Rose nearly giggled over the look of incredulity that crossed Lord Edgecombe’s face. He is looking at me as though I have lost my mind, she thought, controlling her expression with effort. He might not be that far off from the truth, she answered herself as she watched him pull himself together and reply diplomatically.
“I do not think I need to prove anything to either of you ladies, but I would be happy to dance the waltz with you, Lady Anne, if you would do me the honour of being my partner.”
Blushing, Anne accepted before shooting Rose a dubious look of censure, which Rose chose to ignore, merely grinning at the departing pair. At that moment, Lord Dunbar appeared at her elbow.
“You look decidedly pleased with yourself, Miss Rose. What have you been up to?”
Batting her lashes vigorously, Rose tried to put a confused look onto her face. “I have no idea what you are talking about, my lord.”
“That I sincerely doubt, my dear. But would you do me the honour of dancing this waltz with me?”
“That would be a delight, my lord, thank you.” Rose grinned at Wesley with pleasure.
As the strains of the waltz swept them into the rhythms of the dance, Rose happily followed the viscount’s lead while trying to ignore his searching glance.
“Is that your strategy then, Miss?”
With a soft sigh, Rose saw that the man would not be put off, although she tried once more. “Whatever do you mean, my lord?” she asked, with as much innocence as she could muster.
Now Wesley could not prevent his chuckle but he managed to contain it so as to not cause a scene. “You really are a minx, aren’t you? I can see now why Wrentham cannot get himself to cut his ties with you despite the convoluted family history.” Seeing the stricken look upon Rose’s face, the viscount hastened to make his apology. “Forgive me, my dear, that was inexcusably crass.”
Rose managed to maintain her composure and with impatience she waved away his apology and returned to the subject she had previously been trying to avoid. Now it seemed like a welcome diversion. “You were asking me about my strategy, my lord?” she reminded him.
Grateful for the change of subject, Wesley was quick to jump in. “Yes, it would appear that your plan is to save the duke by means of diverting the lady’s attentions elsewhere.”
“You are only very partially correct, my lord,” Rose replied primly before breaking into a smile. She could not hold onto her offense with the pleasant viscount. “For one thing, I am quite convinced that Alex is fully capable of saving himself, if the need should arise. But in this instance, I do not actually believe that merely redirecting the lady’s attention would save him. It strikes me that there is more afoot than entrapping a wealthy mate for Lady Anne, and I do believe she is as much a potential victim as the duke. I think she is a sweet young woman who will be in need of a suitable mate if this situation goes sideways, as it is sure to. I think Lord Edgecombe is a lovely young man, who would treat her well. I merely thought to ensure that the two of them have an opportunity to look at one another in a different light. There is nothing quite like taking a turn on the dance floor to the tune of a waltz to put one in a suitable frame of mind.”
Now Rose could see the light of teasing enter into Wesley’s eyes. “Oh good, so does this mean that if I were to approach your father, you would be amenable to my suit?”
Rose rolled her eyes drolly. “If you had been trying to engage my interest, surely you would have seen fit to direct the conversation into more appropriate avenues than censuring me for my managing ways.”
Wesley was quick to protest. “I did not call you managing.”
“It was surely implied by your questions, my lord.”
Rose giggled at the look of confusion covering the viscount’s face and quickly gave way. “Never mind, my lord, we are co-conspirators at the moment, and that pushes all other thoughts from our minds. You are perfectly safe dancing the waltz with me, I shall not be misconstruing your intentions, have no fear.”
Blissfully unaware of Wesley’s conflicted feelings, Rose was happy to finish the dance and return to the sidelines. There she was handed off to another gentleman waiting for her hand for the next song.
Feeling bemused, Wesley went off in search of Alex.
“That chit is a menace, Wrentham,” he declared without preamble after ascertaining that they were not within easy earshot of anyone else.
“Who might you be speaking of?” Alex asked absently.
“Surely you know full well of whom I speak. Miss Rosamund Smythe,” Wesley declared with fervour, causing Alex to look at him rather askance.
“What has happened?” Alex’s concern was clearly evident. “From where I am standing, it looks as though she is having a good time, dancing and visiting with her friends.”
“She has absolutely no idea of the power she wields!” Wesley declared with conviction. “She thinks that because we are conspiring there is no way I could possibly view her in an amorous light.”
Alex could feel his features tightening and tried to keep his tone unthreatening as he demanded, “Do you see her in an amorous light?”
“No! Yes! That is hardly the point,” Wesley replied hotly.
“Then what is the point, because I do not see one clearly evident, my lord.”
Wesley must have realized the error of his ways as he quickly back pedalled. “Do not get up in your high ropes, Wrentham. I am not about to poach on your territory. I am merely concerned for the both of you in this situation. She is a highly attractive girl and she has no idea of that. I think that puts you both in grave danger. Her heart is too tender for one thing. She is feeling sorry for the Austen chit and wants to ensure she is well matched before this situation blows up in our faces. Can you imagine? She has no care for her own wellbeing, but she feels badly that she is interfering with the lady’s plans for you. She wants to ensure the girl has a second option in place. She was playing matchmaker just before I asked her to dance.”
Alex looked at his friend with confusion on his face. “And how does that make her a menace?”
“She told me that she thinks the waltz is the most romantic dance. That is why she wanted Edgecombe to dance with Lady Anne for the waltz. But she thought neither she nor I were at risk of warmer feelings because we are too involved in the conspiracy to be so distracted. If that is how innocent she is, she is at grave risk of getting hurt in all of this. Despite your families’ feud, the two of you are going to fall in love, and it is going to be a big mess.” Wesley ended this statement with rather melodramatic flare, which brought a reluctant smile to Alex’s face.
“It is a big mess already, so there is naught we can do about that. But you are right, Rose is an innocent and that does need to be kept in mind. I hold no ill will toward her as a person, but her parents are another matter altogether. The words that were exchanged when my brother died cannot be overlooked. For Rose’s sake, I have resisted pursuing justice for my family, but there is no way I can allow our names to be bandied about. I am most certain she feels similarly on the subject, so I believe your fears are not well founded. Was there anything else you wished to tell me?”
Wesley looked at Alex, studying him to verify the sincerity of his words. “I am just surprised to find that I quite like the chit. From what I know of her parents, I didn’t think to like her.”
“Why not?” Alex was incredulous. “Just because her parents are intolerable does not mean she has to be.”
“It most often follows that way, does it not?”
“I would like to think that I am nothing like my parents,” Alex huffed.
“With that very look on your face, I am sorry to inform you that you quite put me in mind of your father.” Wesley barely managed to suppress the laughter that wanted to pour from him at the look of disbelief that crossed the duke’s face.
“I am nothing like my father,” Alex insisted, feeling the colour rise in his cheeks in his fierceness. “I often wonder if the duke even was my father,
if you must know.”
Wesley rolled his eyes. “There are many things that can be said about both of your parents, but surely, when you look in the mirror you must realize that, despite either of their reputations, you are most certainly a legitimate Wrentham.”
“Sometimes I wish it was otherwise,” Alex sighed, but then allowed the subject to drop. Looking back to the dance floor he smiled. “So, Rosie is playing matchmaker now, is she? I wonder if that is why her earlier dance partner went to dance with that Chadwick chit after speaking with her. It is dashed difficult to know what goes through a girl’s head.” Alex shook his head and Wesley couldn’t help agreeing with him. “I just hope she is not distracted from our ultimate mission here. While I would not want to see Lady Anne hurt either, it is far from uppermost in my mind at this point.”
“It seems to me that ladies are able to keep more than one thing in their mind at a time. It is an admirable quality, I must say. One that I envy them often,” Wesley commented while Alex looked at him strangely. “What, Your Grace? Do you not think it would be helpful when playing whist with the likes of Lord Ashcombe?”
“I do just fine, thank you very much. I certainly do not need the mind of a woman to keep track of my cards. Nor do I think it an asset to keep so many things uppermost in mind. It makes one easily distracted,” was Alex’s final comment on the matter, before he shook his head at his companion and bade him adieu. “I must be off. I promised I would look in at Worthington’s rout this evening. And speaking of Lord Ashcombe, I do believe I shall stop in at the club and see if my feeble brain can manage a hand or two.”
Lord Dunbar pulled a face at his highborn friend. “Mayhap I shall meet up with you there myself. It would not do to allow you to be plucked too cleanly, if your mind should be distracted by thoughts of our fair maiden.”
Alex’s ready sense of humour prompted him to laugh at his friend’s gentle ribbing. “Mayhap I shall see you there,” was all he had to say as he turned and strode from the room.
∞∞∞
“Your daughter does not appear to be keeping up to her end of the bargain, Austen,” Sir Broderick was snarling in a low voice.
“These things take time, my lord,” whined Lord Austen. “My Annie is a good girl.”
“She should be making an effort to catch the duke’s eye and dancing with him, rather than spending the evening with every other young buck there is.”
“Young girls get these ideas in their heads, my lord. It takes a steady hand. Besides, catching a duke’s eye takes time.” Lord Austen was plaintive.
“It doesn’t take more than a minute to catch the eye of a red-blooded man if you know what you’re doing,” argued Sir Broderick. “What kind of ideas are you talking about?” he demanded in a rough voice.
“Naught but young girls’ fairy tales, my lord, nothing for you to trouble yourself with. I will talk to her some more and forbid her from talking with those other girls.”
“Which other girls?” Broderick persisted. “And what ideas? You do not tell me what to trouble myself with. I will be kept informed of every development.”
“She was visiting with some young ladies recently, and they were talking about making a love match. The chit thinks she might be made unhappy if her husband discovers he was tricked into marriage,” Austen excused.
Broderick managed to keep in mind that they were in the ballroom of a fashionable, High Society home with all the ton about them hungry for any tidbit of salacious gossip. He did not let loose with the tirade he wished to unleash upon the feckless lord before him. Taking a deep breath to stem the flow of words and think of the most effective way of handling the situation before him, Sir Jason finally responded. “How did you allow such an idea to take root in her head, Austen? You are not keeping up your end of the bargain from what I can see. Your only responsibility was to ensure your daughter managed to catch Wrentham. It should have been an easy task.”
Lord Austen had visibly paled as he listened to the knight hissing his words. He had never been on the receiving end of one of Broderick’s retaliatory rebukes, but he had heard about them and was willing to do all that was necessary to avoid it for himself. Nearly cowering before the smaller man, Austen begged, “My daughter is a good girl, sir, she will do what she has been told, I will see to it, I can assure you.”
“Never mind your assurances, I can see with my own eyes just how well she is following your instructions. But I also now have an idea of the culprit. Keep your daughter away from the Smythe girl. She is nothing but trouble. I will handle the rest.”
Lord Austen turned bewildered eyes to the dance floor, surprised to see how happy his daughter looked in the arms of Lord Edgecombe. He did not comprehend how this tied in with Miss Smythe, but if that was all that was required of him, he could surely manage to keep his dear Anne away from her. She was a good girl and would do just as she was bidden, he assured himself once more as he wiped the sweat from his brow as surreptitiously as possible.
It was none of his business if the knight was looking with evil intent at that other girl. Lord Austen was just relieved it was not his Annie that had triggered that particular look. Feeling a shiver of dread slither down his spine, the viscount felt a moment of shame for his involvement with the wicked man, but there was very little one could do when their pockets were to let and such a one came around with the promise of funds for what had seemed like such an easy task. He reminded himself again that this task would in fact provide a ready solution to all his woes. Trying to brace his weak-willed spine into order, Lord Austen refused to look at the other man as he stalked away on a mission of vengeance.
∞∞∞
Alex had always been a keen observer. Stupid skill to have when one is a boy in a family such as the one you grew up in, he thought dourly. But it turns out to be terribly handy once one is an adult. You still end up seeing things you wish were not true, but at least a duke has a certain power to affect a change. Now what am I going to do about the fact that the awful Sir Jason Broderick is looking with such evil intent at my Rosie?
Striving for discretion, Alex kept his attention focused on the wicked knight while making every effort not to be obvious to anyone, especially not Broderick himself. It would not do to have the hunter realize he had become prey, Alex thought with a sinister twist to his lip. No doubt the man has noticed that Rose has been introducing Lady Anne to eligible gentlemen. I wonder how observant Rosamund is. As a child, she could be so single-minded that the house could burn down around her and she would barely notice if she were absorbed in something she thought was interesting. I shall have to put a bug in her ear tomorrow to curb her matchmaking efforts with regards to Lady Anne, if she does not want to draw the ire of Broderick down around her head.
Nodding to various friends and connections as he made his way through the crowds, he was able to keep his eyes upon the goings on of the various parties. Alex was impressed to see how Rose handled herself with whomever she encountered. Her poise would make her an excellent duchess. Alex was shocked by that stray thought, but it was true nonetheless. Just not a Duchess of Wrentham, he reminded himself as he continued to keep his eye on her movements and tried not to notice how pretty she looked this evening in her pale primrose gown, with the light from the myriad candles shimmering in her chestnut hair.
Aren’t you just so poetical this evening, Alex thought to himself in derision. With relief, he saw Rose approach her mother. He was most certain Lady Smythe would be able to keep Broderick at bay.
Chapter Fourteen
“How did you enjoy the ambassador’s ball?”
Rose gasped as she heard the low voice near her ear. The shiver that slid its way down her spine was not unpleasant, although she was undecided how exactly she felt about it.
“Alexander Edward Philip Milton Wrentham! You fairly scared a year off my life,” she declared heatedly, covering her confusion with playful anger.
“You really need to learn to pay more attention to your su
rroundings, my dear lady. I noticed last night that you seemed to be playing matchmaker with Lady Anne. Have you lost all your senses? Sir Broderick took note and did not look at all pleased. You are supposed to be making every effort not to draw attention to what we are up to.” Alex hadn’t meant to rile her up, but when he saw her it seemed he couldn’t help himself.
Rose could feel the heat rising into her cheeks and her temper rose with it. “I was not drawing undue attention to myself, Your Grace,” she insisted with emphasis, as she stuck her chin at a stubborn angle.
“Then why in heaven’s name would you be visibly thwarting Broderick’s plans by trying to set her up with other eligible parti?”
Rose felt goose bumps break out on her skin as she sensed the duke’s conflicted feelings toward her. She focused on his anger as he ground his teeth in frustration.
“Think on it, Your Grace,” Rose demanded with impatience. “Why would Broderick think anything of my actions? He has no way of knowing what I overheard. Do not all the young debutantes share their giggles about the eligible lords and gentlemen wending their way through the salons of the ton during the Season? Why would anyone remark upon my introducing Lady Anne to anyone?”
“Mayhap no one else would, you impertinent little chit, but Broderick did. I saw him watching you with his eely eyes. You are the one who told me you have a history with him. He may not be as ignorant of that history as you had thought. He seemed quite aware of the fact that you were trying to match Lady Anne up with that viscount, Lord Edgecombe. And as despicable as I think he is, I would never accuse him of being daft. He might be fully aware of your reasons for doing so.”
Now Rose laughed, although it was not a sound filled with mirth. “Sir Jason Broderick would never understand my reasons for trying to help Lord Anthony and Lady Anne see that they would make a perfectly lovely couple.”
“What are you talking about? He will no doubt consider it an attempt to foul up his plans.”
The Duke Conspiracy: A Sweet Regency Romance Adventure (Mayfair Mayhem Book 1) Page 19