Chapter Forty-Nine
Lady Spencer’s ball wasn’t the first of the Season. They’d missed that one due to their detour to the Caribbean, which had delayed their return to London by a week. It wasn’t the second ball, either, but at least they’d managed to attend that one, with a mere one day’s notice, which was why Judith had so many suitors already. But she’d hoped she might actually enjoy this third ball. Nasty thing, hope, when it didn’t stand a chance in hell . . .
Jack’s suitors converged on her immediately, but then Georgina had held James back when they arrived, so the young bucks hadn’t yet noticed that Jack’s father was in attendance. Georgina had insisted on taking this precaution. Because James was such a social recluse, rumors about him of the dastardly sort had always abounded and were still whispered to this day. He simply never gave the ton a chance to get to know him and never would. Georgina had had to hold him back at their first ball, too, so Jack would at least be able to meet a few young men before he was noticed. James was actually amused by his wife’s ploy.
Judith didn’t face the same challenge on entering the ballroom with her parents. The only rumors that had ever circulated about her father concerned his having been a notorious rake and having had his share of duels because of it, most of which were long forgotten. It was still well-known that he was a master in the ring, but what young buck didn’t know that when they had all at one time or another visited Knighton’s Hall to witness firsthand his renowned skill.
Judith knew it was simply her father’s demeanor that gave young men pause about approaching her—whenever Roslynn didn’t have her eye on him, urging him to smile or at least keep a neutral expression on his face. But at the first ball, Roslynn had managed quite well to keep Anthony from scaring away every man who approached Judith, and Roslynn had been overly nice to all of them as well, which was why Judith already had a handful of suitors. They came forward tonight, just more slowly since Anthony was still at her side.
But an elbow was discreetly jabbed in Anthony’s ribs as his wife whispered, “Behave. Be cordial. Be their bluidy best friend.”
“Now that’s going too far, sweetheart, ’deed it is,” Anthony complained. “But I’ll give the first option a try if you’ll stop frying me—and put your brogue away.”
The byplay was brief but long enough for Addison Tyler to whisk Judith onto the dance floor with a relieved laugh. “Gad, I thought she’d never distract him.”
With barely ten minutes passed since she’d entered the ballroom, she knew that was a gross exaggeration. But Addison was still smiling, so it was obviously intended to be. Firstborn of an earl, Addison would eventually inherit that title. With blond hair, dark gray eyes, and a handsome visage, he knew he was quite the catch this Season. The ladies did, too. Quite a few had set their caps for him before Jack and Judith had arrived home. Judith knew a good number of the debutantes, those who lived in London with whom she and Jack had socialized while growing up, and she’d been snubbed by a few of them as if she’d stolen Addison Tyler away from them.
“Does your father hate me for some reason?” Lord Tyler asked as he glided her smoothly in the current waltz.
“No, he hates you all equally.”
“So he’s that sort of father, eh? Can’t bear to let you go?”
“Something like that.”
Addison was one of the two young lords who had already decided that they wanted to marry her. Hadley Dunning was the other. They’d both called on her every day this week at the appropriate midmorning hour. They weren’t the only two who had done so. But Addison was behaving somewhat aggressively toward her other suitors, too, as if he’d staked his claim and they ought to know it and back off. Some harsh words had even passed between him and Lord Dunning at the recital yesterday. The hostess had expressed concern they were going to come to blows right there in her music room. Judith doubted that they would have done so because they knew each other well. But their hostess had still asked them to leave.
Addison hadn’t apologized for that yet, might not think he ought to. Roslynn had been amused that men were fighting over Judith already. Anthony didn’t know because he had taken his own aggression to the ring yesterday afternoon.
“But at least your mum is nice enough.”
Nice enough? What the deuce did he think, that it was him and her against her parents? But then she groaned to herself. She was looking for a reason not to like him, wasn’t she? Yet she’d favored him from the start, but only because he was the most handsome of the lot. Yet having gotten to know him better, she still found him acceptable. A little carefree, a little too bold, quite the flirt. But he hadn’t made her laugh, not once.
She actually liked Lord Dunning more. Hadley wasn’t quite as handsome as Addison, but he was definitely more amusing, and she needed some humor in her life right now. And he was much more friendly. He was actually trying to get to know her and wasn’t attempting to immediately sweep her off her feet as Addison was doing. But she wasn’t going to be rushed into a decision, and she was feeling rushed, by both of them. That had to stop. The Season had barely begun.
So she held her tongue, waited for the apology that didn’t come, and managed a smile when Addison escorted her back to her parents. But he blocked Hadley from getting close enough to her to ask for the next dance. Deliberately. There was even a slight shove.
Which prompted Anthony to say, “I’m good at cracking heads together. If I have to behave, you bloody well do, too.”
His saying that with a tight smile kept Roslynn’s hackles from rising. In fact, as soon as Hadley Dunning led Judith onto the floor, she whispered to her husband, “Lord Tyler’s jealousy might be amusing, but not if it gets out of hand.”
“Say no more, m’dear. I’ll—”
“Oh, no, you won’t.” Roslynn knew exactly what Anthony was itching to do. “If they want to fight over Judy, let them. We can only hope they will not do it at one of these large events—actually, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you to discreetly say a few words to him, just to help tone it down—if you can do that without laying a hand on him. If it scares him off, so be it. It’s not as if she favors him or anyone else here.”
“Music to my ears,” Anthony said with a very genuine smile.
They were still whispering, but only because two more of Judith’s beaux were lingering with them instead of moving off to find a partner for the current waltz. Inconvenient, but these young bucks had made their choice and didn’t want to miss catching Judith for the next dance.
“You should be asking yourself why your daughter isn’t thrilled with any of these young lords,” Roslynn warned.
“I already know why. She and Jack made a pact. They’re not getting hitched this year. Thank God.”
“That’s not why and I think you know it. She’s in love with someone else. I just haven’t met him yet.”
“An infatuation, that’s all that was, and it was nipped in the bud. She’s over it.”
“I happen to know otherwise. And it’s high time I met Mr. Tremayne.”
“I’m happy to say he’s gone and good riddance.”
“Are you now?” she said sternly. “Happy? That your daughter isn’t?”
He snorted. “Look at her, Ros. She’s laughing. Does it look like she’s pining over that blighter?”
“She hides her feelings well, but she confided in me. So let me ask you this. Would you stand in the way of her happiness?” He didn’t answer, so she added, “You should track him down for her.”
He actually laughed. “No, I will not. We’re not interfering for one simple reason. The man doesn’t want her. If he did, he’d be here asking me for her hand before someone else does, but he’s not, is he?”
“Because you obviously don’t like him and he knows it.”
Anthony shook his head, disagreeing, “No, he’s actually not afraid of me, Ros, not even a little. That’s the one thing I do like about him.”
“That’s some progress.” She smiled.
He rolled his eyes. “One sterling quality does not make him acceptable to me as a son-in-law.”
“No man is ever going to be acceptable to you for our daughter. I’m not even surprised this is turning out to be so difficult. But you have to think of Judy, not yourself. You knew this day would come.”
“But it hasn’t come yet. I repeat, he doesn’t want her, and she’ll just have to—”
“Would that be him?” Roslynn suddenly asked, nodding toward the entrance at a handsome man with white-blond hair.
Anthony hissed, “Of all the bloody nerve.”
“Well, you did say he wasn’t afraid of you,” Roslynn smirked.