A Lady of Expectations

Ned fortified himself with a long sip of coffee and nodded darkly. “Not in those precise words, of course.”

“Thank heaven for small mercies.” Jack fixed his guest with a severe glance. “It seems to me, my lad, that you’re in desperate need of guidance in the matter of how to conduct a campaign in the ton.”

“A campaign?”

“The sort of campaign one wages to win a lady’s heart.”

Ned glowered. “Clarissa’s heart has always been mine.”

“I dare say,” Jack replied. “The trick is to get her to recognize that fact. From what I saw last night, if you continue as you are, you’re liable to go backwards rather than forwards.”

Ned frowned at his mug, then glanced up at Jack. “I’m not really cut out to shine in town. I don’t know how to do the pretty by the ladies; I’m more at home in the saddle than in a ballroom.”

“Aren’t we all?” At Ned’s questioning look, Jack elaborated. “The vast majority of gentlemen you’ll see at any evening’s entertainments would rather be somewhere else.”

“But why attend if they don’t wish to?”

“Why were you at Mrs. Webb’s little affair?”

“Because I wanted to see Clarissa.”

“Precisely. The only inducement capable of getting most of us across the threshold of a ballroom is the lure of the ladies. Where else do we get a chance to converse, to establish any connection? If you do not meet a lady first at a ball, it’s dashed difficult to approach her anywhere else, at least in town. So,” Jack concluded, “if you’re set on winning Clarissa Webb, you’ll have to accept the fact that you’ll be gracing the ton’s ballrooms for the Season.”

Ned wrinkled his nose. “My father was against my coming up to town-he thought I should just wait for Clarissa to come back. Mr. and Mrs. Webb are very sure she’ll not appreciate the racketing about and will want to return to the country.”

“I have inestimable faith in the senior Webb’s perspicacity. However, don’t you think you’re extrapolating just a little too far? Taking Clarissa just a little too much for granted?”

Ned flushed again. “That’s what worried me. It’s why I came to town.”

“And your instincts were right.” Jack eyed him straitly. “From what little I’ve seen, I would predict that, whatever her inclinations, Clarissa Webb is sure to be one of the hits of the Season. That means she’ll have all the puppies fawning at her feet, eager to paint unlikely pictures of a glowing future should she bestow her hand on them. And, despite the fact she may remain at heart a country miss, one should not lose sight of the fact that there’s no shortage of gentlemen who are also inclined to the country. Such men would not baulk at taking a wife who dislikes town life. Most, in fact, would consider her a find.”

Ned’s brow furrowed. After a moment’s cogitation, he looked Jack in the eye. “Are you telling me Clarissa will be sought after by other gentlemen who would wish to retire to the country?”

Jack nodded decisively.

“And if I don’t make a… a push to fix her interest, she may accept one of them?”

Again came a definite nod.

Ned looked slightly shaken. After a long silence in which he studied the coffee at the bottom of his mug, and during which Jack sat back, at ease, and waited patiently, Ned raised his head, his jaw set, and regarded Jack with determined honesty. “I thank you for your warning, Jack. You’ve given me a great deal to think about.” Despite his efforts, Ned’s features contorted in a grimace which he immediately hid behind his mug. “Dashed if I know what I’m to do about it, though,” he mumbled from behind the mug.

“No need to panic.” Jack waved a languid hand. “I’ve loads of experience I’m perfectly willing to place at your disposal. I dare say once you learn the ropes, you’ll find the whole business a challenge.”

Surprised, Ned looked up from his mug. “Do you mean…” he began, then took the bull by the horns. “Are you suggesting you’d be willing to help me?”

“Not suggesting. I’m telling you I’m prepared to stand your mentor in this.”

Ned’s open face clouded. “But… why?” He flushed vividly. “I mean…”

Jack laughed. “No, no. A perfectly understandable question.” He viewed his guest with a quietly assessing eye. Then he smiled. “Let’s just say that I can’t bear to see one so young so tangled in the briars. And, of course, I, too, have an interest in the Webb household.” He made the admission with easy assurance and was rewarded by Ned’s instant comprehension.

“Sophie?” His eyes growing round, his gaze openly speculative. Ned considered Jack-and his revelation.

Jack inclined his head.

“Oh.”

As Jack had hoped, Ned seemed to accept that his interest in Sophie was sufficient excuse for his interest in him. While he was certainly drawn to Ned’s open earnestness, it was Sophie’s transparent concern for her cousin that had prompted him to take Ned under his wing. It formed no part of his own campaign to have Sophie in a constant fidget over her cousin, always keeping one eye on the younger girl. It was natural enough that she do so; to one who was himself imbued with a strong sense of sibling responsibility, Sophie’s concern for Clarissa demonstrated a highly laudable devotion. Nevertheless, Sophie’s cousinly concern could rapidly become a distraction.

And Jack was quite certain he did not wish to share Sophie’s attention-not With Clarissa, nor anyone else.

Ned was frowning, clearly still uncertain.

“Consider my offer in the light of one doing his damnedest to ensure his lady is not distracted by unnecessary ructions amongst her family,” Jack suggested somewhat drily.

Ned glanced up, struggling to hide a grin. “I suppose that’s true enough. Sophie’s always been like an elder sister to Clarissa.”

Jack inclined his head. “I’m so glad you see my point.”

Ned nodded. “If that’s the way it is, I have to admit it wouldn’t sit well to walk away from a fight. But I do feel totally at sea.” He grinned at Jack. “Do you think you can turn me into a dandy?”

Jack grinned back. “Not a chance. What I’m sure we can do is to turn you out as a gentleman of the ton.” Sobering, he fixed Ned with a meaningful glance. “You should never forget, nor attempt to hide, your origins. There is, if you’ll only stop to consider, no taint attached to being a husbander of acres. Most of the highest in the ton are also the largest landholders in England and I can assure you they’re not the least apologetic for the fact. Many spend considerable amounts of time managing their estates. Drawing one’s fortune directly from the land is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Ned coloured slightly. “Thank you. I don’t know how you knew but that’s exactly what I felt.”

“I know because I’ve been there before you. I, too, have an estate to manage. That, however, has never stopped me from feeling at home in London.”

“Oh.” The revelation that Jack, too, had firm links with the country eased Ned’s mind of its last doubt. “So, what do I do first?”

“A tailor,” Jack declared. “Then a barber. You can’t do anything until you look the part. And then we’ll see about introducing you to some of the necessary establishments a gentleman of the ton must needs frequent-like Manton’s and Jackson’s Boxing Saloon. After that, we shall plan your campaign in more detail.” Jack smiled. “You’re going to have to learn that finessing the feminine mind takes the wiles of a fox and the devotion of a hound.”

“I’ll do whatever I need to,” Ned averred. “Just as long as I can make Clarissa stop looking at those trumped-up popinjays as she was last night.”

Jack laughed and rose. “Onward, then. No time like the present to make a start.”

WHILE NEDWAS sipping coffee in Upper Brook Street, Horatio Webb was busy introducing his children and his niece to the mounts he had had brought down from the country.

“These should be just the ticket for jaunts in the Park,” he said as he ushered his charges into the stables. “Quite the thing, I hear, to be seen riding in the morning.”

“Golly, yes!” returned Jeremy, eyes aglow. “All the crack.”

Horatio’s eyes twinkled. “Now these two, you two should recognize.”

“By Jupiter! They’re the ones you bought from Lord Cranbourne, aren’t they, sir?” George, together with Jeremy, stared round-eyed at the two glossy-coated chestnut geldings their father had indicated.