“Is that so?” Lady Hutchings asked.
Madalene shook her head. “That is not entirely true. It was not love at first sight, mind you, but I found myself besotted by Baldwin rather quickly.”
Oliver gave his brother an impatient look and Baldwin cleared his throat. “If you will excuse me, I shall return shortly.”
They did not speak as they walked away from the crowd and stepped outside onto the veranda. After Oliver ensured their conversation would remain private, he turned to face his brother.
“I did something intolerably stupid,” Oliver admitted.
Baldwin grew serious. “What did you do?” he asked cautiously.
Oliver hesitated for a moment before saying, “I offered for Miss Emmeline Lockhart.”
“You did?” Baldwin asked, his brow shooting up.
He nodded.
“What did she say?”
Oliver frowned. “She refused me.”
“Thank heavens for that,” Baldwin declared.
“Why do you say that?” Oliver asked, his voice taking on an edge.
Baldwin cast him a look of exasperation. “It almost sounds as if you wanted her to accept your proposal.”
He found the fight draining out of him as he admitted, “I don’t know what I want.”
“Why did you offer for her in the first place?” Baldwin asked.
Oliver reached up and adjusted his white cravat. “I was listening to her plight about being forced to marry the Duke of Billingham,” he explained, “and the next thing I know, I was offering for her.”
“That was a foolish thing to do.”
Oliver ran a hand through his brown hair. “Don’t you think I know that?”
“The Duke of Billingham wouldn’t take kindly to you marrying his betrothed,” Baldwin said.
“I am not afraid of him.”
“Neither am I, but he is not a man that you want to aggravate.”
Oliver put his head back and looked up at the moon. “I suppose I just wanted to save Emmeline from that old, cantankerous duke.”
“Perhaps she doesn’t want saving.”
“I don’t believe that is the case,” Oliver replied, bringing his gaze back to meet his brother’s. “After all, it is either marry the duke or enter a life of servitude.”
“Then why did she turn down your offer?”
“Emmeline rejected me because I am a rake.” His words came out much harsher than he’d intended.
With a bob of his head, Baldwin replied, “This is beginning to make sense.”
“What is?”
“You were rejected by Charlotte because you were a rake, and now her cousin just did the same thing.”
“That has nothing to do with it,” he declared.
“No?” Baldwin asked. “Then, pray tell, why are you so upset that Emmeline just rejected your offer?”
“I was trying to help her,” he asserted, “but she didn’t want my help.”
“So, your pride has taken a hit.”
“Perhaps.”
Baldwin gave him a knowing look. “Did you want to be married to Emmeline, a girl that you hardly know?” he asked.
“That is not true. I am well acquainted with Emmeline,” Oliver defended. “We have always been friends.”
“Do you know her well enough to be tied to her for the rest of your days?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted honestly, “but it doesn’t matter now, does it?”
Baldwin crossed his arms over his chest. “This isn’t like you. I have never known you to make such a rash decision before,” he commented.
“I know, but it just felt right to offer for her.” He winced. “I can’t explain it.”
“Did you have too much to drink?”
Oliver huffed. “I never drink enough to get inebriated. That is a good way to get me killed.”
“I assumed as much, but I had to ask.”
Music drifted out of the ballroom. “Another set is about to start,” Oliver said. “You should go dance with your wife.”
“Do you mind?”
Oliver shook his head. “I will retire to the card room for the rest of the evening. I don’t feel like seeing Emmeline again.”
“Would you care to depart?” Baldwin asked, his tone hopeful. “I would be more than happy to accompany you.”
Chuckling, Oliver remarked, “I daresay that Madalene won’t let you leave so easily.”
“I generally hate dancing, but I must admit I do enjoy dancing with my wife.”
“That is good to hear,” Oliver said as they started to walk back into the ballroom.
As they approached Madalene, her eyes lit up as they landed on Baldwin. “Is everything all right?” she asked.
Baldwin nodded. “Everything is perfectly well.”
“Do we need to leave?” she asked in a hushed voice.
Baldwin kissed her on the cheek. “Oliver just needed my advice, desperately.”
Glancing over at him, Madalene asked, “Is that so?”
Oliver smiled at his sister-in-law. “Your husband is quite full of himself.”
Madalene laughed. “I am well aware of that, but I still find him charming.”
“If you will excuse me, I will be in the card room for the rest of the evening,” Oliver informed them before he stepped away.
He started making his way to the card room when he saw Emmeline out of the corner of his eye. She was speaking to her companion, but she stopped when their eyes met from across the room. At that moment, it seemed that time stood still, and nothing else seemed to matter in the world.
Oliver was so distracted that he failed to notice that he had bumped into someone.
“Excuse me,” the man remarked gruffly.
Reluctantly, he broke his gaze with Emmeline and turned towards the man. “My apologies. I’m afraid I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“No harm done,” the man replied, tugging down on his black jacket, “but you might want to be more mindful of where you are walking next time.”
“You are right, of course,” Oliver agreed.
He brushed past the man and headed towards the card room. When he stepped inside, his eyes scanned the room as he looked for a place to sit at one of the many round tables.
His eyes landed on a table where his friends were playing cards, and there was an empty seat next to them. He walked over and claimed the chair next to Booth.
“Radcliff!” Booth exclaimed, shifting in his chair to face him. “We were wondering when you would join us.”
“What took you so long?” Follett asked.
Oliver shrugged as he adapted his usual
