“Lord Belmont, it is a pleasure to see you again. Why, Mary was just asking after you. And Miss Belmont is here with you also.”
Claire had not realized Mathew was still at her back until she felt him move to her side.
“Lady Blake, it is a pleasure to see you again also,” Mathew said, bowing deeply before the prune-faced woman. Claire had always loathed her and wasn’t overly enamored with her daughters, either.
“Lady Blake.” Claire moved closer to her brother’s side. She may not have liked him very much at that moment, but he was still her blood, and although her future would probably not hold him in it, she would not see him shackled to one of the Blake sisters.
“Miss Belmont, that is a rather…dashing dress.”
Claire held still with a bored expression on her face as Lady Blake looked her over with a curl to her lips. The woman had gall–she’d give her that–especially as she herself usually wore gowns so low-cut, most people held their breath when she leant forward. “Why, thank you, my lady. Coming from an arbiter of fashion such as yourself, that is a compliment indeed.”
“Lord Belmont, I declare my evening is now complete. Mother, shame on you for monopolizing the most handsome man in the room.” Lavinia Blake pushed in front of her mother to give Mathew a suggestive smile followed by a little giggle that made her exposed breasts wiggle. She was the nastiest of the three Blake sisters, probably as she was the oldest and had sharpened her claws longer than the other two. She gave Claire’s gown a dismissive glance, then returned her gaze to Mathew. Her eyes narrowed as she calculated how best to capture his attention. “I have heard there may be dancing later, my lord. I hope you will partner me at least once, if not twice.”
In the normal course of an evening, Claire would simply dismiss Lavinia Blake’s forward behavior. She would usually just shrug and offer the girl a platitude, then move on to someone who did not annoy her quite as much. However since her brother had informed her they would not be going to Liverpool for Anthony’s child, she had been seething with unsuppressed rage. Unfortunately for the foolish girl, Claire needed an outlet for some of that anger, and she was about to be the recipient.
“But surely to dance twice would cause speculation for a debutante, Miss Blake.” Claire smiled but not sweetly. “A lady such as you, barely out in society, should not risk censure from those of us who are more experienced.” Leaning forward in what appeared to be a friendly manner, she then tapped the girl’s hand, and she was fairly sure her eyes shot flames as Lavinia Blake stepped back onto her mother’s foot. “Furthermore, Miss Blake, the man should always do the soliciting, and it is remiss of your mother not to point this out to you.” She then nodded into the stunned faces of the Blake women before turning to her brother. “Mathew, I need you to accompany me now, if you please. There is a matter I wish to discuss with Lord Kelkirk, and I think it will be of interest to you.”
Claire felt her brother’s eyes rest briefly on her face as she finished speaking, and then he bowed to the Blake ladies. “Excuse me, ladies. My sister needs me.”
They walked in silence through the throng until the Blake women were out of sight. Only then did Claire stop.
“Thank you.”
She didn’t pretend not to understand what Mathew was thanking her for.
“I have no wish to share a dinner table with that woman ever in my life. Therefore what I did was as much for my benefit as yours. Good evening, my lord,” she then added, and, turning her back on him, she walked away without a backward glance.
“Belmont, come and join us. Major Brantley is giving a detailed and riveting accounting of his daughter’s latest equestrian achievements.”
Simon had noticed Claire’s brother standing very still, watching his sister walk away from him. His stance upright, his fists clenched, Mathew Belmont looked angry as he followed Claire with his eyes, and Simon wondered what she had said to make him feel that way. When he had visited them only a few days ago, Claire and her brother had seemed comfortable with each other, so he was all the more intrigued as to what had produced that reaction in the man.
“Lord Kelkirk.” Belmont gave him and the others in his small group an elegant bow.
The major started into another long and detailed monologue of his daughter’s exploits, which involved a lot of gesturing and horse terms.
“If you smile and nod at intervals, he doesn’t notice you’re not listening,” Simon whispered to Mathew. “I am almost looking forward to the music starting just to shut him up.”