stickpin, sitting beside Peter, waved his hand lazily. "The old Judas will never die. Last I heard, he was swearing to leave everything but the entailment to some young niece. Beecham's out courting her right now. She's a Friday-faced female if ever I saw one, not even been presented yet."
"The last lot of lovelies seem sadly lacking compared to those when we first came down, don't they, Harrison? They're all so demmed ... green, somehow," Peter completed his sentence weakly.
General laughter ensued at this assessment, but it gave Jack an opening to the topic closest to his well-concealed heart. "And the Incomparables of all these years past? Where are they now? What of our number have shackled their legs for beauty?"
This regenerated the conversation as they sought to remember the reigning toasts of other years and who had carried them away into marital bliss or discord as the case might be.
Peter summed it up best after a fevered discussion. "They're all married and surrounded by whining brats is what they're doing. Seems a demmed shame to waste all that loveliness."
The gentleman with the stickpin shook his head in disagreement. "Not all. The Tremayne wench married some ancient baronet with a pot of gold, who popped off a few months later. She's sitting in splendor over on St. James's now, entertaining lavishly. I hear Bulfinch has been dipping his pen there."
Peter brightened at a renewed memory. "And the Thorogood eldest, what was her name, Jack? You used to be smitten with her. She's leading her young sister around this Season. She ain't never been wed that I know of. I'm surprised she ain't wearing caps by now, though she's still a lovely lass."
Before Jack could respond or even untie his tongue and allow his heart to drop from his throat after the shock of this news, Harrison made a deprecating gesture. "Hampton has her claimed. She's a smart one. She hung around for a title to remove the stench of trade. Wait and see, she'll have that brood of her father's married off to the cream of the crop as they come along. Watch your legs, men, they'll be in her trap before you know you're caught."
Jack peeled his fingers from the arm of the chair and reached for his glass. "George still unwed? He's older than any of us. How did the little Thorogood snare him?"
"He ain't snared yet. There's been no announcement. I wager it waits on his mama's approval, but if he don't come up to snuff soon, the chit will have her comeuppance. The ladies are raising eyebrows at his marked attentions without a ring on her finger. I daresay that devilish father will force the matter soon enough. Hampton was a fool to dabble in those waters. Thorogood's a shark."
Jack heard the stem of the glass crack beneath the pressure of his fingers. Forcing himself to relax and look bored, he rose and prepared to depart. "Maybe someone ought to warn Hampton what he's getting into. Good night, gentlemen. It's been entertaining, but there's a certain little lady who's expecting me."
He walked off and was gone before they realized he had never explained what he'd been doing these past years.
* * * *
"No, don't add the gold pins, Blanche! They are very lovely, but you will have to save them until you're older. The pearls will do fine. You will be prettier than any other girl there."
"Fustian!" Blanche glared in the mirror at her reflection. "I shall look a simpering idiot like all the rest. Why can I not wear cloth of gold like yours? You look like an angel just down from heaven. I look like a frumpy mushroom."
Carolyn smiled at her sister's nervous starts. Admittedly, virginal white tended to be tedious, but the extravagant gauze and lace of Blanche's ball gown were not exactly the common touch, and the lavender sash and embroidery enhanced her slender charms daringly enough. She would be a sensation, as usual, but she would not be persuaded.
"I don't have wings and you're not edible. You already have more suitors than you need. I don't know what
"The last lot of lovelies seem sadly lacking compared to those when we first came down, don't they, Harrison? They're all so demmed ... green, somehow," Peter completed his sentence weakly.
General laughter ensued at this assessment, but it gave Jack an opening to the topic closest to his well-concealed heart. "And the Incomparables of all these years past? Where are they now? What of our number have shackled their legs for beauty?"
This regenerated the conversation as they sought to remember the reigning toasts of other years and who had carried them away into marital bliss or discord as the case might be.
Peter summed it up best after a fevered discussion. "They're all married and surrounded by whining brats is what they're doing. Seems a demmed shame to waste all that loveliness."
The gentleman with the stickpin shook his head in disagreement. "Not all. The Tremayne wench married some ancient baronet with a pot of gold, who popped off a few months later. She's sitting in splendor over on St. James's now, entertaining lavishly. I hear Bulfinch has been dipping his pen there."
Peter brightened at a renewed memory. "And the Thorogood eldest, what was her name, Jack? You used to be smitten with her. She's leading her young sister around this Season. She ain't never been wed that I know of. I'm surprised she ain't wearing caps by now, though she's still a lovely lass."
Before Jack could respond or even untie his tongue and allow his heart to drop from his throat after the shock of this news, Harrison made a deprecating gesture. "Hampton has her claimed. She's a smart one. She hung around for a title to remove the stench of trade. Wait and see, she'll have that brood of her father's married off to the cream of the crop as they come along. Watch your legs, men, they'll be in her trap before you know you're caught."
Jack peeled his fingers from the arm of the chair and reached for his glass. "George still unwed? He's older than any of us. How did the little Thorogood snare him?"
"He ain't snared yet. There's been no announcement. I wager it waits on his mama's approval, but if he don't come up to snuff soon, the chit will have her comeuppance. The ladies are raising eyebrows at his marked attentions without a ring on her finger. I daresay that devilish father will force the matter soon enough. Hampton was a fool to dabble in those waters. Thorogood's a shark."
Jack heard the stem of the glass crack beneath the pressure of his fingers. Forcing himself to relax and look bored, he rose and prepared to depart. "Maybe someone ought to warn Hampton what he's getting into. Good night, gentlemen. It's been entertaining, but there's a certain little lady who's expecting me."
He walked off and was gone before they realized he had never explained what he'd been doing these past years.
* * * *
"No, don't add the gold pins, Blanche! They are very lovely, but you will have to save them until you're older. The pearls will do fine. You will be prettier than any other girl there."
"Fustian!" Blanche glared in the mirror at her reflection. "I shall look a simpering idiot like all the rest. Why can I not wear cloth of gold like yours? You look like an angel just down from heaven. I look like a frumpy mushroom."
Carolyn smiled at her sister's nervous starts. Admittedly, virginal white tended to be tedious, but the extravagant gauze and lace of Blanche's ball gown were not exactly the common touch, and the lavender sash and embroidery enhanced her slender charms daringly enough. She would be a sensation, as usual, but she would not be persuaded.
"I don't have wings and you're not edible. You already have more suitors than you need. I don't know what
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