Catherine arched a finely drawn brow. “What exactly are you asking, dear?” she said with a sly smile on her face.
“Yes … Anne … what exactly
are
you asking?” Frances whispered between her clenched teeth.
Annie swallowed and clutched her fan. She took a deep breath. She’d started down this path and she would see it through. She lowered her voice to a whisper and took a step closer to Lady Catherine. “I heard that Lord Ashbourne once lost his heart many years ago. Do you know anything about that?”
Annie braced herself. For an awful moment she wondered if it was Lady Catherine herself whom Jordan had loved. But Timothy had said “Georgi,” hadn’t he? She eyed Lady Catherine. No, she didn’t believe Jordan had once been enamored of this haughty beauty.
Frances stood completely still with a horrified look on her face, staring at Lady Catherine’s regal form.
Lady Catherine’s smile widened and she glanced back and forth over her shoulders to see if she could be overheard. “Oh my dear,” she said in a low, sultry voice. “I happen to know
everything
about that.”
Annie sucked in her breath. Now or never. She looked Lady Catherine in the eye. “Will you tell me?”
Lady Catherine straightened up and pushed a nonexistent errant hair back into her elegant coiffure. “Not that we should be gossiping about our host, of course.” She winked at them. “But meet me in the gardens at half past and I’ll tell you the whole sordid story.”
* * *
“We should not go gossip about Lord Ashbourne in the gardens,” Frances said, wringing her hands. “I’m getting hives just thinking about it.”
Annie clapped her hand to her forehead. “Of course we shouldn’t, Frances, but that’s not about to stop me.”
“You’ll just have to go without me. That’s all there is to it.” Frances stuck her nose in the air and looked away.
Annie shrugged. “Very well, but I’m not going to tell you what she says.”
Frances clutched her chest. “Oh, you wouldn’t be so cruel?”
Annie laughed and grabbed her friend’s hand. She pulled her down the corridor. “Come along. Stop pretending you don’t want to know.”
They made their way out of the French doors onto the terrace. The early October air was cold on their skin. Rubbing their bare arms, they hurried along the crushed rock path that led out into the gardens. “What’s that?” Frances asked, blinking. “Coming from behind the topiary.”
They both skidded to a halt. “Why, I believe it’s … puffs of smoke,” Annie replied, lowering her voice.
“Oh no, someone’s there,” Frances whispered. “Whoever he is, we must wait for him to leave.”
“Is that you, darlings?” Lady Catherine’s sultry voice floated out from behind the sculptured hedge.
“Lady Catherine?” Annie blinked.
The puffs of smoke temporarily stopped. “Yes. It’s me. Come back here.”
Exchanging hesitant glances, Annie and Frances made their way behind the topiary to find Lady Catherine lounging on an outdoor settee nestled behind a wall of flowering hedges, a cheroot clamped between her sparkling white teeth. Annie smiled. Despite herself, she liked Lady Catherine. Now here was a woman who had no problem at all breaking rules.
“I cannot believe you’re smoking,” Frances blurted before clamping her hand over her mouth.
Lady Catherine only smiled. “Believe me, I’ve done worse.” She tossed her head back and laughed. “Much worse.”
Lady Catherine pulled the cheroot from between her lips. She unwound herself lithely like a cat waking up and stretching. She stood up and gestured to the settee. “Sit down, ladies. I daresay you should be sitting when you hear this particular tale.”
Annie gulped. For the first time she wondered if she was doing the right thing by listening. But it was too late now. Besides, God only knew when such an opportunity would present itself again.
Frances dropped like a stone to the bench and pulled Annie down with her.
Catherine laughed. “My, my, my, you two are eager, are you not?”
“Please tell us,” Annie prompted, half afraid they’d be interrupted at any moment.
Lady Eversly paced back and forth in front of them seemingly without a care, her gorgeous ruby-colored gown sweeping along the gravel. “Ah, the story of the young Jordan Holloway. It’s a sad tale to be sure.”
Annie and Frances both leaned closer.
“Back when I made my debut, darlings, it was nearly…” She smiled. “Well, nearly an age ago. I was eighteen and Jordan was twenty-six. My goodness but he was handsome and dashing. He and Lord Colton were the most sought-after bachelors of the Season. But Jordan, Jordan was actually eligible. You see at the time, Colton’s father had gambled away his estate. Many mamas steered their beloved daughters away from Colton. But Jordan was the perfect catch: titled, handsome,
and
rich. Every young lady sought to draw his attention. Alas, I was no different.”
Annie’s stomach tightened. Was Lady Catherine the one Jordan had loved after all? If so, what had happened? How did she become married to Lord Eversly instead?
Lady Catherine took another drag from the cheroot and blew the smoke into the chilly breeze. “It soon became apparent that Season that regardless of his lack of fortune, Colton had fallen for a young lady named Lily Andrews. You may have heard of her, dears.”
Catherine smiled at Annie and Annie returned the smile.
“And the rest of that particular story, of course, is history. Though those two did take their time getting to the business of marriage. But that is another story, one I’m sure you’re already intimately aware of.” She winked.
“Yes, yes,” Annie said, glancing down the path to see if anyone was coming. Thankfully, the path was clear.
Catherine sighed. “Ah yes, I do digress. Nasty storytelling habit of mine. At any rate, once Colton was essentially off the market, Jordan became twice as sought after. Oh my goodness, that dark hair, those smoky eyes, deliciously square shoulders, perfectly molded lips…” She shuddered. “There I go again, and, I might add, the man has only improved with age.”
Looking a bit woozy, Frances nodded. “You’re perfectly right.” She fumbled in her reticule for her fan and, whipping it out, fanned herself rapidly. “Is it hot out here?”
Annie scowled at her friend. “No, it’s freezing.”
Catherine continued. “In the end, ladies, it came down to two of us. Myself and Lady Georgiana Dalton.”
Annie clenched her jaw.
Georgi
. The name Timothy had almost said. And Dalton? Georgiana Dalton? Annie was sure she’d heard that name before.
Catherine sighed. “I suppose it was a fair fight, but Jordan fell deeply for the girl. This was when he was young and starry-eyed, if you can imagine it. He very much fancied himself in love with her.”
“I cannot imagine it,” Annie breathed.
“I can assure you it happened,” Catherine continued. “And Georgiana was lovely. Blond hair, blue eyes, perfect figure. Oh, how many times I wished she would fall off a horse or something.”
Frances wrinkled her brow.
Catherine shrugged. “Jordan offered for her, she accepted, and they made all the rounds.”
“Jordan offered for her?” Annie breathed, nearly toppling off the bench because she’d leaned so far forward. “Then what happened?”
Lady Catherine examined her tapered fingernails in the moonlight. “Georgiana cried off, the ignorant chit. Seems she’d had her heart set on a marquis who hadn’t offered for her quite yet. She’d accepted Jordan’s proposal only after she thought her marquis was betrothed to his cousin.”
“She just cried off?” Frances asked, blinking.
“Yes. The nitwit,” Lady Catherine replied. “A marquis trumps an earl after all.”
Annie’s hand flew to her throat. “She chose the other man only because of his more prestigious title?”
“That’s right.” Lady Catherine sighed. “Though Lord knows why. The man wasn’t half as handsome and Jordan’s fortune was equally as great. Just demonstrates how ignorant some young ladies can be.”
“Wasn’t there a scandal?” Annie asked.
Lady Catherine sighed. “A brief stir, to be sure, but nothing Jordan’s reputation couldn’t survive. His heart, however, was a different matter entirely.”
“What happened to Miss Dalton?” Frances asked breathlessly.
Lady Catherine shrugged. “She had the good sense to marry quickly and leave for the Continent to escape the gossip. She and her husband have been gone for years now. Only smart thing she ever did, if you ask me.”
“And Lord Ashbourne just never found anyone else he wanted to offer for?” Frances asked.
Lady Catherine smiled her famous smile again. “Lord knows I came flying to his side. I offered my comfort and hoped against hope he’d offer for me.” Lady Catherine sighed. “But Jordan was never the same again. I think he actually believed in love, poor bloke, one of the few men I’ve ever known to do so. It’s quite tragic, actually. He swore off marriage after that, was sure he could never trust a woman. So unfortunate. As for me, I chose Eversly. Stewart was the third most handsome titled bachelor that Season, hence he’s my husband.” She winked at them.
“So that’s it?” Frances asked. “Lord Ashbourne just swore off marriage forever?”
Lady Catherine nodded. “Precisely. After Georgiana left, he vowed to make his first nephew his heir and announced he would never marry. Easy enough, I suppose, since Colton remained unattached all these years too. Oh my, they’ve been quite a pair, the two of them, but I’ve been wondering, now that Colton’s settled down, if Jordan won’t change his mind. And that, my dear, is why I’ve been so intrigued by
you
.” She pointed to Annie.
Annie sat up straight and blinked. “Me?”
“Yes. You. I haven’t seen Jordan take such an interest in an innocent making her debut since … well, since Georgiana.”
Annie expelled her breath. Easily explained. “Lily and Devon asked him to watch out for me. He’s just doing a favor for his friends. Nothing more.”
Lady Catherine shook her head. “You can tell yourself that all you like, dear, but I saw the way he looked at you earlier. Trust me, the man is interested.”
Annie and Frances turned their heads simultaneously to stare at one another. “Are my eyes as wide as yours?” Frances asked.
Annie nodded. “Uh-huh.”
Lady Catherine clamped the cheroot in her mouth again and sucked in. She breathed out and puffed some impressive smoke rings into the cold night sky.
“And now, darlings, I shall leave you to your thoughts. I’m due back inside the ballroom for my obligatory dance with my husband.” She laughed then, her deep voice filling the little clearing.
After Lady Catherine swept away, Frances and Annie sat looking at each other.
“You don’t truly believe Jordan is interested in me, do you?” Annie asked.
Frances slowly nodded. “Something tells me that Lady Catherine knows when a man is interested.”
CHAPTER 32
Annie wandered through Jordan’s lovely conservatory, the strains of the music from the ball still echoing from afar. It was half two. Aunt Clarissa had long since retired. Many of the guests, including Frances and her mother, had already left to return to London, but several were still dancing, mingling, and making merry. Annie had had to escape it all. She couldn’t stay in that ballroom with a false smile plastered on her face, not when she was so confused. So she’d wandered into the conservatory and breathed in the fragrance of the sweet lovely flowers.
What had happened to her? Four short weeks ago, she’d been quite sure of how her life would be. She would marry Arthur, they would raise a family, and they would be in love forever. Now she was here, the guest of honor at the Earl of Ashbourne’s country house, and nothing made sense anymore. Thank goodness Lily and Devon would be arriving tomorrow and she’d be traveling to London to meet them. She never imagined she’d think it, but she needed her sister’s guidance. More than ever.
She wasn’t going to marry Arthur. That had been nothing more than a foolish dream. After declaring that he would never allow anyone to come between the two of them again, he’d run away when Jordan had arrived at the Gray Horse Inn. What was she left to think? Arthur hadn’t ever really loved her. Perhaps he’d never even been infatuated. She’d been the one controlling the entire relationship. She could see that now.
And Jordan, whom she’d always been angry with, was the only man who’d truly been good to her. Well, except for Lord Medford and Devon, of course. But Jordan had rescued her from her own foolish self on more than one occasion and done everything in his power to save her reputation and get her to see reason. She’d been nothing but a churl to him at every turn. She wrapped her arms around her middle and shuddered. Oh, she couldn’t even face him again. She’d been such a fool.
And that story Lady Catherine had told about Georgiana Dalton. It made Annie’s heart wrench. She’d always seen Jordan as a statue, a perfect male specimen. She’d always thought of him as if he had no soul, no heart. But he did. Even perfect-looking people could have their hearts broken, it seemed.
But Annie couldn’t imagine him in love. He laughed, often, but the lighthearted twinkle never quite reached his eyes. He was always seemingly looking for a good time, but one always questioned whether he actually found it.
But now that Lady Catherine had told her what had happened, suddenly Jordan seemed … human. He seemed real to her for the first time.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
Annie’s heart thumped fast. She turned to see Jordan standing in the doorway, the light from the hallway illuminating his fine black evening attire. He looked, as always, like a statue come to life. Her stomach did a little flip.
“How did you know I’d be here?” She trailed a fingertip across the soft petals of a hydrangea bush.
“You’re usually in here when you want to be alone.”
She smiled at that. He was right. Over the last two weeks she’d made the conservatory her special place in the house. She adored strolling through the lush foliage and breathing in the sweet scents of the lilies and the orange blossoms. But she’d had no idea he’d noticed. “I do love it here,” she murmured.