“Oh, Cassie. What am I supposed to do?” Mary moaned. “I’m not prepared for something like this. I don’t… I can’t… I think I may be ill.”
Cassandra sighed, but showed no other sign of concern. “Not on my carpet, if you please.”
“Cassie! What do I do?” Mary asked, her voice rasping in her dry throat. Now was not the time for her sister to be indifferent.
Her sister cast her a look in the mirror. “Go down and greet your callers, of course. What do you expect?”
“Not this!” Mary put a hand to her head and slouched against the door. “Definitely not this.”
Setting down her brush, Cassandra turned and faced her. “Mary, you’ve never shied away from a challenge before. This whole scheme was your idea, remember. Yes, ten potential suitors in the sitting room before breakfast is more than you expected, but don’t you see? This means you are a success and those men want to know more! Your task now is to weed out the ones not worth your time. You enjoy gardening. Go pull out the weeds.”
Mary stared at her younger sister, who knew so much more about this sort of thing that she did. How, in all of Mary’s twenty-seven years, had she learned so little? She swallowed hard, and stood up straighter. “Right. I can do this. I can be myself and still be a debutante on short notice.”
“Yes, you can,” Cassandra agreed, smiling slightly. “You look lovely, especially since it’s before breakfast. Perhaps you might wish to scold them for it?”
“I plan to,” Mary said darkly. “That is, if I can find a way to politely scold a roomful of men without offending any. The last thing I need is bad gossip going around and taking all the fun out of things.”
Cassie adopted a would-be innocent expression. “Oh, are you having fun right now? I thought you were panicked.”
Mary made a face at her. “Don’t mock my pain.”
“Oh, the sheer agony of success,” Cassie muttered dryly as Mary exited. “Be graceful, dear!”
“Yes, Mother!”
Mary could hear her sister snicker as she closed the door behind her. She waited a long moment as she collected her thoughts, settled her breathing, and could manage to swallow easily. Finally, she took in a breath, released it slowly, and then made her way down the stairs. Gracefully, of course.
Composing her face into an expression of cool detachment, she entered the room, and was amused at the reaction of the men within. They all stood hastily and bowed, but not in unison. Those elaborately dressed bowed deeply, and those with more sensible clothing bowed only half as much. She noticed, with a twinge of disappointment, that Mr. Burlington was not among the gathered. It appeared that both she and Derek were mistaken in his regard for her.
No matter. She had other weeds to pluck.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” she told the gathering, a polite smile on her face. “My, what early risers you all must be!”
The entire room laughed, some more loudly than others, and some rather high-pitched indeed.
She must remember to find a man whom she could stand to hear laugh. Assuming she ended up finding one at all.
She calmly folded her hands in front of her and looked around at them all. “Any of you that have come here due to your mother’s insistence because she thinks I am desperate may leave now. Winston will show you out.”
The butler appeared at her side in an instant, which was lovely, as the man could be a bulldog, if needed. Between her words and his expression, no one would dare lie about their intentions.
And none did. For a moment, the room was entirely still. Then a few of the men ducked their heads and exited without a word.
Mary waited until the door was closed before looking at the remaining men. They were all very different in age, in dress, and in wealth. She doubted if this particular group of men had ever been in the same place at the same time outside of a ballroom or theater. And yet all were here, in her sitting room, eagerly awaiting a word or a look from her.
What a laugh.
She fought back a sigh, and smiled instead. “Would anyone care for some tea?”
Chapter Nine
“Let me get this straight. She had Viskin, Godfrey, Oliver, and Wofford in her sitting room all at the same time?” Colin laughed and put his hand over his eyes.
“I’m surprised they did not get into a slapping match,” Duncan mused wryly, shaking his head. “And that Burlington wasn’t there with them.”
“Burlington is interested,” Derek assured them. “They were officially introduced the other night. But he has not called yet, as far as I know. He prefers a delayed approach. Part of his charm.” He snorted and propped his feet up on his table, folding his arms over his chest. “I heard she also has had Timmons, Harper, Beech, and St. Martin in there.”
That sobered Colin’s laughter as he leaned forward incredulously. “St. Martin? Not…”
“Yes, the duke,” Derek affirmed with a serious nod. “She has drawn him out of eternal bachelorhood.”
“This is remarkable,” Nathan said as the others tried to digest what this meant. “She really is making quite the splash, isn’t she? And after that card party last night, it will get even worse.”
“Wait, what happened last night?” Colin asked eagerly, looking between his friends.
“Lady Warden’s card party,” Geoff told him simply.
Colin winced. “Oh, no, did she try to convince you to marry Penelope again? I don’t even accept her invitations anymore.”
“No, she seemed more focused on Sophia this time, but as Sophia prefers men of superior intellect, we parted as quickly as her mama threw us together.” Geoffrey shook his head with a laugh.
“So what happened at the party to make things get worse?” Colin asked again.
Duncan looked at him in surprise. “Haven’t you heard? It’s all over town.”
Colin looked a bit sheepish. “I may have slept past my normal time this morning, a bit too much fun last night. I haven’t seen anyone but you lot, so you must fill me in. What did Mary do?”
Geoffrey sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “The woman is a card sharp. She won every hand of whist, loo, and cribbage, even with multiple partners and sets. She won ten pounds off of Jack Kent, and then doubled it against Thomas Granger.”
“And consequently added them to her coterie,” Nathan added with an amused shake of his head.
“They’re not the only ones,” Duncan said slowly, his eyes flitting to Geoff with concern. “I was visiting my solicitor this morning, and I overheard some things…”
“Like what?” Geoff laughed. “Is the Prince of Wales interested in her now?”
Duncan didn’t laugh. “George Branson may call upon her today. As might Daniel Tremont, Charles Elliot, and Robert Henley.”
That sobered the entire group. A more troublesome group of rogues couldn’t to be found in the entire city, if not the country. Branson was rumored to regularly seduce maids, not to mention young innocents. Tremont had run through his fortune at least once already and about whom Geoff knew far too much, and Elliot was a dangerous man whose wife had died under some very suspicious circumstances.
And Henley… Henley might have been the tamest of the lot, but he was also the one about whom not much was known. He had only recently returned the country, following the death of his father. He had been on the continent for years, and no one knew why or what he did.
All of the men were very handsome, and all of them were equally charming.
“Elliot will not actually call,” Derek corrected firmly, breaking the silence. “He will send flowers with his compliments or something first, to lure her in. He is a cunning fox.”
“So she is attracting fops, card players, and rogues?” Colin furrowed his brow in confusion. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“She’s also got some scholars, from what I hear,” Nathan said brightly, trying to lighten the mood. “Probably impressed with her strategic mind. But Mary is a wise girl, Geoff. She won’t tolerate fools
.”
“Oh, I know that,” Geoff replied with a wave of his hand, smiling. “I’m not worried. Mary can handle herself. Who would have thought she would attract so much attention just by changing her hair?”
Colin snorted. “If only it were that simple.”
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
He caught their glances, and shrugged. “I don’t know Mary as well as you, Geoff, or Nathan or Derek, or even Duncan. We ran in completely different circles. I’m a gossipmonger wherever I go, and she a wallflower. Yes,” he overrode as his friends rose to her defense, “yes, she is, and don’t bother to deny it.”
No one did, so he continued.
“People never got to know Mary because she never let them. She is reserved by nature, and in public, a reserved nature is magnified. No one wants to talk with someone who is not talking to anyone, unless she is remarkably pretty or has a massive fortune. Mary is a plain girl with a decent fortune, but hardly one to brag about.” He waited for more denials, but none came. “Now all that is changed.”
“As I said,” Geoff interrupted with a hint of frustration. “All from changing her appearance.”
Colin held up a finger. “Yes and no. She found a way out of being plain, which attracted attention. But she is also talking. She is opening up. She is putting aside her formerly reserved temperament, and showing that she really would be worth the trouble. And that is what catches suitors. They are paying attention now.”
Geoff shifted uncomfortably, feeling defensive. “Well, I’ve been paying attention to her for years.”
Colin laughed. “Not like this, you haven’t. Go on over to Mary’s house and see what sort of attention she is receiving. You may find your eyes opened.”
Geoffrey looked around at them all, and then stood. “All right, I will. And when I prove you all wrong, I’m going to crow about it for a very long time.” He nodded and walked out of Derek’s library with his head held high.
“He has no idea,” Nathan sighed.
“None at all,” Duncan agreed.
Geoffrey grumbled about his friends the whole walk to Mary’s. He ought to have taken a hack, as it would have reduced the travelling time significantly, but he needed the exercise.
As if they would know Mary better than he did!
How many men truly could be so fascinated with a woman they had seen for years and had never really noticed? He shook his head and picked up his pace, wanting to hurry and see what all the fuss was about. Mary would have quite a laugh when he told her what his friends thought.
He shook his head as he walked, still laughing about the night before. He thought he knew Mary so well. How had he never known how skilled she was at cards? To beat Jack Kent and Thomas Granger! There were very few men in the country who could say they had done that, let alone any women.
He rang at the house, and Winston answered, not looking entirely composed.
“Mr. Harris, it is a delight to see you,” the old man wheezed.
“Winston,” Geoff greeted with a nod as he handed his hat to him. “How does our girl do today?”
Winston sighed heavily and shook his head. “It has been difficult to keep up, sir.” He glanced back towards the room. “I don’t know what to make of all this.”
“None of us do, Winston,” Geoff said with a pat on the butler’s shoulder.
“Do what?” asked a cheery voice from the stairs.
Geoffrey grinned up at Cassandra as she came down. “Your sister’s sudden popularity. We were just agreeing how confusing things are getting.”
Cassie rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Isn’t it ridiculous? I’ve tried to tell her to be more firm, to pace herself, but every day she allows them all to come in. I wouldn’t have thought it, but my sister is turning into quite the social butterfly.”
“Surely not,” Geoff protested with a laugh. “I have seen no such thing.”
Cassandra gave him a look. “You haven’t been watching, then. Go in and have a look.”
Now genuinely curious, Geoffrey headed in that direction and even before he entered, he saw five gentlemen sitting around Mary as if she were a queen of old and they her adoring court. Oddly enough, none of the men he and his friends had just been discussing were present. At this particular moment, Geoffrey could only identify one of them. James Finley-Ashe, a scholar by definition, a notable bore by trade. He was sitting closest to Mary and was currently speaking animatedly on some subject Geoff’s ears simply refused to hear.
Mary seemed to be listening to Mr. Finley-Ashe with polite interest and had not seen him yet, so he took up position in a chair in the corner of the room where he could survey the entire gathering with ease.
Eventually, one of the others said something, and the group laughed, even Mary. And it was not a polite laugh for the sake of the men, it was her genuine laugh. Geoffrey was one of few people who knew the difference. He frowned momentarily. Could Mary be enjoying all of this?
Well, if she were going to become the most sought after woman in London, he supposed he could make more of an effort to show that they spent time together. If he were fortunate, it might end up doing wonders for his romantic prospects in the future as well.
He smiled to himself and sat back in his chair, finally catching Mary’s eye. She smiled just a touch, inclined her head slightly, then went back to the conversation at hand.
Almost an hour later, Geoffrey was quite certain that his lower half was falling asleep in the rather uncomfortable chair he had chosen to deposit himself in. He had long ceased trying to look pleasant and was quite certain his face would forever be frozen in this state of near-complete boredom. How in the world was Mary able to remain civil to these inconsiderate idiots? She still looked as calm as ever, her complexion rosy and glowing, her hair perfect and flattering, and her dress light and fresh. Geoffrey considered himself a pleasant man, but even he had limits.
Perhaps Mary had learned more in the last few days and weeks than he had realized. The old Mary would have been finished with tedium a long time ago, and without any concern for real politeness either. Yet there she sat, just as interested now as she had been before.
It was simply bewildering.
“My goodness, look at the time!” exclaimed one of the men Geoffrey really did not care to meet. “I am to meet with Lord Viskin’s ward for Greek lessons in ten minutes!”
That seemed to be the cue, for all five men rose, paid their compliments and farewells to Mary, then left in an almost military fashion.
Only when the door closed did Geoff move. He stood, stretched, and groaned, “Oh, good, I thought they would never leave.”
Mary looked up at him in surprise, as if she had forgotten he had been there. “Was it really so long?” She glanced over at a clock and her eyebrows shot up. “My goodness! I’m sorry, Geoff, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting so long.”
He smiled and waved a hand. “Don’t worry about me. I enjoy sitting in uncomfortable chairs for long periods of time.”
Mary snorted a laugh and rose, stretching a bit herself. Then she moved towards the door to the room.
“Besides,” Geoff continued as he followed, “I enjoyed watching.”
“Watching what?” she asked in confusion as she turned her head to look back at him.
“You.” She looked surprised again, and he chuckled. “I never noticed how well you do this.”
She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Do what, exactly?”
“Play the debutante.”
A bemused smile formed on her lips. “I wasn’t playing anything just then.”
Geoff stared at her in abject confusion. Of course, she had been playing then! How could she not have been? She was eager and interested and amused by them, and the Mary he knew wouldn’t have… She’d never…
He really had no idea what she would or would not do anymore.
“But… you were listening so keenly to James Finley-Ashe,” he said with a weak laugh.
Mary shrugged
. “It was fascinating.”
Now he laughed in earnest. “Fascinating? Mary, how much wine did you drink last night?”
With a bit of a huff, Mary frowned and looked at him. “I didn’t have any wine at all last night. Did you?”
“No,” he replied as his laughter faded. “But Mary…”
“Oh,” she said softly as comprehension dawned. “Oh, you think I shouldn’t have found Mr. Finley-Ashe so interesting because he is generally thought of as dull and boring and far too scholastic.”
Something like that, yes.
“Well, I…” he began.
“I, on the other hand,” Mary overrode, looking disapproving, “choose to find out for myself what to think of other people. Mr. Finley-Ashe, for example, is a very intelligent man and is as equal in stimulating conversation as any other man who is appreciated. I greatly enjoyed hearing his theories for improving farming techniques.”
“Mary, you don’t farm,” Geoff pointed out matter-of-factly.
One shoulder lifted in a bit of a shrug. “I could learn,” she said simply. She turned and continued down the hall, leaving him there in stunned confusion.
But only momentarily.
“Wait, Mary, wait,” he called as he hurried after her. He wished the halls in this blasted house were not so cramped, for as she turned again, her eyes a bit impatient, he actually felt a little afraid. “Erm, I apologize for thinking so badly of Mr. Finley-Ashe?”
“Is that a question or an admission?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.
“You know, your ability to put a man on the spot is very disconcerting,” he admitted with a half-smile.
She rolled her eyes, but smiled back. “Is that your favorite part of me?”
“Definitely not,” he replied proudly.
“Good.” She turned and entered the dining room, where a luncheon had been set. “You might as well help yourself, Geoffrey. Cassie rarely eats in here except for dinner, and with you here, it is impolite for me to eat alone.”
“Oh, no, thank you, I have eaten already at Derek’s,” he told her as he sat. “How are you holding up under all of this?”
Secrets of a Spinster Page 9