am not. My time in the country served its purpose, but I am looking forward to settling down to the life of an English gentleman again.’
‘And he’s made a good start by taking a house in Berkeley Square,’ Alistair informed them.
‘Berkeley Square,’ Victoria said with a glance at her sister. ‘How nice.’
‘Yes, though it is in desperate need of redecorating,’ Lord Valbourg said. ‘I was going to ask my sister for help, but with our mother being so ill, Mary’s time is fully occupied looking after her.’
‘Perhaps we could lend some assistance in that regard,’ Victoria offered. ‘Mama is likely to know where the best fabrics are to be found and Winifred has exceptional taste when it comes to colours and styles.’
Winifred blinked her surprise. ‘I do?’
‘Indeed. She helped Mama redecorate several rooms in our house in Kent last year,’ Victoria informed the gentleman. ‘She has a superb eye for that sort of thing.’
‘Has she indeed?’ Lord Valbourg turned an admiring gaze on a blushing Winifred. ‘That would be delightful, of course, though I would hate to impose—’
‘Oh, it would be no imposition,’ Winifred assured him quickly. ‘I would be happy to assist in whatever way I could.’
‘Then I shall call upon you in the near future to make arrangements for a shopping expedition. Dev, will I see you at Jackson’s tomorrow morning?’
‘I’ll be there.’
‘Splendid. Then we can talk more about this project of yours and how I might be of assistance. Good afternoon Miss Bretton, Miss Wright, Miss Winifred.’
‘Lord Valbourg,’ Winifred said, a coquettish twinkle back in her eyes. When she turned to Victoria, her face was flushed and glowing. ‘Well, perhaps I should go and see if Mama is in need of anything.’
Aware that the only reason Winifred was anxious to find their mother was to tell her about the handsome Lord Valbourg, Victoria made no demur. Given what an enviable match it could be for her sister, she really couldn’t blame her.
‘And we should probably go too, Cousin Alistair,’ Miss Wright said, sounding less than enthused. ‘Your sister has been glaring at us these past ten minutes.’
Victoria gazed across the garden to where the Archdeacon and his wife were seated under the shade of a large tree and saw that Mrs Baltham was indeed looking daggers in their direction. No doubt due, Victoria thought wryly, to the company her beloved brother was keeping. ‘Then I shall bid you both a good afternoon.’
Alistair bowed. ‘Miss Bretton. Thank you for your offer of assistance. I’m sure Lord Valbourg will be most grateful for the help.’
Their eyes met briefly, and though it did not last long, Victoria was startled by the intensity of his gaze. She couldn’t tell if it was anger, or regret, or a combination of the two, but it left her wondering what thoughts really had been going through his mind.
The rest of the afternoon seemed strangely anticlimactic. Victoria wanted to put it down to a restlessness to get back to work, but she knew it had more to do with Alistair’s leaving the gathering than it did with her own desire to be anywhere else. She wasn’t sure when the nature of her feelings for him had begun to change, but she knew without question that they had and she was alarmed by the pace at which they were growing. Now the world seemed a far less interesting place when Alistair wasn’t in it.
And rather than avoid society events, Victoria found herself seeking them out, especially ones to which she thought he might be invited. She enjoyed being in his company. She liked listening to him talk and she loved watching his face when he expressed an opinion about something in which he was interested—like this unknown project Lord Valbourg had referred to.
Nothing more had been said about it, but Victoria had seen the glint in Alistair’s eye when the topic was raised. She might have asked him about it had he not been forced to rejoin his sister and brother-in-law, and, given that she didn’t see Lord Valbourg again, she was not provided an opportunity to ask that gentleman about it either. Nevertheless, Valbourg’s name did come up frequently during dinner that evening, so much so that Victoria’s father finally had to beg his wife and younger daughter to cease and desist.
‘But this was a highly fortuitous meeting, Mr Bretton,’ his wife said. ‘Lord Valbourg is the Marquess of Alderbury’s son. He would make a wonderful husband for Winifred, far better than Mr Fulton. Surely you realise that.’
‘I do, and I have heard Lord Valbourg praised in more ways than any one gentleman has a right to be praised,’ Mr Bretton said. ‘But for pity’s sake, can we speak of nothing else? He and Winifred are but once met and a long way from standing before the altar reciting their vows.’
So chastised, Mrs Bretton refrained from comment and the conversation moved on to other subjects. But a few minutes later, Victoria sincerely wished it had remained on Lord Valbourg.
‘By the by, Lady Hincham told me this afternoon that Lady Kempton is hopeful of a match between her son and Lord Geldon’s daughter,’ Mrs Bretton said.
‘Lady Sarah Millingham?’ Laurence frowned. ‘Isn’t she a bit young for Devlin?’
‘She is young, and flighty by all accounts, which is why Lord Geldon approached Lord Kempton about the match,’ Mrs Bretton said. ‘He feels Mr Devlin would be a steadying influence on his daughter, and apparently she is quite taken with him. It would be an excellent match for her.’
‘But considerably less so for him,’ Laurence observed. ‘Devlin doesn’t strike me as the sort of man who would be led willingly into his future, or who would enjoy the company of such a young girl.’
Victoria shared her brother’s opinion. The idea that Alistair might actually contemplate marriage to Lady Sarah Millingham caused her heart to wrench in the most painful manner. She might be guilty of discouraging him, but that was only because she knew there was no possibility of a relationship between them. Her uncle’s startling revelations about Hugh Devlin had reinforced that. Nevertheless, if she had been of a mind to choose an aristocratic husband, Alistair would have been the only one she would have set her heart on and she would have done everything she could to attract him. If she felt that way about him, why would every other woman not feel the same?
‘Well, all I know is that we must do everything we can to further this association between Winifred and Lord Valbourg,’ Mrs Bretton said. ‘And that means you must be more mindful than ever about what you say and where you are seen, Victoria. If things do not go well for Winifred with Mr Fulton, I don’t want you jeopardising her chances with this other gentleman.’
‘Rest assured I will not.’ Victoria wearily got to her feet. ‘Believe it or not, Mama, I am as anxious to see Winifred settled as you are. And I intend to do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to put that at risk.’
As it turned out, Laurence was more than happy to escort Victoria to the seventh performance of her play. Having been informed of Miss Wright’s belief that Valentine Lawe would be in the audience, he found it highly amusing that Victoria should be there to witness the excitement and he was quite prepared to go along for the ride. Naturally his accompaniment removed any possible hint of scandal being attached to Victoria’s joining Alistair Devlin and his cousin in her uncle’s box.
As well, in an attempt to keep up appearances, Victoria did not slip into the theatre through the stage door as she had in the past, but instead walked in through the front doors with everyone else. Several people nodded in her direction, but Victoria received no welcome as enthusiastic as that of Miss Wright, when she arrived at the box to find her and Alistair already seated within.
‘Oh, I