“Thank you, Lady Rachelle,” he managed to say, rather gruffly. “You are very good to speak to me again.”
“I am only sorry that I have taken so long to realize that it was foolish of me to decide against you without any true consideration,” Lady Rachelle said as he let go of her hand. “You are aware that both Lady Parrington and Lord Chesterton are present this evening?”
He shook his head, his brow lowering quickly. “I was not,” he said truthfully. “Thank you for informing me.” He lifted one shoulder and shrugged. “In truth, I am not always invited to such occasions, so on the rare opportunity that I am declared suitable enough to attend, I must grasp it with both hands.”
She nodded, the smile fading from her lips. “I am sorry you are being treated so. I must hope that, in time, the ton will no longer treat you as a social pariah. Perhaps my consideration of you will aid that somewhat.”
“I must hope it will,” he replied honestly, smiling at her. “Now, given that we are acquainted again, might I ask you how your sister fares?” He spoke of Lady Josephine, who was, in fact, keeping away from society for a time. Unfortunately, he had been the one to discover her in a most compromising position with a gentleman known to be a rogue. There had been consequences, of course, but thus far, all had been kept reasonably quiet.
“She is...suitably content,” Lady Rachelle replied, her eyes shadowed. “I do not know when she will return to society. Father is quite determined that she should not return to London this year. Mayhap next year, else I fear that she will become a spinster and be nothing more than a maiden aunt.”
Timothy’s compassion rose, but he could not say that he was sorry for it. The lady had been foolish and she ought not to have allowed herself to have been so caught up with a rogue. The consequences were entirely on her head.
“Let us hope so,” he said before gesturing to his left. “Now, let us talk of brighter things. Should you like a glass of champagne?” He snapped his fingers at the nearby footman. “I must hope that you...”
Trailing off, his eyes suddenly fixed to the figure of a young lady who was sitting close to them, shrouded in shadow. Next to her was an older lady who made no pretense of the fact that she was watching him with sharp eyes. The young lady was sitting with a very straight back, not looking either to the left or to the right but directly ahead, making it quite plain that she was not studying him.
Miss Mullins.
Had she seen him take Lady Rachelle’s hand? He did not think that she had overheard his conversation, given the noise and the hubbub all around them, but even the knowledge that she had been sitting nearby and he had not even noticed her sent a flare of embarrassment up his spine and directly into his face.
“Lord Coventry?”
There was a curious note in Lady Rachelle’s voice, and Timothy forced himself to turn back to her, putting a smile on his face that he did not feel. As he handed Lady Rachelle a glass of champagne and continued to inquire as to what she had been doing these last few months, Timothy tried not to notice Miss Mullins nearby. He told himself that there was no need to feel any sort of guilt or embarrassment, for he had done nothing wrong. And yet, with every word he spoke, he felt himself grow more and more twisted inside, fearful that she would think all the worse of him.
“I must excuse myself now, Lord Coventry,” Lady Rachelle smiled as an older lady, whom Timothy recognized to be Lady Rachelle’s companion, drew near. “I am to dance with Lord Tomlinson, I think.” She glanced at the companion, who nodded but said nothing. “I must hope that one day soon, we shall be able to dance together again.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if she would be able to spare him a dance this evening, but for whatever reason, the presence of Miss Mullins stopped him from doing so. He was sure he caught a flicker of disappointment in Lady Rachelle’s eyes as she bobbed a curtsy, his skin flaming hot as she touched his arm as she passed. Why had he not asked her? Given all that she had said, it seemed quite reasonable to expect that she would accept a dance from him, no matter what the ton might think! Turning around, he made to go back to her, only to see Lady Newfield rise from her chair and take a few steps towards him. He had no other choice but to allow Lady Rachelle to depart, his name not written on her dance card.
“Lady Newfield,” he said as easily as he could. “Good evening.”
Lady Newfield lifted her chin and glared at him. “Good evening, Lord Coventry. Are you having a pleasant evening?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Might I remind you,” Lady Newfield said with a fierceness to her voice, “that you are, at this moment, meant to be courting my goddaughter? In the last sennight, I have heard you only called upon her once to take tea! And given that there have been no social occasions that you were able to attend alongside her, I would have thought that you would have shown her a little more interest.”
Timothy swallowed hard. The truth was, this last sennight, he had been caught up thinking about what had happened at the evening assembly and had entirely forgotten about courting Miss Mullins.
“Her uncle might not have a great deal of consideration for what occurs between you and Miss Mullins, but I do,” Lady Newfield continued firmly. “If you wish to find yourself betrothed, as you agreed with her uncle, then might I ask you to do all you can to court her so that she does not go into this marriage not knowing anything about her husband.”
A little ashamed and realizing that he had been entirely caught up with all that worried him rather than what he was meant to be doing regarding Miss Mullins, Timothy had no other choice but to speak honestly.
“I have every intention of courting Miss Mullins a little more openly,” he told the lady, whose hard gaze showed she did not believe he was telling the truth. “I have not wanted to rush her into this, knowing that she only discovered the truth about our engagement recently.”
Lady Newfield’s eyes narrowed all the more but she stepped to one side, gesturing to where Miss Mullins still sat. “Then might I suggest that you do as you have said and go to my goddaughter, Lord Coventry.”
Feeling as though he had been given a stern talking to by a person of authority, Timothy cleared his throat and made his way towards Miss Mullins.
She was not smiling and did not even glance up at him as he came to sit down beside her.
“Good evening, Miss Mullins,” he said with what he hoped was a welcoming smile. “I hope you are able to dance this evening?”
Her eyes slid towards him, one eyebrow lifted. “Do you intend to go in search of my uncle again to seek his permission and use that as an excuse to remain far from me for the rest of the evening?”
He was taken aback by the sharpness of her tone, the mockery in her words. It was clear that she was angry with him, that she was deeply upset, but he had not expected her to speak so cruelly. The shock he felt must have shown on his face for Miss Mullins’ went a shade of bright red and she turned her head away. He noticed how she clasped her hands tightly together in her lap, her back still ramrod straight.
Clearly, she had seen how he had behaved with Lady Rachelle.
“The lady I was speaking with was a friend of mine,” he told her, wondering if this would put her at ease. “She, along with the rest of society, decided that I was not fit for their company any longer after Lord Chesterton blamed me for his injuries.” One shoulder lifted in a half shrug and he could not help but smile. “It seems now that she has decided she was wrong to do so and has come to reacquaint herself with me.”