“Captain Hartley, you are flirting.” Serena tried to look severe. “You ought to know Mrs. Adler cannot abide flirts.”
“But I was not flirting with Mrs. Adler,” Jack protested. “Is that a refusal?”
“Go on.” Lily took Serena’s glass and handed it to a passing servant. “The two of you will make a handsome pair, and you know you shall enjoy that.”
“I shall, shan’t I?” Serena beamed. “Do try to stay out of trouble while I am gone, dear.”
Lily murmured something that sounded like agreement as Serena swept away. Though she was not a shy person, there was something intimidating about the Walters’ ball, and Lily felt more inclined to hug the walls than she ever had before in her life. If she watched the dancers too long, all she could think about was the last time she had been one of them, winding her way through a country dance with Freddy. The memory was so clear it made her catch her breath, and she closed her eyes against the pain until a familiar voice spoke at her elbow.
“Mrs. Adler.” She opened her eyes to find Lord Walter watching her, his expression gentle as he bowed. “How goes your evening thus far?”
Lily raised her brows. “What can I say but ‘splendidly’ when my host is the one asking?”
“You could say ‘a touch overwhelming, as these affairs tend to be, especially after several years’ absence,’” the viscount said. Lily, caught off guard, felt her lips part in a surprised oh. “I told Lady Walter not to browbeat you into coming, but she has always had a mind of her own.” Lord Walter’s eyes rested on his wife, currently making her way down the dance floor, and he smiled fondly. “I saw you alone and thought I might help you become reacquainted with a few of the other guests. If you would like?”
Lily was touched. Lord Walter, as popular as his wife, with handsome wings of gray against his dark hair, had always been kind to her. “Whom do you suggest?” she asked.
“I believe there are several of your former schoolfellows here tonight,” he said, looking around. “I think Lady Walter said you have kept in touch with some of them? Mrs. Harlowe and her husband are just across the room.”
Lily turned to follow his glance, and her expression softened at the sight of the familiar face. Margaret Harlowe had been a dear friend since they were fifteen. The daughter of a respectable country gentleman, the great-niece of an earl, and expected to marry well, she had fallen in love with a sweet, round, red-faced peer’s secretary. Margaret had abandoned her social aspirations to marry the man she loved, a choice not many women would have made. Her husband, Andrew, was active in furthering his patron’s parliamentary concerns and likely to one day stand for a seat of his own. Lily had not seen either of them since the funeral, but Margaret had been a loyal correspondent and one of the voices urging Lily’s return to London.
The Harlowes were speaking with Isobel Harper, another former pupil of Miss Tattersy’s Seminary for Young Ladies. A few years ago, Lily would have been only too happy to avoid conversation with Miss Harper. Now, though, any familiar face was a welcome sight, and she gratefully took the arm Lord Walter held out to her. “I should love to join them.” She glanced sideways at her host as they made their way across the floor. “It is good of you to accompany me, though I know you should be attending to your guests.”
“You are my guest as well, Mrs. Adler.” His smile was gentle. “And I intend to see you enjoying yourself at least a little before I must excuse myself. Though I would much prefer to stay. The conversation that awaits me does not promise to be the most stimulating of the night.”
“The sacrifices we demand of our politicians,” Lily said solemnly. “And we do not even bother to pay them for their trouble.”
“A grievous oversight,” Lord Walter agreed, mouth twitching with laughter. “Ah, here we are. Ladies, Harlowe, how do you do?”
“Lily!” Margaret Harlowe seized her friend’s hands. “What on earth are you doing here?”
Mr. Harlowe’s greetings were less effusive than his wife’s, but equally warm. Even Miss Harper, whom Lily remembered as being cold and aloof, seemed sincere as she offered her own welcome. Settling in to talk with them—a conversation less intimate than the one she had shared with Serena earlier that day—Lily relaxed for the first time that night.
Lord Walter stayed with them a few minutes before offering his apologies. “Parliamentary duties call. My secretary insists that I use the evening to speak with one or two other members. If you will excuse me?”
He had only been gone a few moments when Serena returned, Jack still with her. “There you are, Lily! I wondered where you had got to in this crush. Margaret, Mr. Harlowe, so delighted you could be here. Isobel, I do love that shade of blue on you. Was that my husband I saw leaving just now? Did he see me coming and make a hasty retreat?” She laughed at her own joke. “Your friend acquits himself admirably on the dance floor, Lily, once he deigns to do so.” Serena glanced at Jack and added in a loud whisper, “Though I was right, he is a shocking flirt. We must be careful introducing him.”
“You invited him,” Lily said dryly. Serena loved being flirted with. “Any responsibility for his shocking behavior belongs to you.”
“I say, that is hardly kind,” Jack protested. “Talking about a fellow when he is standing right here. That is what I call shocking.”
“As is the fact that Lady Walter has neglected introductions,” Margaret said with good humor. “Perhaps Lily will introduce us to her handsome friend?”
Lily saw Jack grin at the compliment and shook her head as she performed introductions, while Serena protested that she had been about to do that very thing.
Before much else could be said, a dandily dressed young man sauntered up, his cravat tied with elegant complexity and his hair mussed with stylish precision. He was dreadfully handsome, and Lily could tell with a single glance that he was fully aware of that fact. But she didn’t recognize him until he planted a kiss on Miss Harper’s cheek and greeted her with a careless, “Hello, sister.” Reggie Harper, she remembered, was Isobel Harper’s older brother. Lily thought she caught a scowl on Miss Harper’s face and was sure for a moment that she was about to pull away. But a moment later she was smiling again, so quickly that Lily wondered if she had imagined the other expression. Reggie Harper bowed to Serena. “Lady Walter. A most splendid soiree you have thrown for us this evening.”
“I am delighted that you think so, Mr. Harper,” Serena said. “I should love to stay and talk, but I must steal Lily and Captain Hartley away for a moment. If you will excuse us?”
Lily was only too glad to let Serena lead her away. She did not like the way Mr. Harper was eyeing her up and down, or the tone of his voice as he asked, “Who was that woman with Lady Walter?” when she was not quite out of earshot.
“Lord, how warm it is in here!” Serena fanned herself briskly once they were away from the other group. “I need a sip of your wine, Lily. Now, where did Mrs. Meredith swan off to? I wanted to introduce you …”
“There was a real reason you pulled me away?” Lily raised a brow as she handed over her glass. “And here I thought you simply wished to avoid the Harpers. I was surprised to see you had invited them.”