“And you’re not going to consider it now,” Walter countered. “After the enlightening conversation I had with Suzette last night, I’m convinced we wouldn’t suit.”
Gwendolyn frowned. “What conversation?”
“Did you not notice Suzette managed to position herself on the other side of me at dinner?”
“I was somewhat preoccupied with my conversation with E. J.”
“A preoccupation that evidently left you oblivious to my plight during a meal that consisted of eleven courses.”
“There’s no need to get snippy, Walter. I’m sure you’re capable of maneuvering your way through a dinner without my assistance. Besides, my engaging dinner conversation with E. J. yielded impressive results, as can be witnessed by the happy couple strolling around the churchyard this morning.”
Walter pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m still confused how you concluded you might have a love match between those two. What information could I have possibly disclosed that had you realizing that?”
“You told me Frances enjoyed bird watching. You also mentioned she’d recently purchased a bicycle and adores tooling around Newport on it to search for birds she’s not had an opportunity to discover yet.” She smiled. “E. J., with no prodding from me, told me his favorite pastime is bird watching, followed by a recent love of bicycling. Clearly, the two of them share more than a few common interests. All that was left for me to do was suggest they enjoy a dance together and mention how lovely it was to learn they shared a passion for birds.”
“That was all it took for them to become smitten with each other?”
“There’s no explaining true love. But do know, if you’d mentioned you enjoyed bird watching, I would have suggested you take Frances for a second turn around the floor.”
“I don’t have anything against birds, I merely don’t like to trudge around looking for them.”
“Which means you should have no issue with my not pushing Miss Bottleworth in your direction, unless, of course, you have a great love for bicycling.”
“I’ve never been on a bicycle in my life.”
“Then I’m sure you’re now going to extend your best wishes to E. J. and Frances since, clearly, you don’t have much in common with that lady.” She tilted her head. “With that now settled, allow us to return to Suzette Tilden. It was surprisingly bold of her to have joined you and Elizabeth without an invitation.”
“She didn’t force her way into my company, if that’s what you’re thinking. She and her dinner partner, Mr. Thurman Chandler, merely sat down at the table Elizabeth and I were seated at, although I believe Suzette deliberately sought me out.”
“I don’t believe I’ve been introduced to a Thurman Chandler.”
“He only just returned from a business trip, hence the reason he missed the Astor ball. His family is heavily invested with the East Indies Company, and truth be told, now that he’s in Newport, there’s every chance he’ll become the catch of the Season.”
Gwendolyn glanced at the small watch attached to the cuff of her sleeve, took Walter’s arm, and hauled him into the cemetery and over to a stone bench. She took a seat, dug her notepad out of her reticule, flipped it open, retrieved a pencil from her bag, and arched a brow at Walter, who was looking more than bewildered as he sat down beside her. “Why might this Thurman Chandler become the catch of the Season?”
“You dragged me over here to ask me questions about Thurman?”
“Of course, but because the service is to start in less than thirty minutes, tell me the most important thing I need to know about him—which is why he could dethrone you as the eligible bachelor of the summer.”
Walter shrugged. “Thurman possesses an impressive fortune and the ladies consider him to be quite a, well, dish. But why is any of that of interest to you?”
“Because I’m responsible for securing matches for Elizabeth Ellsworth and Hannah Howe. If it turns out Thurman truly is a dish, I’ll need to consider presenting Elizabeth and Hannah to him.”
Walter leaned forward on the bench. “I thought you had your eye on Elizabeth for me.”
“Since you didn’t have much to share with me pertaining to the time you spent dancing and dining with her, I got the impression you weren’t interested.”
“And that means you’re going to steer her in another direction?”
Gwendolyn swallowed a sigh. “I’m merely investigating all options. Frankly, I’m not convinced Elizabeth is a good match for you. I didn’t glean through the snippets you shared with me last night that she asked you much about the children.”
“True, but she was very complimentary about my house on Fifth Avenue.”
“Another reason to hesitate about her appropriateness. Her interest in your house suggests she’s more intrigued by your wealth than she is by your children.”
Walter brushed a piece of lint from his sleeve. “A worthy consideration. But if not Elizabeth, and definitely not Frances because you went and matched her up with E. J., who do you have in mind for me?”
Gwendolyn tapped the pencil against the notepad. “I’m not certain, but I took the liberty of asking Cordelia Lowe to join us in your pew today. She, out of all the ladies I’ve met thus far, seems to possess the best chance of handling your children. She didn’t hide herself away from society after receiving that black eye, nor did she hesitate to engage in a public dispute with Tillie Wickham at Bailey’s Beach.
“Tillie isn’t a lady I imagine anyone wants to tangle with, given her questionable temperament. Cordelia also didn’t blink an eye over trying to bribe me with a hat to secure more time with you, though I’m not convinced that’s a mark in her favor.” She jotted down a bit about Thurman Chandler and flipped to a blank page. “But if we could return to Suzette, what was said that left you knowing she’s definitely not suitable for you?”
Walter inclined his head to a passing society matron who was watching them with blatant curiosity and then frowned. “I didn’t like what I learned after I tried to return the pony Suzette gave me.”
“You tried to return the pony?”
“It’s the most contrary beast I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting.”
“Contrary or not, you can’t give it back. The children must consider it their pet by now.”
Walter blew out a breath. “There’s no need to fret about that, because Suzette refused to retake possession of the pony, not that it was actually hers to begin with.”
Gwendolyn’s eyes widened. “She gave you a pony that wasn’t hers?”
“It wasn’t stolen. It belonged to Thurman Chandler, who is apparently an old friend of Suzette’s. He regretted purchasing the contrary beast and even tried to give it away, with no takers because it nipped every prospective owner. Thurman seemed delighted with Suzette last night for rectifying his pony problem, even though I’m now saddled with it and am not delighted by that in the least.”
Gwendolyn riffled through the notebook and drew a line through Suzette’s name. “Suzette is most assuredly not mother material. She seemingly never considered the pony might nip one of your children.” She scratched her nose with the end of her pencil. “It also doesn’t speak highly of Thurman that he wouldn’t take the pony back, but perhaps he realized your children would become distraught if he retook ownership.”