“It could be, yes!” Miss Simmons exclaimed, answering on Emma’s behalf. “That would make sense, would it not?”
“Yes.” Emma pressed one hand to her stomach, her whole body going suddenly cold. “Which means that whoever is pursuing me in this way, whoever is eager to embarrass me, must be a lady.”
Lord Yeatman nodded, his gaze melding to hers.
“An eligible young lady, for there were no married ladies dancing with us,” he told her, steadily. “That list of yours, the one you made after our walk together in the park, do you still have it?”
Emma nodded, a slight trembling rushing over her.
“Then you may strike every gentleman from the list.” Lord Yeatman’s voice dropped low. “You are even closer to finding the truth, Miss Fairley. Soon, I am convinced, you will find out the name of this person and be done with this matter forever.”
Chapter Fourteen
Frederick scowled darkly.
“I am not in the right frame for teasing, Lord Gibson.”
Lord Gibson’s eyes flared as he sat opposite Frederick at White’s.
“Goodness, old boy. You are in something of a despondency.”
“Who is in a despondency?”
Frederick looked up as Lord Pleasance set one hand on the back of Frederick’s chair.
“Ah, good evening, Pleasance. Please, do sit down.”
Lord Pleasance did so at once, sitting back in his chair, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle. His gaze flicked from Frederick to Lord Gibson and then back again, the slight smile on his face and the way he arched an eyebrow telling Frederick that he was a little intrigued.
“Lord Gibson was just asking me about Miss Fairley.” Seeing that he was not about to get away without a proper explanation, Frederick shrugged his shoulders. “I am not particularly inclined towards conversation in that regard.”
“No?” Lord Pleasance’s eyebrow lifted higher. “But I thought you would be delighted to talk about a young lady who has caught your attention so intensely.”
Frederick managed a smile, but it did not spread very far. After what had happened at the ball earlier that evening, he had not found himself in high spirits. His thoughts had turned continually to Miss Fairley, worrying about what might happen to her next, given that things had become a little more severe.
“What is it that troubles you?” Lord Gibson sat a little further forward in his chair, looking at Frederick expectantly. “You are not pretending that you do not like Miss Fairley but yet you do not wish to talk about it, and you do not smile either! It cannot be that the lady has refused you?”
“Refused me?” Frederick looked at his friend sharply. “What do you mean?”
“Youhaveasked to court her, have you not?” Lord Gibson looked a little surprised when Frederick shook his head. “Oh. I thought that, given your interest in her, you might have done such a thing.”
Frederick blinked and then threw back the rest of his whisky before ordering another, waving his hand at the footman. He had not thought about courtship but the more that he considered it, the more he realized that there was no particular reason why he ought not to do such a thing. After all, he was fully aware that he did care for the lady, that he was certainly not only concerned for her but drawn to her, so why should he not pursue something a little more intimate with her?
“Yes, I think I shall.” Seeing his two friends shoot a look at one another, Frederick managed a wry smile and then shrugged his shoulders again. “It does not matter to me whether or not you know of my intentions. Yes, I will admit that previously I have never had any real interest in pursuing a young lady withthoughts of matrimony and the like, but that was allbeforeI met Miss Fairley.”
“Good gracious.” Lord Pleasance blinked in evident surprise but then smiled. “That is quite wonderful. Miss Fairley does seem to be an excellent young lady, with a very delicate character.”
“Though is she not still a little… ungainly at times?”
The question Lord Gibson asked sent a sudden fire rushing through Frederick’s frame.
“No, she is not.”
“No?”
Telling himself that Lord Gibson’s question was not something that was asked out of spite, Frederick took a steadying breath and accepted the glass of whisky from the footman.
“The ungainliness is not her doing.” Seeing his friends’ slightly confused expressions, Frederick chose to give them both a brief explanation. “At your dinner, Pleasance, there was something that occurred that upset the calmness of the evening. Do you recall?”
