A Dash of Scandal(16)
“I read them in hopes there will come a day I won’t find my name printed there.”
“The day they stop writing about us will be when we’re dead or married, and I’m sure they don’t care which comes first. Better they talk about us than forget about us. They were rather vicious to you about Lady Lambsbeth and her husband, but since that time, it hasn’t been so bad, has it?”
Chandler didn’t want to go down the road that led to Lady Lambsbeth again so he took the conversation back where it had started. “Don’t worry, Andrew. More desirable young ladies than Miss Bardwell have tried to catch us and failed. Keep the faith.”
“Hmm. There have been a few ladies over the years who have tried to entrap us. Some of them have been quite delightfully clever.”
“Some have been beautiful.”
“Some wealthy.”
Chandler’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you, by any chance, hinting that Miss Bardwell might have had reason to have made such a brash statement that she intended to marry one of us this Season?”
“Maybe. Maybe not, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a lady having more money than heart. After all, a good mistress can make up for the warmth that’s lost in the marriage bed. That is what lovers are for, isn’t it? An acceptable wife gives a man children, and a mistress gives him pleasure.”
How had they become so cynical?
Somehow Chandler knew he didn’t want what Andrew just described. “Maybe it works that way for a desperate man.”
“Which neither of us are,” Andrew added.
“And may we never be.”
It was all the rage for members of the peerage to seek the arms of a mistress, but Chandler knew he didn’t want another woman in his bed after he married. Although he wasn’t going to admit that to anyone other than himself. And he certainly wasn’t going to admit he was interested in taking a wife. It wouldn’t be worth the raucous remarks he’d have to suffer. He was surprised Andrew was letting it be known that he might actually be pursuing the idea of making a match.
Chandler turned his attention back to the young lady with the golden eyes. The dance had ended and she was being escorted off the crowded floor. He watched her until she was returned to Viscountess Heathecoute. No doubt the tall, buxom lady was her chaperone for the evening and quite possibly for the entire Season.
“What do you think about Miss Pennington?”
Preferable to Miss Bardwell.
Chandler looked back to Andrew. “She appears to be a favorite among the younger bachelors this Season. I hear she’s enjoying the attention of all of them, accepting four and five calls in an afternoon.”
“That many?”
“From what I hear, but we both know how unreliable gossip is.” Chandler smiled ruefully at his friend. “I think she’s already rejected two offers of a match, including Albert Longnecker.”
“Yes, I heard. He didn’t take kindly to her open rejection, and neither did his father. The duke was furious about what she said about his name.”
“Only the gossips reported that, and I certainly don’t believe everything that’s written in them. You’ll have to arrive at a party early in the evening to find an empty space on her dance card.”
“I know.” Andrew clapped Chandler on the back of his shoulder. “And I do believe my dance with her is coming up next.”
He started to walk off, but Chandler stopped him by putting a hand to his upper arm. “Andrew, aren’t you forgetting something?”
His friend rubbed his chin and gave a mock expression of deep thought. “No. I don’t believe so.”
“What did you find out about her?” He nodded toward the dance floor.
“Who?” Andrew asked with a fake expression of seriousness.
“You know who,” Chandler said impatiently.
A wicked smile spread across Andrew’s face. “Oh, yes. I almost forgot. We were talking about Miss Bardwell, right?”
Chandler’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t lead me, old friend. We’ve been together too many years for that.”
“Damn shame. It would have been such fun.” Andrew’s smile turned mischievous. “At least now I know just how interested in her you are.”
“You only know I asked about her.”
“Twice.” He held up two fingers as if Chandler couldn’t hear him.