Page 18 of Her Sort of Scoundrel
“I don’t know if he will.”
Every time Fiona brought up Dash, Miss Forbes demurred, and Fiona was deuced curious why.
“Are you afraid to speak to Lord Granford on such matters?”
“No, not at all.” She turned back to the ladybugs.
Fiona suspected she was hiding her expression.
“Let’s speak openly, Miss Forbes. Is something amiss between you and the earl?”
“That’s not it.” Straightening, she faced Fiona but couldn’t quite meet her gaze. “I feel guilty, to tell you the truth. He did not ask for a ward, and I know I’ve quite upset his life.”
“Miss Forbes…”
The girl raised a hand as if begging Fiona to let her finish.
“He’s the kindest man. I was quite intimidated by him when I was a child. So charming and living such a glamorous life in London, I thought. But since I’ve joined his household, I’ve learned that he’s a good man and quite approachable.”
Fiona touched her lips that were curving of their own volition.
“He worries about me so much and wants to do everything just right. And he’s already given me a great deal. Clothes and books and musical instruments and tutors. I am hesitant to ask for more.”
That description was precisely how Fiona would have expected Dash to react to having the care of another thrust upon him. In his youth, he’d lost a younger sister to illness, and though he’d been a middle child—with an older sister and a brother born just a year after him—he’d been the heir and considered it his duty to protect all his siblings. Fiona knew he’d carried that burden—a feeling as if he’d failed in his duty—with him for many years.
Dash would want to protect Miss Forbes.
“You should ask him,” Fiona told her. “He’d wish to know if there are things you want or that would make you happy. Speak honestly to him. He’s a good listener, and he’s not bad at giving advice either.”
Miss Forbes ran her fingertips along the leaf of a hanging fern. “It sounds as if you’ve missed him, Lady Fiona.”
Fiona’s instinct was to deny it—to protect the truth of her feelings. But Miss Forbes’s gaze was full of sympathy. The poor girl had experienced a great deal of loss in her own young life.
“I did,” she finally admitted.
Miss Forbes’s sunny smile lit up her whole face. “Then I feel confident extending an invitation for you to visit us soon.”
Was the girl trying to play matchmaker?
Fiona hadn’t dealt with such machinations in years, and she dearly hoped the young lady wouldn’t get her hopes up.
Granford would need to get married and produce an heir for the earldom.
Fiona had no wish to ever tread that path again.
CHAPTER5
In the end,Fiona did not accept the invitation Miss Forbes extended just a day after their visit over tea. Instead, she countered with her own, inviting them to join her at a dinner party hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Everton.
During their usual Tuesday luncheon, Cecily had offered all of them a place at her table for the following day. It seemed a good chance to get Miss Forbes out amongst company, and Cecily had all but insisted. Fiona understood her friend was mostly curious about the earl. But the Evertons were also good connections for Miss Forbes to make prior to her coming out.
Fiona had considered asking Cecily to sponsor Granford’s ward outright, but it seemed best to see how they all got on first. And to ask Granford if he’d found anyone else to guide her.
As she’d expected, Miss Forbes seemed to make a winning impression on all the other guests. Especially the youthful Viscount Wolverhampton, who watched her with a curious gaze. Though it was the elderly Lord Preswick who seemed to have captured the girl’s focus entirely.
Fiona’s gaze strayed far too often to Granford. What was more shocking, she caught him observing her just as often. It was as if they were tethered somehow, noticing each other’s movements and glances of interest, no matter where they stood in the spacious drawing room.
“You’re wearing a new gown if I’m not mistaken,” Cecily noted as she sidled up next to Fiona. “I can’t help but wonder why.”
