******
Avoiding her guardian was proving to be more difficult than Cynthia had anticipated. Not only did he have an eagle eye, but all of the gentlemen who danced attendance on her seemed to have some kind of understanding with him which included returning her to his presence at the end of every dance. Normally she would have been returned to the Countess, as her chaperone, but everyone seemed to understand that the Earl was standing in for the Countess this evening. She didn’t know where or how anyone had received that impression, but every single gentleman had somehow received the unspoken message. The worst part was that the dances themselves had ceased to be interesting, whereas standing on the Earl of Spencer's arm made her tingle all over. Which was exactly the kind of situation she wanted to avoid.
His over-protectiveness aside, his indifference to her was as rampant as ever. The low neckline she was wearing had gotten a glance of disapproval rather than interest, unlike at the last Assembly. And now he was scowling practically every time that she looked at him, other than the first dance when he'd taken great joy in forcing her to dance with him after he'd been so rude to poor Harry. Then he’d been remarkably cheerful, as if pleased with himself for thwarting her. The only reason she hadn’t snubbed him was that she hadn’t wanted to make a scene. She realized that he probably didn't like her using Harry's given name, but the young man was harmless and it made him so happy when she did even if it wasn’t entirely proper.
From the impatient shifting of the Earl's feet whenever she was on his arm, she deduced that he'd rather be anywhere else. Although at least his mother wasn't throwing overly young beauties at his head at the moment. Perhaps that was why he was being so overbearing with Cynthia; if he was performing his duties as her guardian, his mother would leave him alone.
Either way, she didn't appreciate his looming presence. Half of the fun of Assemblies had been sneaking off and enjoying some illicit kisses with some undeserving gentleman. But with her guardian watching over her so closely, it was proving to be impossible. Besides which, his mere presence had apparently scared off the usual rogues that would tempt her.
He was the biggest, most powerful, most authoritative male in the room and not afraid to use his heft to achieve what he wanted. And damned if that didn't make her body feel warm and excited all over.
"Blast," she muttered under her breath as her current dancing partner led her right back to where her guardian was standing next to Lord Hyde. Unfortunately there was no escape for her, Eleanor hadn't been feeling well and so hadn't come tonight. Lord Hyde was only here to back up Lord Spencer. As the center of both their attention, she felt hemmed in and trapped. It wasn’t at all pleasant.
With barely a glance at her, the Earl took her back on his arm and settled her at his side, while he and Lord Hyde continued their conversation. Her presence encouraged several other men to join them, but none of them were very interesting; just the kind of staid, boring young men that the Earl probably thought she should marry. But next to him they all looked unrefined, unexciting and thoroughly unbearable. At least if he asked, she could tell him that all of them bored her beyond belief. Then again, since meeting him, it seemed as if every man was becoming boring.
Cynthia tried to tug her hand away and the Earl turned his head to frown at her. She smiled sweetly, insincerely, up at him. "Excuse me please, I need to visit the lady's retiring room."
He hesitated and then nodded, releasing her. "Come right back."
Inwardly fuming, Cynthia didn't bother to respond, she just walked away as quickly as she could without looking like she was running. The smile she pasted on her face seemed to fool the young gallants around her, who all allowed her to pass on her way to the retiring room. At least there she could have a moment to herself, no need to deal with aggravating men!
There were several other young ladies in there, tittering and gossiping. Not surprisingly they were all in alt over the presence of the handsome Earl of Spencer. Cynthia recognized Miss Whyte, who was embellishing greatly on the Earl's interest in her and his promise to seek her out next Season.
“Spencer’s the most divine dancer,” Miss Whyte was gushing to her friend, fanning herself delicately. “And so very handsome. I do believe his mother prefers me over any of the other young ladies here… she specifically told me that she would look for me next Season.”
Blech. If the Earl actually married that simpering ninny... What was the Countess thinking?!
Well it wasn't Cynthia's business anyway.
Feeling even more sour, Cynthia splashed some water on her face and tidied her hair before sighing and stepping ba
ck out into the social whirl. At least she had the most interesting dress of all the young ladies present, although she did have to watch out deeply she breathed. Ninnies in the retiring room, an overbearing stuffed shirt in the ball room... where could a girl go to have some peace of mind around here?
Looking around the room for her guardian, Cynthia saw to her surprise that he was out on the dance floor again, his mother watching smugly from the sidelines. Well that was something, anyway, not that dancing would keep him from hovering over her between sets. She also didn't like the little pit in her stomach that seemed to grow as she watched him dancing with yet another beautiful young lady. This time next year would she be in London, married to someone who wasn’t nearly as exciting or interesting, and forced to watch the Earl’s courtship of some simpering debutante? It seemed likely. It also seemed like a scenario that would motivate her to tear her hair out.
"Cynthia..." A male voice whispered to her side. “Cynthia…” She looked over to see Mr. Carter standing by one of the columns, obscured from view of the dance floor. Probably hiding from the Earl, she thought with some despair. Still handsome, but his appeal had definitely lessened since the last time she’d seen him.
Still, at least he was fun, and she did like the way he kissed. Besides, flirting with him would mean she could distract herself from watching the Earl dance with young misses and dwelling on her future. Smiling brightly at him, she glided over to where he was standing, enjoying the way his eyes traveled over her gown and lingered on her nearly exposed breasts. "Hello Mr. Carter."
"Your new guardian must be very strict, poppet," he said, putting his fingers beneath her chin to tilt her head up. Cynthia's breath caught in her throat; he wouldn't really kiss her here, would he? Where anyone could see? Although that was part of the excitement of Mr. Carter, he was so often doing exactly what he was not supposed to. "I haven't seen you in an age."
"He is quite a nuisance," she said with a little sigh, fluttering her eyelashes up at him. Nuisance wasn’t quite the word for it, but it was true in many ways. Mr. Carter smiled, that rakish grin that used to set her pulse pounding. Now she felt a small tingle of excitement, but compared to the Earl's occasional smile, Mr. Carter's no longer seemed so special.
"Would you like to take a walk outside?" he asked, releasing her chin and offering his arm. "There are some lovely flowers out on the terrace that we might… admire."
Cynthia glanced at the dance floor where it appeared her guardian was fully occupied with the young blonde woman who was simpering up at him. Giving Mr. Carter her brightest smile, she wrapped her hand around his elbow. "I would love to."
******
"My Mama told me that Spencer House is one of the most beautiful on the coast, with a lovely little folly done in the Grecian style, and acres and acres of land as well as being so close to the sea that you can go bathing on a daily basis! Not that I would ever do such a thing," she said, tittering in a way that made Wesley’s ears hurt.
Despite the fact that Miss Durand was speaking of his own estates, Wesley hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise since they'd started dancing. Instead, he just listened as the chit described every bit of his own lands to him, in the excitable terms of her youth and her mother's ambitions. Recently arrived in Bath, Miss Durand and her parents had been forced to shorten her first Season due to Mrs. Durand's health. The matron had been ecstatic to discover an eligible nobleman in Bath and he'd overheard her telling the Countess that perhaps it was fate, rather than her health, which had forced them to quit the capital a week early.
As a gentleman, Wesley just gritted his teeth and danced with the chit, counting down the measures of music until he could escape.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the dark hair of his ward exiting the retiring room and stopping to speak with someone that he couldn't quite see. For the most part she'd been remarkably well behaved during the evening, although he knew that she was chafing under his close watch. But he'd found himself feeling remarkably possessive.
That feeling of possessiveness, combined with his short-patience for seeing her dancing with other men, and his even shorter patience for young ladies like Miss Durand, had pretty well convinced him that he should have Cynthia as his bride. Even if it meant giving up his bachelorhood before he'd originally planned. At least he wouldn't have to spend torturous Seasons in the capital while his mother threw all sorts of empty-headed and title-hungry young harpies at his head. And he could satisfy his lust for Cynthia.