Aunt Eunice followed Ashley’s gaze to Sir Rupert Connor. “He has been most assiduous in paying court to you.”
Sir Rupert had engaged her in conversation at every event she’d attended. She had accepted his dance invitation the first time they had been introduced, to her regret. She couldn’t quite identify what put her off. That he tended to address her bosom when they spoke was not unusual, and other gentlemen might use the same amount of pomade to slick back their hair. Even though they both wore gloves, his touch elicited the feeling that she needed to bathe.
“I’m going to visit the ladies’ retiring room.” She felt nary a twinge of guilt at using her favorite ruse for escaping unpleasant social situations. “You find a chair and I’ll rejoin you soon.”
Aunt Eunice sighed. “I’m going to ask Cook if she can concoct something that will help settle your nervous stomach.”
Ashley gave her a reassuring smile as she left.
Lord Sedgewick’s townhouse was the largest Ashley had been in. She must have taken a wrong turn, as she soon found herself in a quiet hallway. All of these rooms had closed doors, and she hadn’t seen a footman since the last turn.
Up ahead she saw a couple in a shadowy alcove. She was about to turn back and give them privacy when she heard a firm, feminine, “No.”
Ashley paused.
A male voice spoke, his words indistinguishable but his tone cajoling, followed by a fervent feminine, “No, I mustn’t.”
The male voice turned angry.
Ashley strode forward. Startled, the couple sprang apart, the young woman looking guilty, the man annoyed. “There you are,” Ashley brightly announced, linking her arm through the stunned young woman’s and practically towing her back down the hall. “Aunt has been lookingeverywherefor you.” She shot a treacly smile over her shoulder at the man. “Do forgive us, but we simplymustreturn to my aunt.”
“Yes, of course,” he said slowly, looking a bit dazed.
The two women walked in silence until they turned the corner. Ashley poked her head in the nearest room, saw that it was blessedly unoccupied, tugged the young woman in, and closed the door behind them. She rested her hands on the girl’s shoulders and looked her over in the lamplight. “Are you all right?”
She was dressed in the white muslin of a girl in her first Season. Couldn’t be more than seventeen or eighteen. Her strawberry blond curls trembled, her blue eyes wide and bright with unshed tears. She gave a jerky nod. “I am now. Thank you.”
Ashley offered a handkerchief from her reticule.
The girl dabbed at her eyes and gave a decidedly indelicate blow of her nose, followed by several deep breaths. She clutched the embroidered linen in one fist. “You must think me a silly gudgeon.”
“Not at all.” Ashley led them to the sofa before the fireplace and they sat down. “He’s handsome and well dressed. I’m sure he was charming. Until he wasn’t.”
“Exactly!” The young woman tapped Ashley’s knee. “I thought he simply wanted to talk, and the music was so loud where we were sitting with my mother.”
“You’re not the first young woman to be deceived so.”
She dabbed her eyes again. “I suppose you’re old enough not to fall for such fustian.” Her eyes flew open wide. “Oh! I did not mean that as an insult.”
Ashley shrugged it off. “This is only my second season, but the first was five years ago.”
The girl sat back. “I sense there’s an interesting story to go with that statement.” She adjusted her embroidered white skirts and plucked a few of what looked like grey cat hairs. “I’m Georgia, by the way.”
Stifling a deeply ingrained habit, Ashley did not chastise the girl for being so informal on such short acquaintance. “Ashley.” She had nothing to be embarrassed about. Thanks to the largesse of Uncle Edward, her gown, hair, and accessories were first rate. Only her twenty-three-year-old face was out of style.
The clock beside the fireplace chimed the half hour.
“Oh!” Georgia jumped to her feet. “I must return to the ballroom or Mother will send my uncle to hunt me down.”
Ashley rose as well. “We’ll go together, at least until we get back into the crowd.”
“Yes, that’s wise.” Georgia surprised her by giving her a quick hug. “Thank you so much for pretending to be my friend.”
Ashley linked their arms again as they entered the hallway. “Glad I could be of assistance.”
Georgia gave her another hug.
Ashley accompanied Georgia back to her mother, who sat near the musicians, and then went to the far side of the room and sat next to Aunt Eunice.
