A Chance to Kiss the Marquess (Charmed By Chance #3)

Chapter 5

5

K al was accosted on his way out the door.

“You’re going to Carver’s,” his mother said, planting herself between him and his exit.

“Yes.” He glanced past her and held back a sigh when she made no effort to move. His carriage would be waiting.

“For a dinner party.” His quick-witted, unflappable mother showed hints of uncharacteristic confusion.

“I do enjoy dinner,” he replied.

Her brows knit as she studied him. “You asked Carver to host this party.”

He just barely bit back a sigh. He’d have words with Carver for this.

He’d asked his cousin for one simple favor. Did he really have to go running to Kal’s mother with this news?

“Don’t give me that look,” his mother said. “I wasn’t prying, I merely asked why his sudden interest in hosting. I could see after his wedding, certainly, but now?” She folded her hands together. “So imagine my surprise when your cousin admitted that he was hosting this dinner as a favor to you.”

Kal met her stare evenly. The trick with his mother—and most members of Parliament, for that matter—was to keep one’s hand close to one’s chest.

She was fishing for information, but she wouldn’t get it. Not from him, at least.

Carver, on the other hand…

He loved his cousin, but ever since Kal’s mother took him in and raised him as if he were another son, Carver had developed a loyalty to her that made him much too malleable to her line of questioning.

“May I ask why you asked your cousin to host a dinner party?” Her haughty tone said she had every right to ask why, and he’d better not forget it.

“You’ve been telling me to be more sociable since I left the nursery. One would think you’d be pleased that I’m making an attempt.”

She arched a brow. “One would think.”

They shared a silent standoff.

He won.

His mother sighed loudly in defeat. “If you’re suddenly inclined to interact with your peers, couldn’t you wait until Lady Olivia’s arrival? I’m certain she’d be glad for any occasion we could provide to introduce her to good society.”

“Then that is what we shall do.” He moved to walk around her, impatient to get to this party, which…honestly, wasn’t such a dramatic event as his mother was making it out to be. It was just a dinner party. And if he’d asked that Carver invite Ann, specifically, it was only so that he could help her.

It wasn’t every day a young lady developed an infatuation for him, and he could admit that it made him feel rather…protective.

And he’d meant it when he’d said he admired her. She might look small and frail, but the young lady had a tenacity to her that was most endearing.

“So you agree to do your part to make Lady Olivia feel at home then,” his mother was saying as she followed him toward the door.

He hadn’t been paying attention and now his spine straightened at her tone. He knew that too-casual tone well. “What are you planning, Mother?”

He turned back to see her smug smile. “Just a little gathering to welcome our guests.”

He tried not to flinch. “A little gathering?”

“That’s right.”

With a sigh, he looked up to the heavens for patience. “I thought we agreed your last ball would be the only one of the Season.”

“Well, that was before I knew we’d have such honored guests.” Her eyes were wide with false innocence as she added, “And that my son had suddenly discovered the joy of social gatherings.”

He pressed his lips together in annoyance. She had him cornered and they both knew it. Either he had to explain his motives in asking Carver to host tonight’s dinner, or…

“Very well.” He turned to the door. “But please, leave me out of the planning.”

“Of course, dear.” Her tone was far too pleased as she followed him to the door. “Have a lovely evening!”

By the time he arrived, the dinner party was well underway. Carver’s fiancée Meg was acting as hostess, and even Kal could admit that the sight was…pleasant. It was a true love match for his cousin, and while Kal never imagined the same for himself, no one deserved a happy family more than Carver. Watching him and Meg interact with their friends brought Kal a great deal of satisfaction.

What did not leave him satisfied was Ann’s stunning ability to avoid him.

He noticed her arrival as he always did of late. And he was pleased, indeed, when he watched her interact with Meg and her other friends. Her smile lit up the room, and seeing her at ease in this way made his chest swell with a feeling he could not name.

But her ease around her friends was so very at odds with the way she tensed whenever he drew near, that he knew not what to make of it.

Admittedly, he knew little of young ladies or how they acted when they were enamored. But he thought it was safe to assume that if a young lady were to have… feelings for a man to the extent that she felt compelled to write his name in her personal diary, then would she not then welcome his attentions?

Not that it mattered, of course. In fact, it was likely better for everyone that she did not pursue her feelings. He was duty bound to court a lady with better means and connections.

Though Ann’s family was highly respectable…

But even so, he’d require a lady with just an understanding of what it meant to hold such a title. He’d need a wife who would be comfortable in the public eye, and who could be a congenial hostess and an ally to his career in Parliament.

Miss Ann did not fit that role. Not at all. And it wouldn’t do to let such a monumental choice be made because he felt sorry for the girl.

“I see someone has caught your eye,” a voice said beside him.

Startled out of his reverie, he turned to see Mr. Everson beside him. As one of the few guests here with whom Kal wasn’t well acquainted with, he met this comment with a blank stare.

“Oh, don’t let me stop you,” Everson continued, clearly enjoying himself at Kal’s expense. “You were watching those ladies with such interest, I couldn’t help but comment upon it.”

“Couldn’t you?” Kal tried to recall what he knew of this man.

Little, to be sure. He’d heard Albright and Carver speak of him recently, though. It seemed he was a close friend to the Earl of Marlin, who was engaged to Lady Jane, who was a dear friend of Meg’s.

And because of this connect, it seemed Kal and the others had inherited two more friends—the Earl of Marlin and…

This fellow. Mr. Everson.

And Mr. Everson had apparently taken it upon himself to tease Kal.

Kal scowled. He did not make friends easily, and he did not welcome newcomers into his close circle without a good deal of suspicion.

Again, it came with the territory when one acquired a marquesate at such a young age.

One never knew who one could trust. And so trust was not freely given, but earned.

Apparently this Everson chap was unaware of this. He nodded toward the group of young ladies, where Ann stood out like a fiery beacon with that brilliant hair of hers. “So, tell me. Which one’s caught your fancy?”

Kal turned slowly to face the other man. “I beg your pardon.”

He was begging nothing. His cold tone was enough to make grown men weep—he knew this because he’d once caused an overly emotional baronet to burst into tears at a committee meeting.

It had not been intentional.

But that tone seemed to have no effect on this Everson bloke. Maybe because his close friend Lord Marlin was also renowned for his taciturn manners. Perhaps Everson had grown immune to stern lords.

“Have no fear, your secrets are safe with me,” Everson continued with a knowing smile. He followed Kal’s line of sight. “Ah, I see.”

Everson’s cavalier grin made Kal want to hit him. Which was unusual. He typically preferred verbal sparring to physical violence. But for this man, he would make an exception.

“Yes, indeed, Miss Felicity McGovern is an excellent choice,” the other man continued. “I’ve heard she has a fortune coming her way.”

Irritation flared at the man’s presumptuous manners. What gentleman spoke of a young lady’s dowry in such a way?

“She’s after a title, too, from what I hear.” Everson nodded, not seeming to notice that his words and tone were entirely inappropriate.

Kal kept his gaze even, his expression unmoving.

Everson laughed. “But, of course, you have no need for fortunes, do you? A man like you could marry anyone.”

It was only then that Kal saw it. Or rather, he smelled it. The liquor that seemed to seep from this man’s skin. Not to mention the way his gaze seemed cloudy and distant.

The man was in his cups.

“This is hardly a topic appropriate for such an occasion.” His stern tone had the desired effect.

Everson seemed to remember where he was and who he was talking to as he raised his glass. “Too true. By all accounts we ought to be celebrating tonight, eh?” He raised his voice as well as his glass. “To the happy couples!”

Amused glances were exchanged, but the others followed suit, toasting Carver and Meg, and then the attention turned to Lord Marlin and his fiancée. Though the earl’s fiancée turned a vivid shade of red and ducked her head as the earl shifted to hide her from view.

How curious.

But the earl’s shifting and all this toasting meant that a path to Ann had opened. She was no longer in the center of her friends, but off to the side with only Meg beside her.

The little notebook weighed heavily in his jacket pocket. He’d find a way to get her the diary and perhaps show her some kindness while he was at it.

Perhaps he’d help her find some other suitor. Someone more fitting.

He moved in her direction, though it took a while as he kept being stopped by his friends.

Yes, he’d find a way to make her see that while he valued her affections, there was no way he could court her. He had too many people counting on him, and women more qualified than she to consider, and?—

His mind ceased its prattling because suddenly he was so close that he could hear her laugh.

And Ann’s laugh, was…

Well, it was delightful. But the effect it had on him, on his senses, was disorienting. And more than a little confusing.

“You alright there, cousin?” Carver called out to him from where he stood with Albright and Marlin.

“Hmm?” Kal tore his gaze away from Ann. “Oh. Yes. Fine.”

He straightened his cravat and cleared his throat.

Fine. Yes, he was just fine. Absolutely fine.

Of course he was.