Page 94 of An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
“No imposition.” The duchess smiled softly. “We all have moments when we have to deal with her sort. Such a bother, but there you are.” She indicated the table. “Do you know everyone?”
She did indeed. The Duchesses of Avendale and Ashebury, the Countess of Greyling, and Mrs. Drake Darling. Yes, Mr. Wadsworth would have been unhappy indeed if the duchess and her friends had left.
Once they were all seated, Gina said, “This is such an honor, to be enjoying tea with all of you.”
“So, Miss Hammersley, we hear you are on the husband hunt,” Mrs. Darling said. “There is nothing we like better than matchmaking. Perhaps we can assist.”
“Lord Rexton has been trying to help me. We’ve had little luck.”
“A man who has been avoiding marriage is probably not best suited to helping someone else acquire it,” the Duchess of Ashebury said. “Let’s discuss strategy.”
While the ladies began peppering Gina with questions regarding her likes and dislikes, the Duchess of Lovingdon leaned toward Tillie. “I understand you declined my mother’s invitation.”
“I thought it for the best.”
“My brother cares for you a great deal.”
“That is why it is for the best.”
“Because you think Society will not forgive your actions nor accept you.”
Tillie nodded.
“Yet, here you sit with three duchesses, a countess, and the wife of one of the wealthiest men in London. I think, Lady Landsdowne, that there is another reason for your reluctance. Maybe you should consider that.”
She bit her lower lip while her heart pounded. “I misjudged before,” she whispered. “I fear I will disappoint him and he won’t be able to love me always.”
“Always. That’s what we want, isn’t it? Love for always. Do you know my husband nearly tossed me over because there is a chance I will die before we are old and he could not stand the thought of losing me? For some always is a short time. For others it is long. What matters is that we had a chance at it at all.”
Chapter 21
Two nights later, Rexton was still in a foul mood. He’d considered going into Whitechapel, hoping to run across some ruffians upon whom he could vent his frustrations but he feared he might take matters a bit too far and find himself dancing in the wind at the gallows. And he certainly didn’t want to wake up on the floor at Jamie’s again. So he’d come to the Dragons, where he’d known he’d find a private game with high stakes taking place in a secluded room. So far he’d lost every hand. He had no interest in cheating, in winning. He was here merely for the company and the whisky that the appointed footman continually poured into his glass.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so selfish as to want to spend so much time alone with Tillie. If he’d brought her here, where he often played cards with family and friends, she’d have known acceptance. No one within this room would have stared at her or accosted her; she would have been welcomed, simply because she was on his arm. No, that wasn’t quite true. She’d have been welcomed because of herself, her strength, her charms, her confidence. Those within this room never judged on gossip, but rather on merit. Tillie would have proven herself worthy of their regard in short order. Perhaps then she would have recognized the potential permanence for what they shared together, instead of relegating it to a short-lived affair. Even if in the beginning that was all he’d expected of it as well.
He downed the little bit of whisky that remained in his glass and waited impatiently for the footman to fill it. Damnation but he missed her. His residence seemed quieter, more lonely at night. He could hardly stand to be within it.
“I ran across Lady Landsdowne the other day at the Royal Tea Palace,” Grace said, her tone reflecting the same casualness with which she tossed away two of her cards, yet still with the mention of Tillie he stiffened as though his sister had prodded him with a hot poker, torn between wanting to know every minute detail and begging Grace to say no more. “Threatening Lady Blanford with a pistol of all things.”
A week ago he would have laughed, taken pride in her actions. Damn it, he couldn’t help but still feel a measure of satisfaction at her boldness and wished he’d been there to see it.
“She appeared as miserable as you,” Grace went on. “As you didn’t bring her here tonight, am I to assume that whatever was between you has come to an end?”
While everyone seemed focused on the cards they were holding, he knew the others at the table—Lovingdon, the Duke and Duchess of Avendale, Jamie, the Swindler twins, and Drake—well enough to sense they were very much aware of the conversation. “We decided we didn’t suit.”
“Pity. I rather liked her.”
He glared at his sister. “From a few words at the park?”
“No, from our visit during tea. I invited her to join us at our table. You asked us to be welcoming to her, so I was.” After cards were revealed, Grace scooped the chips in the center of the table into her ever-growing pile. She was the most skilled cheater of the lot. “Although I would have done so anyway. Lady Blanford was being an absolute beast. I can’t tolerate bullies.”
He almost smiled at the thought of Tillie and his sister together. They’d make a formidable pair. “I’m sure she’d have put Lady Blanford in her place and handled the matter satisfactorily.”
“Without question. But still it’s always nice to know you have someone at your back.”
Cards were dealt. Rexton studied his, sighed. Grace could no doubt turn it into a winning hand. The problem was he didn’t care if he lost a fortune tonight because he’d already lost the only thing that mattered: a life spent with Tillie.
Having purchased her passage for the steamer, Tillie knew she would be back in New York by the end of the month. She didn’t know why she wasn’t more excited by the prospect of leaving this city and its ghastly people behind. Perhaps because she would miss Gina so much. And she would worry about her.
