Wallflower (Old Maids' Club, Book 1) by Catherine Gayle Read Free Book Online Page A

expression
greeted him. “Glastonbury has been chasing after your mother for
nearly a year, and she hasn’t exactly been discouraging his
attentions, now has she? I doubt more than a dozen people present
aren’t already fully aware that they intend to marry. Stop avoiding
the issue at hand. What did you do to Tabitha?”
    By Jove, these Shelton men were next
to impossible to put off the hunt when they smelled blood. By this
point, Glastonbury’s announcement had been made and the crowd had
burst into clamorous cheers. There was no more point in attempting
to listen. No more point in attempting to avoid Claremont and
Leith’s questions.
    Noah dragged a hand through his hair,
more than likely mussing it beyond repair. “I don’t know. I don’t
have any idea what happened. She was smiling and enjoying herself
with me one minute, talking and laughing and the like, and then the
next she wasn’t. Then she left. You two seem to know more about
what happened after she left me than I do. I only know she walked
away.” Crying. Good God, he ought to be hanged.
    “ You have to fix it,”
Claremont insisted. “Whatever you did, you need to undo. I hope for
your sake Owen and Toby didn’t notice the way she darted
away.”
    “ No, that wouldn’t do at
all,” Leith said. “But I think Raynesford was in the card room. No
telling where Shelton got off to. He probably found a lusty widow
to entertain. Either way, you have time to make amends before they
discover what you’ve done.”
    This was utterly maddening. “How can
they discover what I’ve done if even I don’t know what I’ve done?”
Claremont and Leith merely looked at him with a combination of pity
and annoyance.
    Noah sighed. “This whole affair was an
absolute fiasco. I can’t believe I agreed to go along with it in
the first place.” Particularly since he actually felt more than
just a modicum of affection for the lady in question. He had
disappointed himself more than anyone else. “I think it will be
best if I look elsewhere. Lady Tabitha seems disinclined to play
along.”
    Crossing his arms over his chest,
Claremont frowned. “Fiasco or not, you’ll still have to sort it
out. Don’t give up on Tabitha just yet.”
    “ But,” Leith started,
eyeing his long-time friend askance, “perhaps it would not hurt for
Devonport to see what other offerings the marriage mart has to
offer. Why don’t you and I join him tomorrow at the musicale? We
can help steer him in the direction of young misses who could suit
his needs. You can bring Helen along. She and Elaine would enjoy
that, at least.”
    Pinching half his lips into a frown,
Claremont eventually nodded. “Leith and I will leave you to it.
Looks like you’ve got a crush waiting to offer their
congratulations and well wishes for your mother’s engagement. We’ll
see you tomorrow at Lady Kirkaldy’s event.”
    They turned and left. Within moments,
a sea of gentlemen swarmed Noah, shaking his hand and clapping him
on the back. No means of escape were left open to him.
     
    ~ * ~
     
    The door to the ladies’ retiring room
opened and slammed shut. Tabitha winced from the fresh pang that
assaulted her head.
    “ What on earth do you mean
by leaving Devonport in the middle of the ballroom and rushing off
to hide in here?” Jo’s voice continued to pound in Tabitha’s head
long after her words had ceased.
    “ I wasn’t feeling well,”
Tabitha replied, holding a hand over her eyes to block out the
pain. In all honesty, she did have a headache now, even if she
hadn’t when she’d taken flight to escape Lord Devonport’s presence.
If it hadn’t been fully formed when she’d left him, the interim
thirty minutes or so of analyzing every aspect of their interaction
had completed the job.
    “ What an utter fib.” How
could Jo always see straight through her? Highly irritating, that.
“Tell me what really happened. And don’t you dare try to mince your
words. I’ll know. It will save us both a