“No, thank you. At present I have no eagerness to return to society, but I hope you have a pleasant – and productive – evening.”
* * *
The drawing roomwas already full of guests by the time Benjamin arrived. Considering it to be rather good fortune, given that he could wander in and out of the guests in an unobtrusive manner, Benjamin began to do so, seeking to be as inconspicuous as possible. It was a good deal easier to overhear the conversations of the others this way, although the first few he lingered to overhear held nothing of any importance.
Continuing to walk slowly, he kept his mind on the names of the gentleman on the list - five of whom were now of interest, rather than six.
His attempt to not be noticed was not to last long, for one of the disadvantages of his return to society was that people were eager to make certain that he knew just how glad they were to see him again. A young lady and her mother drew near him, and Benjamin was forced to pull his attention away from his own intentions.
“Good evening, Lord Wiltsham. How relieved I am to see you here this evening, for we have been present for some minutes but not yet had anyone to converse with.”
“I am glad to be of assistance to you, then.” Benjamin forced a smile, having very little recollection of either the older lady or the younger one whom he presumed to be her daughter. If they had been introduced to each other some time ago and, given all that had happened, they would surely have to forgive him for forgetting their names! “Might I be so rude as to beg of you to remind me –”
The elder lady did not appear to be interested in sharing her title or, indeed, listening to anything that Benjamin had to say, for instead, she grasped his arm and drew herself closer, her eyes wide.
“Have you heard the news?” Benjamin, a little perturbed, shook his head and tried to carefully remove his arm from her furious grip, but it was not to be. The lady was beaming up at him, her eyes still searching his. “It is about Lord Chambers!”
“Lord Chambers?” Benjamin, repeated, suddenly astonished to hear the name of the very next gentleman on his list being spoken by this lady. “I have never been introduced to him.”
“Have you not?” A quick glance towards her daughter had Benjamin lifting his eyebrows. Evidently, this gentleman was of some importance. Would it be of any help to him? “Well, might I suggest that you must introduce yourself to him immediately, although he is not here this evening, which is something of a disappointment. He is a mostinterestinggentleman, who spends a good number of months over on the continent each year. However, he almost always returns to England for the Season, although he disappointed us last year.” Her fingers squeezed his arm. “But this year, he has come back to London with hiswife!”
Blinking, Benjamin nodded slowly.
“I see.”
“His wife!” she exclaimed again, as Benjamin tried to find some sort of astonishment in that statement. “She is from the continent, it is said, and very grand indeed!”
“How extraordinary.” Putting as much excitement into his voice as he could muster, Benjamin considered for a moment. “And did you say that he has only just returned from the continent?”
The lady nodded.
“Yes, only last week!”
Benjamin nodded slowly, his heart lifting a little.If Lord Chambers has been traveling outside England, then he cannot have been involved in Lord Montague’s schemes. That is one gentleman less.
“A gentleman of interest, certainly.”
“Indeed,” she agreed at once, her voice a little higher with enthusiasm. “I am a little astonished to hear that you have not been introduced to him before now.” She frowned, as if she were silently blaming him for his lack of foresight. “You must meet his wife also, of course. They will be the talk of London!”
Which is something of a relief for me.
If thetonwere busy speaking about Lord Chambers and his new wife, then they were less likely to discuss matters pertaining to his own present situation, or that of his friends. Smiling to himself, he nodded, smiled, and appeared to give great attention to everything that the lady said, as she continued to talk in great detail about the gentleman, ignoring the giggles from her daughter as best he could. Silently, however, he was striking off Lord Chambers’ name from his list.
“Did I hear you speak of Lord and Lady Chambers?”
A clear voice caught Benjamin’s attention, and he turned his head to see none other than Miss Carshaw coming to join them. Her smile was wide and directed towards the young lady, whose name, as yet, Benjamin could not recall.
“We are, Miss Carshaw!” the older lady said, clearly delighted that someone else understood her interest. “You have heard of him?”
“I certainly have! Who, indeed, has not?”
Laughing merrily, Miss Carshaw tipped her head back slightly as she did so, and Benjamin found himself suddenly admiring the gentle curve of her throat. But the moment he became aware of it, he turned his head away sharply. When had he begun to take note of Miss Carshaw’s beauty?
“Can you believe that Lord Wiltsham is not yet introduced to him?”
Miss Carshaw turned her dancing eyes towards him and smiled.
“Goodness, that is a disastrous thing indeed! We must see that you are introduced to Lord Chambers at the very first opportunity.”
