Wallflower (Old Maids' Club, Book 1) (8 page)

He would have to try.

~ * ~

“
You’re half-cracked. Even
Bethie would agree.” Jo grasped Tabitha’s arm forcefully and pulled
her into one of the dimly lit alcoves along the foyer of the
Theatre Royal. “Lady Marianne Pratt is an absolute twit if ever
I’ve met one. Toby will
murder
you.”

Tabitha fought the urge to roll her
eyes heavenward. “She’s perfect for him. Young. Pretty. What’s not
to suit his fancy?”

“
Perhaps the fact that her
head holds more cobwebs than thoughts?”

“
Which, I thought we
agreed, ought to suit Toby flawlessly,” Tabitha replied. “He’s
never been the brightest, if you haven’t noticed. Besides, he cares
far more for how a lady will look draped over his arm than he does
for how stimulating her conversation might be. I rather think he
has
other
things
in mind than discussing Plato’s dialogues when he’s with a lady.”
Not that Tabitha would ever think to discuss such a thing with a
gentleman, herself, but that was hardly the point.

Jo’s eyes narrowed to slits. “I never
imagined I’d say this, but you are being too harsh on your brother,
Tabby. It’s ugly on you.”

Tabitha blanched. Too
harsh? Ugly? Was she truly so intent upon her own wishes that she
was not looking after the best for her brother? Finding him a bride
would do him good.
It would.
It was Toby and what was best for him that she
was thinking of, and not her own interests. Wasn’t it? She sniffed.
“I can’t help that he’s proven his nature time and
again.”

“
I thought this was all
about encouraging him to
change
his nature. Don’t you want him to marry so that
he’ll leave you alone? Why throw a nitwit in his path, one who will
bore even him to tears?”

“
Hmph.” Damn and blast,
for once in her life, couldn’t Jo refrain from making sense.
Tabitha crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. Perhaps it was
more of a pout than a frown. She couldn’t be wholly certain without
a glass to look into. “Well, do you have a better
suggestion?”

Jo peeked out from the
alcove and scanned the crush. Tonight would be a reprise
performance of
The School for
Scandal
. A frown settled on her face, but
for several long moments that was her only reaction. “What about,”
she murmured, “Miss Jennings? I’ll grant you she isn’t the most
loquacious chit to make her debut in recent Seasons, but after a
few years she could possibly be decent company for him. And, more
importantly, for us.”

Tabitha raised a brow and couldn’t
remove the droll tone from her voice, even though it made her sound
more like Owen than herself. “For us? I thought we were supposed to
be looking out for Toby.”

“
We are. But if we find a
solution that meets both his needs and ours...” The look in Jo’s
eyes as she took hold of Tabitha’s arm and pulled her out into the
foyer was more than simply dogged determination. It more nearly
bordered on ferocity. “Miss Jennings does.”

Two options lay before
Tabitha: one, she could dig in her feet and force Jo to drag her
along, thereby giving herself a few moments to determine the
cleverness of her cousin’s assertions—but also drawing the
attention of half the
ton
; or two, she could walk along at
Jo’s side in a manner befitting a lady of her station and ascertain
the rest after the fact. A raised eyebrow from Lord Leith the
moment the two ladies were out in the open made Tabitha’s mind up
for her.

She walked.

Granted, she was still seething under
the surface but no one need know that save Jo, and apparently Lord
Leith, since the earl had witnessed what must have been a rather
comical sight. He, at least, ought to have the decency never to
mention what he’d seen. The same, perhaps, could not be said of
Jo.

Tabitha ventured another brief glance
in his direction as she and Jo made their way through the throng.
Lord Leith had schooled his features into a vaguely polite smile;
he nodded in her direction. Then the scamp had the nerve to
wink.

She would definitely have to have a
discussion with him about his level of familiarity. He was behaving
as though he was one of her brothers—one of whom happened to be
standing alongside him.

At least she wouldn’t have to go off
searching for Toby.

There was little time to worry about
either Lord Leith or her brother at the present, however. Every few
steps, Tabitha and Jo were greeted by various and sundry members of
society, and she was obliged to greet them and trade a few
pleasantries. Finally, after working their way through countless
acquaintances (including Lady Kibblewhite and Lady
Plumridge—Tabitha quelled a series of convulsions at the feigned
enthusiasm with which the two gossipmongers greeted her), they
stood before Miss Jennings and her companions.

“
Lady Tabitha! And Miss
Faulkner. It is lovely to see you here this evening,” Miss Jennings
said. She took each of their gloved hands into her own in turn as
she spoke. “I’ve so been looking forward to tonight’s performance.
Lady Scantlebury went on and on about it at her ball, you
know.”

Tabitha took a moment to appraise the
debutante up close. A bit on the frail side—not overly surprising,
given the state of her contemporaries. Brown hair, big brown eyes,
and a white silk gown in the most current fashion. She should suit,
though a blonde would be better.

“
Yes, yes, I’m sure it
will be lovely,” Jo said and waved her hand through the air before
taking the girl’s arm into her own. “But tell me, Miss Jennings,
who is your seamstress? That gown is stunning, don’t you agree,
Tabby?” She looked over long enough for Tabitha to give an agreeing
nod. “Quite as enchanting as the one you wore a few evenings ago at
the Scantlebury ball. I simply must discover all your
secrets.”

Miss Jennings flushed prettily and
launched herself into conversation, needing no more encouragement
than Jo’s effusive flattery to loosen her tongue. Tabitha found it
difficult to pay attention. Far more of her focus was devoted to
watching Toby from across the foyer while devising a plan to bring
him into their circle.

At the moment, he was
surrounded by the usual suspects: Lord Leith; two of Jo’s brothers,
Christopher and Graham; and two other gentlemen whom Tabitha could
not quite make out due to the great distance and crush of bodies
separating them. She supposed she
could
just walk over to them and
step into their group. After all, the lion’s share of these men
were family. It wouldn’t be quite as unseemly in this situation as
it would if they were a group of gentlemen to whom she weren’t in
some way related.

Before Tabitha could make up her mind
one way or another, Miss Jennings’s voice pulled at her. “No, this
is all still quite lavish and unfamiliar to me. In all honesty, it
is on the whole rather uncomfortable. Father worked until his
cousin passed away. He was an innkeeper, actually.”

“
How intriguing,” Tabitha
said, leaning in. Her attention had been fully captured. “Did you
live in the inn as a child? I would have loved to grow up in an
inn. All those people coming and going all the time.” The thought
of sitting off in the corner of the main room and catching snippets
of their conversations threatened to distract her from the task at
hand.

“
No we lived in a cottage
nearby, though Mother and I were in and out often, helping in the
kitchens and the like.”

Jo looked Miss Jennings
over with fresh appreciation. “And you are unconcerned about how
the
ton
will look
upon you for coming from such humble beginnings? That is quite
brave.”

The younger woman smiled. “I cannot
change my past. Nor would I wish to do so. Why be ashamed of an
honest life?”

“
Why, indeed?” Tabitha
murmured. Miss Jennings was far from the simpering young miss that
Tabitha had initially assumed she must be. True, she was very
young. But at least she might not capitulate her senses at the
first instant Toby paid her any regard. Maybe Jo was onto something
promising with the girl.

That was it. Her mind was made up.
Tabitha would walk over to Toby, convince him to come and meet Miss
Jennings, and then sooner rather than later, she would have another
sister-in-law.

Tabitha was just beginning to excuse
herself for a moment in order to do that when yet again, Lord Leith
caught her eye. If she was not mistaken, the dratted earl had the
audacity to wink at her for the second time that evening. Tabitha
blinked to be sure she hadn’t imagined his uncouth display. When
she looked again, he was smiling like the devil himself...and he
was making his way toward her, with Toby at his side.

Well, perhaps he wasn’t altogether
horrid if he was at least bringing her twin along. She’d thank him
someday. Probably the same day she finally gave him a piece of her
mind over his familiarity with both Jo and herself. Her brothers
and cousins were having a decidedly ill-favored effect on
him.

As the two gentlemen arrived at
Tabitha’s side, she turned to her victim. “Miss Jennings, might I
introduce a good family friend, the Earl of Leith and my brother,
Mr. Tobias Shelton?”

Lord Leith dropped into a perfunctory
bow. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”

Toby took a bit longer about it, but
finally did as he ought. “My apologies, Miss Jennings. I’m afraid I
must already be dashing away,” he said almost as soon as he rose
again to his full height. “I only stopped here to inform my sister
and cousin that Lord Leith has offered to escort them home after
the performance tonight. An urgent situation has arisen, which my
business associate has only now informed me of.”

Urgent situation?
Business
associate? The
only business Tabitha knew of that Toby could be involved with was
placing bets in the books at White’s. Blast the oily weasel, he was
going to ruin her plans! If she didn’t know better, she might think
he was aware of her intentions for his downfall.

There was no time to confront him,
however. Almost as soon as he arrived, Toby made his
escape.

Jo smiled at Lord Leith. If she felt
any of Tabitha’s misgivings about Toby’s behavior, she hid it well.
“That is very kind of you, my lord.”

Kind, indeed. Tabitha half-suspected
the earl of a hidden agenda.

Her half-suspicion turned into full
suspicion a mere moment later, when Lord Leith smiled back at Jo,
then turned to Tabitha and Miss Jennings. “I do apologize, ladies,
but might I trouble you for a moment, Miss Faulkner? There is
something I must discuss with you. It truly cannot
wait.”

Jo didn’t hesitate even for a moment.
“Of course,” she said with a brisk nod. She placed her hand on his
arm and they were gone before Tabitha could decipher what had just
happened.

She’d thought she was going to
introduce Miss Jennings to her brother and have them pair off for
the evening. She’d thought Jo would remain at her side and help her
determine the best ways of going about it. But Toby had run off,
and Lord Leith had absconded with Jo, and now Tabitha was all alone
with the debutante.

“
Your family is quite
affable, Lady Tabitha,” Miss Jennings said moments later. “And
rather large, it would seem. I believe I met your other brother and
his wife last night. Lord and Lady Raynesford? Lord Devonport was
kind enough to make our introductions at Lady Kirkaldy’s
musicale.”

Tabitha flinched and tried to hide it.
“Lord Devonport? I didn’t realize he would be there.” Not that it
should matter. Lord Devonport’s social engagements ought to have no
bearing on Tabitha’s demeanor, yet for some reason, she felt
affronted that he’d not mentioned his plans.

It irked her to no end that the mere
mention of his name coming from this young slip of a thing’s lips
would rankle so. The idea that she had a reaction at all was even
more of an effrontery than the reaction itself. Lord Devonport owed
her no explanations. He owed her nothing at all.

Miss Jennings smiled wistfully. “Yes,
he was there. In fact, he sat with my mother and me for about half
of the performance. I do believe he might call upon me sometime
soon.” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “I certainly
hope I’m right about that. He’s quite handsome, wouldn’t you
agree?”

“
Yes, of course,” Tabitha
spluttered. Too handsome by half. Devilishly so. So handsome, it
oughtn’t to be a surprise to her that he might pay court to a
lovely young debutante such as the one standing before her. They
would make a handsome couple—certainly more handsome than Lord
Devonport would look alongside Tabitha. Not that he ever would be.
She ought to be pleased for him. For them both.

But then why did she suddenly wish
Miss Jennings’s perfect English-rose complexion would break out in
a pox? She tried to force such thoughts from her mind. “I’m sure
he’ll call on you tomorrow. The next day at the very latest.” He
certainly wouldn’t be calling on Tabitha any time soon. Perhaps
he’d pay a visit to Owen and Elaine, or visit with little Lily, or
maybe even Toby. But not Tabitha.