Let Love Find You (4 page)

“Well, those two matchmakers should be quite happy tonight, since Phelia does make a point of finding out who all the new debutantes are and including a few of them at each of her parties.”

“You don’t mind so much entertaining?”

“Not really. She enjoys it. And it’s bloody hard not to want to make her happy, as much as I love her.”

“Mandy didn’t mention this was a ball,” Preston said, glancing about the ballroom.

Raphael chuckled. “It’s not! Ophelia would have entertained in the parlor for what she considered merely a soiree, but as frequently happens at her parties, double the number invited usually show up.”

“It sounds like you need a sterner butler at the door,” Preston said in disapproval.

“It’s not party crashers. It’s friends and extra escorts of those who
are
invited, and Phelia hates to turn anyone away, so she simply adjusts and makes sure she always has extra food on hand. The simple fact is, no one wants to miss one of her entertainments, and they
do
cancel other engagements to come to hers instead, which is probably why there were so few guests at your first party tonight. Most hostesses make sure they pick nights Phelia isn’t entertaining. They’ll even confer with her about it! But occasionally she will throw an impromptu event like this one, especially when we’ve only just come to town.”

Preston’s eyes lit on Amanda in the center of the room. Raphael followed his gaze. His sister was laughing delightedly with four young gentlemen surrounding her, each vying to entertain her, and apparently, one of them had succeeded. That was encouraging.

Preston must not have thought so. He actually sighed before he remarked, “They flock to her, but I can see why she’s having a hard time at this husband-hunting business, if this is the best out for the Season.”

They still flocked to Raphael’s wife, too, much to his chagrin, even though she was married now! But he spared a glance at the four young hopefuls surrounding Amanda and had to agree with his father. Rather plain looking, the lot of them, not that his sister would snub a man just because he wasn’t handsome, but she wasn’t likely to fall in love with someone who wasn’t at least interesting. And she was holding out for love, not title, not wealth, just love. He’d heard it
so
many times, that love was the only thing that could make for a happy marriage. He
used to scoff at that, but how could he now when, because of love, his marriage was so happy?

“What about your friends?” Preston added. “Has she met them all? None you could recommend?”

Raphael nearly choked. “Gad, no! The few who wanted to marry did so before Mandy came of age. The rest I wouldn’t let anywhere near my sister, rakehells the lot of them. But I highly doubt this is a good assortment of the current batch of young men wife-shopping this Season. It wasn’t intended to be that sort of event. A good half of the guests are married. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed two of those couples are Mandy’s old friends.”

“Unfortunately?”

“Bound to bring back her melancholy once she happens to notice them,” Raphael guessed. “But she did complain to m’wife a few days ago that all of her friends are now either married or engaged, so not likely to show up at any gatherings this year, which would have been why Phelia invited a few of them here tonight, just for Mandy’s sake. Wish she’d told me first so I could have explained she
shouldn’t
invite them—for Mandy’s sake.”

“Nonsense. I know my darling girl isn’t happy that she’s still not married. I am, if you must know.” At Raphael’s raised brow, Preston added, “I’ll miss her terribly once she moves to her own household, though don’t ever tell her I said that. Don’t want her to have even more to worry about. But she can’t be upset just because her friends married before she did.”

“Can’t she? No one enjoys being last in line. And she’s mentioned it to me, if not to you.”

“Well, she seems just fine tonight, as effervescent as usual—
and enjoying herself. Actually, I can see she’s chattering too much.”

“When doesn’t she?” Raphael said with a laugh, then glanced at his sister again.
She
was doing the entertaining just then and not giving those four young hopefuls a chance to get a word in edgewise. “She’s talking their bloody ears off, but she’s too beautiful for that to put them off. It does appear that tonight is a wasted effort though. I’ll have a talk with Phelia to make sure her other parties this Season include
all
of the most eligible bachelors making the rounds. If this really is the lot, we’re doomed to never hear the end of Mandy’s old-maid complaints.”

Preston snorted. “She’s
not
an old maid by any stretch of the imagination.”

“Try to convince her of that. Once she gets a notion, you know it’s nigh impossible to shake her loose from it.”

“Did
she
mention it?”

“No, but if she doesn’t spot her future husband in the next couple of weeks, I don’t doubt it will occur to her,” Raphael said. “I’m surprised speculation about her lack of success in that regard isn’t already a juicy tidbit in the gossip mills. Actually, for all I know, it might be, just no one would dare mention it to me.”

“Perhaps it’s time I stepped in to do something about this,” Preston said thoughtfully.

“And buy her a husband? Gad, no, don’t even try. It’s love or nothing for her. I promise you, she’ll settle for nothing else.”

Preston tsked. “No, I didn’t mean anything as old-fashioned as arranging a marriage for Mandy. I know very well how much that would upset her. But I’ve been rather selfish, hoping she’d
take her time at this, when three Seasons at it may have unwanted consequences, as you say.”

“The title of
old maid
?”

“Indeed. Beyond silly, but I’ll agree it wouldn’t be to her. No, I was thinking more along the lines of having a little chat with my old friend Gertrude Allen.”

Raphael chuckled as he glanced at the two matchmakers again. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt at this point. Should have thought of it m’self.”

“Exactly. And then I’ll feel that I’ve done something to help her with this husband hunt that’s so important to her.”

A bit of commotion at the door drew their attention along with everyone else’s, as two late arrivals stepped into the ballroom. The shorter of the two men looked vaguely familiar to Raphael, but the other man, probably in his midtwenties, was tall and handsome, had a strapping body, black hair a bit longer than the current fashion, and a dangerous air about him that made him seem quite out of place at first glance, even though he was properly dressed. A bit too muscular, he reminded Rafe of a bloody bruiser or worse.

“Who is that?” Preston asked with interest. “Is
he
part of the current crop of eligibles?”

Raphael’s protective instincts shot to the fore. “I don’t know who he is, but I don’t want him going anywhere near my sister.”

Preston raised a brow at him. “Why?”

Raphael groaned inwardly. Pure instinct had made him say that, and something that strong was hard to ignore. Was he the only one who sensed that this newcomer was dangerous?

He hedged, “A little rough around the edges, don’t you think?”

“So’s your good friend Duncan MacTavish.”

“Duncan has an excuse. He was raised in the Scottish Highlands.”

“Maybe you should find out who this big fellow is before you discount him just because he looks a little out of place here.”

So his father at least noticed that? But the chap wasn’t a complete stranger to the
ton
. Some of the guests tonight obviously knew him because a young, engaged couple hurried toward him and greeted him effusively. Perhaps Raphael was wrong. Perhaps the man was perfectly harmless and only appeared dangerous because he was so big.

“M’lord Duke?”

Preston coughed over being called that, and Raphael turned to see a middle-aged gentleman extending a hand to Preston. They’d found him out! That got Raphael’s mind off the newcomer for a moment and he almost laughed, imagining a line of guests forming to meet the reclusive Duke of Norford.

“Deny it,” Raphael whispered to his father with a grin.

“Don’t be absurd,” Preston shot back, and accepted the fellow’s hand.

Raphael saw another couple heading eagerly toward his father and said in an amused aside, “You asked for it.”

He heard Preston sigh before Raphael left him there and went off to find Ophelia.
She
had to know who that bruiser was.

“I
HAVE NO IDEA WHO
he is and haven’t had time yet to find out,” Ophelia said. “We only just got to town, so I’m not yet abreast of the current gossip. But I did hear a few people calling him Cupid. Quite interesting, that.”

Raphael tamped down the pang of jealousy he felt at Ophelia’s finding the chap interesting and waited for her to finish giving the servant instructions to take to the cook. Of course she’d want to know who was at her party. She always made sure to find out who the uninvited guests were before they left in case she should want to include them on the guest list of her next party.

“Now, where were we?” she asked, turning back to give Rafe one of her stunning smiles.

God, she was beautiful, he thought. White-blond hair, blue eyes, ivory skin, features so exquisite they dazzled all who gazed at her. That little dent she’d got high on her cheek when a horse had trampled her didn’t detract from her looks one tiny bit. He would have wished it did if it wouldn’t have upset her. No one
should be
this
beautiful. He did wish he didn’t still get jealous occasionally when he saw her talking to other men. He bloody well had no control of it when it snuck up on him, even when he
knew
he had no cause. But then no one had ever compared to her in beauty and probably never would.

“We were discussing your handsome uninvited guest,” he reminded her.

“Ah, yes. I did invite his friend the Honorable William Pace, because he’s got a sister having a come-out this year and I couldn’t remember her name. I thought he’d bring her, but I suppose she was otherwise engaged.”

“Pace, of course, now I remember him. Good chap. Lost both his parents recently. Don’t think I’ve met his sister, though. . . . Cupid, eh?” Glancing again at the pair across the room, Raphael rolled his eyes.
Exactly
how rumors and inaccurate gossip got started, when people didn’t know all the details of a subject and elaborated on their own. “That’s probably a rumor gone awry, since it would otherwise suggest he’s a matchmaker.”

Ophelia chuckled. “I quite agree. I’m sure only women dabble in that. But there must be something that’s making him a bit of a sensation for me to have heard the name Cupid at least three times before he even arrived, and quite a few more times after he appeared. But before I could ask why, I was asked about your father. Someone has recognized him, so everyone is curious now to know why he’s come out of hibernation, as it were.”

“For Mandy, of course. You’d think they’d draw that conclusion and let it go at that.”

She disagreed. “Not a’tall, when she’s had two Seasons without his chaperonage.”

They both glanced toward Amanda, but Raphael frowned, noticing the one chap in her group who hadn’t been there
earlier. “What the deuce is Exter doing here? That blighter is a known fortune hunter.”

“He’s staying with Lord and Lady Durrant. I didn’t know that until they arrived with him in tow. Besides, Mandy won’t be fooled by the likes of him. She may like to pretend otherwise, but she is a smart girl.”

“I love her to pieces, but you’re talking about
my
sister. She can be the veriest scatterbrain and—”

Ophelia poked his chest. “She’s nothing of the sort. She’s just easily excitable. Nothing wrong with that. I doubt she’ll have trouble a’tall figuring out which of her beaus are in love with her and which are in love with her father”—Ophelia paused long enough for Raphael to burst out laughing—“er, her father’s title.”

He put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “I know, I’m probably worrying for nothing.” He tapped his chest. “I just feel it here, Mandy’s unhappiness with the difficulty she’s been having. She shouldn’t
be
having such a hard time of it. Look at her, she’s adorable, she
is
a prime catch. What the deuce is taking these young men so long to win her?”

“Because none of them have been quite right for her, of course. Rotten timing has been the problem. You can’t force love. It just hasn’t happened for her yet. But there’s a new crop of gentlemen come to town this year. New choices, new chances. We can hope this year love will find her.”

They both ended up staring at the new arrival again, the tall, handsome one. Having seen him laugh with the young, engaged couple, Raphael didn’t think the man seemed quite as menacing as he had at first glance. And perhaps Raphael ought to be sociable and make his acquaintance to find out for himself if his first instinct had been accurate.

Ophelia was thinking something else entirely. Cupid? Only someone successful at matchmaking could earn a nickname like that, surely. Unless it was just a joke, which it could certainly be. No man would
want
to be likened to a cherub, would he? In either case, she ought to find out for sure.