“What are they then?” They could not be that difficult.
Her beautiful blue eyes hardened into an icy glare. “One of them is to listen. Do you realize that this is the first time I have been able to get a word in when you start talking?”
“I paused.” He thought she hadn’t wanted to speak.
“Only to take a breath and talk again. It is as if you are more enamored with the sound of your own voice than hearing what the person with whom you are conversing has to say.”
That hurt. “What do you wish to discuss?”
“Almost anything but the royal family and gossip.” She glanced around, and he followed her gaze. “We are going to attract attention.” Without another word, she strolled off.
What in perdition was he going to do now? Bloody hell-hounds! Stern had been right. Giff knew next to nothing about Alice other than he wanted to marry her. Well, he was not going to give up. The problem was how was he to find out what she liked and discover the qualifications so that he could meet them. Once he had succeeded, she would change her mind and be happy to wed him.
“Send them flowers, waltz with them, compliment them. Being wealthy and having a title is all part of it. She will see that being a future duchess is in her best interest.”
Giff couldn’t believe he’d truly uttered those words. What a fool he’d been. One good thing was coming of this. At least he could stop reading the court pages and gossip rags.
He watched as she walked away, her spine stiff, her shoulders straight, and her hips swaying softly. God, she was magnificent. It occurred to him that he should immediately apply to Worthington for her hand. He made his way to his hostess and thanked her for a lovely event then drove back to Town.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Giff was admitted to Worthington House by the butler. “Good day, my lord.”
He wanted to run a finger under his cravat. For the first time, it occurred to him that if anyone knew Alice had summarily rejected him, he might not be allowed in. “I would like to see Lord Worthington.”
“I shall see if he is available.” The man left without showing Giff to a parlor. Could it be that Worthington meant to refuse to see Giff? Before his thoughts went any further, he was mugged by a young Great Dane with a lead trailing from her mouth.
“Miss Posy,” a footman said as he hurried after her. “You must give me the lead.”
Ignoring the servant as very young aristocratic ladies were wont to do, “Miss Posy” leaned against Giff and begged to be stroked. Unable to resist her beseeching brown eyes, he complied and managed to get the leash away from her and hand it to the beleaguered looking footman.
“Thank you, sir.” He attached the line to the dog’s collar.
Other than at his mother’s family house, he’d never seen large dogs living inside a house. Especially a London town house. “Does this happen often?”
“Only when she decides to be naughty.” The servant gave Miss Posy a hard look and Giff could have sworn she batted her eyes at the man. Although, she did switch her attentions to the servant for the desired pats.
“You’re a fickle lass.” She turned to Giff again.
“Miss Posy,” the butler said as he entered the hall. “Be a good girl and go for your walk. Master Zeus is waiting for you.” Once the footman had taken the dog away, the butler glanced at Giff. “My lord, if you will please wait in the parlor, his lordship will be with you in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” He handed the butler his hat, followed him to a well-appointed room off the hall, and made himself as comfortable as he could while he awaited his audience with Worthington. He almost wished the man would just give his approval and tell Alice of his decision, but Giff knew that was not likely to happen. Montagu had already informed Giff that Worthington had said it was Lady Eleanor’s choice. Harry Stern had been told the same thing when he’d asked to wed Lady Madeline. What Giff hoped he’d gain from this was Worthington’s permission to ask Alice to dance twice in an evening. Mamma had been right when she’d said dancing was the best way to charm a lady. Then again, nothing he did seemed to charm Alice. Never one to back down from a challenge, he was determined to find out what was on the list and charm her right into their marriage bed. The door open, but it was not the butler. He rose as Lady Mary, Alice’s youngest sister, slipped into the room leaving the door partially opened.
Why the devil was she here? A sense of dread slithered down his back. “Has he sent you to come to get me?”
“No.” Her long braids swung as she shook her head. “Matt is with someone else at the moment.” She tilted her head and gave him a knowing look very much like her eldest sister, Lady Worthington’s. “I am here to offer you assistance.”
He was about to scoff. After all, she was still in the schoolroom, but who would know Alice better than her sisters? “About what?”
She perched on the chair, and he resumed his seat on the small sofa. “We do not like Lord Normanby. There is something smoky about him.” Cant from a schoolroom lady? “Theo and I pray daily that Matt will discover something is wrong with him.” Lady Mary narrowed her eyes. “We both have a bad feeling about him. Even Posy does not like him.”
That was bad. He’d only just met her, but she seemed like a dog who would take to anyone. Suddenly, Giff knew with whom Worthington was meeting. “He’s here with your brother.”
“He is.” The girl’s dark blond brows rose. “Now, do you want to hear what I have to say, or am I wasting my time?”
Good Lord! She sounded like Lady Bellamny. How old was she? “Yes. I wish to listen.”
“Good.” Still keeping her back straight, she seemed to settle more deeply into the chair. “You need to become Alice’s friend.”
Giff had never had a female friend. “How do I do that?”
Lady Mary appeared as if she’d like to roll her eyes. “How does one become anyone’s friend? You do things with her that you both enjoy. You are there to listen to her when she needs to talk. And you are there to help her when she requires it.”
“I can’t very well take her to Tats or meet her at a club or coffee house.” Giff knew one thing he and Alice would enjoy, but it would involve getting her into his bed.
“No, of course not.” Lady Mary let out what sounded like an exasperated breath.
He dragged his thoughts back to what she most likely meant. “Go shopping?”
“That is one activity. Many gentlemen do enjoy shopping with ladies. You do read?” The last part was said with a high degree of skepticism.
“I do. Naturally, I read.” Although, he’d never read any of the romance novels of which the ladies were so fond. And currently he was wading through books on estate management.
“Have you read Anna Maria Porter? Alice enjoyed her latest book and is looking forward to reading The Village of Mariendorpt quite a lot. She has also read the American author James Fenimore Cooper’s Precaution. It was interesting in that it tried to copy the works of more successful English female authors.”
Giff had heard of the book. “I thought that was written by a woman?”
Lady Mary waved her hand as if it was of no importance. “It was originally published under a pseudonym. The point is that you could read it and discuss it with her. She also likes Miss Austen’s books. Such a shame that she died.”
