He let out a high pitched yelp and his hand quickly disappeared from her leg as Charlotte offered her sincere apologies for dropping her cutlery.
“I am so sorry! My fingers must be greasy from the duck. I do beg your pardon, Lord Ainsworth. I hope I have not injured you grievously.” She fluttered her eyelashes at the man as he gulped back the pain of the spearing.
“Think nothing of it, my dear.” He hissed and shook his head while he gritted his teeth and pretended that he was well able to ignore such a painful stabbing, but Charlotte wasn’t done with the odious man. She pouted a pretty smile at him.
“It is fortunate that you are not so well endowed or it might have been more than a little prick that you received.” She arched her eyebrows virtuously and whispered loudly enough so that several in the vicinity could overhear.
Geoffrey almost spat out his peach pudding, such was the guffaw that nearly broke past his lips. The dark haired lady who had talked his ear off all evening attempted to gain his attention yet again, but Geoffrey shrugged off her questing fingers that reached for his thigh and listened to Charlotte again. This time she placed her hand on Lord Ainsworth’s arm and spoke earnestly. “Or perhaps you dress to the right, in which case it is just as well that I am seated above you at the table. Being lower down the pecking order may have saved your family jewels.” Her hand flew to her mouth as Lord Ainsworth let out a strangled harrumph and turned a bright shade of pink.
Charlotte took out her fan and wafted it vigorously, catching the attention of over half the table before she spoke from behind it.
“I do apologise most profusely. Clearly you dress to the left and I have skewered more than meets the eye. Never fear, your secret is safe with me, your Lordship. If your wife or any of your mistresses ask why you are not dancing later this evening I will let them know that it was all my fault and that you met with a tiny accident that has left you incommoded for the foreseeable future.” Ainsworth now turned purple and Charlotte immediately gasped out, “Oh heavens! Just think what a lucky escape you have had. Imagine if the fork had punctured your hand where it lay on my knee. You might have been unable to ride or draw forth your sword with any prowess.” She blinked in youthful innocence at the man who now sat squirming in his seat.
Several of the ladies tittered behind their gloved hands and many of the men shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, clearly removing straying fingers from numerous knees. Geoffrey glanced down at his dark haired companion, picked up his pudding fork and twirled it in his fingers. The lady’s eyes widened and she inched back as her hand suddenly appeared above the table cloth. Geoffrey raised his glass fractionally in Charlotte’s direction and smiled at her for the first time that evening.
Lady Latham looked along the table. Most of the company had stopped eating. She narrowed her eyes fractionally at Charlotte before standing up and leading the ladies from the room. Charlotte completely ignored her host’s directive and lingered long enough for Geoffrey’s dinner companion to leave before her. When the lady turned back to give Geoffrey a languorous smile Charlotte was right behind her, glowering at the flirtatious woman.
The ball began in earnest as the men rejoined the ladies. Other guests began arriving and the noise and general excitement increased dramatically as the music began and the ladies filled their dance cards.
Geoffrey stood behind Olivia and Charlotte as they sat together at the edge of the ballroom. Being the most beautiful woman in the room, Charlotte’s card had been filled quickly and Geoffrey ground his teeth at the thought of how many men would touch her hands that night. She had only two spaces left and both of them were waltzes. Olivia pressed her lips together and stood up.
“This is just not good enough. Lady Latham promised me that she would make sure that you were allowed, my dear. Stay here while I find the woman and gain your permission. We can’t have the Prince asking you to dance and you being ruined when you have to refuse him. Geoffrey, put your name in both those spaces so that no other men think that they may take advantage of them.” She snatched up Charlotte’s dance card and handed him the pencil.
Geoffrey felt his cheeks heat as he stared down at Charlotte’s list of partners. There were two Dukes, a Marquis, three Earls and more Lords than he cared to count. He added a Mister, twice, and handed the filled card back to Charlotte.
“Your feet are going to be aching.” He grumbled as Olivia hurried off towards a group of gossiping women.
Charlotte sighed and fanned her flushed cheeks.
“I can feel the pain already. I’d give anything for a night off. Olivia has been an absolute darling, but I’ve not had a moment to myself since we arrived.”
Geoffrey glared ferociously at a young man who had been about to approach, and didn’t speak again until the interloper had scuttled back, red faced, to his laughing companions.
“I know exactly how you feel. I am looking forward to Giles arriving more than I can say.”
Charlotte sighed deeply.
“At least you can go home then. I fear that I will be trapped here for several weeks longer, though that may make it possible for me to find a buyer for the diamond. All of Alexander’s recommendations have failed. I will have to ask privately now.”
Surprised that she mentioned the fabulous stone in public, Geoffrey leaned a little closer to her ear.
“I think that you should be careful who you approach about it. These people are loose lipped when in their cups. We don’t know who they consort with or who might discover that you have a priceless stone. We wouldn’t want you or Alexander’s house to become a target for thieves.”
Charlotte looked up at him and noticed the genuine concern reflected there. She smiled gratefully and pressed her hand to his for a second.
“Many appear to know of its existence already, Geoff. Even Lady Bowers has asked to see it. I fear that my dear departed brother was far more open with his friends than he perhaps should have been. He told many of the fabled diamond hidden at Caithwell to stave off his creditors. Several people have asked me about the rumours of its discovery.”
Geoffrey stood up straight and glanced suspiciously about the room. The eyes of three men were upon them. He stared them down before muttering again.
“Good God! Was the man daft? We’ll have half the felons in London at our windows.”
She shook her head and blinked back the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. While her brother had fallen into disgrace, he was still her brother.
“I think that John was more desperate than daft, but you have no reason to fear. The stone is hidden safely where no one will find it.” She blinked the water from her eyes and smiled brightly up at Geoffrey.
Geoffrey gripped the back of the chair as he hands began to shake. Her naivety scared him. She had no idea of the position she had put herself in.
“It’s not the safety of the damned diamond that I am worried about. If anyone thinks that you have it upon you, even if you don’t, you could become a target. There are many ways to force someone to confess where they have hidden something. I cannot protect you in this kind of crush. I don’t even have a weapon on me to defend you,” he hissed out his words as he scanned the ballroom again, suddenly alarmed at how out-numbered he felt. He didn’t even have a weapon to defend her with. “We should find Olivia and leave immediately.”
A young man suddenly appeared in front of them. He glanced at Geoffrey’s fearsome expression a little nervously before bowing to Charlotte.
“I believe I have this dance.” He held out his hand and Charlotte was about to reach out and take it when Olivia bustled through, brushing the gent from her path as she rushed excitedly up to Charlotte.
“I have it! Your permission to waltz has been granted, and just in time too...The Prince has arrived and demanded that the order of the evening be changed. He will be leading you out for the first waltz. Quickly, stand up, my dear. You are to be presented immediately. Come Mr. Talbot. I have gained you an audience too.”
&nb
sp; Geoffrey blanched.
“Me? Why on earth does the Prince want to meet me?” He asked in confusion while being suddenly very glad that Coalport had persuaded him into the understated but fabulously opulent gold threaded waistcoat.
Olivia took hold of his arm and squeezed it gently.
“You are the best groomsman in the land, of course. Rumour has spread like wildfire since our first dinner party, just as I planned. Everyone is agog at your expertise and knowledge of horseflesh. The Prince has asked that you ride one from his own stable in Lord Davenport’s annual competition. It is a great honour. You’ll be feted about the land should you win.”
Geoffrey wiped his handkerchief across his rapidly dampening brow.
“And I’ll probably be put to the gallows if his horse breaks a leg. I’m good but I never professed to be the best at anything, and I never took part in a race in my life before. Lord Davenport’s course is reported to be the most difficult in England. Dear God alive! I don’t want to do this.”
Olivia stuck him lightly on his arm with her fan and held his gaze with a firm one of her own.
“Oh, believe me, you do. The prize is worth far more than a thousand guineas now. The whole ballroom is abuzz with the news. Bets are being laid at Whites as we speak. Come along. We must not keep His Highness waiting.” She turned, took Charlotte’s hand and fairly dragged her across the room. Geoffrey trailed miserably behind them while he gathered his wits and prepared to disappoint the Prince.
Twenty minutes later, a shocked Geoffrey stood against the wall while he watched the rotund, painted Prince whirl Charlotte about the room on surprisingly light feet. Men whom he had never seen in his life before gathered around and were presented to him for introductions. Ladies curtseyed as they hid behind their fans and fluttered their eyelashes at him. The raven haired woman, who had pawed his thigh throughout dinner and whose name he had already forgotten, now appeared again and attempted to drag him behind some tall, potted plants.
He managed to shake the enthusiastic lady off before she tried anything more daring and made his way back towards the dance floor. Olivia sat among the dowagers, nodding and smiling and generally appearing to be enjoying her triumph while Charlotte had just made her curtsey to the Prince and the more formal dances began. Charlotte disappeared in a mêlée of coloured silks as the general crowd began forming up and Geoffrey took up his place behind the women once again.
His mind was in turmoil at the sudden turn of events. He wouldn’t be escaping London and heading back to Ormond for at least another two weeks and that was only if the Prince allowed him to go then.
Geoffrey had attempted to explain away Olivia’s enthusiastic exaggeration of his abilities, but it appeared that the Prince was not a good listener and he now found himself about to ride one of the man’s finest stallions in Lord Davenport’s steeplechase. The five mile course would test the best of men and the Prince had insisted that if Prince Louis of Denmark relied on Geoffrey for his bloodstock, then that was a good enough reference for him. Refusal was impossible.
He ground his teeth together in frustration. He’d hoped that he would be rendered surplus to requirements after Giles and Anne arrived but it seemed that the Prince wanted him to go over his stables too. He would send his man to advise Geoffrey of the time and would collect him in his own carriage. Geoffrey’s mind boggled at the very thought of sitting in a carriage made for a king. That Olivia and Charlotte would be accompanying him for the tour hardly registered.
He didn’t know how many minutes had passed while the events of the evening tumbled over and over in his head. A man came to stand at his side and it was a few seconds before Geoffrey realized that Lord Charles Latham was speaking to him.
“You’re a lucky man to have received such an invitation. I wonder how Olivia managed it? You’ll have to look out that you’re not sabotaged while on the Prince’s prize stallion. The race is notorious for cheating and subterfuge.”
Geoffrey looked down at the man who had once attempted to ruin Charlotte. It appeared that he had grown in the eighteen months since he had been shown off Ormond land. The youth had aged into a broad shouldered if somewhat short man. There were wrinkles about his eyes and a haunted look that hadn’t been present on their previous meeting.
Geoffrey wanted to ignore the disgusting fellow, but Latham spoke up before he could turn his back.
“I know that you don’t want to speak to me, but I have something to say to you and I am hoping that you will hear me out.” The man waited until Geoffrey gave a short nod. There was something in Latham’s tone that made Geoffrey look down at him again. Latham cleared his throat and stared out over the dance floor. “She’s a beauty alright, always was.” He held up his hand as Geoffrey took a short step towards him. “Never fear, I mean her no harm. I shudder at the thought of what I attempted to do to her that night, but I was a different man back then. Nearly killing an innocent man opened my eyes to a lot of my misdeeds. Going along with Ellesworth’s vile plan was only one of them. It took me a few weeks and Lord Caithwell’s hanging, something I will never forgive myself for, to realize that I was on the road to utter ruin. I only hope is that I still have time to redeem myself. I will be apologising to Lady Charlotte for my disgusting behaviour and to Lord Caithwell for believing him capable of murder. I should have had the balls to speak out. Dear God! The man could have died and I would have been partly responsible.”
Geoffrey snorted in derision even though the man’s words had caught his interest. Latham sounded genuinely contrite and somewhat lost, but for all his fine words Geoffrey wasn’t about to forgive him too easily.
“I’m not so sure that I can believe your change of heart. I hear that you ruined another young lady recently. She has gone to stay with her aunt in the country, I believe.”
Latham shook his head while Geoffrey noticed him ball his hands into fists. His knuckles whitened before he replied angrily.
“So the rumour mill is still in full swing; it has to be if even you have heard the news.” He cleared his throat and looked Geoffrey in the eye. His gaze didn’t waver and Geoffrey could do nothing but stare back at him and wait for the story to be told. “I had nothing to do with it, I swear to you. Annabel and I had danced only twice before, and I had never been with her alone, but the charges against me were corroborated by her own brother!” The young Lord took a few breaths to calm himself before continuing his story.
“Miles Bellingham swore that he had come upon us together in the library when in actuality I was taking a few moments alone in the garden. It had been a very warm day in early spring and the oysters served at dinner had not agreed with me. After a lively reel with Miss Bellingham and feeling the need for some fresh air, rather than vomit on Mrs. Bellingham’s feted Persian carpets, I retreated to the flowerbeds beyond the terrace. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which point of view you would rather take, I had no witness to the incidence of me spewing up my guts and when I attempted to rediscover the offending oysters to prove that I had been in the garden, they had mysteriously disappeared.
I discovered later that her entire family were in on the plan to fleece my family of a fortune. The oysters served to me at dinner had been deliberately left in the heat to spoil. When I was taken ill so suddenly they took their chance and bundled Annabel into the library. The room has a convenient door out into the gardens and Miles Bellingham told his father that he had seen me retreating from the room just before he discovered Annabel sitting rather dazed on the library floor with her dress torn at the shoulder. They used the poor girl as much as they did me. Annabel will suffer a stain on her character for the rest of her life, though she doesn’t deserve it. I never touched her and, knowing her as I do, I would swear that she is still as pure as the driven snow. Unfortunately there is always the risk of entrapment when your family has titles and money.”
Geoffrey stared out over the dancers and considered young Lord Latham’s tale. It didn’t sound like the sort of th
ing anyone would make up and Latham certainly appeared to be telling the truth. Another facet of the story niggled at him. The Latham’s were known to be fabulously important and wealthy. The Bellinghams would certainly have found a marriage into the family a most attractive arrangement. Geoffrey swallowed and prayed that Alexander never considered him more than a fawning money grabber. Latham’s words punched a hole in his gut at the thought and he took a few moments before he answered the man at his side.
“If what you say is true, why have you not used your influence to ensure the lady’s reputation is restored? There must be some way that it is possible. Is there no one who could confirm that you had no part in her ruin.”
Latham let out a cold laugh.
“It’s clear that you have no idea what London’s rumour mill can do in just a few hours. She could be carried through the streets with her legs spread for all to see with the Prince’s own doctor proclaiming her virginity intact and the wagging tongues would still find her at fault. It is a truth that I am ashamed to admit, but women have a hard time of it once their reputation is lost. I doubt that she will ever return to polite society. It’s a pity, for though untitled, she is a lovely woman who had great expectations. I cannot believe that the money my father paid to stop her family’s demands for a wedding was enough to keep the Bellinghams in their chosen lifestyle for long.”
Geoffrey took two glasses of wine from a passing servant and handed one to Latham.
“If you liked her you should have married her anyway. Being the wife of a Lord must count for something, especially one so rich.”
Latham drank his wine down in one swallow.
“Do you think that I didn’t ask her? It was what the Bellinghams wanted in the first place and would have been the easiest option, but the dear girl refused me. I certainly would never have left her in that terrible situation but Annabel was stalwart in her protestations of innocence and simply refused to have anything to do with perpetrating a lie. She also said that she could never marry me as we did not love one another. She said that we would have been unhappy together and I confess that she would have been right. I didn’t love her, but at least if she had taken my name she could still hold her head up with some pride and given time I am sure that we would have become closer.”
A Gallant Gamble (Unrivalled Regency Book 3) Page 9