Courting Magic (Kat, Incorrigible #4)(18)
“Not until you’ve got rid of that ridiculously vulgar set of jewelry you’ve magicked up,” said Angeline. “Not to mention offering an explanation of what on earth you were thinking in the first place!”
Then she sighed. “Or do I really have to ask?” Shaking her head, she walked over to the mirror to peer critically at her own reflection. “Only you, Kat! Your very first Society ball, and you’ve already offended the Prince of Wales himself. Who will you aim for next, I wonder? The Queen? The King? The Archbishop of Canterbury?”
Well, I certainly wasn’t going to run away from this.
“Very amusing,” I said, and narrowed my eyes at her reflection as I shattered my own illusion spell and brought my modest jewelry back into sight. “I didn’t say anything offensive to the Prince. I simply didn’t wish to leave the ballroom with him—a decision which you should approve of, as my chaperone! And I would have found a way out of it even without your help, you know.” …I hope, I added silently. But really, I would have, wouldn’t I?
“Hmm,” she said skeptically. “You certainly looked as if you’d got in over your head. You were opening and closing your mouth like a fish.”
“Grrrr!” I’d clenched my teeth together, but I couldn’t hold back the growl that exploded from my chest. “For heaven’s sake, how would you have managed it, if you’d been asked for a private rendezvous with the Prince?”
“I wouldn’t have given him the opportunity in the first place,” she said sternly. “I’ve heard of his reputation, even if you have not. I can’t imagine what possessed Lord Lanham to introduce you.”
Well, there were a great many things I could have said to that, beginning with some very pointed remarks about Angeline’s own exploits with a certain notorious viscount in her younger days.
If I started down that road, though, we would never return to the ballroom, so, regretfully, I chose discretion over valor. “The Prince is a family friend of his,” I said, shamelessly tossing the Marquess’s judgment to the ashes. “I suppose he didn’t think anything of it.”
“Hmm.” Angeline raised one eyebrow as she twitched the shoulder of her cherry-red gown into perfect symmetry. “Well, careless or not, Lord Lanham certainly seems interested in you. Stepmama could hardly restrain herself after the two of you began to dance. She was already imagining herself a Marquess’s mother-in-law, and planning how best to gloat over the Squire’s wife about it.”
Oh, dear. That stirred up all sorts of nightmarish possibilities…but it was time to do my duty as a Guardian, whether I liked it or not. “Is it too late for us to issue any more invitations to your dinner party on Wednesday?”
“You were hoping for me to invite Lord Lanham?” Angeline asked, casually spreading open her fan and running her forefinger along the edges. “Or were you thinking of anyone else, perhaps?”
I eyed her warily. “Well…I thought perhaps three more invitations altogether? Lord Lanham, Mr. Harding, and…” I sighed inwardly, but carried it through. “…Mr. Packenham as well?”
“Aha!” Angeline snapped the fan shut, smirking. “I knew you’d offer up at least one decoy to distract attention. If you’re offering two, though, you must be truly desperate…and no wonder. Stepmama will never approve your choice.”
“My—! He’s not—! I…” I caught myself with a jolt. “I don’t know what you mean,” I said, with as much dignity as I could summon. “But if you think I’m throwing myself at the Marquess of Lanham…”
“Oh, nicely done, Kat,” Angeline said. “A valiant effort. But no, I wasn’t referring to the wealthy and entirely respectable Marquess. I was referring instead to the much more mysterious young man who avoided answering a single one of Stepmama’s questions about his family or his situation in life….while you spent the whole time gazing at him as if he were a chocolate ice you wanted to devour.”
“Oh, now, that’s a charming image.” My face burned. “But if you’re quite finished being vulgar…” I turned toward the door, feeling my pulse against my throat like a beat of shame.
“Kat.” My sister’s voice had softened. “It won’t do, you know. You cannot marry a man with no fortune, prospects or connections. Stepmama isn’t the only one who would insist that you refuse such a match.”
“You mean, just as Frederick’s mother refused to let him court you?” I swung back around. “How many prospects or connections did you have when he fell in love with you?”
Angeline’s color heightened, but her voice didn’t rise. “Even you must see the difference. Frederick had a fortune of his own. You may have a dowry now, but it isn’t enough to support two people through a life together. Unless you wish to tell me that your Mr. Harding has a wealthy uncle, or a respectable profession…”
I clenched my hands into fists. “So you’re telling me that you wouldn’t have married Frederick if he hadn’t had a fortune?”
“You know perfectly well that that isn’t the case!” Angeline was glaring too, now. “But I knew what Frederick was to me, in case you’ve forgotten. Are you really going to tell me that this Mr. Harding is your one true love?”