Page 22 of Inconvenient Honor
“No dear,” Catherine told her, “You set your sights there. We merely try to steer you toward success.”
“I don’t want or need a title,” Lily said hotly. “So, why do I need to attend the Duchess of Pembrook’s ball? It will be a stifling crush full of useless fribbles who wouldn’t have me, and darling young ladies eager to cut me.”
“Not all titled gentlemen are worthless,” Catherine corrected tartly.
Not all men are gentlemen either. Perhaps I should give up on marriage. Any serious suitor will have to be told I’m not untouched.The thought depressed her.
“Generally, you may be correct about that sort of thing—not titled gentlemen but certain types of events,” Georgiana said to Lily. “However?—”
“Thank you,” Lily interrupted. “I thought we had agreed to small dinner parties, literary soirees, and musicales. I won’t go.”
“Yes, but we must start large,” Catherine insisted.
“First, because you must be noticed,” Georgiana said, “and as much as I myself loathe the bowing and backstabbing, the first great ball of the season will get you noticed.”
Lily grunted. She recalled Sahin’s thoughts on the English marriage mart.It’s a horse auction, and I’m treated like a second-rate mare.
“Secondly, you must cast your net wide. You can narrow your choices later,” Catherine said.
“And third?” Lily demanded.
“Third, you might just have fun. You seemed to enjoy yourself at Chadbourn Park,” Catherine said.
I did. Before Volkov caught me. Before Glenaire—She sighed.Before Glenaire. If I attend this ball, he will be there, looking down his nose for signs of misbehavior.Another thought caused her stomach to turn.What if Volkov is in attendance?She had seen no sign of him since her return to London, but she could feel watching eyes.
“I won’t go,” Lily insisted. She picked up the next invitation on the “maybe” pile.
Catherine looked hurt, but she pulled the invitation back from the “no” pile.
“Lily, Catherine went to great trouble to get you that invitation,” Georgiana chided gently. “You must go.”
When you use that tone, you are every inch Glenaire’s sister. Glenaire! How can I face him?Lily had no answer to her own question, but she realized she had to face him, if only to seek news of her father. She looked from face to face, one set in determination, one hopeful. How can I repay their kindness with obstinacy? Her shoulders sagged.
“Pembrook’s ball it is,” she capitulated. “When is it?”
“Thursday next. You won’t be sorry. I have it on good authority the Ottoman delegates have been invited, and the Foreign Office will season the attendees with their eager young men, your target audience,” Georgiana said.
Lily already felt sorry.If I see Sahin Pasha in public, I may cause an international incident. The Marble Marquess won’t like that.That thought perked her up.
“That’s all?”the marquess demanded.
The dispatch rider, still in his road dirt cringed in the face of Richard’s fury. He arrived unannounced at Horse Guards, went through the desk used to screen out frivolous requests and importunate beggars, and was dragged bodily into the marquess’s private office overlooking Horse Guards Parade.
“No, I mean yes, my lord. This is the message exactly as John Thornton gave it to me. He didn’t explain anything else.”
Richard scanned the unsealed vellum again, but the message remained the same.
Ship floundered.We regret we are detained in Copenhagen pending repairs. Estimated departure 30 days. I will take the opportunity to explore Danish commercial interests and make use of the archives here.
J. Thornton
He foldedit back and tapped it absentmindedly on his desk. We should have sent a more strongly worded warning. Still, the bodyguard knows his duty.
He laid the message down on the desk, calculating the time ittook to send this message overland. He won’t leave for another two weeks and then take three to four more to get here. John Thornton couldn’t arrive in less than a month; six to eight weeks were more likely. He didn’t appear to be in a rush.
I don’t suppose the man bothered to send word to his daughter.
“Was this his only message?”
