Page 11 of The Misfortunate Miss Farthington
But as this was indeed the case with Luke, Richard had found himself grudgingly accepting an entire dossier on the handsome second son of an earl who stood before him now, commenting gaily on the weather and their travels.
A muscle in Richard’s jaw twitched as he assessed the younger man before him, so tall and regal in bearing, so handsome and so charming with his smiles and his polite greetings, and…
Richard frowned.
And so very smitten with his wife. It simultaneously put Richard at ease and made him tense with rage.
It was an odd mix of emotions, to be certain. On one hand he wished to revel in the fact that this paragon of manhood had lost his heart to another.
On the other hand, he found himself pondering for the first time in his life if he ought to issue a challenge to this knave who’d broken Miss Farthington’s heart. How dare he look upon another when he’d had Miss Farthington at his side?
He let the others keep the conversation going as he sought her out again, to assure himself that she was well.
Miss Farthington’s smile seemed genuine enough as she spoke with her cousin and aunt. Though it wasn’t like he’d expected her to be weeping in the corner.
Perhaps she was aching on the inside.
The thought was intolerable.
“Will you excuse me for a moment?” he murmured to his host. “I’d like to thank your daughter and niece for extending this invitation.”
He needn’t have bothered with an excuse. The dashing captain and his elegant wife had his host and hostess enthralled with some amusing tale from their journey.
He smiled and nodded his way through the small crowd until he finally reached Miss Farthington. His arms physically ached with the desire to reach out and pull her close, but when she smiled up at him and he caught that particular mix of amusement and warmth and kindness in her eyes, that sickening knot in his gut began to unwind.
“Thank you for inviting me,” he said, all too aware that Miss Farthington’s aunt and niece were listening to their every word.
“We’re so glad you could attend.” Miss Farthington’s tone was even and her words unremarkable, but he caught the hint of pink that flushed her cheeks and felt a smile tugging at his lips in response.
“Mother, the most dreadful thing happened,” her cousin said, loudly and abruptly enough that both he and Miss Farthington turned to look at her. But the young woman didn’t glance at them. Instead, she turned her body slightly so her mother was forced to turn away from them as well as she prattled on about some tedious misunderstanding at the haberdashery.
“She’s incorrigible.” Miss Farthington’s tone was laced with laughter.
“And here I thought you were the matchmaker of your family,” he said quietly.
Her gasp was quiet and feigned. “Why would you ever think such a thing?”
“Oh, I may have heard a thing or two about how helpful you’ve been in assisting the young ladies under your tutelage.”
She folded her hands together with a sweet smile that made her eyes dance. “All exaggerations, I assure you.”
For this one moment they might as well have been alone, and Richard hardly knew where to begin. Concern for her outweighed every other trivial thought he wished to mention. Like how her eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky, or how her scent was as enchanting as her smile.
“Are you all right?” he said instead.
She blinked. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“So, you are? All right, I mean?”
“Shouldn’t I be?” she shot back. Her lips twitched and he felt a laugh threatening to escape at her impish look.
“Are we talking entirely in questions now?” he said.
“That depends, is this a riddle?” she teased. She reached a hand out to touch his arm and dropped it quickly. “I am well, I was just curious why you asked. And with such concern, too.”
He tried to think of a tactful way to point out that they were currently standing in the midst of the man she’d been engaged to…and that man’s lovely new bride. He wasn’t quick enough, and Miss Farthington lowered her voice. “Do you look after all ladies’ interests so well, or is this a right reserved for those ladies with whom you’ve shared a grand midnight adventure?”
He dipped his head with a rueful laugh.It’s a right reserved for the woman I love.No, no. It was far too soon to say something so forthright. He’d frighten the poor woman senseless. “I assure you, Miss Farthington. You are the only lady in the world with whom I’ve shared any adventures.”
