Page 18 of Snowbound with the Scoundrel
She drew in a breath.“That would be very much appreciated.”
They attracted more than a few stares when they entered the room together.Which wasn’t surprising.But Clarissa kept her chin up, and as for Rupert, he was used to that sort of thing.
Rupert had a few people he was hoping to speak with tonight, but that could wait.He introduced Clarissa to the rest of the de Rooses, then to the Duchess of Kimbolton.He presented her to a couple of young ladies local to Helmsley—Miss Eliza Swanton and Miss Marianne Pickering.
Then, as luck would have it, he spied Oliver Baxter, the very reason he was here, standing nearby!Rupert knew him a little bit.They’d been at Oxford at the same time, but at different colleges.
Catching his eye, Rupert strode up.“Baxter, it’s deuced good to see you again.May I present Miss Clarissa Weatherby?Miss Weatherby, this is Mr.Oliver Baxter.”
Baxter bowed neatly over her hand.“How do you do, Miss Weatherby?Please allow me to introduce my wife, Rosalind, and my wife’s cousin, Miss Phyllis Cuthbert.”
While he made his bows, Rupert surreptitiously studied the trio.Baxter had always been a good-looking fellow in a bookish sort of way—brown hair, pale skin from spending all day in the library, sensitive poetical expression, soft hands, tweed waistcoats, that sort of thing.One thing was for certain, he looked remarkably calm, considering someone was trying to kill him.Of course, he hadn’t yet been informed that someone wasdefinitelytrying to kill him, so maybe that explained it.
His wife, on the other hand, looked drawn.Which might’ve been exhaustion from the carriage ride north, but Rupert rather thought it was worry creasing her brow, not fatigue.She had that shade of hair somewhere between brown and blonde and green eyes.Rupert was surprised, because he’d always heard that she was a great sportswoman, so he hadn’t expected her to be as thin and wan as she appeared.He supposed that went to show that you never knew.
As for Miss Cuthbert, she struck Rupert as the nervous sort and was wringing her gloved hands in a way that looked habitual.Rupert had heard she was a spinster, and she certainly dressed like one, with a grey dress that buttoned all the way up to her chin.But Rupert thought if someone would put her in a more flattering gown and do something with her dark brown hair other than twist it into a tight knot, she would’ve been as pretty as any woman in the room.
Well… he found his eyes straying to Clarissa Weatherby.Maybe not quite as pretty aseverywoman in the room.But downright handsome.
Rupert was about to see if he could worm anything useful out of them when Toddington announced that dinner was served.
Inside the great hall, Rupert surrendered Clarissa, who was seated on the opposite end of the table.He was seated between Lady Helmsley and Lady Emily.
He wouldn’t learn much of use there, but Rupert didn’t mind.He handed both ladies into their chairs and prepared to pass the meal in the company of two of his favorite people.
Chapter8
Much to Clarissa’s delight, the place card to her left indicated that she would be sitting next to Richard Garroway.Mr.Garroway was one of the three suspects Sir Henry had mentioned in his letter, the one who had been elected to the House of Commons representing the rotten pocket borough of Dunwich.Dinner promised to be an excellent opportunity to assess how highly Mr.Garroway ranked on her list of suspects.
As the guests found their seats, Clarissa glanced around the Great Hall.It was a gorgeous room with carved wooden beams visible beneath the high ceiling and a ten-foot-wide stone fireplace, complete with a roaring Yule log.A long table ran the length of the room with shield-back chairs lining either side.The wood-paneled walls were painted vermilion red and lined with real tapestries between the arched windows.
A lady settled into the seat to Clarissa’s right, introducing herself as the Marchioness of Ashington.She mentioned that she had made her debut with Clarissa’s mother, and had fond memories of her, which caused Clarissa to warm to her at once.
After a few minutes of reminiscing, Lady Ashington dropped her voice low.“I must confess, I was a bit surprised to learn who you were, especially after seeing you enter on the arm of Rupert Dupree.Do you truly not harbor any ill feelings toward him?”
Clarissa sipped from her wineglass as she considered her answer.“Mr.Dupree has assured me that he was not the author of the letter that went around the papers two years ago.In fact, he told me that he knew nothing of it, as he has been traveling on the Continent.”
Lady Ashington regarded her steadily.“And you believe him?”
“I don’t know what to believe,” Clarissa admitted.“But the de Roos family seems to regard him very highly.I certainly don’t want to be the cause of any unpleasantness at their gathering.So, I am trying to give Mr.Dupree the benefit of the doubt.”
The marchioness nodded, a look of approval settling over her face.“Do you want to know what I think?”
“I would.”Clarissa was honestly curious.She had known Lady Ashington for all of two minutes, but she seemed sensible.Clarissa had no idea how she felt about the whole business, and she rather thought she could do with a little guidance.
Lady Ashington leaned forward, dropping her voice low.“It’s obvious he didn’t write that letter.Weatherby Wallflower, my shoe.Just look at you!Some wallflower.”
Clarissa suspected her cheeks had turned as red as her dress.“Oh, er…”
“And your sister is now aduchess.The Duke of Norwood could have had his pick of any woman in England.I am yet to meet your sister, but she could not possibly be the hag described in the papers.”
Clarissa’s heart squeezed.“She’s not.Eleanor is lovely, inside and out.”
“So, it is obvious that column was nothing but rubbish.And there is no possibility that Rupert Dupree was its author.”
“What makes you say that?”Clarissa asked.
“Why, just look at him, child—he can’t take his eyes off you!”
