At least then, she'd had the fuel to get through any situation. Determined to remember the vow she had just made to herself to have fun that week, she allowed Holly to lead her from the room and down the hall in the direction of the main staircase. Already she could hear voices coming from below and knew that the other guests, mainly gentlemen, had begun to gather for dinner.
"Ah! Here is the life of the party!" came a gleeful comment from Lord Kendall himself the moment Alice reached the top of the staircase and came into full view of the guests gathering at the bottom. Alice offered him a grim expression even as she felt the eyes of every guest turning upon her at his words.
He offered an expression of apology in return and glanced at Nancy as if to suggest that he had been encouraged by his wife. Alice knew well that he did not like to disappointment her, and Alice could not say that she blamed him.
She had been on Nancy's bad side only a handful of times and she had not liked it one bit. Falling out with her friend was a horrendous ordeal and it was one of the few things that had helped her to calm down from their current falling out.
"Alice! There you are!" Nancy exclaimed, appearing at the bottom of the stairs to escort her through the guests toward the dining room. She whispered into her ear more quietly, "Do not worry. I shall not throw you in at the deep end."
"Thank you, Nancy," Alice forced herself to say, knowing deep down that it was good of her friend to have been so thoughtful, even if she was still mad at her.
She may have been misguided by my mother, but her intentions are good,Alice reminded herself, trying to keep herself calm even as the other guests seemed to begin to crowd in around them. She was at least relieved that none of them tried to entire into conversation.There shall be enough time for that at the dinner table,Alice thought grimly, knowing that she would be trapped for the foreseeable future as soon as they entered the dining room.
It appeared that Alice had been too quick to hope that she might stave off any conversation until dinner as Nancy called to the nearest guest, "Lord Colton, you must come and tell us more about your hunt last week."
Alice stared at her friend incredulously, angling herself so that the Baron would not see her face as she did so.You cannot be serious, Nancy!She yelled at her friend silently. They both knew how tedious it was to listen to men talk of the hunt, especially when most of the time, women were not permitted to join. Even more boring was having the Baron talk of it. His dull, droning voice always left Alice stifling a yawn and close to tears.
Luckily for her, and to the obvious disappointment of the Baron, all in the room were suddenly distracted by the banging on the front door. The sound of the brass knocker radiated throughout the room, echoing off the walls and causing Alice's ears to ring.That is certainly loud enough to hear throughout the manor,Alice thought, reminding herself once more of just how large her friend's new residence was. Nancy had certainly landed on her feet.
"Who could that be?" Nancy wondered aloud, glancing at Alice as though she might know. Alice barely managed to stop from snapping back that perhaps she had missed a gentleman from her exclusive guestlist, and he had come to inform her of his disappointment.
Invite him in, one more shall not hurt, she thought grimly even as the butler rounded the edge of the room to answer the door and Alice found herself being dragged by Nancy after her husband who appeared to be determined to be first to know who was at the door. Muttering and gossip began to fill the room and several even began to look as though they were counting heads, seemingly trying to guess who could possibly be missing from their number.
Yet one glance told Alice that all the guests they had greeted that afternoon were already in attendance, though she did also notice that there appeared to have been a couple of additions in one or two ladies and a gentleman that she had not greeted on the porch that morning.
Perhaps they arrived late,Alice thought though her attention was quickly drawn back to the door as the butler opened it to reveal someone standing on the other side.
"Who is it, my lord?" Nancy asked even as she practically dragged Alice toward the door. Feeling awkward and flush-cheeked due to the fact she could feel many of the guests looking at her, mainly the gentlemen, she wished that her friend had merely left her where they had been standing.
One glance over her shoulder also reminded her of why she was relieved she had not. Baron Colton was staring after them, a raised eyebrow and a half-hidden smirk upon his face that suggested he was inspecting her thoroughly and quite enjoyed what he saw. Alice blanched at the expression for Colton was at least ten years her senior and perhaps the most odious nobleman she had ever met.
Thank you for getting me out of that one,Alice thought, offering her silent thanks to whomever was at the door.
"My apologies, Lord Kendall, Lady Kendall!" came an oddly familiar voice. Though Alice could not place where she had heard it before she was almost certain she had only heard it once or maybe twice.
As Nancy drew her around to the front door, she could feel other guests crowding behind her as though they too wished to be the first to see who the new arrival might be.
"Well, if it is not Lord Warrington!" Lord Kendall's happy exclamation caused Alice's interest to pique. The man was usually very guarded and merely polite when greeting his guests and yet this particular one had been afforded extra friendliness.
Alice reached the side of Nancy just in time to find Owen greeting the newcomer with a most brotherly embrace, clapping the man on the back as if congratulating him for something though Alice was unsure as to why he would congratulate the man upon his lateness.
Lord Warrington? Where do I recognise that name from?Alice wondered even as the man himself came into view and she found herself quite taken aback. How could she have possibly forgotten him? Having met the handsome Earl only once at Nancy's wedding, Alice could not blame herself for having not remembered his name, but she certainly remembered the man.
Though he looked quite disheveled, dirty even, he was still quite handsome with his windswept, glossy brown hair and his striking green eyes that somehow found her amongst the crowd. The smile that he offered her caused her heart to skip a beat and she quickly had to remind herself that she did not know the man and would not allow herself to swoon over a stranger as less intelligent young women might allow themselves to do.
Luckily for her, his hypnotic gaze only lingered upon her for a moment before Lord Warrington turned his full attention back to Kendall and bowed even as he said rather breathlessly, "I am terribly sorry for my lateness. My horse cast a sho,e and I was forced to turn back to town until the matter was resolved."
"He arrived on horseback?" Alice heard one gentleman behind her whisper to another though she could not have cared less who it had been.
"He appears rather well for it, I would say," she heard another voice comment—a woman certainly. And the words caused Alice's hackles to rise. She quickly clenched her jaw and tightened her fingers into fists to resolve her idiotic reaction. Any woman was well within her rights as to comment upon a gentleman's good appearance.
So why did that one affect me so?It could not possibly be the man. Perhaps, it was the woman. Alice found herself glancing over her shoulder but found she could not see which woman had spoken the words.
"Do not apologise!" Owen objected immediately, drowning out all other gossip from behind Alice. "What matters is that you are here now and just in time for dinner!"
Owen clapped the man upon the shoulder and then turned to gesture him toward the guest of the crowd as he announced, "Now that everyone is in attendance, we can truly begin the fun!"
It was not until the Earl was beginning to be warmly greeted by several others in the party that Alice noticed the way Nancy pulled her husband to one side, leaving Alice standing a little way off. The Viscountess looked quite worried, glancing at Lord Warrington before she began to whisper into her husband's ear.