“Does he think I am a simpleton? No more than a pretty face?” Cecilia’s back was to the door as she went on, Darwell her very sympathetic audience. The maid did not so much as glance at Jess but he knew she was aware of his presence.
“And I knew exactly what he was hinting at when he suggested a token instead of money. Did he think I was so taken with him that I would use the counters to wager kisses? What if one of the other gentlemen had won? Then I would have had to kiss him, too. The marquis may not care a fig for propriety, but I do!”
“Miss Brent,” Jess tried, “I do apologize on the marquis’s behalf. Please hear me.”
She whirled toward the door and then left the room completely.
“This is one of those times when I still miss Mama dreadfully.” Beatrice’s confidential whisper was barely audible. “She would know exactly what to do to calm Ceci.”
With a glance over her shoulder, Beatrice stepped out into the passage and closed the door behind her.
“I think it is useless to try to be a mediator tonight.” She did not wait for his agreement. “Unless he and Cecilia marry in a blaze of romantic sensibility this will not be an evening anyone remembers fondly.”
The passage was not the right place to try to cut Destry’s losses, but to suggest a place more private would be inviting trouble all his own. Jess took a step into the middle of the corridor and Beatrice followed him.
“The marquis rarely drinks,” he began, “and I can hardly think of a time when he has done so to excess.”
Beatrice shook her head, rejecting that attempt. “If you tell her that, she will think that she drove him to it.”
“She did,” Jess said, drawing a glare from her. “Listen to me, please, before you start shouting, too. Destry is convinced she will have nothing to do with him because his size offends her and she would be embarrassed to be seen in public with him.”
“That’s just stupid. Cecilia knows better than most not to judge people based on appearance.”
“Yes, yes, I can see how that would be true.”
Beatrice smiled, apparently pleased by his quick grasp of the idea.
“The fact is, my lord, that Cecilia is afraid to allow a courtship because she is sure she could never be a proper duchess. Doing everything as perfectly as she can has always been so important to her.”
“She is afraid of failing?” Now he was aghast. “She’s already demonstrated her talent for acting regal. That freezing tone she used when she left the room this evening was better than anything my mother ever tried.”
Beatrice made a face as she tried to recall that moment and then laughed suddenly. “Yes,” she said, then stopped the laugh with a glance at the door, now firmly shut. “The way she looked at me and said ‘Beatrice?’ made me dare not refuse to accompany her.”
Beatrice clapped her hands and then sobered. “But, you see, you are right on one point. She hates to be embarrassed and Lord Destry embarrassed her. One upset like that calls to mind all her worst worries. I’ve seen it time and again. In this case the worry is that a gentleman will not even try to see beyond her beauty, that she will be married for the money she can bring to a union, that her husband will think jewels and baubles will be all she needs to be happy.” Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head. “My lord, the marquis’s blunder could not have been worse.”
“It could have been much worse. If Crenshaw had still been among us there would have been a fight at least, if not a challenge to a duel.”
“Is Lord Crenshaw that hot-tempered?” Beatrice leaned closer and her spicy perfume made him want to tell her what was really on his mind. Instead he answered her question.
“Crenshaw loves nothing better than to savage someone, anyone, with words or fists. Appearing to stand for a lady would make it even sweeter.”
“My lord,” she began in a tentative style that was not her usual approach. “What is it between you and the baron that created such ill will this evening? I risk a set-down, I know, and understand if you do not wish to speak of it.”
Jess hesitated, which was not his usual style, either. The bastard had so many fooled that Jess had long ago abandoned any second thoughts