attempt to keep Mattie’s attention occupied, but she failed horribly.
They were still three rows deep in the crowd, leaving them trapped, and as people funneled through the entrance, that brought Markham and his companion—Mattie couldn’t call her a lady until she knew who the woman was—closer.
Then Mr. Harrow noticed them. “Markham, did you enjoy the performance?”
The marquess’s smile was relaxed, showing no distress at being seen. “Quite so. I’m glad we were able to see it. I’ve been preoccupied with business, thus missed much of
the Season’s activities.”
“Yes, one must sometimes set business aside and enjoy some entertainment.”
Mattie tried to hide behind Charlotte as the men talked, but it did no good.
“Lady Matilda, good evening.” Markham singled her out before greeting Charlotte and Mrs. Harrow.
“Hello, Lord Markham.”
Whether he meant to or not, he neglected to introduce his companion, even though Mattie gave him several pointed looks.
Charlotte spoke more to the point. “Lord Adam and his wife are hosting an evening of cards Thursday night. Will you be there?”
“I’m not certain of my plans. I hope to join you ladies, though.”
Now he met Mattie’s gaze, although she was unable to make out what she read in his expression. Did he mean to imply he still cared for her, or that she should ignore the fact he was there with another woman? She couldn’t do so. It hurt too much to bear.
All her dreams were shattered in one night.
Leaning close to speak in Charlotte’s ear, Mattie said, “I don’t think I can attend Mary Jane’s party.”
“Now, don’t be rash. You’ll feel stronger in the morning. We’ll discuss it then.”
Mattie was shocked when a footman informed her Lord Markham was calling on her the next morning. It was barely time for morning calls, and she had no desire to see him after the previous night.
Still, she left the morning room to greet him in the drawing room. “Good morning. Please, sit.”
“Good morning. You look well.”
She’d seen the mirror that morning, she looked under the weather even though she’d had nothing to drink. Having nothing she wished to say, she sat unspeaking.
“That was an entertaining performance last night, wasn’t it?” Markham shoved his hair off his forehead.
Last night was the last thing she wanted to talk about. And after last night, he was the last person she wanted to see. She remained silent.
His color whitened a bit. “Have you been able to attend many assemblies?”
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