Pursuing Miss Hall by Karen Thornell
Chapter Six
Nathan pushed the drawing room doors open before realizing he ought to have found the butler to see him in. Judging by Lady Hall’s sharp, questioning glance, his oversight was not overlooked. He was off to a good start at endearing himself to her. With a bolstering breath, he strode straight to her.
“Lady Hall, I do not believe you have ever looked so fetching. Please forgive my lateness.”
Meg’s mother’s stern expression dissolved. At least Nathan could be assured that his charm remained intact, even if Meg was wholly unaffected.
“Thank you, Mr. Blake. Your delayed arrival is already forgiven. But where are your parents?”
“I am afraid my mother was feeling a little overtired this evening, and so they ascertained it was best she remain home. My father stayed with her. They send their regrets.”
“I do hope she is well.”
Nathan smiled. “I am sure she will be. Now, where have you need of me?” He looked about him, unable to keep from paying particular attention to the three gentlemen invited specifically for Meg. He had met them the night before and was not particularly impressed. His teeth clenched together, and he returned his gaze to Lady Hall. She seemed surprised, her brows raised slightly, as if she had not expected to receive such express help from him.
“Well, if you would not mind, I would very much like to have another game of cards started. I fear our company may grow bored with just the one and only conversation and refreshments to provide entertainment otherwise. Perhaps you could entice Mr. Parking’s brother and sisters to join you?” She watched him innocently enough, but Nathan understood just what she was about. By having Nathan start a game with the Parking siblings, he would be removing two of the eligible ladies from the gathering and subsequently ensuring they were not capable of drawing attention away from Meg.
But his mother had said that he must not hover, that he must endear himself to Lady Hall, and that he must do it all even if he did not want to. And she was far wiser than he. So Nathan bit back a sigh and nodded.
“I would be delighted, Lady Hall. If you will excuse me, I shall form the group directly.” As he spoke, he noticed Meg slip back into the room. Immediately, the man with the large teeth overtook her. A Mr. Evans, if Nathan recalled correctly. He watched as she graciously took his arm and allowed him to lead her to a grouping of chairs. But while Mr. Evans sat on the settee with plenty of space beside him for her, Meg took a chair to his left. Nathan hid a smile. Perhaps he could take Mr. Evans off the list of potential competitors to Nathan’s own suit.
With that bolstering thought, he requested the Parking siblings join him in a game of cards. They agreed heartily, supporting Lady Hall’s fears that the evening was growing stagnant. Though, interestingly, the other group of card players dispersed to partake of the refreshments and converse following the end of their next game.
Nathan played terribly, not that Miss Mary Parking nor Miss Caroline Parking seemed to mind, considering their tittering and the flirtatious glances sent his way. They were both in possession of nearly white and barely contained curls. In a few years, they would be considered very pretty, but now, he could only consider them very young. And very silly. Their continuous giggling made them appear even younger than the sixteen or seventeen years he believed them to be.
“Perhaps, Mr. Blake, you would be better suited for a game of loo rather than whist?” Mr. Simon Parking joked as he and his sister gathered the cards from their second victory.
“Oh, I assure you I would be just as terrible at loo. It seems I am not destined to be a successful card player in this lifetime. I hope you will forgive my faults.”
One sister tittered again, and the other shot her a look. It was growing difficult for Nathan to tell them apart.
Nathan smiled reassuringly. “Please do laugh. I would far prefer you find my blunders entertaining than frustrating.”
“We are not at all frustrated, Mr. Blake.” The one Nathan believed to be Caroline fluttered her eyelashes. Nathan’s smile faltered.
“Perhaps you ought to play with Miss Hall more,” Mr. Simon Parking offered with a droll wave of his hand. “Her extreme luck would likely balance out your lack thereof.” The man’s older brother must have his hands full with this one. Simon Parking appeared to have that perfect balance of a devil-may-care attitude and lack of responsibility that led many young men into trouble—generally of the financial kind.
Nathan looked across the room to where Meg sat, grateful for the excuse to gaze in the direction his eyes had been seeking all evening. She was now in conversation with both Mr. Parking and Viscount Hatfield. Nathan’s hands tightened around his new grouping of cards. Of the men, those two, the heir to a baronetcy and the viscount, were the most likely to win Meg’s hand. The viscount was, well, a viscount. And though Mr. Parking was nearly too old for Meg, he did have a title of his own coming.
“Yes,” he managed in response to the young Mr. Parking’s comment. He had nearly waited too long to answer. “Perhaps I ought to.”
Meg looked up then, catching Nathan’s eye right before it was his turn to play a card. His breath caught in his chest at the overwhelmed look in her alluring green eyes.
“Miss Caroline,” Nathan said, his gaze darting to Lady Hall, who was not paying attention to them in the least, “I fear I have dragged you down with my poor playing for far too long. Perhaps we could convince Viscount Hatfield to take my place?” Lady Hall would murder him, but Meg’s apparent need was more important than such a small inconvenience.
The younger Miss Parking eyed him for a moment, and he worried he may have gotten her mixed up with her sister. But then she straightened and pressed her lips together, her eyes straying to the viscount in an almost predatory fashion. “Perhaps we can,” she said, the comment almost a question.
Nathan nodded encouragingly, and the girl unknowingly took up his cause.
“Viscount Hatfield?” she called in a gratingly high voice, tossing her head so her light curls jumped about her face. “Would you be interested in taking Mr. Blake’s place? I fear you have not had a chance to play yet this evening.”
The man in question barely flicked their group a glance before responding. “No, thank you. I do not particularly enjoy cards. Perhaps Mr. Evans would oblige you?”
Mr. Evans lifted his chin proudly. “I should rather enjoy another round, yes.” He rose from his seat as Nathan rose from his, and the two switched places.
Nathan glanced at Miss Caroline before leaving, not surprised to see she looked rather cross to have fallen into this new partnership. He swallowed the small amount of guilt that flared within him and crossed the room to join Meg and Lord Hatfield. Mr. Parking had turned to begin a conversation with Miss Evans, whose mother had just retired for the evening. One gentleman, then, had been removed from Meg.
Nathan doubted he would be capable of accomplishing the same with the viscount. If nothing else, though, he intended to provide support for Meg. And it wouldn’t hurt if he managed to further his own cause at the same time. “Might I join the two of you?” he asked when he reached them.
Two very different expressions greeted him. Meg’s was relieved and grateful; Lord Hatfield’s was annoyed. Still, they both nodded, and Nathan took the chair nearest Meg. Lord Hatfield scowled. The man reminded Nathan of a peacock with his bright-blue waistcoat and highly styled blond hair.
Meg could not prefer a man with such elaborate tastes, could she?
No, not with the amount of time they had spent romping about the country as children. She could not like a man who walked about with collar points so high that he could not see the ideal angle from which to throw one’s ball in lawn bowls. The viscount’s coat was also far too close-fitting to climb through windows.
Which everyone knew was the mark of a true man.
Nathan cleared his throat. “Now, what fascinating topic are we discussing?” His gaze moved between both of them, though it wanted to linger on Meg. She looked enchanting in a deep-purple gown.
“We were discussing the latest men’s fashions seen in London,” Meg said carefully.
Nathan nearly laughed. Of course they were discussing fashion. Looking at Lord Hatfield, it was clear the man cared deeply for such a topic.
“And what are your thoughts on the latest fashions, Lord Hatfeel?” Nathan asked innocently.
The man narrowed his eyes at Nathan’s incorrect pronunciation, but he did not comment on it. Instead, he launched into a detailed description of his own tailor. Nathan again struggled not to laugh as he watched Meg’s attempts at seeming interested. Her occasional glances at the clock betrayed her boredom, as did the slight curving of her shoulders, as if she could not manage to sit up straight much longer. Once or twice, her gaze caught his own, and her lips would twitch at the raising of his brow or overdone look of interest regarding whatever the viscount currently discussed.
The conversation continued far longer than Nathan could have expected. He’d never before known such detail regarding his own sex’s fashions.
The first of the party to retire were Mr. Evans’s parents. But after the remaining card game was completed, Mr. Parking and his brother followed, requiring that their sisters retire as well.
When Lord Hatfield’s mother stood, indicating her desire to withdraw, Lord Hatfield dutifully assisted her to her rooms. Nathan had only thirty seconds alone in Meg’s company, during which he teased a small smile back onto her face by quite seriously asking her if his waistcoat was up to par with Lord Hatfield’s tailored one, before Mr. Evans and his sister began to bid farewell for the evening.
Soon, only Meg, her parents, and Nathan remained. Though such a group would have been natural on any other evening, it appeared that evenings during the house party would be far different.
“Thank you for coming this evening, Mr. Blake. Please send our regards and well wishes to your parents. I hope they will join us for future activities.”
Nathan understood exactly what was being said: it was time for him to return home. He stood. “Thank you for inviting me. It was an enjoyable night. I will be sure to convey your regards.”
Lady Hall nodded, standing as well. “I will see you to the door.”
Meg straightened. “That is all right, Mama. I am sure you are quite ready to retire. I will see Mr. Blake out.”
The two women exchanged a look—Lady Hall’s searching and Meg’s imploring—before Sir Robert took his wife’s elbow. “That is a wonderful idea. Thank you, Meg.”
Nathan sighed with relief as the two left, leaving the door wide open. A maid discreetly entered the room to remove the last of the refreshments.
Nathan retook his seat and aimed a mischievous look at Meg. “You wished to be alone with me, did you?” he murmured, so the maid could not hear.
She swatted at him blindly, her eyes closing as she leaned back into her chair. Her entire frame relaxed in that moment, and Nathan saw how much the evening must have weighed on her. “I simply wanted to be in the company of someone who did not expect me to act a certain way for a moment.”
“Ah,” he said solemnly, “so you are using me.”
Her eyes flung open, and she sat up. “Of course not, Nathan.”
He chuckled. “I am teasing, Meg. You must be incredibly tired to not have noticed.”
She relaxed back again, rubbing the side of her forehead. “I am rather tired. Forgive me.”
“No forgiveness needed.”
They sat in companionable silence for a moment before she let out a small groan. “I suppose I should see you to the door. Or would you prefer to exit through the kitchen?” A small smile graced her lips, bringing out that dimple he so adored. Her eyelids remained closed, her dark lashes splaying across high cheeks. A strand of fair hair had escaped its restraints and brushed the back of her ear. Nathan struggled to stay seated.
“The front door will be fine.” His response came out clipped as he attempted to keep the admiration from his tone, and she opened her eyes again to regard him curiously.
“Thank you for coming tonight,” she said. “I am certain you enjoyed it as well as I, but I appreciated having a friend nearby.”
He was simultaneously soothed and crushed. She had admitted to disliking the gathering but had referred to him as a friend.
Which, of course, he was. But the title was feeling more and more inadequate.
“Of course, Meg. I will always be here for you.” She watched him, a small furrow between her brows.
He raised a brow jauntily, throwing off her perusal. “On second thought, there is a window up near the east-wing bedchambers that I have been wondering if I could manage to—”
Meg stood suddenly. “That is three stories up!”
He grinned at her, tilting his head.
“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped, and she laughed. “You are teasing again. Goodness, I must be more tired than I realized. Let me see you out.”
He walked with her to the door. Semphill was nowhere to be found—thank the wonderful butler—so Nathan hefted the front doors open himself. He turned back to say goodbye once more, perhaps to offer a small compliment, but lost the words when he saw Meg standing there.
A soft, tired smile played upon her rosy lips, and that curl had fallen forward to frame her beautiful face.
He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
“Uh. Goodnight.”
Then before she could respond, he slipped into the cool night air and closed the door.
He shook his whole body once before launching himself down the stairs.
“Goodnight?” he muttered as he crossed with heavy steps to the stables. “Three men trying to wed her, a brief moment alone, and all you could say is goodnight?”