Mr. Malcolm's List (9 page)

“Why did
you come to
London
,
Miss Dalton?” he asked her.

She looked
a little startled at the sudden question, and there was a slight pause as she
thought it over.
 
“Because I was lonely,”
she finally said.

“That’s
interesting,” Malcolm said, and Selina looked over at him. “I was lonely before
you came to
London
,
also.”

Selina
smiled in response and Malcolm felt as if the sun had finally come out,
although it was still as cloudy as ever.

“I am
having a house party at my estate in
Kent
,
and I would be pleased if you would come,” Malcolm said.

“I am
honored by the invitation, but I am a guest of the Thistlewaites—”

“Oh, I
will invite them as well.
 
And Cassie, of
course.”

“And Mr.
Ossory?”

“If you
would like,” Malcolm said, a little displeased that she thought of him so
quickly.
 
“My mother is coming to act as
hostess.
 
I thought perhaps your parents
may like to come as well.”

“Thank
you.
 
I shall write and ask them,” Selina
said.

“If you
give me their direction I would be pleased to send an invitation.”

Selina
supplied the information, although she was a little ambivalent about the house
party.
 
Her parents would be sure to
think she was on the verge of matrimony were they to receive an invitation to
the house party of a man they had never met.
 
Things were moving very fast, and Selina was afraid the climax was going
to come just as swiftly.
 
And while she
was involved in this stupid scheme of Julia’s, she was worried that the ending
would not be a happy one.

The rest
of the drive passed a little more amicably than it had at the beginning, and
Selina began to forget her former annoyance with Mr. Malcolm and feel a return
of her previous feelings for him.
 
She
sincerely enjoyed his company.
 
And when
he reached up and grabbed her by the waist to help her down from the curricle,
she realized again the force of her physical attraction to him.
 
She felt a nervous excitement around him that
she had never before felt in her twenty-two years.

But then
something occurred that brought a return of Selina’s previous ambivalence. When
Malcolm finally released her and she turned to walk toward the house, she
discovered that her dress had somehow found its way under his foot.
 
There was a loud ripping sound and Selina
looked in dismay at the torn ruffle at the bottom of her dress.

Malcolm
immediately apologized and when Selina looked up at him to assure him it was
all right, she began to wonder if he had planned the entire incident.
 
He did not look surprised or sorry, but
rather was looking at her in a quizzical manner, as if judging her reaction.

Is this
another of his stupid tests?
Selina
thought to herself, as she continued on to the house while assuring him once
again that it was nothing.

“I am
sorry to be so clumsy, but I am relieved to see you have forgiven me so
readily,” Malcolm told her.

“Oh, I am
not one to hold a grudge, particularly over such a small matter as a torn
ruffle,” Selina said, and when Malcolm broke into a huge smile, she realized
that once again she had passed one of the criteria on that blasted list.

Eight

Malcolm
went with Selina into the drawing room and extended an invitation to his house
party to Julia and Mrs. Thistlewaite before taking his leave.
 
Julia was pleased to hear about the house
party, particularly when she found out Mr. Ossory was going to be in attendance
as well.

“You will
be quite impressed with Hadley Hall, Selina,” Julia said.
 
“It was built around a hundred years ago in
the Palladian style and has an immense entrance hall which is considered one of
the finest classical rooms in all of
England
.”

“It
sounds quite impressive.
 
Have you ever
been there?”

“No, I
have not; I have only read about it.
 
However, I have always longed to see it.
 
Now I shall have the opportunity.”

Julia did
not seem to feel any twinges of guilt about accepting hospitality from a man
upon whom she was scheming to avenge herself.
 
Selina could only reflect that it must be convenient to have such an
easy conscience.
 
She herself looked upon
the visit with a sense of dread.

But she
could not deny she felt a certain curiosity, as well.
 
She would meet Malcolm’s mother and see his
estate.
 
In such a setting they were
bound to spend more time together than they had enjoyed together in
London
.
 
She would finally be able to discover if
Malcolm was the arrogant scoundrel Julia insisted he was, and he sometimes gave
evidence of being, or if he was the man of her dreams, which she often thought
he was as well.

Selina
wondered if she would have felt differently about Malcolm if she had not known
about the list.
 
She had to admit to
herself that she would.
 
If one was
unaware one was being measured like a pair of shoes, it would not have been so
disconcerting.
 
After all, Selina was
matching Malcolm to a set of criteria, although not as overtly.
 
She, too, had qualifications she desired her
future husband to meet.
 
That was not
arrogant, it was practical.
 

And so
far Malcolm had exceeded all of Selina’s requirements but one:
 
she required humility in a husband.

Julia
told Selina there was one last ball she wanted them to attend before leaving
town.
 
“Normally I would not care to go,
as it is given by Lady Cynthia Sommers, who everyone knows is becoming
desperate in her efforts to find a husband, but I asked Mr. Malcolm if he would
be there and he said he would, and so we should go as well.”

“And will
Mr. Ossory be there?” Selina asked.

“I
believed he mentioned he would be.
 
What
a bother that man has become.
 
I will
have to distract him once again or he’ll be sure to monopolize your time.”

“I
appreciate your efforts in my behalf,” Selina said.
 
Julia, who either did not recognize the
sarcasm in Selina’s tone or refused to acknowledge it, just replied that it was
nothing.

Selina
was not disappointed to have to attend one last ball.
 
She enjoyed dancing very much, and the balls
she had attended upon her arrival in town put the small assemblies in her home
town to shame.
 
The assembly rooms in
Bath
were very beautiful, but it was not Mrs. Ossory’s habit to attend so Selina had
only been once.
 
Julia told Selina that
there was a ball every night in
London
during the season, and it was the custom to take in two or three entertainments
in one evening, so Julia found the current entertainments paltry in
comparison.
 
But Selina was unused to
such a pleasure-seeking lifestyle, and was glad she hadn’t arrived at the
height of the season.
 
She could look
forward to each ball with excitement, rather than ennui.

She was
definitely looking forward to tonight’s ball.
 
But she had to admit that if Mr. Malcolm was not attending she would not
be feeling such anticipation.

Their
party was greeted by Lady Cynthia and her parents, and Selina wondered why the
lady was so desperate to make a match when she was so very beautiful.
 
But the lady’s beauty was marred to some
extent by her haughty expression, and Selina thought it was perhaps her
character that ruined her chances.
 
The
only person in the group Lady Cynthia smiled at was Cassie, who blushed and
ducked his head.
 
Selina realized Julia
had spoken no more than the truth:
 
None
but the most desperate of women would smile at Cassie so seductively.

Selina
had just entered the ball room when she was approached by Mr. Malcolm.
 
She realized he had been waiting for her to
arrive, and she was thrilled by the evidence of his regard.
 
She felt more and more like she could let
down the careful guard she had placed over her heart and give it into his
keeping.
 
It certainly appeared as if he
genuinely liked her.
 
Particularly when
he looked at her as he did now.

“Good
evening, Miss Dalton,” he said, bowing low over her hand.

“Mr.
Malcolm,” she replied, dropping a curtsey.

“May I
have this dance?”

“I would
be delighted.”

Selina
was not as delighted when she realized it was a Quadrille that was being
formed; she had been hoping for a waltz.
 
Still, she enjoyed dancing, particularly with Mr. Malcolm, and greeted
Julia and Cassie with a smile when they joined their set.
 
Another couple joined whom Selina was not
familiar with, and then Lady Cynthia arrived with a rather unkempt, middle-aged
gentleman.
 
Selina was a little dismayed
that she would be forced to clasp hands with him.

But when
the music started, she forgot all about Lady Cynthia and her partner.
 
She found this Quadrille different from any
she’d ever danced.
 
Malcolm followed the
steps of the dance perfectly, but it was clear that his attention was primarily
for Selina.
 
It suddenly seemed an
elaborate game of cat-and-mouse, being whisked away from Malcolm only to be
returned to him again, the grip of his hand warm and steady, his gaze only
leaving hers when the steps of the dance separated them.
 
Selina found herself smiling with pure
joy.
 
She failed to notice Lady Cynthia’s
darkening countenance.

When the
dance ended Malcolm led her from the floor.
 
He said very little, merely promenading with her around the perimeter of
the ball room.
 
He finally led her to a
chair that was half-hidden by a pillar.
 
“Please wait here,” he said.
 
“I
am going to get you something to drink.
 
I should probably return you to Mrs. Thistlewaite, but I think I am
going to act selfishly and keep you all to myself for a little while.”

“I must
be selfish as well, because I can find no fault with your plan,” Selina
said.
 
Malcolm smiled, raised her hand to
his lips, and left.

Selina
stared dreamily into space, letting the sounds of music and conversation waft
over her, until the mention of Malcolm’s name and then her own made her sit up
in startled attention.

“What
think you of Mr. Malcolm’s attentions to Miss Dalton?” a man’s voice asked,
although Selina missed the first part of his question.
 
She did not miss the very haughty “harrumph”
from the person so addressed.

“You must
be joking.
 
Mr. Malcolm and Miss Dalton?”
There was a delighted trill of laughter.
 
Selina looked around the pillar and noticed with some surprise that the
speakers were barely ten feet in front of her.
 
They were Lord Sylvester Mountjoy and Lady Cynthia Sommers.
 
“She’s a complete nonentity,” Lady Cynthia
continued.
 
“Her father is a country
vicar.
 
Everyone knows how fastidious
Malcolm is.
 
He is obviously trifling
with her for his own amusement.”

“Methinks
the lady doth protest too much,” Lord Sylvester said, but Selina could no
longer see him.
 
She had retreated again
behind the pillar, all of a sudden overcome with embarrassment at the thought
they might see her.
 

She did
not know why she should be embarrassed for them to know she’d overheard their
comments; if she had any spirit at all she would stand up and confront them,
but she worried that what Lady Cynthia said was all too true.
 
And though she might wish to believe Malcolm
was enamored of her, how could she know the true state of his affections?
 

“Selina.”

Selina
looked up, startled, to see Malcolm standing above her, a glass of punch in his
hand.
 
She wondered how much, if
anything, he’d overheard.
 
Surely he’d
just arrived?
 
And Lady Cynthia and Lord
Sylvester were not speaking that loudly.
 
Perhaps he’d heard nothing.

“Mr.
Malcolm.
 
Thank you for fetching the
punch.
 
I find myself quite thirsty after
that lively dance,” Selina said, waving herself furiously with her hand before
reaching out for the punch.
 
She was
shocked when Malcolm set it on the floor and grabbed her hands, kneeling before
her.

“Selina,
please do not be dismayed by what you just heard.”

“I’m sure
I don’t know what you mean,” Selina said, unable to meet Malcolm’s eyes and
attempting to withdraw her hands from his grasp.

“Do not
bother to pretend.
 
I heard Lady Cynthia
saying that I was merely trifling with you and if I heard it, you must have
heard it as well.
 
It is not true,
Selina.”

“Isn’t
it?” Selina asked, giving up on her attempts to free her hands and meeting
Malcolm’s gaze.
 
He did not look away.

“No, it
is not.
 
I know that I have such a
reputation, we have even discussed it before, but you have nothing to fear from
me.
 
I value your esteem too much to risk
losing it.
 
In fact, I wonder if it is
not I who should be afraid.”

“Nonsense.
 
What do you have to fear?” Selina whispered.

“It
scares me that with the mere touch of your pretty hand,” he stopped and raised
said hand to his lips, “my heart goes into strong convulsions.”
 
He pressed her hand against his chest, but
Selina’s own heart was beating so rapidly she could not tell if the staccato thumping
she felt was his or her own.
 
“Such a
thing cannot be healthy, do you think?” Malcolm asked her.
 
Selina could only shake her head.
 
“But even more terrifying is the thought that
as suddenly as you appeared in the library that night, you could
disappear.
 
That I could wake up one
morning to find that you were ‘A lovely apparition sent to be a moment’s
ornament.’
 
For you seem too perfect to
be real.”

“You
worry needlessly, sir.
 
I am far from
perfect, and only too real.”

“Perhaps
I should feel the beat of your heart, so I can be sure of that,” Malcolm said,
reaching out a hand toward her chest.

“Mr.
Malcolm!” Selina exclaimed, drawing back from his hand.
 
Then she saw the laughter in his eyes.

“It
seemed a fair exchange,” he said.

“You will
just have to take my word for it,” Selina said, trying to refrain from smiling.

“Hmmm. I
suppose I will.
 
For now, anyway,”
Malcolm said, rising from his kneeling position and holding out his arm to
her.
 
Selina rose from her seat, too
flustered to think of a response.

Hadley
Hall was less than a day’s drive from
London
,
in the Kentish Wealds.
 
It was not far
from the
Sussex
border, so it would also be a convenient drive for Selina’s parents.
 
Selina could feel her stomach knotting in
anticipation as the carriage turned into the long drive that led to Hadley
Hall.
 

Mrs.
Thistlewaite had fallen asleep, which in Selina’s opinion was a very good
thing.
 
She had fretted for the first few
hours of the trip, convinced that she had left something behind but unsure
exactly what.
 
Julia and Selina had formed
a tacit agreement not to wake her, and so the last portion of the trip was
spent in silence.
 
Selina herself was too
nervous to fall asleep, and as the carriage approached the hall, she stared out
the window in fascination.