Page 56 of Anything But a Duke
He had a puzzle to solve and only a few pieces.
The only real link he had now was his mother’s connection to the Earl of Wyndham. Mrs. Tuttle no doubt held those answers, and he needed to find a way to get the woman to divulge more than she had. When she’d come to his office, she’d brought no journal or letters, only the detail that she’d visited the lodging house and that Callihan had a story Aidan would wish to hear.
Now what he wanted most was to find his sister.
He had fresh answers, but more questions than ever before.
Chapter Seventeen
The next morning, Aidan discovered an unexpected crush waiting to enter the Zoological Society and decided the throng was probably for the best. His planned introduction to Grace Grinstead would be less awkward if they weren’t the only Londoners loitering outside the society’s grounds.
This introduction had to go better than the last. He’d had Coggins send a thank-you note to Lady Caldwell, but he couldn’t imagine continuing a pursuit of Lady Sophie. Another man would appreciate her jovial nature far more than he ever could.
Based on Miss Ashby’s notes, Miss Grinstead seemed a more serious sort of lady. She was not as highborn as Lady Sophie, but Aidan had met her father once and knew him to be a sober, diligent sort, despite whatever financial woes his viscountcy might be facing.
He was determined to make this morning a success.
Aidan had taken special care with his suit and allowed the valet to have his merry way with a newfangled necktie. A formal introduction to a highborn noblewoman was what he’d sought for months, which made it quite inconvenient that the prospect of seeing Diana occupied most of his thoughts as he’d dressed and shaved.
She was the reason he stood tapping his thigh eagerly, scanning the crowd of those waiting to see the animals. And when he finally caught sight of her, it was Diana who set his pulse thrumming. She wore a peacock blue gown that was so different from the other ladies’ pastels that a man couldn’t help but notice her.
He studied her curves with far too much interest, the determined set to her jaw, the bloom of pink in her cheeks. He told himself that half the ladies present had equally appealing features, but still he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
As if she felt his notice, she turned. Even from a distance, he saw her eyes widen and her mouth soften into something that was almost a smile.
He felt an answering tug at the corners of his own mouth. But then she pivoted and spoke to a lady a few steps ahead of her. Miss Grinstead, no doubt.
Aidan assessed her quickly. Tall, blond, buxom, and dressed in an elegant peach traveling costume and ostentatious beribboned hat. Any man would be blind to not find her pretty.
Aidan kept his gaze fixed on Miss Ashby as she turned and bent her head to speak to Miss Grinstead. The two laughed, and the appealing sound carried on the breeze. Then Miss Ashby struck out a hand in a sweeping motion as if commenting on the landscape. She stopped and pointed at him a bit too theatrically, drawing her companion’s notice his way.
Initially, Miss Grinstead didn’t seem interested in taking the bait. She offered him a single assessing glance and then turned back to the queue.
Miss Ashby wasn’t put off so easily, as he knew well. Hooking an arm through her friend’s, she turned the lady bodily and they began strolling his way. After a moment, Miss Ashby picked up her pace and rushed ahead to greet him.
“Mr. Iverson, fancy finding you here,” she said loudly, then lowered her voice to add, “Her parents are very strict, so it’s extraordinary that they’ve allowed her to step out without a chaperone. I am entrusted with that duty, so we must make this brief outing count.”
Aidan nodded. “Understood.”
“Grace, may I present Mr. Aidan Iverson,” she said as soon as her friend reached her side.
The young woman pasted a tight smile on her cupid bow mouth and offered him a nod. “Have we not met before, Mr. Iverson?”
“Not that I recall.” He would have remembered her striking looks as well as her marriageable status.
“The Duke of Tremayne held a ball a few months past.”
“Ah yes.” Aidan remembered the evening. He’d stopped in to speak to Tremayne, unaware they were hosting a ball. “I don’t think I had the pleasure of meeting you that night.”
“You didn’t dance.” Her eyes finally settled on him fully and she subjected him to a thorough head-to-toe inspection. “I recall wishing you’d stayed. There was a distinct lack of gentlemen to dance with.”
“Perhaps another opportunity will present itself.” Aidan couldn’t help sparing a glance at Diana. She was a vibrant, rose-scented distraction in his periphery, no matter how he tried to focus on Miss Grinstead.
“You’re the man who invests in all of the industrial machines, are you not?” the young lady said, drawing his attention again. “My father, Lord Holcomb, is quite fond of investing in industry too. He’s forever going on about an exhibition where the prince is planning to display England’s industrial marvels to the world.”
“I’m aware of the exhibition,” Aidan said tightly. He searched his mind for a memory of any Lord Holcomb he might have encountered during his years in the London business world.
He turned his attention to Diana again and she tipped her head toward the zoo. “They’ve opened the gates. Should we join the queue and go inside?” Without waiting for an answer, she started off toward the entrance and her school friend followed.
