“I am heartily sorry the viscount’s carriage was unable to convey you home in safety. To think that a viscount’s carriage should be so unsound. But then, he is known for his extreme frugality. The man is so severe, I pity poor Miss Norbury, should she marry him. He’ll probably not allow her a new gown once in five years.”
Felicity gasped, then giggled. Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide, and her cheeks turned pink. Leorah bit her lip, trying not to laugh.
“Now, now,” she said, unable to hold back a smile. “He is not so very severe. Have you not noticed that he no longer dresses only in black?”
“Come, Miss Langdon. You are being too kind. Just because he has purchased a new coat and has a new valet who actually knows how to tie a neckcloth in the latest style does not make him a fashionable man or change the fact that he is the most severe member of the aristocracy that England could possibly boast. You would think the man had no personal fortune at all when, on the contrary, he is one of the richest men in England.”
“He is wealthy, to be sure, but he also donates much of his income to charity.”
“And why should he not? The very rich have little else to do with their time than visit charities and make a show of their contributions.”
He said the words with the same polite smile he wore when bestowing a compliment on Leorah—except for a furtive twist of one corner of his mouth. His words were accurate enough to make her start to laugh, but yet Lord Withinghall did not deserve the censure.
“No, no, I cannot agree with you. The viscount spends his time more productively than that. He works to support laws that will improve the lives of all men and women of the realm, and not every rich man is so charitable. Surely you can acquiesce to that.”
“Miss Langdon, you cause me to fear that you have tender feelings for the man. He is planning to marry Miss Norbury, is he not? Forgive me.”
He quickly stepped closer to her and held out his hands, palms up.
“That was ungracious in the extreme. I should not have dared . . . that is, I do not mean to cast any disparagement on you, Miss Langdon. You are everything that is just and good and do not wish me to malign an honest man. You are quite right. I allowed myself to say too much about the viscount.”
It was true. He had allowed himself to say too much. His expression was so contrite, his eyes pleading.
“I forgive you, but you should repent of your ill will toward the man, for though he may not have as pretty manners as you, he is a good and honest man at heart, I believe.”
Was this truly Leorah? Was she defending Lord Withinghall after the ill will she herself had felt toward him in the past? But though the viscount was a bit severe, he was far from being all bad. And he had done her a service, more than once. She supposed she would have a soft spot in her heart for any man who had proposed marriage to her and had taken her refusal with such good grace.
“Oh, I was not repenting of my opinion of him. I was repenting of accusing you of having tender feelings for the man. It was wrong of me, when you, of course, would want to distance yourself from him and from the rumors. I do not believe you have done anything wrong, and I would not accuse you of anything.”
“Do you feel so harshly toward the viscount? Has he done something to make you dislike him so much?”
“He has caused the reputation of an honest, innocent girl to be tarnished. And he has thwarted my family’s good friend, Mr. Pinegar, in his ambitions in Parliament. That would be enough, but to this I would also add, he has for far too long been a blight on society with his lack of fashion sense.”
Felicity and Elizabeth wandered a few steps away to exclaim over an abandoned bird’s nest in a bush.
“Now you are in jest,” Leorah said.
“Perhaps. But I reserve the right to disapprove of the fashion sense of anyone as wealthy as the viscount. And I do, most heartily, disapprove of his harming my old friend Pinegar.” He leaned toward her, a sudden seriousness on his face, and his smile vanished. “And I would hate”—he emphasized the latter word—“anyone who harmed you, Miss Langdon.”
“He has not harmed me, I assure you. The fault was not his, but that of his carriage, for breaking apart. As well as the gossipmongers amongst us, I’m afraid. So if you must disapprove of Lord Withinghall, you cannot do it on my account.” She smiled into Mr. Hastings’s charming face.
“Generous, lovely girl. Very well, I shall not hold your endangered reputation against him.” He stared straight into Leorah’s eyes in a most disarming manner, stepping quite close to her and lowering his voice to a whisper. “If I were him, I would not have given you up. No man who perceived your great worth would have refrained from proposing marriage to you after compromising you the way he did. I would have pursued you with great passion and proclamations of undying love.”
He was looking into her eyes with the most intense, even pained, expression, and he reached out and squeezed her hand in both of his.
Leorah cleared her throat. “Why, Mr. Hastings, I would almost think you were practicing your lines for a theatrical.” She gently extricated her hand and turned away from him, her heart pounding unnaturally fast.
Thankfully, Felicity and Elizabeth were coming back toward them, chattering about the bird’s nest and what type of bird they imagined had built it.
Not chancing a glance in Mr. Hastings’s direction, Leorah said, “You all should see the wilder part of the park. There is even a waterfall and a rocky pool, which is stocked with some brightly colored fish. I forget what they are called.”
She was rambling. Was Mr. Hastings half in love with her, as his fervor seemed to indicate? Should she not have defended Lord Withinghall more strenuously? Was Mr. Hastings justified in his low opinion of the viscount? Or did he simply want her to see the contrast between himself and Lord Withinghall? She did not have time to untangle the strands of her thoughts just now. Besides, she and Felicity and Elizabeth should be able to enjoy the company of a handsome young man without scrutinizing every word he said.
As for Lord Withinghall, he was only using their party to propose to Miss Norbury, and then she’d have no reason to ever see him again. Why should she miss her chance to enjoy a harmless flirtation with Mr. Hastings?
Leorah spent the next two days entertaining her guests. She did not end up in any sort of private conversation with him, but Mr. Hastings frequently included himself in her group as they went for walks, made conversation, or played and sang at the pianoforte. He had a rather good voice and lent it for a duet with Leorah on more than one occasion. And he also sang a few times with Miss Norbury, whose voice even Leorah had to admit was better than her own.
Lord Withinghall could not walk far with his injured leg, but he often joined them in the music room or the drawing room. He always sat near Miss Norbury, but Leorah sometimes found him eyeing her.
A few days after the house party began, Nicholas stopped her in the hall.