Page 24 of The Earl’s Hoyden

The clock struck eleven.

Amy eyed the clock, setting the small gems in her blonde hair sparkling. “Lucy hasn’t made it yet.”

“She never makes it,” Elizabeth replied. “But do you know who has?” She gazed in the direction of the Duke of Dudley, the man Jillian’s father intended for her to wed.

Jillian’s head fell back with exasperation. “I do wish my father would leave me be about this marriage business.”

“At least he is handsome,” Amy said.

It was true. The man had thick, dark hair and a lean frame. What Elizabeth politely omitted was that the man’s immensely long nose was often pointed aloft in the air with haughty pride.

“Too bad he knows it,” Jillian murmured.

“It could be a romantic match.” Elizabeth swept a hand down her pink ballgown, the movement somewhat anxious.

“Now you sound like my mother.” Hannah shot Elizabeth an exasperated look. “And why are you so nervous suddenly?”

“Nervous?” Elizabeth squared her shoulders. “I am not nervous.”

No sooner had she spoken than Lord Darington walked by with his dark gaze locked on her. The delicate muscles in Elizabeth’s neck stood out, and she swallowed hard.

“Lord Darington, truly?” Hannah whispered.

But then, Lord Brightstone crossed the room as the crowd began to move into the supper rooms. Heat sizzled in her veins.

“Lord Brightstone,” Elizabeth whispered back. “Truly?”

Hannah nudged her friend with her elbow good-naturedly, and Elizabeth laughed. Both women had been caught eyeing men of interest.

“He seems very sweet,” Amy chimed in, evidently having overheard.

“Lord Darington?” Hannah asked with an innocent air.

The four of them laughed once more.

“A man that sinful would be better with the likes of Lucy.” Jillian tossed her hair over her shoulder, having only half the mass of dark waves bound up. It wasn’t in style, but Jillian was never one to conform to fashion.

“Even Lord Darington wouldn’t know what to do with Lucy,” Hannah retorted and they all giggled once more.

Amy led them toward the supper rooms, the green brocade gown she wore brushing the floor as she did so. “I meant Lord Brightstone.”

Hannah scrunched her face, wishing they would let the topic drop.

Jillian glanced toward the earl of their discussion, and her expression became pensive in a way that made Hannah’s nerves fray. Her friend always saw far too much.

“Oh, look, tea and cake,” Hannah said as they entered the room.

“They always have tea and cake,” Elizabeth retorted dryly. “I think you’re trying to change the subject.”

They each took a thinly sliced piece of buttered bread, and Hannah bit into her snack to fill her mouth before having to answer.

She didn’t want her friends to encourage her toward Lord Brightstone. Keeping her heart guarded around him was already difficult enough without their cajoling and prodding. Without them trying to instill false hopes in a place that ought not to foster any.

They meant well, of course. However, after the pain of Lord Ranford’s disinterest, Hannah could not stand the idea of suffering through another failed romance.

No, it was better for things to remain strictly instructional with Lord Brightstone.

By some strange pull of fate, she glanced about the room and caught sight of the earl standing only three people away from her. The beat of her heart snagged.