Lady Charlotte and the Lending Library (The Rogue’s Alliance #1)

Chapter Sixteen

W hen the invitation came from Miss Tilford to attend a card party at her home, Charlotte was happy to see a note from her hostess informing her Edith and Louisa were also invited to the event.

Charlotte chose a simple cream-colored gown with puffed sleeves and a seawater-colored sash. Her dark brown hair shone in an upswept hairstyle; her only jewelry was aquamarine ear-drops.

William was to escort all three ladies to the card party. He was quite excited about being included in the invitation.

“It is a good sign don’t you think?” he asked her that afternoon. “Miss Tilford’s brother Lord Harbury is a close friend of Lord Ashford’s. I surely wouldn’t be included in the invitation if the marquess held a grudge against me.”

For herself, Charlotte supposed Lord Ashford had nothing to do with William’s being included in the invitation to Alicia’s party.

“I didn’t realize Lord Harbury was so affluent,” Edith said when the carriage came to a halt in front of a large brick mansion in Grosvenor Square. Numerous outside torches were lit, illuminating the house in a soft glow.

“I assumed from Lady Julia’s behavior he must be,” Louisa replied wryly. “The woman is desperate to catch the baron.”

William alighted from the coach and assisted the ladies from the conveyance. A liveried footman stood, superfluous, holding the coach door open.

Once their party entered the house, another footman took their outerwear before escorting them to a long, brightly lit drawing room. A crystal chandelier overhead held numerous wax candles, further displaying the wealth of the family.

“Lady Charlotte!” Miss Tilford, clad in a pale yellow gown, was quickly by her side. “It is lovely to see you again.” She nodded to the rest of their group. “Good evening Lady Edith, Lady Louisa. And this must be Lord Beaumont.”

William bowed, smiled softly, and said deliberately, “I thank you for including me in your invitation, Miss Tilford. You are as kind as you are lovely.”

Alicia’s cheeks turned pink. She returned his smile and replied, “It is you who are kind, Lord Beaumont. Come along and let me introduce you to the rest of my guests.”

Charlotte was delighted to see her brother behave less uncertainly in his greeting to their hostess than she’d expected.

Her gaze had already found Lord Ashford. His back was to her, thank heavens. She guessed he might attend the card party. Not quite sure what her feelings were about seeing the marquess again, she needed a moment to compose herself before greeting him.

Alicia walked to stand near Lady Julia and four guests Charlotte had never seen before. “Lord William Beaumont, Ladies Charlotte, Edith, and Louisa, may I present my dear friend Lady Julia, Lord Meers, our neighbors Lord and Lady Ely, and their son Mr. Harrington.”

The Ely’s, their son, and Lord Meers greeted everyone pleasantly enough, while Julia looked as uninterested as ever upon seeing Charlotte and her friends again.

After a few minutes of polite conversation, Alicia led Charlotte’s party to where Lord Ashford stood talking to Nathaniel and the handsome gentleman from Lady Cairs’ ball.

Charlotte swore she heard indrawn breaths from both Edith and Louisa as they approached the unknown gentleman.

“Nathaniel, you have yet to meet Lady Edith. Everything has conspired until now for you two not to meet. Lord Ashford, I think you are acquainted with the ladies and the gentleman.” Alicia paused. “I don’t believe Lord Cecil Wycliffe has had the pleasure of meeting any of your party, Lady Charlotte.”

Charlotte thought Lord Wycliffe was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was polite in his greeting, yet aloof. Nathaniel was pleasant to everyone as she expected. And Lord Ashford? He appeared not at all upset or irritated with her, but perhaps that was merely a result of good breeding.

The marquess’s dark hair fell in waves over his forehead, lending him a rakish air. The dark blue of his coat was a perfect foil for his cobalt eyes, and she reluctantly tore her gaze from his elegant figure.

“Shall we find some refreshments, Lady Charlotte?” Alicia asked brightly.

“Oh yes, please,” she replied quickly and took the girl’s arm in her own. “I should dearly love some ratafia if you have it.”

“Of course.” Alicia drew Charlotte away to the Japanned low drinks table in the room.

“The card tables are set up in another room?” she asked her hostess, relieved to put some distance between herself and Lord Ashford. The man was too often in her thoughts.

“In the smaller drawing room next door.” Alicia added in a whisper, “The Ely’s brought along Lord Meers to even up the numbers. I’m afraid he and Lord Ashford do not get along.”

Charlotte was intrigued. “Lord Meers seems pleasant enough.” The man looked to be a full ten years her senior, neither attractive nor ugly.

“There is some minor scandal attached to his family. I’ve forgotten what it was about, but Lord Ashford never forgets these things. He is mindful of whom he spends time with as he does not wish to tarnish his family name.”

Charlotte didn’t have much time to reflect on Alicia’s words as their hostess called everyone to proceed to the next room and the card tables. The game for the night would be Whist, a card game for two teams of two players.

The smaller drawing room was no less elegant than the larger one. Burgundy draperies matched the plush chairs surrounding mahogany and cross banded Kingwood card tables. Along with another crystal chandelier, candles blazed in candelabras on the fireplace mantel.

She approached a table where Nathaniel had already taken a seat. Lady Julia rushed to the table as Lord Meers joined them. Charlotte took the remaining seat.

“We play until one team at each table reaches five points,” Alicia announced. “When that occurs, there will be a break until all three tables have reached five points. The lowest card pulled at that time moves to the next table. And so on and so on.”

Play began. Julia obviously wanted to pair up with Nathaniel, so Charlotte good-naturedly paired up with Lord Meers. They played well together but couldn’t beat Lady Julia. The lady was a fierce competitor, and Charlotte was glad to see Julia pull the low card at the end of the game.

Charlotte stood up and stretched her arms in front of her. She felt a prickle at the base of her neck. When she turned her head, Lord Ashford was watching her. She nodded briefly before turning to Lord Meers, who was addressing her.

“Perhaps you would care for a glass of sherry?”

“I would, thank you.” She took the man’s arm, and he escorted her to the other room and the drinks tray.

Lady Edith was standing near the Japanned table with William. She looked at Charlotte and winced. “Thank goodness you will have Louisa at your table during the next game. She and Lord Wycliffe have almost come to blows.”

She shook her head. And replied softly, “You shouldn’t be too relieved, my friend; you will have Lady Julia at your table.”

Charlotte accepted a glass of sherry from Lord Meers, turned, and came face to face with Lord Ashford.

“How was your game?” Meers asked the marquess. His bored tone of voice managed to convey little interest in any response to his query.

Ashford responded lazily with a shrug, “Miss Tilford and I were dreadfully outmatched.”

Lord Meers replied shortly, “Best of luck with the next game. Lady Charlotte and I will be remaining at our table.”

“I should like to speak to my friend Lady Louisa,” she said in a low voice.

“Of course,” Lord Meers replied.

Charlotte walked to where Louisa was talking to Nathaniel about a sopha, of all things, nonplussed to realize Lord Meers had followed her.

“Louisa! Are you behaving yourself?” she asked with a frown. The tense exchange between Ashford and Lord Meers had put her teeth on edge.

“You know how I am at cards.” Louisa grinned. “I must win at all costs.”

“I shudder to think of you and Lady Julia at the same table,” Nathaniel replied.

Sipping her sherry, Charlotte remained silent. Lord Meers let out a low laugh.

“You don’t mean...” The baron shook his head and sighed. “Lady Louisa, you must promise me to help keep the peace.”

“I promise, Lord Harbury,” Louisa replied all too sweetly.

Charlotte knew her friend well. The next game would be a trying one for the players at that table.

* * * * *

A shford had known Charlotte would be at the card party, but he hadn’t been prepared for his body’s response to seeing her again. His ears strained to hear her voice, her laugh. It had been a long time since he’d felt so aware of a woman.

He needed to speak with Charlotte to explain the difficulties with his sister, but the lady was nearly snubbing him. Was it deliberate, or did she simply find the company of Lord Meers diverting?

He wondered why Lord Meers had been invited to the card party. The man was an impoverished viscount. His father had squandered his fortune by gambling it away, and every creditor in London was after him.

Ashford shook himself. It was none of his concern who Lady Alicia invited to her home or whether the viscount was hunting a wealthy wife. The bounder had attempted to woo Diana after her intended was killed in action. According to several accounts, his sister had publicly snubbed the man whenever he approached her. Although he couldn’t fault her actions completely, he wished Diana would have found a less overt way to rebuff the viscount.

“Ready for another game?” Cecil asked from beside him.

The two men stood near a pair of French doors left slightly ajar, the doors opening to a large terrace at the back of the house. The cool breeze from outside was refreshing.

He replied gruffly, “Thank goodness Lady Louisa has moved to the other table. You both are far too competitive.”

Cecil responded with a sniff, “But I did prevail. The chit will know to play more conservatively against me next time.”

For the next game of Whist, Cecil became Lady Julia’s partner leaving Ashford to pair up with Lady Edith. He understood Lady Julia to be as competitive as Lady Louisa had proven to be, and Cecil and Julia took most of the tricks. The sweet-tempered Lady Edith was a witty conversationalist, and his mood soon lifted. Neither he nor his partner was too concerned about losing the game.

“I’m just enjoying meeting new people,” the lady said happily as the game ended.

William and Alicia looked to be getting on quite well, as William appeared to hang onto the girl’s every word. He caught Nathaniel’s eye and realized his friend was also aware of how things were progressing between the pair.

In the next game, Cecil was paired with William while he paired with Alicia, thereby separating the two young people for a short while. Although he now had a better opinion of William, he wasn’t sure the boy was a suitable match for Alicia. Nathaniel knew about William’s behaviour at Eton, and he was sure his friend would not endorse the boy as his future brother-in-law.

He heard a soft laugh from the other table, and he recognized it as coming from Lady Charlotte. He glanced over to see the lady smiling at Lord Meers. He noticed Cecil watching him and bowed his head, returning his attention to his cards.

Soon after, he overheard Lord Meers say he had pulled the low card at his table.

His own game was over. Ashford pulled a card. Very quickly, Cecil put his own card back in the deck.

“You have the low card,” his friend said with a twist of his lips.

Ashford was sure Cecil had orchestrated his move to Charlotte’s table. He didn’t think his friend was a romantic. Did the viscount merely wish to cause trouble?

The ladies chose this break to disappear to a retiring room. When the game resumed, he found himself partnered with Lady Louisa rather than Lady Charlotte.

“Lord Harbury is an indifferent player,” Lady Louisa said without apology. “I should like to win this game.”

Lady Louisa was indeed as competitive as Cecil and Lady Julia. Despite his being distracted by Charlotte’s perfume and seductively husky voice, his team beat Nathaniel and Charlotte soundly.

The lady didn’t have much to say to him during their game. He tried to catch her gaze several times to no avail. Had the young woman already formed a tendre for Lord Meers? Surely not. Lady Charlotte was too intelligent to fall for the charms of a fortune hunter.

* * * * *

T he next break allowed for a late supper in the drawing room where three drop-leaf mahogany Pembroke tables were clustered together and covered with silver platters filled with cold meat, cheese, crusty rolls, and a tureen of Soup a la Flamond. Charlotte assembled two ham sandwiches on a plate and moved to sit on a sopha next to Edith.

As she ate her sandwiches with a knife and fork, Charlotte looked around her, admiring the elegant room. No wonder Lady Julia was interested in the baron. The man appeared to be as rich as Croesus. She caught Lord Ashford’s gaze. He was standing across the room but now made his way toward where she and Edith were seated. As he approached, Edith got to her feet.

“Excuse me, Lord Ashford,” Edith said politely. “I’m going to congratulate our hostess on her delicious supper.”

Lord Ashford bowed, and Edith walked away. The marquess took a seat next to Charlotte on the now very small sopha. She swallowed, willing herself to behave normally, although every nerve in her body sprang to life when the marquess was near. His spicy cologne and gorgeous eyes were an intoxicating combination.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Lady Charlotte?” Ashford asked her, his gaze on her face.

“I’m not particularly fond of Whist, but I enjoy the company,” she replied coolly. Now that she had the opportunity to apologize, she felt reluctant to do so. She’d spent far too much time telling herself this season she was happy with herself. She would not be judged by him.

“Yes, the company is quite varied this evening,” he replied easily, his gaze darting to Lord Meers.

Charlotte looked down at her nearly empty porcelain plate. “How is the sweet little Chloe?”

“As spoiled as ever.” He added quietly, “You were right to speak to me about Diana.”

“Miss Tilford tells me the reputation of your family is very important to you,” she replied, looking up but not quite meeting his eyes.

“It is.”

Charlotte moved her gaze to a spot over his shoulder. “I wonder my brother was allowed in this house.” So much for the apology she wanted to make. Lord Ashford’s company had the strangest effect on her. Her usual sweet nature was sorely tested by being smitten with a man who did not approve of her.

“That wasn’t up to me,” he said gently.

“And if it had been?” Her question sounded like the challenge it was, and Charlotte looked at him then.

“Your brother has told the truth. He wanted to make amends as best he could.” The marquess paused. “I acknowledge the behavior of my sister hasn’t always been appropriate. She is an unhappy young woman and wishes to punish the world.”

Before she could think of a reply, Lord Meers approached the sopha and held out his arm to her. “Shall we go in for the next round?”

“Yes, of course.” She stood up hurriedly, plate in one hand. “Good luck with your next game, Lord Ashford.”

Charlotte walked away, wishing the marquess had had more time to tell her about his sister. Frustratingly, neither one of them had apologized.

Too bad she wasn’t in the least attracted to Lord Meers. Louisa had confided to her that the viscount was a desperate fortune hunter. She didn’t imagine he would judge her or her family.

She must think of something or someone else other than Lord Ashford. Looking about, she noticed Lady Julia had cornered Lord Harbury yet again. The woman might be beautiful, but her manners were not. Charlotte would trust that Nathaniel was as intelligent as he was kind and would see the lady for the grasping harpy she was.