“No pair of eyes,” Millie insisted, “nor handsome face, has ever mesmerized me.” On the other hand, she had taken particular note of Willard’s eyes, hadn’t she?
Glittering, she’d thought.
“Mesmerized or no,” Lenora observed, “you looked like you were having a good time. And I know you had no prior intention to dance.”
“But the whole point of obtaining a voucher to Almack’s is the dancing!” Emily exclaimed.
Nettie chuckled. “Here I thought the point of an Almack’s voucher was the matchmaking.”
“To be honest,” Lenora added sheepishly, “I was hoping to have a dance with Willard myself.”
“Why?” Millie asked. “You just said he makes you suspicious and you think him rigid.”
Lenora made an expression that suggested her answer should have been obvious. “BecauseAsquith doesn’t like him. I thought that, if I could catch Willard’s attention, Asquith might…”
Gently, Millie took the brush from Lenora’s hand. “I think Asquith notices you more than you are aware.” She set the brush down and then gave Lenora a reassuring hug. “But if not, you and I will live together as happy spinsters.”
“You can’tstillwish to be a spinster,” Nettie scoffed. “Not after catching the interest of someone like Lord Willard.”
Millie turned to the girls. “Whether you understand or not, that is still my intention.” She’d had enough of discussing men. She finished braiding her own hair. “Emily, if you don’t go backto your room soon, you’ll never get any sleep. And I know you all will want to be at your observant best for tomorrow’s morning calls.”
“Can’t Emily stay here tonight?” Nettie pleaded. “Lenora can sleep with you in the trundle.”
“Not on your life,” Millie replied with all the authority of being the eldest in the room. “I’ve waited years for a bed of my own! That humble trundle is mine…all mine.”
“Come stay in my room, then,” Emily suggested.
“Can I?” Nettie asked.
“Of course.”
Lenora climbed up onto the bed as Emily and Nettie climbed down. Millie walked Emily and Nettie to the door. Nettie headed down the corridor, but Emily lingered.
“Be careful,” Emily whispered. “I don’t think my mama likes Willard much, either, although she never said as much to me and is always unfailingly polite to him.”
“I don’t need to be careful.” Millie spoke more lightly than she felt. “There is nothing at all between me and Lord Willard. At least nothing serious.”
Reassured, Emily nodded.
Millie frowned after Emily as the younger girl followed Nettie back into her bed chamber.
If Lord Willard was an unsavory fellow, would he be so widely received?
Doubtful.
Then again, Millie didn’t place a great deal of weight on public opinion. After all, most people had thought her volatile and mean-spirited father afine fellow.And like Asquith, Mrs. Caroline Vane, the former dowager Lady Redver, was unfailingly polite and never took a dislike to someone for frivolous reasons.
If two people whose opinions she trusted didn’t hold Lord Willard in esteem, what on earth did that say about Willard? Might she have to abandon her plan?
Was he too dangerous, even for an idle flirtation?
She thought back. Much of what the girls had discussed tonight had been speculation, gossip and innuendo. And both Lenora and Emilyassumedenmity on the part of others. Last Season, after Cassie had been hurt by speculation following the Almack’s incident, Millie had sworn to herself to take anything less than firsthand knowledge with a grain of salt.
What of Willard had she witnessed firsthand, apart from this evening’s dance? Not much, but she had seen him speak with both Harbury and Adrian. Neither of them suffered fools, nor would they countenance someone they did not respect.
She simply didn’t have enough information about the man to take his measure. She’d just have to be her sensible, shrewd self as she learned more about him, and she would be fine. She closed the door and doused the candles while making her way over to her trundle.
One thing she could say for certain. Tonight, at least, had not been dull. And Willard’s attention might have brought her one step closer to a spinster life that would preserve her freedom. And, more importantly, her happiness.