“As you wish,” he said. “In truth, your words have made me even more curious to know the lady, not less.”
“I hear,” Diana said, her conspiratorial tone returned, “that as soon as she opens her mouth you hear how poorly bred she was. Mouth like a sailor, according to Mrs. Jenkins the dressmaker. Although, by all accounts, she has been having elocution lessons.”
“She is holding herself well enough,” Sebastian said, his eyes landing on her again. “Does she have a name, this mystery lady?”
“One Miss Jenny Jones. Twin sister to Luke Jones, and the recently discovered sister of Lord Denninson, the Duke of Carrington’s son. Or so I hear.”
“So she is the daughter of a Duke, then?” Sebastian asked.
“No,” Diana said, shaking her head. She leaned over and picked up two glasses of fine red wine as a servant passed by. “Lord Denninson was adopted, apparently. The mother is said to have sold him to the highest bidder. The other two, though, were taken in by the old groom at the Salsbury estate, which is how they secured their jobs.”
“Goodness,” Sebastian said, sitting back in his chair. “How on earth do you find out such information?”
“I do have a social life, you know,” she said, “even if I do not have a husband.”
“So Lord Denninson is low born, too?” Sebastian asked.
“Absolutely not,” Diana snapped. “It cannot be helped where he was born, but he was given the correct upbringing and is quite the lord now. The very knowledge of his adoption is a well-guarded secret, only known by a select few. In fact, they only found out themselves a year or so ago. No, I do not have a bad word to say about him, and neither does anyone else, or so I hear.”
“Because he is an eligible bachelor with wealth and a title?” Sebastian asked, eyebrow raised. “How very typical of the ladies to pick and choose who to deserve their respect so arbitrarily.”
“It is not like that at all,” Diana said, but the flush on her cheeks told Sebastian that was exactly how it was.
“Did I hear my name being mentioned?”
Sebastian looked up to find Lord Denninson himself standing over the table, the smile on his face showing that while he may have heard his name, he did not hear the conversation that came with it.
Sebastian tensed instantly, his jaw clenching of its own accord, and every muscle in his body taut. He was never comfortable in the company of these lords, and he was ready to defend himself at any moment. At least the lords he normally spent time with had shunned this world, as well.
“Good evening, Lord Denninson,” Sebastian said, refusing to make eye contact.
“So glad you could both make it,” Lord Denninson replied.
He had a large glass of wine, his fingers tight around it, and he smiled down at them, almost bent over as he spoke. Despite his one-and-thirty years, Lord Denninson was as youthful as a man ten years his junior, and his dashing face said the same, but his manners and his behavior were that of a much older man, one with maturity and wisdom. His hair was a thick black and his eyes a warm brown, and looking at him, Sebastian could see a vague resemblance to the lady he was so drawn to earlier.
“How delightful to see you, My Lord,” Diana said, the usual harshness of her voice replaced with a softness with which, Sebastian assumed, Diana hoped to display her femininity and virtue.
He did not, as much as he wanted to, roll his eyes. That his sister had her eye on this gentleman was quite obvious, and Sebastian had no doubt Lord Denninson could see it, too. He hoped he did not think her so brazen. As much as Sebastian’s relationship with his sister was strained, he did want to see her happy, no matter what she thought.
“And may I say, Lady Diana, that you look beautiful this evening. Is that gown silk? For the fabric reflects exquisitely in your eyes.”
“It is silk,” Diana replied through smiling lips. “And thank you, you really are most kind.”
“Not at all,” Lord Denninson said. “I do hope I get the opportunity to dance with you, My Lady. Assuming your dance card is not full yet, of course.”
“Full?” Diana chuckled. “Far from it, my Lord.”
“I cannot believe no one has given their name as yet,” Lord Denninson asked, a hand to his chest in surprise—affected, Sebastian assumed.
“We have not long since arrived,” Sebastian said, hoping to stop the charade while maintaining his sister’s dignity. “We have yet to make a round of the room.”
“I see,” Lord Denninson replied, nodding his head. “Well, if you’d be so kind—?”
Diana delicately handed her dance card over, the little girl in her shining through her mature eyes, and Lord Denninson pulled a pencil from his pocket.
“You could have been kinder,” Diana hissed through her teeth once Lord Denninson had moved on, his name now proudly written on her card.
“I was not unfriendly,” Sebastian replied, a little surprised at Diana’s reaction.
