my ennui a great deal.” She pressed her fingers into his arm.
“We appreciate the hospitality of your family.” Tristram hesitated, then plunged in. “Everyone in Tuxedo Park has been cordial and welcoming. I’ve quite enjoyed many of the entertainments, including at the VanDorns’.”
“Of course you have.” The corners of her mouth drooped. “Mrs. VanDorn sets a fine table and none of them is anything but intelligent and kind.”
“Including Lady Bisterne?” The instant he spoke the title Georgette had lost, he regretted it, but he could scarcely call her Catherine aloud.
Georgette paused on the path and gazed out across a pond. “Catherine has well paid for her actions of five years ago.”
“She would like to speak with you. She asked me if I would affect a meeting.”
She spun to face him. “Why?”
“I believe she feels badly—”
Her shoulders tensed. “No, no, why did she ask you to play envoy?”
“Because I was available.”
The tension eased, and she smiled. “In that event, I will call on her as soon as I may after we return.”
“I will be happy to escort—”
“No.” One sharp word, then she grasped his arm and started walking. “My family wouldn’t approve.”
After they returned from their walk, the remark rattled around inside his head, and it continued to do so for the next several days, during which he suddenly found himself alone in Georgette’s company more than strictly proper. The truth he suspected became clear.
The Selkirks were working hard to fix his attentions on Georgette.
He didn’t need to question why. The Selkirks wanted his title in the family. It presented quite a conundrum. If he sought out Catherine, he could ruin her chance at reconciling with Georgette. Yet if he did not spend time with Catherine, he might never learn the truth behind the missing jewels, in which case his own reconciliation with his father, not to mention the reclaiming of wealth on which scores of people relied, would be lost.
And then there was the small matter of how he felt when days went by during which he did not get to spend time with Lady Bisterne...
A conundrum indeed.
* * *
What nonsense Catherine had spoken when she’d declared she would be happy to be at home the next time Lord Tristram Wolfe called. Nothing about the man made her happy. On the contrary, being near him left her restless and dissatisfied with...what? The brevity of their surprisingly delightful dialogues? That he didn’t call again for another week and a half made her angry, when in fact, the lack of lengthy contact should have made her happy.
Until the past few days, Florian and Ambrose had visited far more often than was proper. Since they spent all that time in the music room with Estelle, the sessions seemed harmless enough. What was not harmless was how often Estelle danced with Florian at entertainments that offered that activity. But her sister laughed off Catherine’s concerns and lamented that the three of them had nowhere to perform the pieces they had been working on.
“Music should not be hidden behind closed doors,” Estelle declared.
“But, child,” Mama protested, “you are a debutante. You can’t perform in public.”
“I did at the ball and—”
“Wait.” Catherine lifted her hand from the list of Tuxedo Park residents she was going over for invitations to a charity tea the week after Thanksgiving Day. “I don’t see why they can’t entertain the guests at the tea. We can spend more money on gifts for the children if we don’t have to pay professional entertainers to provide the music.”
“I don’t know.” Mama frowned.
Estelle leaped to her feet and hugged Catherine. “Thank you, thank you! Are you inviting Lord Tristram? It would seem appropriate if his friends are the entertainment.”
“I’ll be sending an invitation to the Selkirks, of course. All the residents will be receiving one.” She bent her head over her list. “Not that I expect
“We appreciate the hospitality of your family.” Tristram hesitated, then plunged in. “Everyone in Tuxedo Park has been cordial and welcoming. I’ve quite enjoyed many of the entertainments, including at the VanDorns’.”
“Of course you have.” The corners of her mouth drooped. “Mrs. VanDorn sets a fine table and none of them is anything but intelligent and kind.”
“Including Lady Bisterne?” The instant he spoke the title Georgette had lost, he regretted it, but he could scarcely call her Catherine aloud.
Georgette paused on the path and gazed out across a pond. “Catherine has well paid for her actions of five years ago.”
“She would like to speak with you. She asked me if I would affect a meeting.”
She spun to face him. “Why?”
“I believe she feels badly—”
Her shoulders tensed. “No, no, why did she ask you to play envoy?”
“Because I was available.”
The tension eased, and she smiled. “In that event, I will call on her as soon as I may after we return.”
“I will be happy to escort—”
“No.” One sharp word, then she grasped his arm and started walking. “My family wouldn’t approve.”
After they returned from their walk, the remark rattled around inside his head, and it continued to do so for the next several days, during which he suddenly found himself alone in Georgette’s company more than strictly proper. The truth he suspected became clear.
The Selkirks were working hard to fix his attentions on Georgette.
He didn’t need to question why. The Selkirks wanted his title in the family. It presented quite a conundrum. If he sought out Catherine, he could ruin her chance at reconciling with Georgette. Yet if he did not spend time with Catherine, he might never learn the truth behind the missing jewels, in which case his own reconciliation with his father, not to mention the reclaiming of wealth on which scores of people relied, would be lost.
And then there was the small matter of how he felt when days went by during which he did not get to spend time with Lady Bisterne...
A conundrum indeed.
* * *
What nonsense Catherine had spoken when she’d declared she would be happy to be at home the next time Lord Tristram Wolfe called. Nothing about the man made her happy. On the contrary, being near him left her restless and dissatisfied with...what? The brevity of their surprisingly delightful dialogues? That he didn’t call again for another week and a half made her angry, when in fact, the lack of lengthy contact should have made her happy.
Until the past few days, Florian and Ambrose had visited far more often than was proper. Since they spent all that time in the music room with Estelle, the sessions seemed harmless enough. What was not harmless was how often Estelle danced with Florian at entertainments that offered that activity. But her sister laughed off Catherine’s concerns and lamented that the three of them had nowhere to perform the pieces they had been working on.
“Music should not be hidden behind closed doors,” Estelle declared.
“But, child,” Mama protested, “you are a debutante. You can’t perform in public.”
“I did at the ball and—”
“Wait.” Catherine lifted her hand from the list of Tuxedo Park residents she was going over for invitations to a charity tea the week after Thanksgiving Day. “I don’t see why they can’t entertain the guests at the tea. We can spend more money on gifts for the children if we don’t have to pay professional entertainers to provide the music.”
“I don’t know.” Mama frowned.
Estelle leaped to her feet and hugged Catherine. “Thank you, thank you! Are you inviting Lord Tristram? It would seem appropriate if his friends are the entertainment.”
“I’ll be sending an invitation to the Selkirks, of course. All the residents will be receiving one.” She bent her head over her list. “Not that I expect
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