Page 44 of One Perfect Dance
“Is this behavior you would have expected from him?” Elijah asked. “Deceit? Lying? Asking his guardian to lie for him?”
“Not normally,” William declared. “Not at all.”
Regina shook her head. “This is my fault. I should have realized he would not come to your house with Mother there. I should have checked on where he was spending his time.” She had been so absorbed in her ball and her friends—no, she would be honest, if only to herself—so absorbed inElijahthat she had neglected Geoffrey.
“Ishould have asked after him,” William responded. “Iam to blame.” He looked at miserable as Regina felt.
“What exactly is the problem here?” Elijah asked with a reasonable tone that cut through their self-recriminations. “Geoffrey has been enjoying the pursuits of a wealthy youth in London. Yes, he deceived Regina in order to do so, but it sounds to me as if he knew what her response would be. I don’t see that anyone is to blame for his choices except Geoffrey himself.”
Regina’s mouth dropped open. “But he lied,” she stammered.
“Which was wrong, of course. But he is very young, Regina.”
William was staring at Elijah as if he had said something wondrous. “You’re right. He has always been so good, so biddable, we didn’t expect… He must be punished for lying, of course, but he should not be afraid to tell us that he wants to go out with his friends. A boxing-match. Nothing wrong with a boxing-match,” He looked slightly abashed, and the look he cast his sister was wary. “I was there myself.”
Were they right? Her heart recoiled at the idea of the dear boy roaming unprotected around London. “But he might be hurt, Elijah. And who are these friends of his? How do we know they are not leading him astray?” Elijah did not have children. How could he possibly understand?
Elijah grimaced, and again, Regina asked him to speak his mind.
“Yes,” William agreed. “You are nearly family, from what I saw when I walked in.”
Regina felt the heat rise in her cheeks at his sly rebuke. William continued to address Elijah. “If you have any ideas about how to handle this, I’d be grateful.” He raised his eyebrows, looking at Regina, and she nodded.
“Wewould be grateful,” she said.
“It is just that he is eighteen, and has lived away from home at university for, what, five months? I assume he started in October? Or is this his second year?”
“No, you are right. He has been…” She trailed off, suddenly realizing what Elijah was saying. “He has been accustomed to making his own decisions about how to spend his time, to being trusted as an adult.”
“Answering only to the proctors if he is out in the streets at night without his gown,” William acknowledged. He sat back in his chair again and sipped his brandy. “I remember how heady it was to be in rooms in Cambridge, away from home. I’ll speak to him about how wrong it was for him to use me as an alibi. He’ll take it better from me.” He leaned forward and put his brandy down before saying, “Now, what is this that Ashby tells me about Deffew? Do I need to call him out, Regina?”
Men!“No, William. Putting your life and my reputation at risk by dueling is not required.”
William made a rude noise. “If that is the way you talk to Geoffrey, Regina, it is no wonder he sneaks out behind your back.”
“I will have you know—,” Regina began, then noticed Elijah grinning at the pair of them.He thinks this is a laughing matter, does he?She raised her brows, indignant, but he disarmed her by leaning forward to kiss her cheek. He said, “I have always wanted a to feel like part of a family.”
Chapter Seventeen
The next morning,Ash and Rex sat in one of the lounges at Westruthers with the president of the club, who had invited them to visit and given them a guided tour along with an enthusiastic explanation of the benefits of membership. “I speak for us all, Lord Arthur, Mr. Ashby, when I assure you that we would be delighted to welcome you as members.”
He gestured towards the stack of their books, which he’d produced for signing as soon as they entered this room. With the flyleaf now sporting a personal massage from Ash and an autograph from each of them, they had now, the president assured them, become a club treasure.
“Several gentlemen have vouched for you,” the president continued. “Viscount Barker, the Earl of Stancroft. There will be no problem with your election.”
He did not need to work so hard to win their agreement. The lunch the friends had shared with Barker had been advertisement enough, and they had since met a number of the members, all of whom spoke highly of Westruthers.
“We are delighted to accept,” Rex said, though it was probably Ash, a single man sharing a home with a young family, who was likely to make the most use of the facilities. At least for the time being. He would need a house of his own before he married, and he smiled at the thought.
They said their goodbyes and made their way out of the club.
Ash was still thinking about his courtship of Regina. He was not sure he had grounds for optimism. Regina had accepted several of his invitations, yes. But she had other suitors. More handsome, wealthier, better connected. Why should she choose an orphan of no particular family who had to work for his living?
She found him attractive; he couldn’t doubt the purely feminine interest with which she regarded him. But she didn’t flirt. She did not employ any of the many ways a woman indicated that a man’s attentions would be welcomed.
She had not returned his declaration of love. She enjoyed his kisses, though. Returned them, too. She had agreed that he might court her. She’d insisted on him staying for a family meeting. Yes. On the whole, he thought his hope was not misplaced.
He wondered about Deffew’s claim that she owed him because of Paddimore’s accident. What was that about? Perhaps she would have told him if Kingsley had not interrupted their embrace. Or perhaps, the embrace would have led to things other than talking.
