Read White Regency 03 - White Knight for Free Online

could talk to and share secrets with, or
discuss books over tea as she and Nonny had done. And now, suddenly, here was
this lovely young lady offering herself for the role and she hadn’t even
noticed that the shoes Grace had worn were too dark for her gown.
    Grace smiled at Lady Eleanor, immediately
and utterly charmed. Tedric wisely took his cue to leave.
    “I shall be in the gaming parlor
should you have need of me. Grace.” He bowed his head. “Lady
Eleanor.”
    “Oh, I’m so sorry, Lord
Cholmeley,” Lady Eleanor said, stopping him short, “but there is to
be no gaming at the ball tonight.”
    “No gaming?” Tedric looked
horrified, as if she had told him that his beloved tailors, Schweitzer and
Davidson, had just that morning closed shop.
    “It was at my request, my lord. I
didn’t want anything tempting the gentlemen away from dancing with all the ladies tonight.”
Lady Eleanor smiled sweetly, leaving Tedric little choice but to quietly agree.
    “Might a gentleman then find a glass
of port somewhere without fear of having it knocked against his
shirtfront?”
    “Of course, my lord.” She
motioned through the door. “Down the hall there is a parlor where you will
find port and brandy being served.”
    When he’d gone, Lady Eleanor directed
Grace away» from the doorway, taking her slowly about the periphery of the vast
ballroom. As they walked, she asked Grace about her childhood at Ledysthorpe,
how she liked living in London, and how she had come to live under her uncle’s
guardianship.
    “My parents were lost in a boating
accident when I was a young child. I was raised by my grandmother and it was
with her that I lived at Ledysthorpe until she passed away late last
year.”
    “I am so sorry. Our father died
unexpectedly too, although I am told his death was due to an illness. I was not
yet born, but Christian was very attached to our father and took the loss very
hard.”
    Lady Eleanor spoke her brother’s name with
such an obvious affection, it was evident that they were quite close. Before
Grace could think to question her more about him, his taste in reading, or odd
bits about their childhood, a trio of young ladies caught her attention. They
were staring at her from the corner of the room, whispering their disapproval
behind their jeweled fans.
    “Pay them no mind, Grace. They do not
yet know it, but once you have become my brother’s wife, they will be falling
over themselves for the favor of your attention. They will mimic every detail
of your dress even if you wear a flour sack, and they will pray you won’t
remember their behavior toward you here tonight.”
    “I hardly think I shall ever fit
in,” Grace said. “I have spent all my life in the country, where we
lived a very simple life. I’m afraid I am quite a fish out of water here in
London.”
    “Do not be too distressed, my dear.
Any one of them would sell their grandmother’s jewels for a chance at catching
my brother’s eye. You should count yourself fortunate that you are unschooled in the ways of the ton. I, on the other hand, have been surrounded by this hypocrisy since birth.
They lay claim to refinement while they shamelessly throw themselves at
Christian in hopes of inducing him to marry—as if he would even consider
wedding someone who would do such a thing.”
    She glanced around the room. “Look
there, near the door. Do you see that group of ladies crowding together? Do you
know why they are all huddled there and are not out among the other gentlemen
present? They are watching the stairs for my brother.”
    Grace spotted the flock of young ladies
congregating near the foot of the stairs. Some appeared to be elbowing others
for a forward position, while others stole furtive glances up the stairwell.
    “Oh, dear.”
    “It is truly embarrassing. Once at a
musicale, a girl even blacked the eye of another fighting over an empty seat
beside him. Quite troublesome. It’s become the farce of the past several
seasons.