Wicked Heart (Brazen Bluestockings #1)

Chapter 6: All The Single Ladies

Sam couldn't quite believe his luck in getting invited to dinner at the Edwards household. It removed his need to find an excuse to visit the house. Now, he only needed to find a chance to look around to see if he could find any clues about the money sent from the Earl of Highwood. Ivy had mentioned that her father had a private study, so that seemed like the best option. Perhaps Mr Edwards still held some of his records from his time as a solicitor in London.

However, sneaking away might not be so easy. His invitation was, perhaps, a little less about luck and a little more about the number of unmarried daughters in the family. Mr Newton had taken care to warn him that Tilbury had only a small number of eligible bachelors to a much larger number of unmarried young ladies. And so he should expect to receive a fair amount of attention at any function he attended during his stay.

As he stood in a large reception room of Orchard Cottage, he had to admit that he hadn't expected quite the amount of attention, nor the sheer quantity of single women present. Ivy had three sisters. All dark beauties like their mother while Ivy took after her father. Then there was Miss Olivia Newton whose family had brought him along, though she—thankfully—appeared to have no interest in him beyond polite interest.

There were three red-haired girls with different constellations of freckles scattered across their faces whose father, Mr Tipp, worked as a solicitor in the village. A fox-faced girl with reddish-brown hair, the daughter of the local vicar, Mr Chalmers, kept making eyes at him while he pretended not to notice.

Was there something in the waters of Tilbury that made families unable to sire males? Other than Lord Ravenscroft—whom he had yet to meet—and the Edwards' one son, there appeared to be no other men of a reasonable age to marry. Except for, apparently, a few sons of local farmers. But most of these families would consider those beneath them and never consider them as prospective matches.

Dinner had been pleasant but somewhat awkward as he fielded rapid questions from both marriage-minded mothers and daughters. They had initially seemed a little uncertain about his suitability when he mentioned having worked as a butler, but when he told them he was looking to use his saved money from the army and his sold commission to lease a small estate, their ears had perked back up again. Maybe he would have done better not to share that detail. He would have had less attention to avoid now.

They were all split between a reception room and the drawing room for after-dinner entertainment. A few of the young ladies played charades while some others simply mingled for a good chat. In the drawing room tables had been set up for card games. A few of the older men had yet to return from having their post-dinner drink and smoke.

Because of the large number of guests, he had not shared more than a few words with Ivy all evening, and it surprised him to find that he had been looking forward to it and now felt somewhat bereft of the opportunity. He hadn't seen her since the dinner ended, and he wondered if she had retired for the night. An unusual move while having visitors, but he could understand if she wanted a respite from the chattering of so many guests.

Deciding that he would never have a better chance than tonight, he excused himself and left the room, pretending to go for some fresh air in the garden. He hadn't made it further than the hallway when someone pushed him around a corner and up against a wall. His eyes widened as he met the brown eyes of the fox-faced girl. Miss Charlotte Chalmers, the vicar's daughter.

She lifted her hand to play with his white cravat, her gaze coy beneath long eyelashes. "I'm so glad you quit the room," she purred. "I so wanted to get better acquainted with you."

Why was it always the vicars' daughters that were the most aggressive at pursuing men? He groaned inwardly as he gently but firmly moved her hand off his person.