She shook her head and walked over to the fireplace. “I’ve heard the rumors about Lord Tulk. Even I know he’s less than honorable. So, when I heard you were hosting a party and the marquess had been invited, I had to ask myself. Why would Nicholas keep company with a man such as he?” She turned and sighed. “I do remember what you told me about your father’s deathbed confession.”
Nicholas stifled an inward groan. What a fool he had been telling Lady Ayles about his father’s wish. “If you believe a single word of what I told you, you must realize that by alerting Lord Tulk, you could put numerous lives at risk. Surely, you cannot want that?” For all Lady Ayles was, she was not that cruel.
With a heavy sigh, she walked over to stand before him. “No, I would not want that. What I do want is your friendship. To be invited to your parties and to keep company with you.” She leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “Lest you wish me to alert the marquess, I suggest we renew our friendship. Will you agree?”
How he wished he could throw this woman from his house! But now he was stuck. Lady Ayles had not changed one whit. She was still the same manipulative woman he had always known. If he failed with Lord Tulk, he would fail to fulfill his father’s dying wish.
Given no other choice, Nicholas nodded. “But only friends, Jane.”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” she said with a laugh. Then she kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you at the ball. Now, be a gentleman and walk me to the door.”
With a clenched jaw that did nothing to help his aching head, he helped her with her coat and opened the door for her.
When she was gone, Nicholas returned to the parlor and poured himself another brandy. As he sipped his drink, he wondered how he could get Lady Ayles out of his life. Yet, no answer came to him. The simple truth was that she could ruin everything for which he had worked so hard. Therefore, he had to play her game.
But he would be more cautious this time around.
Chapter Eight
The carriage Lord Dowding had sent to collect Jenny, stopped before the white-columned portico of Rosling Estate. A gray brick house with two stories, the sets of rounded bays on either side made it unique from any Jenny had seen before. The windows were trimmed in white, and blue shutters flanked the larger windows of the lower level. It was twice the size of Courtly Manor. And far statelier.
She had spent a vast part of the morning readying herself for the luncheon, selecting a pink sprigged muslin dress with white lace throughout the bodice. Her slippers had pink ribbon rosettes, and from her ears hung pink pendant earrings. From head to foot, she never felt lovelier. Now, if only he would notice…
Reaching up to give her braid a pull, she sighed. At the insistence of Theodosia, she had abandoned her customary long plait. Instead, it was rolled up and pinned to the back of her head.
“This isn’t your usual coterie, Jenny. You’re not there for a mindless social gathering but rather to catch his eye. And you certainly won’t do that looking like a farm girl!”
Farm girl, indeed!Jenny thought as she clutched at air once more. She sighed again. How would she survive this encounter without her braid?
Louisa rang the bell, and the door opened by a silver-haired butler, who greeted them with a diffident, yet warm, bow. “Good afternoon, ladies. Please, won’t you come in?”
He stepped aside, and as he collected their pelisses, Jenny took a moment to admire the foyer. The grand staircase rose from the ground floor to the first in the middle of the room. Beneath the divided stairs sat two sets of double doors, and to the left and right were two more, all made of heavy, dark-stained oak. Two life-sized canvases of a stately gentleman and a resplendently dressed lady hung from the wall at the landing where the staircase split left and right.
A blue and white Nain Florentine carpet lay in the middle of the room, and a matching pair of oak side tables, each holding a red vase with gold stripes, sat on either side of the staircase. A chandelier with a ring of candles and at least a hundred crystal pendants hung from the lofty ceiling above them.
“His Lordship will be here momentarily,” the butler said as he led them to the doors to the left. “Shall I have a tea tray sent up for you?”
“No, thank you,” Jenny replied.
When the butler was gone, she smiled at Louisa, who clutched at her skirts as if she believed the house was haunted. “Oh, will you stop? We’ve no cause for worry.”
Louisa gave a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. He may be an earl, but I still don’t trust him.”
Jenny raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. “Yet you trust to request a kiss from a knight you scarcely met?”
Louisa had the decency to flush.
“Ladies,” Lord Dowding said as he entered the room, “I beg your forgiveness for making you wait. I was so engrossed in my work that time slipped away from me.”
Her heart rising to her throat, Jenny bound from her seat and dropped into a deep curtsy. Yet she could not help but study him through her eyelashes. He was as handsome as she remembered.
It hasn’t been that long since you last saw him, you buffoon!
Regardless of how much time had passed, there was no mistaking the fine form that lay beneath the carefully tailored coat and tight-legged breeches.
No proper lady thinks about a gentleman’s body!she chastised herself inwardly.
And that illustrious black hair made her want to run her fingers through it…