“Good evening, Lady Arbuckle,” Robert replied, remembering the lady at once. “You and your lovely daughter are returned for the Season, then?”
The lady nodded.
“We are,” she replied, putting one hand to the small of her daughter’s back, clearly encouraging her to face Robert a little more. The young lady obliged and turned away from her previous conversation partner entirely, leaving Robert feeling all the more pleased. “As are you, it seems?”
“Indeed, indeed,” Robert replied, sighing, and waving one hand. “I could not stay away, although I confess that it is both difficult and wonderful to be in amongst thetonagain – there are so many people that I wish to greet and, doubtless, so many who will wish to greet me also – that I do not think there will be enough time, even though there are still many, many weeks left of the Season!” He chuckled and Lady Arbuckle smiled in response, although that smile was a trifle uncertain, and Robert did not miss the way she sent a glance towards her daughter. A little confused, he then held out one hand to the young lady. “I do hope, Miss Swanson, that you might be willing to offer me the opportunity to dance with you this evening?” he asked, as the young lady then turned to look up at her mother questioningly. “I know I should be glad of your company.”
His smile grew all the more as he saw Lady Arbuckle give her daughter a small nod, which she then took as agreement that Robert could dance with her. Within a few minutes, Miss Swanson had handed him her dance card and Robert accepted it quickly, thinking only to put his name down for one dance rather than two. After all, there were bound to be many young ladies whom he might wish to be in company with this evening and he could not spare any ladytwodances! Two dances with any of them would only lead to speculation. Besides which, he considered, he would not take the waltz from any of them, for fear that whoever he danced with might think him a little more partial to her company – and Robert did not want that.
“The quadrille, Miss Swanson,” he told her, handing back her card with a broad smile. “It has been some time since I danced, however. I must hope that my feet will remember all they must do!”
“I am sure that you will do very well indeed, Lord Crampton,” Lady Arbuckle replied, as her daughter blushed and dropped her head so that her eyes were no longer fixed to Robert’s. “Now, do tell me if the Duke of Strathaven has been in your company of late?” She eyed him carefully, tilting her head gently to one side. “After all, I am sure that the Duke and Duchess must still recall what you did to save their daughter!”
A warm glow of satisfaction began to fill every inch of Robert’s being. He sighed inwardly with relief, his chin tilting just a notch as he spread out his hands to either side.
“Lady Charlotte has not yet returned to London,” he said, speaking with a confident air which made it appear as though he were closely acquainted with the Duke and knew such things from private correspondence or conversation. “I am certain that they will be in London very soon, although it will take a little more courage for Lady Charlotte to make her way through society again, I am sure.”
Lady Arbuckle’s eyes widened.
“But of course, that is more than understandable,” she said quietly, as her daughter listened carefully, her eyes flickering from Robert to her mother and back again. “That poor girl had such a dreadful ordeal.”
“One that I was very glad indeed to be able to save her from,” Robert replied, forcing a heavy sigh to his lips as he shook his head. “I am only disappointed and frustrated that it was required of me in the first place.”
This was not the truth, however, but it garnered enough sympathy from both Lady Arbuckle and her daughter that Robert was secretly pleased. The truth was that, had he been anywhere other than in the gardens that night, then he would not have seen Lady Charlotte being pulled away against her will and would not have had need to act. He would still be a somewhat obscure gentleman, forced to make his mark on society in whatever way he could and struggle to find his place in a society that he knew very little of. That thought was a dark one and Robert pushed it aside easily enough. It had been a blessing for him that Lady Charlotte had needed his help, for it had pushed him into society’s view and that had aided him in his attempts to settle into thetonwithout mocking whispers or biting words chasing after him.
“I am certain that she was very grateful to you, Lord Crampton,” Miss Swanson murmured, her eyes holding fast to his, a slight pink in her cheeks. “I am sure that there are very few gentlemen with a character such as yours.”
“You are very kind to say so, Miss Swanson,” he replied, appreciating her compliment “I do want to assure you that such things do not happen very often and that you, yourself, will be quite safe this Season.”
Miss Swanson nodded, although Robert noticed that she took a small step closer to her mother as she did so, perhaps a little more perturbed by what Robert had reminded her of than she wanted to express.
“I should take my leave,” Robert continued, thinking that his time with Lady Arbuckle and her daughter ought to be brought to a close since he had many other young ladies to speak with and many other dance cards to sign. “Do excuse me. I will return for our dance, Miss Swanson, which I am already very much looking forward to.”
She blushed, smiled prettily, and bade him good evening, allowing Robert to step away and, with a little more confidence now, begin to make his way around the ballroom, letting his breathing settle. The fear that he would be forgotten, that he would be pushed aside into the shadows and ignored by society was quickly fading away. Thanks to his connection to the Duke of Strathaven, Robert might continue to be sought after for the duration of this Season, and possibly even the next.
He shook his head to himself, recalling the first soiree he had attended. Entirely lacking in confidence, he had stayed near to the shadows in the room, had spoken very little, and had felt himself to be rather smaller than those around him – even those who had a lesser title than he. The urge to change that, to speak and act with confidence, had grown continuously, but it had not been until the evening with Lady Charlotte when he had been granted such an opportunity.
And had I not been there at the right time to save the lady, I might now find myself still that quiet, unassertive and reluctant gentleman whom no one cared to show any interest in. But now…He smiled, looking over his shoulder at Miss Swanson. Now, he had theton’s attention, and he would fight to make sure he kept it.
* * *
For whatever reason,the incident with Lady Langdon and, indeed, with Miss Gregory, did not remove itself from Robert’s mind despite his enjoyment of the evening. He simply could not forget it, nor the words she had poured on his head. Otherwise, the evening had, much to his relief, gone just as he had hoped. The many young ladies of thetonhad been eager for his company and their mothers had, on the whole, brought to mind what he had done for the Duke’s daughter last Season. For those who had forgotten, Robert was swiftly able to remind them of it by a simple word or two here and there, and then, within seconds, the accolades had come, and Robert’s confidence had grown.
The dances he had stepped out for thus far had brought him nothing but delight, for the young ladies had been glad to be in his company and each had spoken of what Lady Charlotte had been forced to endure and what he had stepped forward to do without hesitation. They had all held expressions of gratitude and wonder as they had danced with him, their wide eyes held fast to his as though he were the very best of gentlemen.
Robert had enjoyed every single moment of each and every dance, his spirits lifted, his confidence full and his heart singing with the joy which came with their appreciation of him.
Only for his spirits to lower whenever Miss Gregory came to mind.
He watched her now as he sat quietly in a chair near the side of the room, able to have a mostly unhindered view. His thoughts were many, and he allowed each one to come in, one at a time. Of course, he reasoned, she was only a companion, and therefore would not know of what had taken place last Season. She would not have the same wonder and astonishment as the others he had spoken with, would not look up at him with wide eyes and gently curved lips. No, Robert knew that she had reacted to him very differently from the others and that, he considered, would have to be rectified. He had tried repeatedly to tell himself that she was a mere companion and that, as such, he ought to have no consideration for her opinion, but still, her attitude towards him and the harshness with which she had spoken railed against his heart and mind. It wouldhaveto be remedied.
Having now been studying her for a short while, Robert did consider the lady to be quite pretty, in her own way. She had not the timorousness which he might have expected from a companion, and he did not like the manner in which she continually let her gaze sweep from one side of the room to the other, making it plain that she was a little overwhelmed by it all. Her brown hair was glinting with hints of red and gold, her curls tumbling gently over one shoulder and that, at least, was pleasing. From what he recalled, her eyes were green and her lips a soft pink, although given that the former had been narrowed in his direction, Robert did not think that was particularly an asset to her. Perhaps it was that the education required to make her understand her place in the world and what her behavior ought to be thereafter had been somewhat lacking, for Robert was quite certain that no other companion would have spoken in the way she had done, regardless of the circumstances
Silently wishing that he could remove her from his mind entirely, Robert rose from his chair and began to make his way across the room towards her. It only took him a few steps and, from the way her brows lifted as he reached her, Robert assumed that she was a trifle surprised at his approach. He required only a few moments, he told himself – just enough to inform her of what he had done in saving Lady Charlotte, so that she would not again speak in such a way to him. It was very strange that her words should have diminished his confidence so, that they should reverberate in his mind in such a frustrating fashion, but Robert hoped that a hurried conversation now would bring an end to such troubles. A glance towards Lady Langdon told him that the lady was in deep conversation with a gentleman and his wife and did not seem to even notice his arrival.
“Good evening, Miss Gregory,” he began, intending to launch into his explanation, but he was stopped short by the way that she tilted her head and narrowed her gaze.
“Are you quite finished studying me, Lord Crampton?” she asked, and a tightness came into Robert’s throat as he stared back at her, not quite certain what to say in response. “It has been some minutes, has it not? Have you decided that you must now grant my aunt and I a decent apology?”