Page 16 of The Sprinter
“Or what?” Grace said tersely.
Lord Gresham looked decidedly uncomfortable. Finally, he said, “Well, you might find yourself a victim of disappointed hopes, for instance.”
This man’s opinion of himself reached new heights with every sentence he uttered. Now, she risked disappointed hopes?
Grace worked to keep her expression a mask of serenity. “Consider me on my guard, Lord Gresham. Though, I find I have never been less disappointed in my life.”
While Grace had aimed her arrow, it did not seem to pierce its target. Lord Gresham appeared oblivious to her meaning and only nodded.
Their time for the steps had arrived and he led her with confidence. Of course, he would do. A gentleman with such a favorable opinion of himself would hardly be put off by the quadrille.
“Excellent. Then I think that’s all that need be said on the subject,” Lord Gresham said.
She should rather think so. Far more had been said than had ever been needed.
Grace felt a fool for her prior admiration. She could, in part, excuse herself. He was devilishly handsome and that had not changed. She supposed she was not the first lady who had come to a conclusion based on a handsome face.
Perhaps there was a lesson in it going forward. She was not to allow her initial impressions of a gentleman to inform her opinion. She must wait and see what his real nature was, as it emerged. Of course, that was right. Many a fool or rogue had hidden themselves behind a handsome face and a well-cut coat.
As the dance went on, Lord Gresham’s real nature continued to emerge before her eyes. He spoke of general pleasantries as if he’d not just told a lady that he was convinced she had set her cap on him and to try not to be disappointed to find it was unrequited.
Perhaps he had such conversations often. He did not seem to find anything unusual in it.
Grace was careful in her answers, lest she give the lord another reason to think she was besotted with him. When she did not speak, she silently repeated the word,composure.
*
Lady Heathway foundherself both thrilled and worried. It was thrilling that her girl could not be denied. Grace was the loveliest girl in the room and the dress she had designed for her was, as Lady Featherstone had so aptly named it, a triumph. She’d seen it all in her mind’s eye and now here it was, made real.
As her hearing was rather good, and as she was always interested in what other people were saying, she heard no end of snippets about Miss Yardley. A beauty, and very elegant, were most often heard. Sometimes a question—who was she? And then the delight of listening to the other party explain the Society of Sponsoring Ladies and that this was Lady Heathway’s girl.
As her eyesight was as good as her hearing, she did not miss the occasional scowl of an unhappy mama. They had thought their daughter would be the most celebrated at the ball, but then they had been faced with the elegant Miss Yardley. Bits and bobs and fripperies had been defeated by lovely simplicity.
It was all rather heavenly.
However, not all her thoughts were to run to heaven. As shewasso perceptive of what went on around her, she did not miss that there was some unwanted attention on Grace.
That scallywag Mr. Jacobs and his rude friends, for one. She really did not understand why Clara had even issued them invitations. She supposed Lady Easton had been pressured by some mama who had her eye on Mr. Jacobs’s deep pockets for a daughter. That mama was a fool, as everybody knew Mr. Jacobs was perfectly happy to toy with affections and then joke about it in his club the next day. No lady he flirted with was safe, as the fellow had flapping lips and made a jest out of everything. He considered himself a wit, though he had not the style of Brummel nor the connections of Alvanley.
Thankfully, that young fool was not on Grace’s card. Nor was the more serious worry—Lord Skeffington. How that man was allowed in any decent house was a mystery. He had ruined at least one young miss of the gentry and it was said there was currently an actress coming and going from his house. He had enough power to face it all down and she wondered if he would dare attempt to meddle with the daughter of a viscount. Even being seen in his company would not do Grace any favors.
Lady Heathway stared at Lord Skeffington as he watched Grace dance. Finally, she caught his attention and kept her stare, unflinching.
He quickly looked away, and she was sure she had embarrassed him. He had been warned. If he needed a firmer warning, he would get it. As it had ever been, men strolled forward, deluding themselves into thinking they held all the power. Anybody who crossed Penelope Prescott found out the truth of it, though. Anybody who dared upset her plans for Miss Yardley would find themselves dueling with a well-armed, deadly, and determined opponent.
As for Mr. Jacobs, she supposed there was no point in a staring contest. He would only make a joke out of it. She was near certain that it had been he who had first named her Lady Naysay.
On the other hand, as hewassuch a flighty fool, she doubted very much that Grace would have any use for him.
Perhaps he might make a joke aboutthat.
*
Ranston’s nerves hadbeen teetering on the edge of a cliff all evening. When the lord and lady were out at some entertainment, he was always on the watch for a break-in. He knew very well that thieves were everywhere and that they kept their eyes on various houses, waiting for their opportunity.
That there had not been an attempt to break in so far only meant the clock was ticking. Their luck could not hold forever.
Lady Heathway’s carriage had not departed the house an hour before someone had banged on the door. He nearly fell over in apoplexy, until it occurred to him that a thief would probably not knock. It had been a fast messenger with a letter for Miss Yardley. No doubt from her mother, who he understood to be a malingerer of the highest order. He’d had a great wish to beat the fellow about the head for alarming him on such a night, but he’d instead taken the missive and put it on the silver salver in the hall and had a glass of brandy to steady his nerves.
