Wick began to walk again and could hear Sunny’s footfalls behind him. They passed several houses before he spoke. ‘I am not ready for marriage yet.’
‘I don’t know any man who is. But believe me, you won’t want to see her married to someone else. Someone like Lord Norwich.’
‘Or Lord Glastonbury?’
Sunny nodded slowly.
Wick hadn’t liked watching Norwich dance with Louisa. Or with Sunny for that matter. Or even the eligible and not so eligible gentlemen who had claimed her hand for a set the night before. It had been torture. But nothing like the pain of losing someone he loved. Of feeling partially responsible for their death.
‘I am not interested in marriage.’
Sighing, Sunny bumped Wick’s arm with his elbow. ‘You’ve got to let them go, mate. It’s been nearly ten years. You have to let your grief for Charles and Elizabeth stop dragging you down. There was nothing you could have done. Scarlet fever killed them—not you. And you’re the reason your other five siblings are still alive. You rode to London and got a proper doctor to take care of them instead of a country quack.’
‘It wasn’t enough.’
What Wick was really saying was thathewasn’t enough.
‘You were only sixteen. Still a child. And, as much as I love your parents, they should never have asked you to bear such a heavy weight. You weren’t ready for it then, but you are now. You’re doing a bang-up job of taking care of your sisters.’
He huffed. ‘I’ve already lost a governess and have yet to find a suitable replacement.’
‘And your parents have lost five governesses—six if you count the old battle-axe Nix, who retired. Give yourself some credit... And sooner or later you’ll have to settle down and make heirs. It might as well be with someone you love.’
Wick was saved from giving Sunny an answer because they had arrived in front of Lady Kensington’s redbrick townhouse. Footmen lined the front façade and eagerly ran to open carriage doors and assist the guests into the well-lit house. Wick and Sunny passed two footmen on the way to the front door. They followed the line of guests into the hall, where Lord and Lady Kensington stood greeting them.
Lady Kensington’s eyes widened, and she grinned when she saw the pair of them. She stepped towards them with her hands outstretched and squeezed each of their hands. ‘Lord Sunderland... Lord Cheswick, how delighted I am that you were able to come. I am sure all the young ladies will be thrilled as well.’
‘It is my pleasure,’ Sunny said with his polished smile. ‘Ah, Kensington, we have missed you the last few days at Parliament. Are you quite recovered from your cold?’
Wick didn’t hear the lord’s answer, because Lady Kensington had stepped in front of him. ‘Rumour has it, Lord Cheswick, that you are here for the lovely Lady Louisa Bracken. The latest heiress who is strangely not in possession of her own fortune.’
His jaw clenched. ‘No. It is in the control of her relatives, the Rockinghams.’
Lady Kensington gave him a glittering smile and nodded. ‘Yes, your dear sister Lady Glastonbury asked me personally to invite them tonight. And Lady Cowper so dear Lady Louisa could get a voucher to Almack’s and permission to waltz.’
Wick bowed, groaning inwardly. He fervently hoped his sister wasn’t planning on creating a scene with the Rockinghams. ‘I pray it has not been a great inconvenience?’ he said.
‘Nonsense. I am hedging my bets upon it making my party the most talked of event of the season.’
He gave her a perfunctory smile and walked past her husband to catch up with Sunny. They were among the last guests to arrive. The rooms were already so full that it was hard to walk to where Mantheria and Louisa were standing. Wick had to apologise more than once for bumping into a sir or a lord. Lady Kensington’s party was truly deserving of the epithet ‘a squeeze’.
Mantheria gave them both a glittering smile and Sunny a pointed look.
He nodded, and held out his hand to Louisa. ‘May I have the first dance, my lady?’
Louisa’s eyes were on Wick as she said, ‘Yes.’
Sunny managed to lead her through the throng to the crowded dance floor. It was only then that Wick realised his friend usually danced first with Mantheria at every ball. He gazed at his sister and wondered if she returned Sunny’s regard. Not that it mattered. She had a husband. A husband who was having an affair with another woman...
Mantheria gently tapped his arm with her fan. ‘Thank you for coming, Wick. I should love to stand and chat, but I must go and procure more partners for Louisa.’
He grabbed at her hand to stop her. ‘Wait, I need to tell you something.’
Mantheria turned on her heel to look at him. Her eyes were hooded. ‘What?’
‘Glastonbury isn’t away in the country,’ Wick said slowly. ‘I ran into him at White’s... He has never left London. I don’t think you’ll see him here tonight, at Lady Kensington’s party, but just in case I don’t want you to be surprised. Or embarrassed if someone mentions seeing him.’
‘You’re warning me not to give the excuse that my husband is out of town,’ Mantheria said, waving her painted fan at him. ‘But you needn’t have bothered. For reasons unknown, the beau monde never minds if a man has an affair. They will not think less of me for coming alone to a party. Obedient wives are praised for their understanding natures. My popularity will only grow. There will not be a dance for which I won’t have a partner.’