What if she didn’t meet the right man in all of London?
Lydia tried not to think about this because it filled her with dread and because she believed that true love would win out, but it was the nature of a reasonable mind to doubt.
“I shall go and search for Grandmother,” Lydia declared, not wishing to speak about her romantic prospects any longer. She strode away before Edmund could call her back and did not care too much that she was without a chaperone as she feared that Agatha might wander into trouble. Once she found Agatha, she would have a chaperone anyway, and nobody could begrudge her seeking her grandmother.
She politely asked other guests. One of them said they had seen an older woman heading out of the ballroom into a side corridor. Lydia ventured away from the party. The susurrating sounds faded as did the warmth created by so many people located in one place. Servants milled about. Lydia questioned a few of them, and one mentioned that he’d seen a woman bearing Agatha’s description heading towards the guest room.
Lydia wondered if Agatha had grown weary and sought a place to rest. She did not have the same stamina for these events as she used to. Still, it wasn’t enough to quell Lydia’s anxiety.
Lydia tiptoed up the stairs and was faced with a hallway containing many doors. She gulped, knowing that strictly speaking she was not supposed to be here. Agatha might not have cared about such rules, but Lydia did. There was an uncomfortable tension prickling upon her skin as she nimbly darted from room to room.
“Grandmother, where are you?” she hissed, hoping that Agatha might provide one hint. She knocked tentatively at doors and was relieved that she did not interrupt any strangers although she could not find Agatha.
Then, through one door, she heard a soft gurgling sound and wondered if she was right, and Agatha had fallen asleep. Lydia put on her sternest expression and flung open the door, but the scolding words that were ready to leave her lips died in her throat.
An astonished look came upon her face because in the middle of the expansive bed was a baby, innocent and lost, wrapped in a blanket. Lydia twisted her neck around, but there was no sign of a mother.
Then, the baby started to cry.
Chapter Two
Victor Valemont, Duke of Nightford, was standing in the corner of the hall. He held his glass of champagne like a shield, only taking small sips because he did not like to indulge himself in things that addled the mind.
The undulating crowd irritated him. The noise scratched at the back of his skull. The clothes he wore were rigid and uncomfortable. Time seemed to crawl, and he could not wait for this interminable evening to end, but such events were sometimes a necessity. The only thing that brought him relief was knowing that it would eventually pass.
“Did you arrange that?” Harry said, emerging from the crowd. There was a pained look in his eyes, and his cheeks were flushed. He leaned towards Victor with the bearing of a man who wanted a fight. Victor was not troubled by this. Even Harry would not stoop so low as to quarrel boisterously in public.
“Arrange what?”
“The Duke of Stonewood just introduced me to his sister. Did you put him up to it? I don’t need you interfering in my life Victor, not again,” Harry said pointedly.
Victor cringed. However, his jaw clenched, and there was an uneasy knot in his stomach. Everyone else might have seen an intimidating, unruffled man, but Victor knew how precarious life could be, and he saw himself as the shield that needed to protect his family.
“If you did not make it necessary to interfere then I wouldn’t have. I did what was best for you, Harry. That’s what I have always done,” Victor said in a flat tone.
Harry shifted his weight between his feet and pressed his lips together.
“I never asked for that. I’m a grown man. I can make my own decisions.”
Victor looked Harry directly in the eyes.
“And as your elder brother, it is my duty to make sure you make good ones. I have no idea whether meeting and engaging with the Duke of Stonewood’s sister would be a good decision or not. Although, given what I know of the Duke of Stonewood, I’d urge caution.”
“Some of us want more than caution in our lives,” Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. “Besides, Edmund is married now. He’s respectable.”
Victor scoffed and wore a disbelieving look.
“People cannot change their nature so easily. I pity his poor wife. She must have to endure much. No, it would be better if you stayed away from his family. It is too much of a risk.”
“Well, I didn’t intend to get close to the family although I’m tempted now that you have forbidden it,” Harry said testily.
Victor sighed.
“I have not forbidden anything, Harry. I simply aim to advise you. Unless you have forgotten?—”
Harry rolled his eyes again.
“No, I haven’t forgotten. How could I forget? But there must be an end to this at some point, Victor. You cannot keep me on a leash like a dog.”