“Lady Emma has been a little annoying.” Lord Stoneleigh lifted one eyebrow as Henry let out a rush of breath which was both relief and laughter. “She is quite determined to discover what has happened to you, to the point that she would not leave me alone. I have continually insisted that I had no knowledge of when you will be returning to London, and that was the truth at least.”
“And theton?” Henry could not help but ask. “I must hope that they have not been mocking her. I could not cope with it if she were bearing the brunt of my devastating situation. She cannot be told the reasons behind it, I know, but it was for her best.”
“You need not explain that to us,” Lord Pottinger interjected. “You acted in a most gentlemanly manner. It was greatly considerate of you to think of her before your own desires. It was obvious that you cared for her.”
Henry opened his mouth to say that he had no great feelings for the young lady, only to snap his mouth closed. He would not lie, not to his friends.
“I should inform you,” Lord Foster said quietly, “that she has not been telling thetonthat your acquaintance has come to an end, as you might have believed. Instead, she has acknowledged that she is sorrowful over your absence but is looking forward to your return.”
Henry’s mouth fell open.
“You were quite clear in what you told her, were you not?”
“Of course I was!” Henry blustered. “I made it quite clear that there could be no further connection between us. I do not understand what she is doing.”
“Do you not?”
Lord Pottinger lifted an eyebrow, and Henry’s face grew hot.
“She does not wish for our connection to end. I can understand that. Thetonmight have some things to say, and it would be an embarrassment for her.”
“You are seen as one of the most eligible gentlemen in London, might I remind you?” Lord Foster told him with a chuckle. “No young lady would wish to separate herself from you, not after the attention that you have paid to her.”
Sighing, Henry rubbed at his forehead.
“Be that as it may, she should not be doing such a thing as that. It will only cause more difficulty.”
“It will causeyoumore difficulty,” came with a quick reply from Lord Wiltsham. “Of that, you can be quite certain.”
Scowling, Henry closed his eyes and tried to find himself irritated by the young lady’s eagerness to remain close to him, but found that he could not. There was almost a relief there, that she was not yet betrothed, nor had she even begun to be courted by another gentleman, even though he knew it quite foolish to allow himself to react in such a manner. It was not as though he could offer her anything. That was precisely why he had broken himself apart from her in the first place.
“You care for the lady still, perhaps?”
It was not a question that Henry felt required to answer. Instead, he simply lifted a steady gaze toward Lord Pottinger’s questioning face. That in itself was enough of an answer.
“It must be very trying for you. I know that you spent many years thinking very little about matrimony and the like.”
“That is only because I was not sure of myself. I lacked confidence, but when I came into such a thing, I discovered that there were many amongst thetonwho wished to be acquainted with me.”
Lord Foster laughed.
“Not only that, my dear friend, but the young ladies of London very much wish to be courted by you!” His smile faded. “It must be difficult indeed to have chosen a young lady, only to then have to step away from her, particularly if you found your heart a little affected.”
Again, Henry, could give no answer. He was not inclined towards speaking his innermost thoughts to anyone, not even to his closest acquaintances. It was apparent that he cared for Lady Emma, but he certainly did not want to have to speak of it to his friends. Besides which, surely he had to simply remove her from his thoughts to forget her, and to continue speaking of her would not do that for him. Instead, it would only encourage her all the deeper into his heart.
“I am sure that it is the same for all of us,” he stated, quite calmly. “Well, for those of us who have not yet regained our fortune, however.”
Lord Foster allowed himself a small smile. “I assure you that those of us who have regained our fortunes will do everything we can to help those of us who have not.”
“I am grateful for that.” Clearing his throat, Henry looked pointedly toward Lord Pottinger. “You are the last to have regained your fortune. Pray tell me what it is you have discovered.”
Lord Pottinger nodded, swirling his glass of brandy.
“I can give you very little information about the proprietor of the red-doored gambling den, unfortunately, for I have not spoken to the proprietor myself. I had no need to. I awoke in an establishment some distance from that place and thus, my path has been a very different one to the other gentlemen present here. Lord Stoneleigh, however…?”
Henry turned his attention towards Lord Stoneleigh, who nodded.
“Yes, I have a little more information,” he agreed quietly, his eyes going to Henry. “I hope that you will find this of some use, but I believe that the proprietor will do whatever he is asked by a particular group of gentlemen – some of whom we know and some we do not. Whether he is doing so from fear, or in the hope of garnering more coin from them, I cannot yet say,”
