…I do not feel the same giddy happiness I feel whenever His Grace looks kindly at me, she realized with a jolt.
They were both quite handsome men and both eligible bachelors, although His Grace was considered the better catch in Society as he was a duke and his wealth was no secret.
With Lord Draydon, she had to admit that there was much she did not know about him and there was probably more that he was hiding from Society, if Lady Suzanna and Trixie were to be believed.
Lord Draydon is, himself, already a suitable enough match for me, she thought with a sigh.And I have fancied myself in love with him for months. I should be happy that he is finally paying more attention to me.
But she was not and she wished that it was His Grace paying her attention and not the Marquess.
Chapter 18
Lady Suzanna took one good look at the cards on the tray, noting the names on them before she looked helplessly at their faithful butler. She sighed as she sat down on a velvet upholstered chair and placed the cards on the table beside her.
“There seems to be a lot more than in the previous days,” she remarked. “While we are glad that our dear Lady Claire is getting so much attention, I fear that it has become too much recently. How are we ever supposed to glean the wheat from the chaff with this?” She gestured at the cards with a helpless sigh.
“Lady Claire has, indeed, risen to become one of the most successful debutantes this Season, or so I’ve been told,” the old butler replied with a faint smile.
Lady Suzanna grimaced when she saw the card of the Marquess of Draydon again. He had been persistently calling on Claire day after day and while there seemed to be no forward progress in their courtship, it did not seem like it was going backwards, either.
At the rate that it was going, if her brother did not gather the courage he should, Claire was going to end up marrying someone they did not want for her.
As much as Oliver believed that the other suitors would divert Claire’s attention from Lord Draydon, he had been mistaken about one thing—Claire apparently found them all boring, as she once confided to Lady Suzanna.
“It seems all they could talk was about themselves,” she complained over dinner, enticing much laughter from her younger sister. “They were always trying to prove to me that they were better than Lord So-and-So for one reason or another that simply escapes comprehension.” She looked at Lady Suzanna with a grimace. “Tell me, Lady Suzanna, was it exactly so for you as well?”
She had tried to hide the laughter but she could not hide the mirth when she answered with one word, “Quite.”
“It is absolutely maddening sitting in the drawing room for close to two hours, listening to them gadding on about themselves,” Claire shook her head. “I fear that without the Marquess of Draydon, I might go mad listening to them!”
Lady Suzanna sobered up at the memory. Although Claire did not talk as much about the Marquess as she did during the early stages of her infatuation, she feared that it was quite possibly because they had moved on to another stage in their courtship.
It might not be long before Lord Draydon sought her brother for Claire’s hand in marriage.
If that happens, what then? Would Oliver refuse the union? What would Claire think if he did?
For her brother’s sake, she hoped he would find the courage to be honest to Claire about his feelings before she slipped away from him completely.
“If I may be so bold, milady, I fear that there might also be something we all need to be worried about,” Marley told her.
She looked up from the cards and frowned. “Knowing what I know of this entire debacle, I have absolutely no idea how the worst possible scenario could unfold.” She smiled wanly at him. “Pray tell, what should we be more worried about?”
“Well, you know how servants love to talk.” She saw the tips of his ears turn red but Marley forged on bravely, “It has come to our attention that there has been some gossip circulating amongst thetonregarding Lady Claire.”
“What sort of gossip?”
Marley pulled at his collar with a rather uncomfortable look. “That she is an heiress to an incredible wealth and the man who is fortunate enough to marry her would become as rich as Croesus.”
Lady Suzanna nearly dropped the cards in her hand, as though they burned her fingers.
She stood up weakly, her voice faint as she said, “The Duke needs to hear this.”
It was precisely as she feared.
* * *
At three o’clock in the afternoon, the drawing room of the townhouse became a lively place, crowded with several of the city’s most eligible bachelors paying a call on Lady Claire Rowley, the newest Success of the Season.
Claire wondered how it could be so when she had been attending so many balls and affairs in the past and never got as many callers as she did in the past few days.
