The old man nodded, and gave her arm another poke.
“Tell me, sir, if you would — you must be acquainted with Noble if you know of his troubles.”
“Aye, that I do.”
“Then perhaps you would tell me — do you think I will be successful in my quest?”
The sapphire eyes slowly turned away from her and gazed out into the crush of people meandering by. “You’ll need to uncover secrets, gel.”
“Secrets?”
“Aye, secrets and lies, each begetting the other, one ending where the other begins. If you can figure out that puzzle, you will be successful.”
She pondered his answer for a moment, decided it was, on the whole, optimistic, and smiled and gave his hand a little squeeze. She was about to ask him how he knew Noble when Charlotte found her.
“Dearest cousin, you’ll never guess what Mama…for heaven’s sake, Gilly, can’t you keep those gloves on for five minutes? Oh, never mind them, come with me. I have the most shocking news to tell you!”
Gillian was appalled by her cousin’s rudeness to the old man, but before she could protest, Charlotte dragged her off to a relatively quiet corner near an alcove containing a bust of Paris.
“What is it, Char? I was having a fascinating conversation…”
Charlotte’s face screwed up suddenly as she whipped around to face the wall while she bit back the beginning of tears. Gillian put her arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring little squeeze. “Oh, blast, I’m sorry, Char, it’s so warm in here, my hands must be perspiring…I’m sure that will come out.”
Charlotte stared as her cousin tried to wipe the blue fingerprints off the silver tulle on her shoulder. “Gilly! This goes beyond your normal ineptitude and lack of social graces! What are we going to do? Papa just told Mama not to have you present me to anyone. Gillian—”
Charlotte turned and started to take her cousin’s hands in hers, then remembered the paint. She made a quick check of Gillian’s arms, then clutched her by the elbows instead. “Gillian, you don’t seem to recognize how serious things are for Weston. He’s been cut by just about everyone, Papa says, and soon won’t be recognized by anyone nice.”
“Countess Lieven said he’d always be welcome.”
“Countess Lieven says one thing one day and another the next. Gillian, you don’t seem to understand the gravity of this situation — if Lord Weston continues to be persona non grata, I won’t be able to be seen with you.”
Gillian blinked at her. “You what?”
“I’m sorry, Gilly, truly I am, but Mama says we won’t be able to recognize you if things do not begin to improve for Lord Weston.”
“I see,” Gillian said coldly, and shook off her cousin’s hands. “Thank you for alerting me to the situation, Charlotte. I wouldn’t wish to blight your chances with either my or Noble’s unwelcome presence.”
“Oh, Gilly, I just knew you were going to go all haughty on me and take it like that. Gilly — Gilly! Let me explain—”
Gillian suffered her cousin to pull her back to the alcove. She pretended to examine the bust, tracing a finger around a marble ear, not wishing to admit she was wounded to the bone by her cousin’s words.
“I promise, cousin, no matter what the ton says about your husband, I’ll always stand by you.”
Gillian gave her cousin a grateful smile and a quick hands-free embrace. “Thank you, Char. I didn’t think for a moment you’d abandon us.”
“Well, it won’t be easy, but we’ll worry about that when it happens. Dear heavens, look what you’ve done to the countess’s bust! Come, let us go over there where you can do no harm.”
Gillian followed her cousin meekly, scanning the room for signs of a familiar form.
“Will you stop peering around like a long-necked giraffe and tell me what it is you’re looking for?”
“Noble, although why I should want to see him after the atrocious way he treated me, I couldn’t say.”
Charlotte looked over the crowd with her cousin, then motioned toward the door leading to the veranda. “Why are you so angry with your husband? What atrocious thing has he done?”
Gillian explained about the cold way Noble had mentioned he would escort her home if she desired.
“This is my first ball as his wife, Charlotte. You can imagine what people must be saying about us when he can’t be bothered to attend with me!”
“Well, about that.” Charlotte paused for a moment, wondering how to break the news to her cousin. She opted for the easy way. “Look, there’s Aunt Fielding. Do let us go and greet her. She always has the latest gossip.”
Gillian agreed reluctantly. “Just for a moment, though. I want to look for Noble.”
Charlotte tsked at her and herded her outside onto the veranda to where her aunt sat surrounded by a group of chattering women. Upon seeing Gillian, the women exchanged raised eyebrows and knowing nods and moved off.
“What was that about?” Gillian hissed to her cousin.
“Nothing. Behave yourself. Good evening, Aunt.”
Gillian exchanged pleasantries with her cousin’s aunt, a woman of indeterminate age and French background, and sat in a small chair when so ordered. “I wish to speak with you, Gillian. I know that our relationship is not one of blood, but I think of you as I would my own flesh-and-blood niece, and hope I’ve treated you with as much care and attention as I have dear little Charlotte.”
“Oh, yes, indeed,” Gillian said, watching the people parade past on the veranda, enjoying the lovely evening.
“You have become very dear to me, which is why I will say to you that I could not help but notice that Lord Weston is not with you this evening. I do hope there are no difficulties?”
“Difficulties?”
“Difficulties — a little contretemps between you and the earl, perhaps? It is not uncommon, I believe, for a bride and groom to have little disagreements and unpleasantnesses as they settled in.”
“I thank you for your concern, Lady Fielding, but I can assure you—”
“My dear Gillian—” The older woman interrupted her and leaned toward her. “My dear, allow me, one who is older and wiser, to counsel you in this matter. It is said that you and the earl have had a rather heated disagreement. You must not allow such differences to drive you apart. These things will pass, and if you treat them as they should be treated — that is to say, ignored — then your life will be a most happy one.”
Gillian stared at the baroness. “Someone is spreading rumors that Noble and I have had an argument?”
The feathers in the baroness’s elaborately arranged hair bobbed as she nodded. “It is quite the talk, although I beg you to pay no notice to it. It is quite evidently false, as your appearance here tonight has proven.”
Gillian’s hands tightened into fists. How dare anyone spread more rumors about poor Noble! Wasn’t it enough he had to contend with the false ones about his late wife? How on earth could someone know that they’d had an argument that day, and who was spreading the news? “Who is telling you these things, Lady Fielding?”
“Oh, I’ve heard it from here and there. Talk of the Black Earl and his treatment of you is all anyone speaks of now. No one truly expected that he would manage to marry and keep his wife, no matter how”—she eyed Gillian’s bare arms, blue hands, and palm-printed gown—“unorthodox that wife might be.”
“Well, this really takes the cake,” Gillian fumed a few minutes later, when she and Charlotte had escaped Lady Fielding’s presence. “Someone is spreading the most appalling rumors about Noble, trying to create trouble for him, and it’s working! Everyone is blaming Noble for a little argument we had.”