“Do you have any fast mounts for sale? My husband’s birthday is approaching and I thought about buying him a new horse.”
Devin grinned. “Possibly faster than he’s used to.”
“Splendid! Now that will be a worthy surprise for him. I look forward to doing business with you.”
Chapter Four
“AND THERE WE WERE, my lovely boat heading straight for this rock sticking out of the water that I swear wasn’t there moments before,” Oliver Norse was telling the group surrounding Amanda. “The sailboat was brand-new! I was horrified it was going to shatter into pieces.”
“Did it?” asked Farrell Exter, the only one in the group who hadn’t heard the story yet.
“Oliver told us to jump ship and we did,” John Trask said with an engaging grin. He’d actually been on the boat with Oliver that day.
“But I went down with the ship!” Oliver bragged.
“He means to say he got tossed off it when it tilted to the side and got quite beached on the bit of land surrounding that rock.”
Farrell laughed. Amanda had laughed, too, the first time she’d heard the tale last Season. She managed a polite grin now, despite feeling terribly bored.
She should have realized that with Ophelia and her brother Rafe’s only just coming to town, her sister-in-law wouldn’t yet be au courant with all of the newcomers this Season. Ophelia had merely invited a few of the young men she knew from last year who weren’t married yet. But Amanda already knew them as well and wasn’t the least bit interested in them other than as friends. She was having to do most of the talking tonight or her little group would fall painfully silent as it had before Oliver had jumped in with a story he’d told many times before. But unlike her beaus, she had a wealth of stories to tell, mostly about her brother, who’d led a much more exciting life than they had.
“It’s time to share, gentlemen,” Phoebe Gibbs said as she arrived and slipped an arm through Amanda’s to pull her away from the young men who were staunchly refusing to leave her side tonight. “I haven’t seen Mandy all week, so do excuse us for a while.”
Amanda was grateful for the rescue. Phoebe was one of her school chums who had married last year. Amanda had caught a glimpse of another one who was also married. She had nothing in common with her old friends anymore so she hadn’t approached either one, at least that was the excuse she’d given herself. The truth was, they just made her feel even more disheartened over her predicament, being last in line to find happiness.
But Phoebe was the worst gossiper of her old group of friends, loved to hear it, loved to pass it on, so Amanda wouldn’t be surprised if she had some juicy on-dits she was dying to share, and Amanda was right.
“The Earl of Manford, I really thought he’d be here tonight,” Phoebe said.
“Who’s that?”
“A good question. Got his title as a child, losing both parents, poor boy. He’s just come of age, but no one I know has clapped eyes on him yet. I thought surely if anything could lure him to town, it would be one of Lady O’s parties.”
Amanda’s interest perked up. A young man she hadn’t met yet? She grinned. “He needs to be lured?”
“Apparently,” Phoebe huffed. “By all accounts, he’s not ready to marry so he won’t bother coming to London yet. Too busy chasing down fast horses.”
Amanda instantly lost interest. If the young earl wasn’t interested in marriage, then she had no interest in meeting him. But she politely pretended otherwise to her friend. “Another horse breeder?”
“No, he just acquires them for his collection. Avid horseman. Only time I’ve heard his name mentioned is when fast horses get mentioned.”
Amanda shuddered. She didn’t like horses—well, unless she was watching them from afar at the racetrack and betting on which one might win. But she’d taken a bad fall as a child not long after her riding lessons had begun, and she’d been afraid to get back on a horse after that and never did again.
Phoebe sighed now. “Obviously you’ve already heard about the horse breeder who’s here tonight?”
Amanda managed not to snort. How could she not hear about the man whose name was on everyone’s tongue? She’d noticed him immediately when he arrived. Handsome in a rough, overly masculine sort of way, but that’s exactly why she’d dismissed him out of hand. Too brutish looking by far.
“Such a silly nickname they’ve given him, Cupid!” Phoebe giggled. “Yet so apt! Imagine someone like him being a successful matchmaker.”
Amanda did snort this time. “Exactly. I’m not convinced he belongs here for any reason when he looks like a thug.”
Phoebe’s eyes lit up. “Then you haven’t heard it all! The Baldwins are gentry from Lancashire. There was even an earl in their family tree a while back. But they’ve always dabbled in horse breeding, which might account for this Baldwin’s being a bit more . . . more—what the deuce is the word I’m looking for?”
“Brutish?”
Phoebe frowned. “No, that wasn’t—oh, earthy! That’s the word that eluded me.”
Brutish was more apt, Amanda mumbled to herself. And she wasn’t going to politely lead this topic any further. In fact, she sent Lord Oliver a smile, urging him to return to her side, and he complied immediately.
Phoebe wasn’t pleased to have her gossip cut short and said so, “Really, Oliver, I was only going to keep her for a few minutes.”
“One minute away from Amanda is like an eternity, dear lady,” Oliver replied gallantly.
Phoebe tsked, but then grinned. “Hard to argue with that, I suppose, and I do see my husband waving at me. I’ll talk to you later, Mandy.”
Amanda almost laughed as she was surrounded by her beaus again. Now she was back to being bored! So she began the story about the wonderful painter Rafe had discovered on the Continent and had sponsored after he’d fished him out of a river. She soon had her audience laughing, but she was keeping her eye on her father across the room. As soon as he finished his conversation, she was going to suggest they leave.
Devin was more than ready to leave the party. He’d had a long day, spending most of it at the racetrack because he’d had a chance to buy one of the horses listed and wanted to see firsthand if the stallion was worth adding to his breeding stock. The stallion had come in third, better than he’d hoped, but not high enough to affect the price he was willing to pay.
But he’d met most of the guests tonight and had accomplished what he’d come for—to find out if it would be worth his time to start coming to upper-crust parties like this one where he could meet the richer lords in London who might want to buy his horses. Indeed it was. He even had two possible sales lined up. So he was glad that William had joined him at the races today and talked him into coming along tonight, but he didn’t think staying any longer would be useful. And he was annoyed with himself. His eyes kept returning to Little Miss Sunshine. The chit wouldn’t close her mouth long enough to let her admirers say a single word to her! How the deuce did she expect to win one of them?
“Bloody rotten luck that Blythe had to get the sniffles yesterday and reddened her nose so much she refused to leave her room today,” William complained beside him, gazing in the same direction as Devin. “Lady Amanda doesn’t appear the least bit interested in those young bucks surrounding her. My sister could have had her pick of them.”
“She’ll meet them soon enough.”
“Yes, I know, I just never expected that I’d be the one having to make sure she marries well. My mum was so looking forward to this.” William sighed. “I miss them terribly.”
Devin was uncomfortable with his friend’s grief. “Buck up, old boy. We’ll have her married in no time!”
Devin hadn’t said we just out of sympathy for his old friend. Devin had already assured William that he’d help any way he could, short of marrying Blythe himself. Even she knew she could do better than him. The fact was, the Paces, brother and sister, were quite pinched in the pocket these days, the deaths of the
ir parents having left them with a pile of debts and no way to dig their way out of it other than through marriage. Work was out of the question. They were aristocrats, after all, and if not from the upper reaches, their father had been a lord and their uncle was an earl. But the plan was to get Blythe married first, then William could stop worrying about her and concentrate on finding a spouse for himself. Pace financial woes would be fixed nicely and everyone would be happy.
Devin wished he could map out his own life so easily, but he knew a wife wouldn’t be part of it, at least not one he might meet socializing with the ton. They might accept him for whatever reason, but they wouldn’t let their daughters marry him, not when the truth about him was revealed, and that wasn’t something he could withhold in good conscience from a potential wife or her family. But, in the meantime, he didn’t mind using these people to promote his new farm or to profit from the sideline that had fallen into his lap and was turning out to be surprisingly lucrative.
No matter how he looked at it, that sideline was funny as hell. Matchmaking, and they paid him for it! Just because he found people so easy to read, particularly young people who talked too much when they were nervous. He’d even met the perfect match for William a couple of weeks ago, felt it in his gut that they’d fall head over heels for each other, and was just waiting until William’s sister was settled to introduce them. But this sideline had caused the invitations to elite parties to roll in, ever since Sir Henry and Elizabeth Malcort had announced their engagement and claimed that Devin had helped them find each other.
The ton considered him a curiosity, and because of that, they wanted him at their parties. He actually didn’t care why as long as it brought him business for either of his endeavors. But he wished to hell he could keep his eyes off Little Miss Sunshine, yet once William moved off for some refreshments, it was impossible to do so.
She really did sparkle, and it had nothing to do with the expensive jewels she was wearing. Vivacious. Effervescent. When she smiled and laughed, she seemed to light up the room, she was so beautiful. He’d love to know what she was talking about to keep her young admirers so raptly attentive. Actually, they might not even care what she was saying, they could merely be delighted to be in her company.
“I think you better get your eyes off my sister until I know your intentions.”
Devin glanced to his side. At a few inches over six feet, he was used to towering over other men, but that wasn’t the case with this chap he hadn’t yet met. Blond, blue-eyed, the man was as tall as Devin and was staring at the center of the room where Devin’s eyes had been, not necessarily at the same young woman, but that would be a good guess. While the animosity of the man’s statement wasn’t revealed in his expression, a strong note of warning was in the tone of his voice.
“I have no intentions,” Devin replied. “I was just wondering how she can look like she’s having a good time, yet be bored to tears.”
The man frowned slightly, still staring at his sister, then said, “Bloody hell, hadn’t noticed that. You do read people very well, don’t you?”
Devin shrugged. “It’s a knack.”
The animosity was still present in the man’s tone. Why? Was the brother so protective of his sister that he didn’t even like that Devin had “wondered” about her? Possibly, and that would be a clear indication the fellow didn’t think Devin was good enough for his sister. Devin knew he wasn’t, but no one else knew why he’d be the first to agree. Ordinarily, reactions like this didn’t bother him in the least. Tonight it did, and he wasn’t sure why.
“Are you married?”
“No,” Devin said tersely, about to walk away.
The man was still frowning when he remarked, “Deuced odd, then.”
Devin raised a brow. “What is?”
“That you’re not drooling over my sister like the rest of these young bucks.” The man paused. “Unless you’re a confirmed bachelor?”
Devin just smiled, but that caused the man to rock back on his heels for a moment, and the animosity was suddenly gone. “Well, that explains it. Understand perfectly. Was one m’self until I met my wife. By the by, I’m Raphael Locke, Rafe to my friends. And you’re Devin Baldwin, from the Lancashire Baldwins, titles distributed elsewhere, gentry nonetheless.”
Now the man gets around to introducing himself? “It sounds like the gossip mill has been busy tonight,” Devin said.
Raphael chuckled. “Can’t stand gossip m’self. No, m’wife just makes it a point of finding out who shows up at her parties, in case she’d like to invite them again.”
This was who was married to their ethereal hostess? William had forgotten to mention the family ties when he’d admitted he’d tried his hand at winning the duke’s daughter. “Lucky fellow.”
“Oh, indeed, don’t I know it,” Raphael said. “Surprised we’ve never met before, though I still spend most of the year in the country with my family. So this amusing matchmaking occupation of yours has brought you to town?”
“I don’t consider that an occupation. Horse breeding is my occupation and my passion. That’s what keeps me busy, especially since I’m trying my hand at producing racers now, instead of just quality mounts. And my aunt and uncle who moved to London suggested I bring my efforts closer to them, since I was never finding time to visit. So I bought the old Harksten place just outside of town, close enough that I can live with them again, which makes them happy.”
“Humph, I guess Phelia forgot to mention that part! Racers, eh? I just might have to visit your farm.”
Now that was funny. Devin supposed he ought to tell Lady Ophelia that if she didn’t buy her husband’s birthday present soon, she’d have to find something else to buy him. But he didn’t see the lady anywhere nearby, and he wasn’t about to go searching for her when he’d rather just leave. He did spot William looking bored with the conversation he was having across the room and, catching his eye, nodded toward the exit. His friend grinned his agreement, so Devin bid his host good night and started across the room—which took him right past Little Miss Sunshine.
He should have resisted. Really. But if the girl had been on the marriage mart since last year, which was when William had said he’d met her, then she ought to know by now what she was doing wrong.
Devin paused and leaned close enough so his whisper didn’t reach any ears but hers and advised, “How are your beaus supposed to woo you if you won’t keep quiet long enough to let them?”
Chapter Five
IT WAS A WONDER Amanda had got to sleep at all last night she’d gone to bed so furious. The nerve of that odious man to say something so outrageous to her and then leave the party before she’d recovered enough to give him the sharp side of her tongue. They hadn’t even been introduced yet!
But she slept off the worst of her anger and the next day was merely annoyed at the man’s presumption to give her advice when he didn’t know anything about her.
Who was Devin Baldwin really? A thug, as she’d thought, or just a country clod lacking in manners and refinement? That would certainly account for such audacity, but she should know that for certain by now because they’d spent hours at the same party! He should have had someone introduce him to her at some point last night so she could have found out more about him other than the gossip, which might not be accurate. Why the deuce hadn’t he?
She’d almost seen to the matter herself after her little chat with Phoebe, which had piqued her curiosity a bit despite her certainty that he didn’t really belong there. She’d considered introducing herself when she saw her brother talking to him later in the evening. With Baldwin standing next to Rafe, it was like looking at night and day side by side. Rafe was blond and fair. The brute was so darkly tanned, yet she couldn’t help noticing again how handsome he actually was with his raven hair and—were his eyes actually amber? She hadn’t got close enough to him to be sure. He was certainly old enough that this wasn’t his first Season in London by any means.
Where had he
been hiding himself? He was so mysterious! No one really knew anything about him or his family other than they hailed from Lancashire and were long-standing horse breeders, so the rumors that were circulating about him might not be true a’tall. A matchmaker? How absurd to attribute something like that to him when all he’d done was introduce a few friends who ended up liking each other enough to want to marry. She’d done exactly the same thing herself her first Season, but no one was calling her a matchmaker. But she knew how the ton were. They’d latch onto anything worth gossiping about, even something as silly as a horse-breeding matchmaker! Well, that was a bizarre mix, wasn’t it? And exactly why it would be so interesting—if it was true. And exactly why her own curiosity was piqued.
She’d almost barged in on her brother’s conversation with Baldwin, had been getting up the nerve to do so. And what had that been about? Nervous? Her? She was never overcome with shyness like that! But Baldwin certainly wasn’t the sort of gentleman she was accustomed to—if he could even be called a gentleman. And it was a good thing she did hesitate. The few words he’d said to her had confirmed that her first impression of him had been accurate. He was nothing but a rude, presumptuous country clod, and he’d better hope she never saw him again or she’d tell him so!
Ophelia came by early that morning to invite her on an outing. “Where are we going?” Amanda asked when she came downstairs to join Ophelia and her maid, Sadie O’Donald, in the parlor, where they’d been waiting for her. “Am I dressed appropriately?”
Both women stood up to put their coats back on. Amanda had brought a fur-trimmed pelisse with her, but kept it over her arm, not sure if she needed it. It was late autumn, but not quite cold enough yet for more than the heavier clothing and extra petticoats favored at that time of year. Amanda’s pale blue–and-white walking dress was made out of thick brocade, and the matching jacket that ended at her waist was likely all she’d need to keep warm.
Let Love Find You Page 4