He sounded perfect, Abby thought with delight. “He is here tonight? You are certain of that?”
“Yes. In fact, Lady Honoria was actually bragging about her coup in getting him to come down from London. They claim he’s much too jaded and far too consumed with his other interests, if you take my meaning, to want to idle away his time on a country estate.” Again she looked puzzled. “Though he seems quite fascinated with the women here. Perhaps it matters not so much where he is, but the company he keeps.”
“Have you met him?”
Lizzy looked horrified. “Oh, never! My brothers would call him out if he came near me.”
Abby grinned. “Wonderful! Now tell me his name and show me where he is.”
“His name is Riley Walker, the Earl of Wilton,” Lizzy announced dramatically. She stood on tiptoe to peer through the crowd. “I do believe that is he over there.” She pointed to a circle of women clustered around one dashing young man, who looked extremely bored by all the attention.
“Riley Walker,” Abby murmured, an undeniable flare of excitement stirring deep inside her as she contemplated what she was about to do, as well as the man Lizzy had targeted.
Oddly, she felt immediately drawn to him, a connection she could in no way explain. Surely they had never met. She would have recalled anyone this handsome. There was nothing foppish about his chiseled features. And for all the fancy clothes he wore with such careless ease, even with the froth of ruffles at his wrists, she thought she’d never seen anyone in her life who exuded a greater aura of masculinity.
He would do, she thought at once. He would most definitely do. She couldn’t have conjured up a more perfect candidate for her scheme if she’d tried.
Abby started determinedly across the room, only to be stopped by a vehement protest from Lizzy, who was apparently a lot less fragile than she appeared, especially when it came to enforcing the absurd rules of propriety.
“Lady Abigail,” she said in a surprisingly stern tone, “what on earth are you thinking? You can’t mean to just go up to him and announce yourself.”
“You practically said yourself that no one would be likely to introduce me and risk my parents’ wrath.” She set her chin willfully. “It seems I must manage this on my own.”
“But he will think you quite brazen.”
Abby grinned and patted Lizzy’s hand. “Isn’t that the point of all this? It will all turn out just as I planned. Never fear. When you see us go out onto one of the balconies for a breath of air, see to it that the Earl of Drake follows.”
Lizzy balked, her expression aghast. “Oh, I couldn’t. If this turns out badly, I would never forgive myself.”
“You must,” Abby insisted emphatically. “If he doesn’t catch me in a compromising position, nothing will have been accomplished.”
“Abby, you will be sent away,” Lizzy said with a little moan of dismay. “I’m sure of it. And then whatever will I do for excitement?”
“Wherever I am, I shall write you of my daring exploits,” she promised. “Now just do this one thing for me, Lizzy, I beg of you.”
Though she still looked deeply troubled, Lizzy finally nodded. “I will do my best. I promise.”
Abby had more difficulty making her way to the Earl of Wilton than she had anticipated. Several gentlemen stopped her along the way and begged for a dance. The requests were made so earnestly she couldn’t find it in her heart to refuse. Besides, she loved to dance and it was said by all of her friends that she had exceptional grace, that her tall, willowy body was made to float about a dance floor.
She had just thanked her most recent partner when she saw that she was standing practically in the shadow of the Earl of Wilton. His back was to her, but there was no mistaking the breadth of those shoulders or the streaks of sunlight in his hair. Already it seemed she had learned to detect the rich sound of his laughter as yet another of the ladies sought to enchant him with a witty bit of gossip, which seemed to be the only thing anyone discussed.
Foolish girls, she thought irritably. Hadn’t they learned anything at all about playing hard to get? Perhaps she could show them how successful such a technique could be.
She chose a spot within the earl’s line of vision. Affecting a bored expression, she idly raised her fan to create a gentle breeze. With every studied gesture, she grew more vividly aware of the man she was seeking to impress. She knew the precise instant when she caught his attention, the exact moment when he fell silent as he contemplated her more intently.
Then she heard a whispered exchange, a mild protest, a counterargument. At last he moved her way accompanied by an obviously reluctant Lady Beatrice, to whom Abby had been introduced earlier.
“Lady Abigail, I would like to present Riley Walker, the Earl of Wilton,” Lady Beatrice said stiffly. Her expression said she didn’t like making the introduction to a prospective rival one bit.
Abby smiled demurely. “My lord.”
“Would you care to dance, Lady Abigail?” he said as the first notes of another waltz began.
Ignoring Lady Beatrice’s petulant expression, Abby moved smoothly into his arms. When she stepped just a fraction closer than propriety called for, his startled gaze met hers.
“Intriguing,” he murmured.
“What, my lord?”
“I was just thinking what a pleasure it is to dance with someone who feels the rhythm of the music as if it is a part of their soul.”
“Since you have danced with absolutely scores of women, if the rumors are to be believed, I shall take that as a high compliment.”
His green eyes glittered with barely concealed mirth. “You listen to gossip, my lady?”
“It is most prudent to listen, is it not? Perhaps not always so wise to believe.”
He laughed aloud at that. “A sound philosophy.
