Her disappointment at the mundane question was exasperating. “Just stroll through the parlors. There are guests seated on every sofa. You’ll cross paths with him.”
“Will you be there eventually too?”
“I’ll let it be a surprise.”
He grinned a grin that indicated he was aware of the effect he had on her, that she’d come down as soon as she could. Then he whipped away and continued on. She shook her head and proceeded to her room, but somehow, the thought of spending the afternoon reading and writing in her journal had lost its appeal.
She was actually pondering what gown she should wear to supper, and she decided to see if her maid could style her hair in a more flattering fashion.
Lucretia Starling studied herself in the mirror in her bedchamber, eager to be certain she looked perfect. Gullible Gregory was thirty, and he believed she was twenty-four, but she was really thirty-two. It was a fact she would fight to the death to conceal, so she worked hard to appear gorgeous and glamorous—and young!
Although Caroline Grey was the bride-to-be, Lucretia was the important woman in Gregory’s life.
With her lush blond hair and big blue eyes, her curvaceous figure and statuesque height, she was stunning. Men drooled over her and women loathed her, always fretting when their men noticed her, and their worries were valid. She’d stolen a few beaux and spouses in her day. It was humorous to take what belonged to someone else. She was greedy and had no conscience. Moral qualms never vexed her.
She’d initially met Gregory when she’d been twenty, and he’d been eighteen and reveling in town for the first time. Even back then, he’d been a drunken sot, and he’d been poor, so he hadn’t intrigued her in the slightest. But eight years later, when she’d bumped into him again, he’d been wildly wealthy.
She was no fool, so she’d grabbed hold and hadn’t let go. They were so thoroughly attached that they might have been an old married couple.
In her new red gown, the bodice cut low to reveal plenty of bosom, there was no doubt she looked fabulous, and she spun away and exited the room. She went to the floor below and knocked on Gregory’s door. She was furious that they hadn’t been able to share quarters, that she was being treated as simply an ordinary guest, but then, he was about to wed, and his fiancée was right down the hall.
Lucretia probably couldn’t expect any favors.
She didn’t tarry until he bid her enter, but brazenly marched into his suite. She found him in the dressing room where he was fussing with his cravat. He’d never been a particularly handsome man, and he wasn’t the type who would improve with age.
He was blond and blue-eyed too, but his face showed clear evidence of dissipation. Previously, he’d been thin and dapper, and he’d had all his hair. Now though, he was balding, and he’d developed a paunch around his belly. At five-foot-nine, he was an inch shorter than she was, so he didn’t carry the extra weight very well, but as her deceased mother had counseled, beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“Where is my valet?” he asked, his mood dour. “Didn’t we bring him along?”
“No, darling,” she said. “You gave him the week off—with all the other servants.”
“You should have stopped me.”
She walked over and kissed him on the mouth. “Yes, I should have, and I’m sorry to have been so negligent. Aren’t there any footmen in the manor who could handle the job for you?”
“None that I’d trust.”
She turned him toward her, then she clasped the lace and began tying an intricate knot. She was nothing if not functional. She’d dressed—and undressed—many men in her life. She could certainly tie a bloody cravat.
“What is on the schedule for today?” he asked her.
“I heard it’s lawn games out in the garden. I peeked out my window, and I could see tents and tables arranged in the grass.”
“Lawn games!” He was incredulous. “Why would I play lawn games? I had planned to get Ralston into the card room again. I can feel a lucky streak coming on.”
“I’m sure you can, but you have to oblige Caroline, don’t you? She’s gone to so much trouble to entertain your company. You can’t hide yourself in a parlor with Caleb Ralston.”
“No, I don’t suppose I can.” He sighed as if he had heavy burdens that were a great trial. “I’ll have to wait until tonight. That’s likely better anyway. Caroline was nagging about it this morning at breakfast.”
“Nagging about what?”
“About my gambling.”
“She’s a sheltered country mouse, darling. She could never comprehend the sorts of amusements we enjoy in town.”
“I know.” She finished with his cravat, and he whirled away and assessed himself in the mirror. “I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I? Have I made the correct decision?”
“About what? About marrying your cousin?”
“Yes. I like her very much, and she’s possessed of all the traits a fellow seeks in a bride. She’s beautiful, educated, kind, loyal—”
Lucretia couldn’t bear to have him extolling his cousin’s attributes, and she cut him off. “Yes, she’s quite a catch. You were a genius to snatch her up when you had the chance.”
“I’m forging ahead merely to please my father, and I hate how he’s been pressuring me.”
She could barely contain her exasperation. “Gregory! You had her twiddling her thumbs for seven years! A girl shouldn’t have to delay until she’s an old maid.”
“Yes, yes, and I’m securing the money. I have to keep reminding myself of that.”
She bit down on all the aggrieved words that were begging to spill out.
They’d officially been a couple for four years, and in the beginning, she’d foolishly persuaded herself that he would wed her, but he’d conveniently neglected to mention that he was already engaged.
When he’d deigned to confide the situation, they’d had such a spat that she hadn’t thought their relationship would survive it. She’d
