Able to feel Lord Warrington watching them, Alice realised with some disappointment that she was going to have to follow through with the consequences of what she had set into motion.Why could I not have suggested I would like to sit with Philip?
Alice asked herself but then she quickly reminded herself that if she were to do so then Nancy might get over-excited believing that Alice wished for them to be more than just friends. She could not even begin to imagine the kind of excitement Nancy would show at the idea of their becoming family through marriage.
At this point, Philip would be a safe option,Alice realised with some guilt. She did not like the idea of disrespecting Philip by choosing him for a marriage of comfort and security. Though she and Philip had been friends for quite some time, she knew that they both deserved more than that.
“You are quite welcome to her, Mr Gouldsmith,” Nancy insisted when Alice made no attempt to answer. Before she could protest, Nancy began to hand her off to the man. If she had been any more eager, she might have shoved Alice right into his arms. At least, that was how Alice felt though Mr Gouldsmith looked quite pleased to have her on his arm.
Many of the other gentlemen surrounding them offered a glance in their direction, some of them showing open judgement at the man she had chosen to offer her company to for dinner. Sickeningly, she noticed that Baron Colton looked quite disappointed, and she made a mental note to be sure to stay even further away from him for fear of falling into an awkward conversational trap.
It was in that moment that the dinner gong began to ring, and Mr Gouldsmith gestured with a wave of his free arm. “Shall we?”
Offering him her sweetest smile, Alice responded, “I think we shall.”
Alice did her best not to crumble beneath the pressure of the moment. Holding onto Mr Gouldsmith’s arm she allowed him to lead her from the parlour and through the hall to the dining room beyond, following behind Nancy and Owen who were walking regally at the front of their party. Even as they walked Alice could feel the eyes of many of the guests on them and she began to wonder how many of them had begun to guess why they had really been invited.
Were the men any the wiser as to the fact that Nancy was pitting them all against each other in a bid for Alice’s hand? Alice cringed, hoping not. She could imagine the kind of testosterone fooled idiocy something like that might cause.
Upon sitting at the dining table, Alice’s only relief was that the seat on the other side of her was taken by her mother who seemed quite recovered from her exhaustion. As the dinner got underway, she was grateful to her mother for carrying most of the conversation. Idly, she put in answers and gestures of agreement wherever they were needed but for the most part, Mr Gouldsmith seemed quite taken with charming Lady Skeffington.
The more she sat back and ate, watching and listening, the more Alice began to feel unnerved. Though Mr Gouldsmith was charming, there was something else, something that did not sit right and although Alice could not put her finger on it, she was certain that it could not be good.
Glancing around at the other people closest on the table, she examined their expressions closely, wondering whether perhaps they might have noticed whatever she was picking up on.
Yet, everybody seemed quite enchanted and amused by Mr Gouldsmith’s retelling of how he had caught several rabbits on their hunt that day. He even suggested that the rabbit they were eating tonight might well be one that he had collected for the party. There was something slightly pompous and arrogant about his words and yet his charm and the cool tone of his voice appeared to keep people from believing him to be as such.
It was not until she glanced further down the table, her attention caught by an odd sensation of being watched, that she realised Lord Warrington was looking in their direction. Not only was he looking but he was openly staring. His gaze locked with hers for only a moment before he broke their connection, turning a begrudging expression on Mr Gouldsmith before looking away entirely.
Alice did her best not to think too much of it.Perhap,s he did not mean to look at me,she thought, knowing that she could not be the only one who sometimes absentmindedly stared off into the distance whenever she thought that nobody was watching. Yet she was unnerved by the look he had given her, the way his gaze had caused her heart to skip a beat.
Determined not to let his gaze get to her, Alice leaned forward and picked up her wine glass to take a sip before offering her attention once more to Mr Gouldsmith. “Mr Gouldsmith, I do hope that you are not too exhausted from supplying us with so many rabbits this afternoon.”
Even as she spoke, she found herself raising her voice a little, glancing in Lord Warrington’s direction, half expecting him to look at her again. She was almost disappointed when he did not, but she could have sworn that she saw his shoulders tense as though he had definitely heard her words.
“I am sure that I will live, Miss Skeffington,” Mr Gouldsmith assured her, and Alice was quick to turn her gaze back on him, hoping he had not noticed her staring at Lord Warrington. “It is no hardship to provide for a woman as beautiful as yourself.”
That is a little presumptuous of you!Alice thought, her back teeth grating at his words. Though he was smiling and clearly meant to be complimentary, his words had rubbed Alice the wrong way and she was unsure of what to say for a few moments until she felt her mother’s discreet elbow digging into her ribs, making the bones in her stay even more uncomfortable for a moment.
Having grown almost as good as Nancy, Alice forced a flush to her cheeks and offered the gentleman a kind smile as she responded, “You do flatter me, Mr Gouldsmith. I am sure that all the ladies here are grateful for your contribution.”
Mr Gouldsmith glanced around at the people around him and nodded. “Yes, of course, I am sure they are.”
Following his gaze, Alice realised that Lord Warrington was watching them again. It was clear from the amusement on his face, the way that his striking green gaze glowed and the quivering of his pursed lips, that he was having trouble containing himself.
No doubt he had taken amusement from her pointing out to Mr Gouldsmith that she was not the only lady at the table.Does he sense my distaste?Alice wondered, hoping that Lord Warrington had not gotten the measure of her during their earlier conversation.
She met his gaze again and this time he did not look away. His amusement began to fade though he did not look angry. Instead, his expression became dark and mysterious, even enticing. Alice’s heart leapt into her throat and for a few moments, she found that she was unable to breathe. Then he blinked and gave a curt nod of his head before turning back to address whomever had spoken to him.
Oddly, Alice found herself leaning forward in an attempt to see who had stolen his attention away from her. She felt only relief when she saw that it was Owen at the head of the table who had spoken to his friend. Alice was not at all sure how she might have reacted if it had been one of the other ladies.
They are all married!she reminded herself, determining that it was absolutely ridiculous for her to feel any kind of jealousy toward any of the women at the table, especially over a man like Lord Warrington who quite clearly detested the motives for the entire week’s events.
“Miss Skeffington?” Mr Gouldsmith’s voice sounded as though it was a great distance away, almost as if she had her head beneath water and was having a hard time of finding the surface. Blinking and mentally shaking herself, Alice turned to the man and realised that he was staring at her with obvious concern. “Are you well, Miss Skeffington?”
It was then that she realised he had still been speaking to her when she had lost herself in thoughts of the Earl.Why does this keep happening to me?she asked herself, gritting her teeth to stop herself from screaming in frustration.
Clearing her throat, only to find herself choking slightly, Alice hurried to pick up her wine glass again. This time when her cheeks flushed it was with true embarrassment and she had to wipe a little spittle from her lips with her serviette. “My apologies, Mr Gouldsmith, I had a frog in my throat. You were saying?”
She looked at him, hoping that she would looked as if she longed to hear what he had been saying even though truly she had no interest in it whatsoever. Already, she was sure she could feel Lord Warrington’s gaze upon her again and she was all but certain that he was doing it on purpose, trying to unnerve her so that she would somehow mess up with Mr Gouldsmith.
Though she truly could not have cared less what Mr Gouldsmith or any of the men thought of her, there was no way she was going to act anything less than lady-like and demure. Nancy and her mother would never forgive her if she messed this week up and it was that knowledge that was the only thing keeping her anger and discomfort at bay, that and the thought of what her father might have to say if she returned to find that her mother had reported everything to him.
I will not give Lord Warrington the satisfaction of seeing how he affects me,Alice determined, reminding herself of such throughout the rest of dinner, trying and failing to avoid his gaze whenever she glanced down to his end of the table.
Though he was keeping up with his own conversations at the far end of the table, he seemed to be offering his gaze to her with every chance that he got, and more and more Alice found herself rising to the challenge. There was an odd stimulating expression to the Earl’s face as though he was daring something of her, as though he was testing her and believed that he was somehow winning something between them.
If that is the way that you wish to play it, my lord,Alice thought with a great determination that settled like a hard stone in her gut and made her tense, glowering at the lord as she practically issued her own challenge in return,then so be it!
“Alice, are you sure that you are well?” her mother suddenly asked, leaning over in her seat to whisper the words into her ear. She realised that she had missed another question from Mr Gouldsmith and again she could feel Lord Warrington watching as though he was quite entertained by her predicament.
“Yes, yes, I fear I may have eaten a little too much,” she admitted though it was a lie. Her discomfort was entirely down to the man at the other end of the table who would not stop watching her, making her skin tingle and her entire body quiver. Heat pooled in the most forbidden of places at the mere thought of him and she became even more determined than ever to play him at his own game.