Page 22 of The Undaunted
“Then I must be too,” Caroline said. “But tell me, when you say Easton must come, do you mean Lord Easton? Or Lady Easton?” Caroline said teasingly, though she knew perfectly well who he’d meant.
“Save me from peril,” Lord Alvanley said laughing, “thelord, if you please. I’ll send round an invitation.”
As if mentioning the name of Lady Easton had called her from the spirit world, the lady herself popped in front of them. “Caroline, there you are, I have been searching the place for you. Have you been presented to the Prince yet? Lord Alvanley, how do you do?”
Lord Alvanley bowed and said, “Lady Easton, I have done the honors and the Prince names Miss Upton charming and lovely.”
Lady Easton appeared remarkably pleased to hear it, as if the compliments had been given to herself. Caroline supposed that, as her sponsor, the lady was happy to take credit for anything gone well. She was not sorry for it, as a few things had not gone as well.
Lord Bertridge soon made his way into their circle. He seemed to be perspiring, as if he had been running round the room, rather than walking.
“Alvanley,” he said stiffly.
“Bertridge,” Lord Alvanley replied. He smiled as he said it, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the way he said it, but Caroline sensed that he was not over-fond of Lord Bertridge.
“Miss Upton,” Lord Bertridge said, “do allow me to introduce you to some people you ought to know.”
Caroline was not particularly inclined to leave Lord Alvanley’s company, as he was so amusing and lively, but she did not see how she could say no. Lord Bertridge held out his arm and she reluctantly took it.
As they moved off, she heard Lord Alvanley say, “The people oneoughtto know are invariably a chore.”
She suppressed her laughter and pretended she did not hear it. She could not imagine what Lady Easton would think of such a comment. Bertie, however, was disinclined to ignore it.
“Alvanley always finds himself so amusing,” Lord Bertridge said sullenly.
“I did think he was, actually,” Caroline said, not being able to resist defending her new acquaintance.
“Oh yes, he can turn a phrase, but that is hardly what makes a man. I only say, Miss Upton, that I find his set rather, well they are rather…rather…”
Caroline nodded sagely. “It is always so important to know if a gentleman is arather.”
Lord Bertridge ignored that comment and instead introduced her to Lord and Lady Carruthers, a middle-aged couple who seemed as empty of mirth as Lord Bertridge himself. Fortunately, their conversation did not last long, especially since it centered on some new accounting method the lord was finding impossible to understand, though his steward had explained it three times.
Out of the corner of her eye, Caroline spotted Lord Alvanley pointing her out to his friends and it was not a moment before young bucks on acquaintance terms with Lord Bertridge came one after the next, looking for an introduction.
And so the evening went on. One moment Bertie was introducing her to another sticky person she ought to know, the next she was smiling at a lively gentleman. It was a virtual dance of the boring then amusing, staid then fun, dull then bright.
Caroline could not be unhappy with it, though. It was more amusement than she’d had since accompanying her father to Doncaster and she had met so very many new people.
Chapter Six
Richard arrived downstairsearly for breakfast and Edgar quietly settled himself under the table to be on the lookout for anything dropped. It was one of Edgar’s favorite activities, as he seemed to enjoy the mystery and suspense of waiting to discover what might come raining down from the sky. He supposed he’d encouraged the habit, as he could not bear for Edgar to end disappointed and always did drop something in the meat variety toward the end of the meal.
The rout had been everything Richard had thought it would be, and perhaps a little worse. Why should the Regent pronounce Miss Upton lovely and charming? The Prince did not even know the lady and, if he did, he might revise the charming part of it. Lovely andalarmingwould be better suited for accuracy.
Why was Alvanley involved? Why should he go running to Miss Upton’s carriage like a footman? The man was considered respectable, but that was mostly on account of him being an intimate of the Prince. Richard really did not see how respectability was conferred by being friends with that old heathen.
Of course, he would never say the Regent was a heathen aloud, but he was free to think it and certain he was right. He was also certain he was not alone in the opinion.
As the Prince had made public his approval of Miss Upton, they were bound to be swamped with invitations. At least that might take Miss Upton out of Alvanley’s way part of the time—there would be some who would leave that particular gentleman off their invitation list, as they did not like to be found the victim of his famed wit. It was bad enough to have to stand for it as he said one of his stupid bon mots, but then it would be endlessly repeated. Somehow, those who repeated the man’s quips seemed to think they had made themselves as clever as Alvanley himself.
And then, there were so many other gentlemen pushing through the crowds to be introduced to Miss Upton. Some he knew, some he did not, some were friends of Alvanley’s that he did not really care to know. Were any of them seriously looking for a wife though? That was the whole point of this absurd exercise. Get Miss Upton creditably married.
Alvanley certainly was not looking for a wife. He was an outrageous flirt and Richard suspected he would never marry until he came close to the threshold of becoming repugnant in his old age, which would be quite a few years yet. Richard could not approve of Alvanley as a suitable acquaintance for a girl just out in society.
She was just the type he’d flirt with though. Despite all her outrageousness, she was exceedingly pretty. And maybe evenbecauseof her outrageousness—it was just the sort of thing Alvanley would favor.
His uncle came in, looking hale and hearty, despite the fact that they’d not returned to the house before three.
