Page 39 of The Earl’s Inconvenient Nemesis

Despite her best intentions, and knowing Anthony would not be at the ball that evening, Alice found herself searching for him at every opportunity. She should have been able to relax, safe in the knowledge that he would not be watching her from some shadowed corner of the ballroom, brooding with a glass of champagne in his hands.

Her dance card was full, but not one of her dance partners was even half as handsome as Anthony and there was no sign of the mysterious gentleman from the park. None of the men there made her laugh and her heart beat resolutely steadily during the whole evening, except for a moment when she mistook someone else for Anthony lounging against a pillar.

Four of the gentlemen she danced with were from her list. When she returned to her aunt’s house and went up to her room, she took out the now rather crumpled piece of paper and resolutely crossed out each of those four names, before regretting her actions a moment later and adding three of them back in (Lord Ashby, with his dreadful halitosis, remained firmly struck off). It was not their fault they were not Anthony. She was simply in a terrible mood, and how fussy could she actually afford to be at this point?

Alice came downstairs for a very late breakfast the next morning. She felt nauseous and had little appetite, but hoped some tea and toast might settle her stomach. She had barely slept, rehearsing in her mind how she would behave when she next saw Anthony.

She paused in the hallway to smooth down her dress and check her hair in the mirror. It would be fine. They were both adults.

The breakfast room was empty when Alice entered and she debated turning right around and retreating upstairs rather than risking Anthony potentially coming in just as she had sat down and having to spend the whole of her breakfast alone with him, but as she was about to bolt, Aunt Jane entered.

“Good morning, Alice,” said her aunt cheerfully. “You look rather pale. Are you sure you would not be better off returning to bed? I am not at all convinced city life agrees with you, my dear.”

“Thank you, but I am quite well,” Alice replied. “I am perhaps a little tired after last night, but it is a beautiful day, and a walk after breakfast will do me more good than trying to get back to sleep, I think.”

Her aunt nodded.

“It appears Lord Worthing will not be joining us for breakfast. Urgent business has called him back to his estate. He will be heading there directly after an appointment this afternoon and has already left to complete some errands.” Lady Jane eyed her carefully. “Apparently, the work will be finished on his London house when he returns and so he will be residing there. I imagine you will miss his company. Although I am sure he will continue to take you out riding whenever he is able. Unless, of course, the two of you have argued . . .”

“Why would you think we had argued?” Alice asked, staring fixedly into her tea cup.

“Just a hunch I have,” Lady Jane said with a small shrug. “You two have always teased and annoyed one another, but lately you seemed to be getting on rather better. And now this sudden departure . . .”

“It can hardly be my fault that there is an emergency on his estate,” Alice said lightly. She turned her attention to pouring herself a fresh cup of tea.

“Of course not,” smiled Aunt Jane. “Anyway, I plan to relax today after all the excitement of last night. Lady Plummington did a wonderful job hosting her ball. It was such a beautiful event, quite my favourite of the Season, but I am simply exhausted. Maybe you will join me to play some cards later?”

“Certainly, Aunt.” Alice stood up, this seemed as good an opportunity as any to make her escape back to her bedroom so she could decide what she thought about Anthony’s sudden departure. At the moment, disappointment, relief and embarrassment were all vying for space in her head.

“Oh, and there is something for you in the drawing room, dear,” Lady Jane called out as Alice was leaving the room.

Curious despite her desire to hide away, Alice took a detour to the drawing room where a beautiful bouquet of flowers had been placed on one of the tables, the light scent filling the space and reminding her of walking through the gardens of Fairfax Hall at this time of year. In fact, looking closer at the blooms, she realised they were all ones to be found in their full glory in her family’s garden now. A tear threatened at the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away.

An envelope and a small book shaped parcel leant against the bouquet. Alice stroked the petal of a pale pink rose before she picked up the envelope and opened it to find a piece of white card inside. She already knew who the flowers were from before reading the words on it. Hoping we can be friends. A. She smiled sadly and placed the card in her pocket. She ripped open the parcel and found it contained ‘Emma’ by Jane Austen. She held the book to her chest for a moment.

She jumped as a voice behind her said, “Would you like me to arrange your flowers for you and bring them up to your room, miss?”

“No, thank you, Beth,” said Alice, recovering her composure. “I shall do it myself if you could just find me a vase and take them upstairs.”

Alice took her time arranging the flowers. He had chosen a beautiful and very thoughtful selection, and she had to admit sending them was a nice gesture. Could she be friends with Anthony? They had been at loggerheads for so long that up until a few weeks ago she would have thought it would have been impossible, and yet they had formed a friendship of sorts since she had been in London and she had enjoyed spending time with him. But she had to admit it was one based on attraction. It seemed that attraction was one-sided, however.

Whatever her feelings towards Anthony, though, he was her brother’s best friend. She could not spend her whole life ignoring him, as much as she might like to. And then there were Sarah and Charlie. Alice had so enjoyed the time she had spent with them and the thought of not seeing them again saddened her. And she had promised Charlie she would visit again soon; she was not one to go back on her promises. Which meant that she had to find a way to at least occasionally be around Anthony. It could not be that hard, surely? He was certain to do something annoying soon which would restore some of the lost equilibrium to their relationship . . . That did not do anything to help the fact that the next time they saw each other was going to be extremely awkward though . . .

The following Wednesday, house calls took up most of the afternoon. Alice maintained a cheerful façade, though she was growing increasingly weary of London society. She longed for the quiet of home and the freedom to spend her days among her animals in fresh air. How were the horses there? Of course, the grooms would take good care of them, but it was not the same as seeing them for herself. She knew their individual personalities best and how they liked things done.

She was taking a stroll with her aunt most days, but the sooty London smog did not revive her the way the countryside air or even a ride in the depths of Hyde Park did.

It had been five days since she had last seen Anthony. She had spent nearly every waking hour thinking about him and rehearsing exactly how she would behave when they next met. Presumably, he was still in Kent, but he would not stay there forever, not when he still had his promise to her brother to fulfil. She knew enough about him now to be sure he would not abandon that. And, of course, she was sure he would not leave it long before coming back to the city to visit Charlie.

She could not bring herself to ask Aunt Jane if she had heard anything from Anthony, but she guessed her aunt would tell her if there was any news. As it was, she was on tenterhooks in case he made an appearance, wanting to look her best and prove that she was completely capable of getting herself a husband, which meant a frankly exhausting amount of preparation every day. Thankfully, Beth did not seem to mind if Alice read while she was having her hair done as Alice had finished ‘Emma’ and was working her way through some gothic romances which it seemed were her aunt’s as well as her sisters’ guilty pleasure, judging by the selection in the library.

When they returned to her aunt’s house, it was time to prepare for a dinner party they had been invited to. The last thing Alice felt like doing was getting changed and going out again but, while she was not certain of the exact guest list, she knew there would be at least a couple of gentlemen from her own list present.

Beth was becoming quite skilled at hairstyling, the only thing holding her back was her mistress’ reluctance to sit still while her hair was being fiddled with. Which was probably why she encouraged the reading, come to think of it . . .

Alice hardly recognised herself when she looked in the mirror nowadays. Gone was the country girl who spent half her days in the stable and often had a stray bit of hay stuck to her. At least on the outside.

Alice knew that putting this extra effort into her appearance could only be a good thing, and suspected she was still doing far less than some of the other pristine looking women she had encountered since being in London.