Before she could say anything else, the door opened to a slightly confused-looking butler. Lavender plastered a smile on her face, her heart fluttering when the butler looked from Lord Derby to her and then back to him.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Jenkins,” she greeted. “I hope your day is going well?”
“Quite so, Miss Lavender.” The confused Mr. Jenkins stepped to the side. “Please, if you would follow me.”
She did just that, thankful that the earl was following along as well even though he was sporting a terrible bruise. She’d been to this manor often enough for the staff to know her well, and the other way around. Mr. Jenkins was not the sort of man who showed his emotions very often, so he must truly have been shocked to have looked at them like this.
And if he was then she could only imagine how everyone was going to react when they entered. The fact that they were late only made it worse. It meant everyone would be present to witness their entrance. Had everything gone as planned, she would have welcomed that.
Her nervousness shot through the roof as they drew closer to the dining room. Lavender could hear the hum of chatter on the other end which meant the tea party was well underway. She drew in a deep breath then put that pleasant expression she’d practicedon her face. She glanced up at Lord Derby and was not surprised to see that he looked as if he would much rather be anywhere but here.
The moment they entered, the party seemed to stop. The soothing notes from the pianoforte being played in the corner continued, of course, but all eyes fell on them and all conversation ceased. Lavender made sure her soft smile didn’t slip even when she saw her friend, Alice, take a step in her direction in the corner of her eye. Instead, she took Lord Derby by the arm and steered him towards a relatively uncrowded section of the refreshments table.
“You have only one task this afternoon,” she whispered between her tight smile. “And that is to act as if I am the apple of your eye and you cannot wait to be married to me.”
“You ask a lot of me,” he grumbled.
“It shouldn’t be too hard.” Lavender skimmed her gaze over new and old faces, men and women she would have to convince of her ruse. “You need only smile at everything I say and say nice things about me. Lie straight through your teeth if you have to.”
He made a derisive sound. Lavender didn’t have to look at him to guess that he was rolling his eyes. “Surely you see that it is madness to go to such lengths to impress strangers.”
“They are not strangers.” Lavender picked up a cucumber sandwich and handed it to him, that smile still fixed on her face. “Not all of them. My dear friend Alice is the one who is hosting this party and I do not want her to know what we are doing. Not yet. I love her to death but she is rather blunt and tends to speak without thinking.”
“Sounds oddly familiar.”
“Oh, hush,” she hissed. “And smile. Someone is approaching.”
He did no such thing, which sent her irritation through the roof. It took Lavender every bit of her strength to straighten her spine and smile at the person who approached, relief flooding her when she saw who it was.
Colin Asher looked more handsome than the last time she’d seen him. Their fathers had been friends and so Lavender had all but grown up with him. As they grew into adulthood, they’d spentless time with each other, but Lavender was still as good at reading his expressions as she had been when they were younger.
And right now, she saw nothing but confusion. Hopefully he wasn’t as good as seeing through her as she was him.
“Lavender,” he greeted, eyes softening for a moment. “I have been waiting for you to arrive. Don’t tell Alice but I have been dreadfully bored without you.”
A genuine laugh bubbled up her throat and she relaxed a little. “I am not surprised, Colin. But you must learn not to keep me around for your entertainment, you know. We are far too old for such things.”
“Yes, so I am beginning to see.” His kind blue eyes fell on Lord Derby and a tiny frown pulled at his brows. “I’m sorry, I do not think we have met.”
Lavender waited for the earl to respond. A second went by. Then another. Before it could get too uncomfortable, she spoke up. “This is Lord Austin Thomas, the Earl of Derby. He is my betrothed.”
“Betrothed?” Colin echoed, eyes growing wide.
“Yes, I know it is quite a surprise. I can hardly believe it myself.” That much was true. Lavender still laid awake at nights wondering if this truly was what her life had become.
“Hm.” Colin’s frown only grew deeper as he faced Lord Derby. Lavender felt a twinge of trepidation. Colin was important to her, one of her dearest friends. She didn’t want to have to deal with contention between the two of them when she had more important things to focus on.
“Lord Derby, you say?” he went on, raising his chin. Was it her or did it look as if he was trying to make himself taller? If that were the case, it didn’t work. Lord Derby’s presence was enough to make the tallest man in the room appear like a dwarf. “I have heard of you. You inherited your father’s title.”
“Smart of you to put that together,” Lord Derby droned.
Lavender’s heart leapt into her throat. This wasn’t going to go well.
Colin’s left eye twitched. “Were you the one who asked for Lavender’s hand in marriage?”
“Why does it matter?”
“You must understand how sudden this is to me. I’m sure it matters not for you to tell me how it happened.”
