There were the eager mamas determined to put their pretty daughters in front of him, the gentlemen hoping to gain somekind of business patronage from him, and the usual gossipers hoping to glean some kind of new information from him.
And all the while that he was offering them his attention, he had one eye on the ladies, Cecelia and Mary, who stood only a few metres away in quiet conversation, looking over the other guests as they awaited an opportunity to make connections.
Already, George noted several men making a target of them, their eyes pinned on Lady Cecelia as if she were some grand prize.
Luckily for him, the first to approach her was one gentleman whom George didn't mind. He actually smiled as he watched Walter and his sister, Elizabeth, join the pair.
Even from a distance, it was clear to see the chemistry between Walter and Lady Mary, how the young woman blushed and averted her gaze as he spoke, how Walter admired her as she laughed.
And George was unable to stop himself from making his excuses with the eager mamas in favour of joining his old friends. Just seeing them all together in that manner made him wish he could turn back time.
He approached cautiously, hoping Lady Cecelia wouldn't believe he was attempting to get in the way somehow. That she and Walter might ever become more than friends was absurd. If shewasn't able to see the way he fawned over her sister, then he truly had his work cut out for him.
“Might you let me in on the joke?” he asked as he stepped in between Lady Cecelia and Elizabeth.
“Oh, Your Grace!” Elizabeth exclaimed, looking as if he had startled her. She dipped a quick curtsey. “Walter said you might be here, but I couldn't quite believe it.”
“Do you now?” George asked, holding his arms open.
“I still find it utterly baffling,” Elizabeth admitted. “I don't think I have seen you in attendance at a single event since … well, since you returned from France.”
George cringed at the mention of it but quickly brushed off the sensation.
“Well, I thought I should come and see what all the fuss was about,” George said, shrugging. He then added, “And I'm glad I did, for you are quite radiant this afternoon, Miss Avery.”
At that, Elizabeth blushed, but it was Lady Cecelia's reaction that caught his attention. Though he did not look at her, he felt the way she stiffened beside him, heard the way she inhaled sharply.
Why his offering a compliment to another young lady would bother her, he did not know, but it intrigued him.
“We were just discussing what a sorry bunch we find ourselves amongst this afternoon, Your Grace,” Lady Mary put in, her voice little more than a whisper as she leaned in from where she stood beside Walter. “Many of the men here are old enough to be our fathers.”
George glanced about him and saw that Lady Mary was quite right. Save for he, Walter, and one or two others, many of the men in attendance were upwards of forty, even fifty.
He had to bite back laughter as he imagined Lady Cecelia trying to find her match amongst such a sorry bunch. At least he wouldn't have to safeguard her so closely as she wished, for he was certain even she would not be desperate enough to marry a widower or, heavens forbid, a divorcee.
“I'm sure there are many guests yet still to arrive,” Lady Cecelia suggested, looking at him as if she had guessed what he was thinking.
“Indeed, the hour is still quite early,” Walter said.
“Early it may be, but I find I am already quite parched with all this laughter,” Lady Mary said, wafting her fan. “It is much warmer than I'd anticipated.”
“Please,” Walter said, offering his arm, “allow me to escort you to the refreshment table?”
Lady Mary's cheeks grew redder at that, and she turned to her sister expectantly.
“Go on,” Lady Cecelia insisted, “I think I am quite safe for now.”
Lady Mary smiled, dipped her head to George and Elizabeth, and allowed Walter to guide her away. George watched them go, certain the two would be inseparable for the rest of the event.
“I am certain you must be quite safe anyway, Lady Cecelia,” Elizabeth said as they left, and George felt her lay a hand on his forearm. “Walter tells me George kindly agreed to be your chaperone this Season.”
“Something like that,” Lady Cecelia grumbled, and George knew her anger from the evening before wasn't entirely put out.
Elizabeth looked to George with a questioning expression.
“Don't mind, Cece,” George said, falling into the old habits of childhood. He noticed how the lady tensed at his muttering of her childhood name. “She is feeling a little out of sorts. You know how she has always hated these things.”
He gestured around them at the frivolity and glamour all around them, at the peacocks that were stalking about the garden, and the huge six-tier cake that decorated the centre of the refreshment tent.
