"I am afraid I must respect the lady's privacy," Thomas insisted with a shake of his head. "I would not like for her to believe I am gossiping about her while she is not in attendance."
"Oh, how noble of you," Nancy smirked at him. It was obvious from the way that she looked at him from the corner of her eye that she most definitely did not believe him. She continued to look at him for just a moment before she turned to her husband and stated, "We ought to have invited the young lady also." She paused for only a moment before turning to Thomas to add, "That is if your courtship has been going as well as you say, my lord."
Thomas was aware of the barely veiled tone beneath the lady's words and the fact that he had not really given any information as to hiscourtshipat all, refusing to answer any question directly. It was clear that the lady had picked up on it, but Thomas was relieved when she finally pushed herself back to her feet and gave a shrug as she added, "I suppose it is too late now. And speaking of lateness, I rather believe it is time that I retired to my bed."
Thomas watched how she crossed the room to peck her husband once more on the cheek before she turned to Thomas and gave a curtsey. "Good evening, Lord Warrington. I wish you well on your courtship and hope that perhaps you might tell me more about the lady during the week's festivities once you have settled in."
I cannot imagine that occurring, Thomas thought though he did not say so out loud, nor did he admit that his latest so-called courtship had not been acted upon in a few weeks. He had not seen the lady in question for quite some time and although he had received several letters from her, he had not had the time to respond, or so he had told himself. Though he was all too happy to allow Nancy to even half believe that he was still invested in the relationship.
"Good evening, Lady Kendall," he responded with a respectful bow of his head, deciding it was best to ignore her hopes entirely rather than giving her a single thread to hold onto.
"I would ask that you do not keep my husband from his bed too much longer," lady Kendall announced even as she flitted from the room looking quite like a graceful butterfly in her colourful and bejeweled evening gown.
"I promise I shall not keep him much longer," Thomas called after her. She glanced over her shoulder at him as she left the room, and the final expression she offered him told everything he needed to know about the week ahead. She was most definitely going to give him more trouble before the week was out.
Owen, why did you have to marry such a busybody?Thomas asked himself, certain that he could never say the words aloud for fear of hurting his friend. For the most part his friend's wife was pleasant. She was friendly and easy on the eye and clearly very intelligent, yet Thomas had come to dislike her slightly now that he realised she was more like the other ladies of the Tonthan he had first imagined.
Quickly, he reminded himself that he had always liked the woman for her ability to keep Owen in a good mood, especially at Ton events which the Viscount hated almost as much as Thomas did. He would not begrudge her this one character flaw.
So long as she does not continue to push it against me,he told himself, knowing he would have to keep a close eye on her in the days to come. The last thing he needed was to be dragged into something as unpleasant as matchmaking.
"Good night, my love," Owen called after his beautiful wife, "I shall be after you shortly."
There was a promise on the man's lips that suggested Nancy would not be going to sleep anytime soon and Thomas knew his friend well enough to know that he had stomached just enough liquor to make him feisty though not nearly enough to stop him from acting upon it. Yet when he turned to Thomas it was not his own lady that he chose to mention. Instead, he asked, "How is Miss Hyatt?"
The mention of the woman's name caused Thomas to cringe and although nothing decidedly bad had happened between them, he found that he could not stomach the thought of being publicly attached to her.
"The last I saw her, she was well," Thomas said as calmly as his aggravated state would allow him.
This is why I do not spend time amongst the Ton,he thought grimly. He was used to such things from the older nobles but never had he imagined his best friend would take up the mantel. Every time someone asked a question about a lady he had chosen to loosely court, it felt as though they were all but asking when he planned to propose.
He could practically see it in their eyes, the expectation that that was where his plans were eventually headed and that it would simply be easier to get it over with and get on with life.
"And the two of you are still courting, are you not?" Owen questioned and if he had been any other man Thomas might have politely told him to mind his own business. Instead, he reminded himself that he had always been able to speak to his close friend about such matters and just because his wife had taken it upon herself to make things difficult did not mean that Owen ought to take the backlash.
"It is nothing serious," Thomas insisted and he drained the last of the liquor in his glass, wondering if Owen would take it as a sign of avoidance if he stood to pour another. "I have not seen Miss Hyatt for some weeks now though, last we saw each other, things were well between us."
Owen regarded Thomas with a raised eyebrow. It was more than a little clear that his friend was just as skeptical of the entire thing as his wife had been.
"Then do you think this might be the one?" Owen asked, his tone almost hopeful. Thomas offered his friend a disappointed scowl and shook his head.
"Miss Hyatt is nice enough but I do not believe she possesses everything I am looking for," he admitted truthfully. He did not add the fact that he did not believe a woman existed with all the qualities that he would look for in a wife. As of yet, he had not encountered a woman who had even made him consider marriage.
I shall rue the day,he thought, having to bite back laughter at the mere thought of it. Imagining himself as a married man, trapped beneath the thumb of one woman and unable to merely fulfil his desires as he saw fit, it was simply laughable. And yet, since his father's death, he was beginning to see the benefits of a marriage…
No,Thomas scolded himself, realising that he was quite possibly falling into a trap he would never be able to climb back out of,I must not think such things.He gripped the glass in his hand a little tighter and again thought of pouring himself another drink.
"That is disappointing news," Owen sighed and he pushed himself up from his armchair, crossing the room to lay a hand upon Thomas' shoulder before he admitted, "I had half hoped that you might have news to share when you accepted my invitation."
"What was this hope born of?" Thomas asked with a raised eyebrow. "You and I both know that I have never been inclined toward marriage."
"Nor was I until I met Nancy," Owen pointed out, glancing back over his shoulder in the direction that his wife had disappeared almost as though he believed she might be listening just round the corner. He then added, "Having experienced it for myself, I only wish you the same happiness."
A wave of guilt swept over Thomas then, and he had to bite his lip. Though he was certain that his choices were his and his alone, he did not like the thought of disappointing his friend. Nor did he like the idea of missing out on something.
He had to remind himself firmly once more that he had never liked the idea of marriage. Especially not having seen the marriage between his own parents, a marriage that had been arranged early in the first blooms of courtship that had turned out to be quite affectionless. He could not imagine anything worse.
Owen and Nancy are still newlyweds,he reminded himself firmly, determined that their supposed happiness right now would not influence him into anything rash.