A Brooding Christmas Promise (Christmas Matches of Worth #2)

Chapter One

“Good evening, Your Grace! How pleasant to see you here this evening.”

Joseph offered his host a smile, all the while feeling himself more than a little heavy-hearted. “Good evening, Lord Umbridge. How very kind of you to extend an invitation to both myself and my mother.”

“But of course, of course!” Lord Umbridge gestured to the ballroom. “I am sure that many within society will be glad to see you present, Your Grace. Allow me a few moments of conversation with your mother before I release her to join you, yes?”

Joseph nodded, his back stiff and his shoulders pulled back as he walked toward the ballroom. He had very little to say to his mother at the present moment and would be very glad indeed if Lord Umbridge wished to talk with her for the rest of the evening! Given what he knew of his mother and what she intended for him this evening, he had no genuine desire to spend any further time in her company.

“Good evening, Your Grace!” A voice filled with surprise caught his attention and Joseph turned his head, looking down into a pair of gentle brown eyes. “I did not think you would be coming to London so early in the Season.”

“Nor did I, Lady Newforth.” Joseph bowed towards the lady, recognizing her to be one of those he had captured in his arms only a few months ago, though given that she was widowed, he did not think that to be particularly grievous. “However, I have come to London to – ” He stopped short, realizing that he had no desire whatsoever to inform the lady that he was here to find himself a wife. The truth was, he had no interest in that at all but it was because of the heavy weight of his mother’s insistence that he had finally given in. “I have come to London to enjoy the good company found here,” he finished saying, as the lady’s eyes glowed. “I do hope I make myself clear?”

She touched his arm for a moment, moving just a little closer. “Yes, you do indeed,” she murmured, practically purring as a faint stirring in Joseph’s core reminded him about all they had shared. “Mayhap you might –”

***

“My son is here to find a bride, Lady Newforth.”

Joseph closed his eyes, his jaw tightening as his mother came to stand directly beside him, clearly aware of what sort of conversation she had stumbled upon. “Mother, I think –”

“Did I not hear that you were recently engaged, Lady Newforth?” the Duchess continued, ignoring Joseph completely. “You must tell me his name, for I have quite forgotten!”

A cold hand began to wrap around Joseph’s heart as he looked to Lady Newforth, seeing her turn her gaze away as color hit her cheeks. He had always promised himself that he would never capture a lady in his arms who was already spoken for and yet, now it seemed that he had come dangerously close to doing so.

“Yes, to the Earl of Chesterfield.” Lady Newforth licked her lips, glancing over her shoulder as though she thought to spy the very person she was speaking of. “It was only very recent and –”

“My congratulations to you both,” the Duchess interrupted, shooting an angry look towards Joseph who only shook his head, words of protest on his lips but remaining unspoken. “Do excuse us, Lady Newforth, if you would. My son is to take me to find Lady Wigton and we must depart here at once.”

Joseph had no other choice but to take his mother’s arm and lead her away from Lady Newforth, though he did find himself a little relieved to no longer be in the lady’s company. He had not known that she was engaged and certainly would not have even thought to engage in any sort of flirtation with the lady had he been aware. He cleared his throat, glancing to his mother who was walking with her head held high but a spot of color in her cheeks.

“I did not know she was betrothed, Mother,” he said quietly, realizing that he had no need to explain himself to her but finding the desire to do so sitting within him regardless. “I was entirely unaware of it.”

She shook her head but kept her gaze directly ahead of her, not looking up at him. “I do not know whether or not I can believe that. Your reputation is not exactly pristine, is it?”

Joseph scowled. “I have always told myself that I would never engage in any manner of flirtation with a lady who was attached to a gentleman. Whether you believe that or not is none of my concern.” He sniffed as she looked up at him, ignoring the anger in her eyes. Things between his mother and himself had become strained the last few months and though he abhorred the weakness within himself which had given in to her demands and had finally consented to find a bride, he also was looking forward to the moment that he would be granted relief from it all.

“There is Lady Wigton.” His mother directed him with a point of one finger. “Now, you know that I am to introduce you to her daughter, Lady Hannah. You will behave well, I hope.”

“You do not have to speak to me as though I am a child,” Joseph muttered, a little frustrated with his mother’s attitude. “I am well able to behave well in society, I assure you.”

“I am yet to become convinced of that,” came the quick reply, though Joseph could not respond given that Lady Wigton turned to greet them both. He bowed and forced a smile, finding himself a little relieved that the lady appeared to be standing alone and was not with her daughter, only for the lady to then beckon to someone behind him.

“Come now, Hannah, come and greet the Duchess of Yarmouth and her son, the Duke of Yarmouth.”

Joseph had no choice but to turn and look as a young lady detached herself from a smaller group of ladies and came obediently towards her mother. She was, Joseph considered, not particularly beautiful but not overly plain either, which he appreciated. There was no spark in her eyes but her brown curls glinted copper in the candlelight.

“Your Grace, it is a delight to see you again.”

Joseph blinked quickly, then inclined his head as a frown marred his forehead. He had no recollection of ever meeting this young lady and yet, evidently, she seemed to be aware of him. With a cough, he lifted his head and looked back into her eyes, though there was a glint in her eye and a slight pull to her mouth that Joseph did not much like.

“Of course, Lady Hannah.” He tried to smile but his mouth refused to pull into it. “I hope you are enjoying this evening?”

She tilted her head just a little, her mouth flattening. “Very much. Will you be in attendance for a considerable time?”

“I – yes, I intend to be here for some months,” Joseph stammered, his words becoming a little muddled as he hid what he wanted to say, covering it with words he did not truly mean. “I have come with my mother, as you may perceive.”

“And he is here to find himself a bride at long last!”

This declaration from his mother made Joseph’s heart rip apart, dread flooding him as Lady Hannah snatched in a breath, her eyes rounding at the edges.

“That is not… that is to say –”

“Come now, my son, you need not be coy about it,” the Duchess exclaimed, making Joseph’s frustrations leap up all the more. “I shall be searching through the ton for those young ladies who might well be a suitable match for my son. He has deigned to permit me such a responsibility and I am already relishing the task!”

A rush of energy poured into Joseph’s frame, urging him to hurry away, to step away from the conversation before she could say any more. “That is to say, I may consider matrimony,” he added, hastily. “I am sure, Lady Wigton that you understand my mother’s enthusiasm but it is given a little too hastily, I think.”

This did nothing to dampen the excitement in the lady’s expression and Joseph’s heart sank, especially when she turned her head to face her daughter.

“That is most exciting, Your Grace! I am sure that your mother will be of the greatest help to you.” She said all of this as she looked at her daughter, though Lady Hannah said nothing, her expression entirely unchanged. “Should you like to step out for a dance this evening? You will find many willing young ladies, I am sure!”

Joseph swallowed thickly, seeing that the lady was now hopeful – and expectant – that he might dance with her daughter this evening. “I do not think that I –”

“The quadrille, mayhap?” The Duchess broke in this time, sending Joseph a fiery glance which Joseph tried his best to ignore. “Or the cotillion?”

“I am not certain that –”

This time, it was not Joseph who ignored the question but Lady Hannah instead. She drew herself up to her full height, looked back at him steadily and kept her chin lifted. “After what you did to my closest friend, Lady Sara, I have no interest in standing up with you.”

“Hannah!” Lady Wigton exclaimed, only for Joseph’s own mother to drop her head, her eyes closing tightly. There was a clear moment of tension as the small group all stood in tense silence, though Joseph’s heart began to thud furiously, disliking Lady Hannah intensely. This was rudeness beyond measure, he mused inwardly, and from such a mere chit as this! His face began to burn though he kept Lady Hannah’s gaze steadily.

“I do not think that what transpired between the lady and myself is anyone’s business but my own.”

“And you can say that in such a way as to make it plain that you have no responsibility!” Lady Hannah cried, making her mother exclaim again, trying to quieten her but to no avail. “You have tried to keep this to yourself, I know, for you do not want anyone else to be aware of it, but you stole her affections and promised her that you would marry – though you begged her to keep it a secret. And then what did you do? You turned your back on her and instead, found another lady to keep close instead. And this in the full knowledge that she had turned down two other gentlemen’s offer of courtship in the belief that your proposal would soon come!”

There was nothing for him to say. He could not defend himself, not when he had done everything that the lady had just said. Nor could he say that he had truly had an intention of marrying the lady for that in itself had also been false. Lady Sara had been a distraction for him for a time, nothing more. He had only hoped that the news of this would never come to light.

“You cannot say a word against this, can you?” Lady Hannah laughed without mirth, her face contorted with anger, her eyes brimming with tears. “You are the very last gentleman I should ever stand up with and if I had my way, all of society would be warned about you so that none would ever come near you again.”

With this, she twisted away from her mother and from Joseph, hurrying through the crowd of guests as though she could not move fast enough to remove herself from him. Joseph did not know what to do, glancing around surreptitiously and realizing just how many people nearby had heard what Lady Hannah had put to him. A sense of mortification began to stir up within him, his chest and neck growing warm as he looked down to the ground, the only place he could avoid the gaze of anyone.

“I think I shall take myself to the card room,” he said, in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. “Do excuse me.”

As he made his way from his mother’s side, Joseph slowly became aware of the whispers which were beginning to spread out around him. It was as though every person present had not only heard what Lady Hannah had said but was now eager to speak about it, making the whispers grow all the stronger. Joseph had never once experienced shame over his behavior for he had always been careful to make sure that society was not fully aware of what he had been doing but now, for the very first time, that sensation began to wash over him. It was a most unpleasant one and Joseph scowled darkly, rubbing one hand over his forehead as he stepped out of the ballroom in search of the card room.

This was not going to be the Season that either he or his mother had anticipated, he realized. Instead, he was going to carry a heavy burden… and one that was entirely of his own making.