Page 17 of The Bridal Quest

"Hiding?" A dry male voice said from behind Francesca, and she turned her head, startled.

She smiled. Sir Lucien Talbot stood there, his handsome face set in its usual wry lines, his eyebrows arched in amused question.

"Or are we spying?" he went on, moving up beside her and peering out across the ballroom. "May I join you?"

"Of course," Francesca replied, smiling back at him.

Sir Lucien was her oldest and dearest friend, and the only one who knew the dire state of her finances. As one whose pockets were frequently to let himself, he had long ago recognized that Francesca was living on the edge of financial disaster. He had even, especially in the early days right after her husband's death, taken a few of her items to pawn or sell for her, as a lady could scarcely be seen doing such a thing. Though Francesca had never told him that the projects she had taken on over the past few years were chosen for the monetary benefit she received in one form or another, she thought that Sir Lucien at least suspected she was not shepherding difficult girls through the marriage mart that was a London Season simply for the fun of it.

"I am waiting for Irene Wyngate to come back into the ballroom. She went out onto the terrace a few minutes ago with the Earl of Radbourne."

"Irene Wyngate?" Sir Lucien asked, his eyebrows vaulting up again in a genuine expression of surprise. "You are putting her forward as a candidate for the position of countess?"

Francesca had told Lucien yesterday about Lady Odelia's scheme to marry off the newfound heir to the earldom, as well as of her own part in the matter. Sir Lucien, as one of the best-known arbiters of good taste and fashion, had on more than one occasion in the past been quite useful to Francesca in putting forward one of her "girls."

"Lord Radbourne specifically asked me to include her," Francesca told him now. "I agreed to introduce them tonight. As soon as I did, he whisked her off."

"Out to the terrace?" her friend asked, his voice assuming a lower, more suggestive tone. "Well, well ... I never would have imagined it of the Iron Maiden."

"Pray, do not use that silly appellation. I cannot imagine why men have to come up with such odious nicknames."

"My dear girl, because it suits her, and you know it.".He shrugged.

"Well, I hate to think what I am known as," Francesca went on.

"Why, my love, you are referred to only as 'The Venus', what else?" he replied with a grin. Francesca chuckled. "Flatterer."

He was silent for a moment, scanning the room with her. Then he said, "Why do you suppose he singled her out?"

"I don't know. I wonder how he even knew who she was. I suppose he must have seen her somewhere and been struck by her. She is quite attractive in her own way."

"She could be stunning if she made a bit of effort," Sir Lucien agreed. "I suppose he could have enough eye for beauty to see that." He paused, then went on drily, "Do you suppose his infatuation will outlast a stroll on the terrace with her?"

"I don't know. That is why I am looking for them. I do hope he does not cry off immediately. The more I thought about the matter, the more I realized that Lady Irene would be an excellent match for him."

"Indeed?"

Francesca nodded. "Obviously he is for some reason already interested in her. And she would suit Lady Odelia's requirements. Her lineage is excellent on both her mother's and her father's sides."

"Old Lord Wyngate was something of a rogue," Sir Lucien objected.

"Yes, but his scandalous behavior has never reflected badly on Lady Irene, or her mother and brother," Francesca pointed out. "And certainly she has the strength of will to make the man presentable, if any woman can."

"And the wit to hide the faults she cannot change," Sir Lucien added.

"Yes. And, most importantly, Irene can hold her own with Lady Odelia. She will not allow the old woman to ride roughshod over her."

"As we all know she will try to do."

"Naturally," Francesca agreed. "And I think, from what I have seen of him, it might require some strength of character to deal with the earl himself, as well."

"Really?" Sir Lucien turned toward her, intrigued. "I assumed he was, well ..." He shrugged.

"Under Lady O's thumb?"

Sir Lucien nodded.

"I think not. When he came into the room, he seemed ... a trifle rough around the edges, I suppose, but not intimidated in the slightest. In fact, when I looked at Lady Odelia, it occurred to me that perhaps she was a little wary of him."