The Countess Page 0,11

either. The combination had worked against her, leaving her feeling alone and frightened. But that was before, now she was a widow, had her sisters back, and intended to enjoy every minute of it.

"The music is coming to an end. Who is Suzette's next dance partner?" Lady Olivett asked curiously.

"Danvers, I think," Christiana answered, smiling at the woman. Lady Olivett had been a dear friend of her mother's while she lived and had immediately taken Christiana and her sisters under her wing when they arrived, which was very generous of her considering how shabbily Dicky had treated her, turning her away when she'd tried to visit Christiana and welcome her to London.

"Yes, I think you're right. There he is approaching her and Wil throp," Lady Olivett commented. As Christiana turned to glance toward her sister, the lady continued, "Danvers isn't a much better prospect than Wil throp, but at least he is young and good-looking. Stil , caution her not to get too interested in him. He is in financial difficulties and a bit of a bounder to boot."

"I wil ," Christiana assured her, turning her gaze to search the other side of the dance floor where Lisa was ensconced amongst a giggling gaggle of single young ladies. Danvers was one of the names Lisa had been supposed to find information on. They had split the names on Suzette's dance card in half, Christiana and Lisa each taking every other one, in the hopes of making it less obvious they were seeking information on the men. Now, she was curious to see which prearranged signals Lisa would give Suzette. However, her gaze never found her youngest sister. Instead, it halted abruptly on a man just entering the bal room. After a year of marriage, she'd recognize the man anywhere. Dicky . . . alive and wel , and looking very, very angry.

"Lord Radnor! Your wife said you were ailing and wouldn't be able to come tonight, but you've made it after al ."

Richard Fairgrave, the Earl of Radnor, paused and turned, relaxing a little when he recognized his host, Lord Landon, approaching. But then the man's words sank in.

"My wife?" he asked, his gaze sliding in question to his best friend and the man who'd saved his life and brought him here, Daniel, the Earl of Woodrow. Daniel merely shrugged helplessly.

"Yes," Landon said cheerful y and glanced around. "She's here somewhere.

Lady Radnor and her sisters were among the first to arrive. There she is,"

he said with triumph, pointing toward a smal group of women gathered at the end of the bal room. Richard peered to where a petite blonde stood in a circle of several much older women. The older women were al chattering away while the woman who was apparently his wife listened, or didn't listen. He couldn't tel . Her eyes were locked on him with something like horror. He felt his eyebrows rise, but looked her over slowly, noting that she was overly thin, pale to the point of sickly, and not particularly pretty.

"As I say," Landon continued, turning back to face him, "she told us you had taken to your bed with a malaise and wouldn't be attending tonight. You look fine to me, though. Stil , she does appear to be surprised to see you."

"I'm sure she is," Richard said quietly.

The jovial smile on the man's face faded briefly and he said in more solemn tones, "I'm glad to see you here. You've kept too much to yourself since your brother's death. It's good to see you rejoining society. You were missed."

"Thank you," Richard murmured, oddly touched by the sentiment.

Nodding, Landon thumped him on the back in a manly manner, and then cleared his throat and glanced around. "Wel , I suppose I should see to the rest of my guests. Go assure your wife you're wel . She must have thought you at death's door to be so shocked now," Landon said with a laugh. "I fear you must have overplayed it a bit, boy. Next time you want to slip out to see your mistress, just give a sniffle or two and a cough. There's no need to act like you have the plague." Laughing, Landon slapped him on the back again and then turned to disappear into the crowd.

"I had no idea," Daniel assured him solemnly. "I was on my estate and out of the way of society and its gossip until your letter arrived, and then I was busy making arrangements