She did not reply. Not that she could; her only possible answers were yes, which would reveal her conceit, or no, which would reveal Wyndham’s negligence. Neither was what a lady wished to show to the world.
“Do you await him here?” he asked, thinking to himself that it was time to end the conversation. Lady Amelia was charming, and he could not deny a certain level of entertainment that came from making her acquaintance without Wyndham’s knowledge, but he was still a bit wound up inside, and he was looking forward to time out of doors.
“No, I just-” She cleared her throat. “I am here to see Miss Eversleigh.”
Grace?
And who was to say that a man could not acquire a bit of fresh air in a drawing room? One had only to crack open a window.
“Have you met Miss Eversleigh?” Lady Amelia asked.
“Indeed I have. She is most lovely.”
“Yes.” There was a pause, just long enough for Jack to wonder at it. “She is universally admired,” Lady Amelia finished.
Jack thought about making trouble for Wyndham. A simple, murmured, It must be difficult for you, with so beautiful a lady in residence here at Belgrave, would go a long way. But it would make equal trouble for Grace, which he was not prepared to do. And so instead he chose the bland and boring: “Are you and Miss Eversleigh acquaintances?”
“Yes. I mean, no. More than that, I should say. I have known Grace since childhood. She is most friendly with my elder sister.”
“And surely with you, as well.”
“Of course.” Lady Amelia acceded. “But more so with my sister. They are of an age, you see.”
“Ah, the plight of the younger sibling,” he murmured.
“You share the experience?”
“Not at all,” he said with a grin. “I was the one ignoring the hangers-on.” He thought back to his days with the Audleys. Edward had been but six months younger, and Arthur a mere eighteen months after that. Poor Arthur had been left out of any number of escapades, and yet wasn’t it interesting-it was Arthur with whom he had ultimately formed the strongest bond.
Arthur had been uncommonly perceptive. They shared that. Jack had always been good at reading people. He’d had to. Sometimes it was his only means of gathering information. But as a boy he’d viewed Arthur as an annoying little whelp; it wasn’t until they were both students at Portora Royal that he realized that Arthur saw everything, too.
And although he had never come out and said it, Jack knew that he’d seen everything in him as well.
But he refused to grow maudlin. Not right now, not with a charming lady for company and the promise of another at any moment. And so he pushed more happy thoughts of Arthur to the forefront of his mind and said, “I was the eldest of the brood. A fortuitous position, I think. I should have been most unhappy not to have been in charge.”
Lady Amelia smiled at that. “I am the second of five, so I can appreciate your sentiments as well.”
“Five! All girls?” he guessed.
“How did you know?”
“I have no idea,” he said quite honestly, “except that it is such a charming image. It would have been a shame to have sullied it with a male.”
“Is your tongue always this silver, Captain Audley?”
He gave her one of his best half smiles. “Except when it’s gold.”
“Amelia!”
They both turned. Grace had entered the room.
“And Mr. Audley,” she said, looking surprised to see him there.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lady Amelia said, turning to him. “I thought it was Captain Audley.”
“It is,” he said with a very slight shrug. “Depending upon my mood.” He turned to Grace and bowed. “It is indeed a privilege to see you again so soon, Miss Eversleigh.”
She blushed. He wondered if Lady Amelia noticed.
“I did not realize you were here,” Grace said after bobbing a curtsy.
“There is no reason why you should have done. I was heading outside for a restorative walk when Lady Amelia intercepted me.”
“I thought he was Wyndham,” Lady Amelia said. “Isn’t that the oddest thing?”
“Indeed,” Grace replied, looking acutely uncomfortable.
“Of course I was not paying much attention,” Lady Amelia continued, “which I am sure explains it. I only caught sight of him out of the corner of my eye as he strode past the open doorway.”
Jack turned to Grace. “It makes so much sense when put that way, does it not?”
“So much sense,” Grace echoed. She glanced over her shoulder.
“Are you waiting for someone, Miss Eversleigh?” Jack inquired.
“No, I was just thinking that his grace might like to join us. Er, since his fiancée is here, of course.”
“Is he returned, then?” Jack murmured. “I was not aware.”
“That is what I have been told,” Grace said, and he was certain that she was lying, although he could not imagine why. “I have not seen him myself.”
“Alas,” Jack said, “he has been absent for some time.”
Grace swallowed. “I think I should get him.”
“But you only just got here.”
“Nonetheless-”
“We shall ring for him,” Jack said, since he wasn’t going to allow her such an easy escape. Not to mention that he was rather looking forward to the duke discovering him here with both Grace and Lady Amelia. He crossed the room and gave the bellpull a yank. “There,” he said. “It is done.”