Wallflower (Old Maids' Club, Book 1) (6 page)

“
Why not?”

“
Why should I trust you
won’t think me to be involved in his plans?”

“
Stop answering my
questions with questions.”

A practiced, naturally charming smile
worked its way into every corner of his features. A smile meant to
melt a lady into submission. “I believe you started us on this
course, if I’m not mistaken.”

Tabitha would not be melted into
submission, not by Lord Devonport or any man. She pierced him with
her frostiest glare. “You are in on it. You’re here, dancing with
me, because Toby sent you.” Lord Devonport did not deny her
accusation. He just looked at her with those same blazing, blue
eyes, but they were now filled with something she could not quite
decipher. What an utter fool she’d been, to allow herself to think
for even a moment that any man would admire her. “I am not feeling
well. Excuse me.” She removed herself from his grasp, turned on her
heel, and fled from the ballroom, not stopping until she reached
the ladies’ retiring room.

She silently cursed Toby for being
Toby, cursed Owen for not stopping Toby from being Toby, cursed Jo
for deserting her when she needed her most, cursed Lord Oglethorpe
for having her in a state to begin with, cursed Lord Devonport for
the prickles still running over her entire body, and cursed herself
for being an absolute ninny.

And blast it all, she hadn’t found an
unsuspecting debutante to toss into Toby’s path yet.

~ * ~

Noah watched the backside of Lady
Tabitha—a bit more thoroughly than he ought to have done—as she
scurried out of his presence. What on earth had just happened? It
was crazy enough that he’d gone along with Shelton’s suggestion to
pursue her. After all, something had to be afoot, something he was
unaware of, if both brothers were encouraging him in this manner,
particularly when they knew she would despise it. But for her to
respond favorably to his attentions at first, and then become as
warm as a colossal block of ice? What had he missed in that
conversation? What oughtn’t he to have done?

The sudden change in her deportment
hadn’t been some figment of his imagination, either. It had
happened as surely as she had feigned illness in order to escape.
Noah had been surrounded by women his entire life. He would never
be so brash or foolish as to claim to completely understand them,
but he came a lot closer to doing so than the vast majority of his
contemporaries.

Noah wasn’t certain how long he stood
alone in the middle of the ballroom floor, but he suddenly realized
the other dancers were clearing off and turning to face the dais,
with a few of them left staring at him. What a dolt he must look,
having been abandoned by his partner in the midst of the
waltz.

Claremont and Leith stood off to the
side of the ballroom, gesturing frantically to him. As he made his
way across the floor to stand beside them, Noah became vaguely
aware that his mother and Glastonbury were standing with Lord
Scantlebury on the platform, looking fit to burst with their news.
In all that had happened since his arrival this evening, he’d
nearly forgotten their intention to announce their betrothal
tonight.

Scantlebury held up his hands and
started to speak, and the hubbub dulled to the level of a kitten’s
mewl. Noah couldn’t hear what their host was saying, however, due
to Claremont’s insistent chatter in his ear.

“
What in God’s name just
happened out there? Did you insult my cousin?”

“
Of course I didn’t.” At
least he didn’t think he had. Dash it all, what if he had somehow
inadvertently affronted her? Raynesford would never let him hear
the end of it. Shelton would likely do something far more
impetuous, not to mention far more injurious to Noah’s
person.

“
Then why did Lady Tabitha
leave you out there?” Leith pressed him.

“
You’ve done something to
upset her as sure as I’m standing here,” Claremont said. “She
looked close to tears.”

Close to tears? He’d made her cry. He
was a cad, through and through. He should be horsewhipped.
Gentlemen who left ladies in tears were no gentlemen at all. Still,
now was not the time for this discussion. “Do keep your voices
down. I’m trying to hear what they’re saying. We’ll discuss this
later.”

Leith gave a halfhearted chuckle. “You
know good and well what they’re saying. They’re just announcing the
betrothal. You’re her son, for Christ’s sake. Surely you already
knew that.”

Of course he already knew, but
listening to their declaration would at least buy Noah some time to
figure out what had gone wrong when he danced with Lady Tabitha.
“How did you two know? They’re only revealing it now.”

Claremont’s ambiguous expression
greeted him. “Glastonbury has been chasing after your mother for
nearly a year, and she hasn’t exactly been discouraging his
attentions, now has she? I doubt more than a dozen people present
aren’t already fully aware that they intend to marry. Stop avoiding
the issue at hand. What did you do to Tabitha?”

By Jove, these Shelton men were next
to impossible to put off the hunt when they smelled blood. By this
point, Glastonbury’s announcement had been made and the crowd had
burst into clamorous cheers. There was no more point in attempting
to listen. No more point in attempting to avoid Claremont and
Leith’s questions.

Noah dragged a hand through his hair,
more than likely mussing it beyond repair. “I don’t know. I don’t
have any idea what happened. She was smiling and enjoying herself
with me one minute, talking and laughing and the like, and then the
next she wasn’t. Then she left. You two seem to know more about
what happened after she left me than I do. I only know she walked
away.” Crying. Good God, he ought to be hanged.

“
You have to fix it,”
Claremont insisted. “Whatever you did, you need to undo. I hope for
your sake Owen and Toby didn’t notice the way she darted
away.”

“
No, that wouldn’t do at
all,” Leith said. “But I think Raynesford was in the card room. No
telling where Shelton got off to. He probably found a lusty widow
to entertain. Either way, you have time to make amends before they
discover what you’ve done.”

This was utterly maddening. “How can
they discover what I’ve done if even I don’t know what I’ve done?”
Claremont and Leith merely looked at him with a combination of pity
and annoyance.

Noah sighed. “This whole affair was an
absolute fiasco. I can’t believe I agreed to go along with it in
the first place.” Particularly since he actually felt more than
just a modicum of affection for the lady in question. He had
disappointed himself more than anyone else. “I think it will be
best if I look elsewhere. Lady Tabitha seems disinclined to play
along.”

Crossing his arms over his chest,
Claremont frowned. “Fiasco or not, you’ll still have to sort it
out. Don’t give up on Tabitha just yet.”

“
But,” Leith started,
eyeing his long-time friend askance, “perhaps it would not hurt for
Devonport to see what other offerings the marriage mart has to
offer. Why don’t you and I join him tomorrow at the musicale? We
can help steer him in the direction of young misses who could suit
his needs. You can bring Helen along. She and Elaine would enjoy
that, at least.”

Pinching half his lips into a frown,
Claremont eventually nodded. “Leith and I will leave you to it.
Looks like you’ve got a crush waiting to offer their
congratulations and well wishes for your mother’s engagement. We’ll
see you tomorrow at Lady Kirkaldy’s event.”

They turned and left. Within moments,
a sea of gentlemen swarmed Noah, shaking his hand and clapping him
on the back. No means of escape were left open to him.

~ * ~

The door to the ladies’ retiring room
opened and slammed shut. Tabitha winced from the fresh pang that
assaulted her head.

“
What on earth do you mean
by leaving Devonport in the middle of the ballroom and rushing off
to hide in here?” Jo’s voice continued to pound in Tabitha’s head
long after her words had ceased.

“
I wasn’t feeling well,”
Tabitha replied, holding a hand over her eyes to block out the
pain. In all honesty, she did have a headache now, even if she
hadn’t when she’d taken flight to escape Lord Devonport’s presence.
If it hadn’t been fully formed when she’d left him, the interim
thirty minutes or so of analyzing every aspect of their interaction
had completed the job.

“
What an utter fib.” How
could Jo always see straight through her? Highly irritating, that.
“Tell me what really happened. And don’t you dare try to mince your
words. I’ll know. It will save us both a lot of trouble if you’ll
just be out with it straight from the beginning.”

Tabitha glanced around, making certain
no one else could overhear, even though she’d been in the exact
same spot for long enough to already know they were absolutely
alone. Perhaps she was just trying to stall—to avoid having to
answer her cousin. If she could put off telling Jo, then maybe she
could put off admitting it all to herself.

But then Jo scowled and planted her
hands on her hips in a perfect imitation of Tabitha’s late mother.
“Tabitha Eleanor Shelton, you answer me right this minute. What
happened out there?”

“
I don’t know! I don’t
have the first iota of an inkling what happened.” Which, truth be
told, was all the more perplexing. “Lord Devonport asked me to
dance, and he never asks me to dance. I thought he refrained
because he knows I don’t like it. But tonight he asked me, and then
we were dancing and talking, and he was smiling at me with those
devilishly handsome eyes, and I was tingling from the tips of my
ears to the soles of my feet. I could have sworn he was flirting
with me, but we both know
that
isn’t possible, because why on earth would a
gentleman like Lord Devonport possibly flirt with a stout old maid
like me? But even still, I think I
wanted
him to be flirting with me,
which is perhaps even more ridiculous a thought since it couldn’t
possibly ever happen. And then I realized how irrational I was
being, and I knew he had to be going along with whatever Toby was
planning, and that was that. I wasn’t going to play along with his
games any more, and I left.”

Finally Tabitha took a breath. Hot,
salty tear tracks were coursing down her cheeks. Good God, why was
she crying? She hastily brushed them away and looked up at Jo,
whose expression, for once, was indiscernible.

“
You have feelings for
him,” her cousin murmured.

“
Well of
course
I have feelings
for him,” Tabitha said. “He’s practically family. He’s Elaine’s
brother, and he’s been spending his holidays with us for five
years. He’s almost like a brother. Which makes me even more a ninny
than I already was.”

“
No,” Jo said, unruffled.
“You misunderstand me. Perhaps purposefully.” Her eyes narrowed a
bit, but she pressed on. “You have an affection for him that isn’t
like a brotherly affection. Maybe even a bit of a
tendre
?”

“
Don’t be absurd.” Tabitha
sniffed. She couldn’t possibly have
those
sorts of feelings for Lord
Devonport, could she? “And even if I do, he certainly doesn’t
return them. And even if he did, I could never act on them. Old
Maids’ Club. Remember? I have no intention of breaking our pact.
Not now. Not ever.”

Not even if it broke her heart to do
so.

Jo eyed her discerningly as she sat
down on the settee beside her. She took Tabitha’s hand in her own
and squeezed. “Yes.” Then she lifted their joined hands and kissed
the back of Tabitha’s as a single, wet stream trailed its way down
her cheek. “I remember. How very well I remember.”

Chapter Four

Raynesford and Elaine arrived at
deLancie house the following evening to collect Noah and his
mother. Mother had announced her plans to meet Glastonbury there
before Noah took her home after the Scantlebury soiree last night.
Noah, Leith, and Claremont had informed Raynesford of their
intentions to attend as well. Raynesford had kindly offered the use
of his carriage. Claremont and Leith would meet them
there.

Raynesford had also informed Noah
that, after rushing away from him at the Scantlebury ball, Lady
Tabitha had sent Miss Faulkner to fetch him. Nearly an hour had
passed by that time, which made Noah feel more like a scoundrel
than ever. She claimed to be suffering from a megrim to the point
of incapacitation, and she had insisted upon going home at
once.

Based on her claims, Raynesford and
Shelton seemed to believe whatever had happened hadn’t been Noah’s
fault. Fortune had seen fit to smile down upon him, at least in
that instance.

And, as luck would have it (at least
as far as Noah was concerned), the ailment seemed to still have
Lady Tabitha in its grips. Meaning she would not also be
accompanying them that evening. He wasn’t sure he was ready to see
her again, especially since he had caused her such distress without
knowing how he’d done it.

A night without her company would
allow him to search out some of his other options. He’d heard a
rumor that the young Miss Jennings would be present at the
musicale. If fortune truly wanted to favor him, perhaps he would
discover another heiress or two while he was there, with Claremont
and Leith’s help, of course. They seemed to be more in the know
when it came to which young ladies might have a settlement coming
into her marriage than Noah was.