All for You by Lynn Kurland Page A

drying out.”
    “Perhaps,” Stephen said with a shrug. He had the distinct feeling he would be doing Peaches no favors by directing any of Irene’s attention her way. She would garner enough of it, he imagined, if she found herself in David’s company too often. “Lovely buffet you have here.”
    “Supper arrangements were changed without my knowledge,” Irene said, “which unfortunately leaves you unable to enjoy my company at table. Perhaps tomorrow things will turn out differently.”
    He inclined his head. “It would be my pleasure to discuss the upcoming delights your brother has planned for the weekend with you first thing tomorrow over kippers and toast.”
    She only lifted a pale eyebrow before she turned and walked away. He didn’t dare speculate on who had caught her attention, but he suspected it was Kenneworth’s head butler, who was currently overseeing the buffet. Stephen hoped for his sake that he hadn’t been the one to decide against a sit-down affair.
    For himself, he was merely relieved to catch the eye of a passing servant and hand off his untouched plate. Four landmines in the room, and he’d only managed to avoid the worst of the lot—
    “I’ll keep you safe, if you like.”
    Stephen was certain he’d jumped, but perhaps he’d managed to hide his surprise better than he’d hoped. He looked next to him to find Andrea Preston standing there.
    He stretched himself to come up with the connections that would have allowed Andrea to find herself running in Irene’slofty social circle without supervision, but apart from her being Irene’s cousin, the best he could do was her being the youngest daughter of a very minor baron, the seventh, he thought, of some obscure village that consisted of a petrol station, a church turned into leisure center, and a cluster of very old row houses that abutted some extremely worn and poached fragments of an equally obscure and minor border keep.
    Or something like that.
    He had encountered her several times over the past handful of years, found her to be a polite and undemanding table companion, and rather more sensible than he would have supposed considering the friends she kept. He smiled politely.
    “Do I need to be kept safe?” he asked.
    She laughed lightly. “Oh, I think so. I’ve been watching the room.”
    “And how have you found the view?”
    “Very nice,” she said, “but I’m not the stag being hunted by every woman who possesses a pulse. And just so you don’t worry, I don’t include myself in that company.”
    “I believe I should be offended.”
    “Oh, no, you shouldn’t,” she said cheerfully. “You’re too lofty for me.”
    Stephen smiled ruefully. “Oh, it’s all rubbish, isn’t it? But I’m sure you know that already.”
    She only shrugged and smiled before she turned with him to watch for any untoward stampedes. He found himself thinking kindly of her simply because she had been kind to Peaches.
    It also might be useful to have another pair of eyes on the field of intrigue, especially a pair of eyes that wasn’t looking his way. He leaned back against the wall and scanned the group of very well-dressed partygoers.
    “Oh, my,” Andrea breathed. “Oh, dear.”
    Stephen followed the general direction of her gaze, then closed his eyes briefly at the sight of the new addition to the room.
    It was Peaches, looking rather worse for wear.
    He wasn’t sure where she had unearthed her clothes from, or why there hadn’t been an iron to be found, but all signs pointed to an outfit that should have been consigned to the nearest rubbish bin.
    He was rather disgusted with himself that his first thought was that she hadn’t a clue how to dress properly for a social function. He attempted to redeem himself by latching on to his second thought, which was there had never been a woman more in need of a rescue. And given that no one else in the room was doing anything more than simply looking at her, he was obviously the one to