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Authors: Evelyn Richardson
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that was responsible for envious looks cast in her direction by the occupants of several other carriages.
Adrian consoled himself with the thought that it was not so much the idea of Alicia that he was having trouble adjusting to as it was the whole concept of marriage and settling into a dull respectable life full of fashionable routs and dinner parties and the inevitable duties of a country landowner. He could always depend on her to present an exquisite appearance and to behave with the utmost propriety, and he could count himself lucky that she did not chatter nor was given to gossip overmuch as so many women were. Few of his friends could expect to find so much in a wife and he should consider himself fortunate in the person who was the 66
My Wayward Lady
by Evelyn Richardson
other half of the long-standing arrangement between the two ancient and distinguished families, the De Villiers and the Chalfonts.
The fact that Alicia lacked passion and enthusiasm was a small price to pay when he was gaining a wife who would always do him proud in the eyes of the fashionable world, while someone like the spirited Miss Harriet would continually have him on tenterhooks wondering which cause she would take up next and who she would dedicate herself to rescuing. Lord Chalfont stopped his horse dead in its tracks and blinked in astonishment. Now where had the idea of Miss Harriet come from? But now that it was there he could not rid himself of it. Taking up the reins he resumed his pace and, glancing down at Alicia who sat serenely in her place acknowledging acquaintances now and then with a gracious nod, he pictured how Harriet would be, the sun gleaming on her red curls, her face bright with interest as she surveyed the passing scene. In all probability, however, she would not be sitting tamely in a barouche. From the little he had seen of that lively young woman, he was relatively certain that she would ride her own horse or drive herself in some dashing vehicle.
"...make Lord Chalfont known to Lady Kilbride." His fiancée's well-modulated voice intruded into Adrian's thoughts and he looked down to see Alicia waving to a stately looking dowager nodding to them from an approaching landau.
"So very happy, such an honor, so delighted for dearest Alicia," the lady gushed enthusiastically, inspecting him as critically as anyone he had ever seen examining the prime 67
My Wayward Lady
by Evelyn Richardson
bits of blood at Tattersall's. Indeed, Adrian felt like nothing so much as a prize hunter or a beautifully matched team as they greeted Alicia's various acquaintances. Many of these were already known to him, but those who were not scrutinized him with the same degree of interest that one might accord a prized piece of livestock. At least, he muttered bitterly to himself as another barouche of town tabbies bade farewell to them, they appear to think she has done well for herself. I suppose I should be grateful for that. But he was not. And Adrian returned to his quarters in Mount Street in a savage mood, thoroughly disgusted with humanity in general and the ton in particular. In fact, the only thing that truly cheered him was the prospect of returning to Mrs. Lovington's next Tuesday to discover more about Harriet. At least she was a woman who demanded nothing from him except his absence. He chuckled at the thought of how very put out she had been when he had reappeared in her class and how very hard she had tried to hide it. The marquess could hardly wait to put her out all over again, but he was forced to contain his impatience for an entire week as best he could, enduring tame excursions to Hyde Park at the fashionable hour and even tamer appearances at the plethora of balls and routs for which Alicia and her mother required his escort. Alicia's father, lucky dog, had managed to have himself urgently recalled to the country the moment he had established his women in London. Thus it was that no matter how often Lord Chalfont
Adrian consoled himself with the thought that it was not so much the idea of Alicia that he was having trouble adjusting to as it was the whole concept of marriage and settling into a dull respectable life full of fashionable routs and dinner parties and the inevitable duties of a country landowner. He could always depend on her to present an exquisite appearance and to behave with the utmost propriety, and he could count himself lucky that she did not chatter nor was given to gossip overmuch as so many women were. Few of his friends could expect to find so much in a wife and he should consider himself fortunate in the person who was the 66
My Wayward Lady
by Evelyn Richardson
other half of the long-standing arrangement between the two ancient and distinguished families, the De Villiers and the Chalfonts.
The fact that Alicia lacked passion and enthusiasm was a small price to pay when he was gaining a wife who would always do him proud in the eyes of the fashionable world, while someone like the spirited Miss Harriet would continually have him on tenterhooks wondering which cause she would take up next and who she would dedicate herself to rescuing. Lord Chalfont stopped his horse dead in its tracks and blinked in astonishment. Now where had the idea of Miss Harriet come from? But now that it was there he could not rid himself of it. Taking up the reins he resumed his pace and, glancing down at Alicia who sat serenely in her place acknowledging acquaintances now and then with a gracious nod, he pictured how Harriet would be, the sun gleaming on her red curls, her face bright with interest as she surveyed the passing scene. In all probability, however, she would not be sitting tamely in a barouche. From the little he had seen of that lively young woman, he was relatively certain that she would ride her own horse or drive herself in some dashing vehicle.
"...make Lord Chalfont known to Lady Kilbride." His fiancée's well-modulated voice intruded into Adrian's thoughts and he looked down to see Alicia waving to a stately looking dowager nodding to them from an approaching landau.
"So very happy, such an honor, so delighted for dearest Alicia," the lady gushed enthusiastically, inspecting him as critically as anyone he had ever seen examining the prime 67
My Wayward Lady
by Evelyn Richardson
bits of blood at Tattersall's. Indeed, Adrian felt like nothing so much as a prize hunter or a beautifully matched team as they greeted Alicia's various acquaintances. Many of these were already known to him, but those who were not scrutinized him with the same degree of interest that one might accord a prized piece of livestock. At least, he muttered bitterly to himself as another barouche of town tabbies bade farewell to them, they appear to think she has done well for herself. I suppose I should be grateful for that. But he was not. And Adrian returned to his quarters in Mount Street in a savage mood, thoroughly disgusted with humanity in general and the ton in particular. In fact, the only thing that truly cheered him was the prospect of returning to Mrs. Lovington's next Tuesday to discover more about Harriet. At least she was a woman who demanded nothing from him except his absence. He chuckled at the thought of how very put out she had been when he had reappeared in her class and how very hard she had tried to hide it. The marquess could hardly wait to put her out all over again, but he was forced to contain his impatience for an entire week as best he could, enduring tame excursions to Hyde Park at the fashionable hour and even tamer appearances at the plethora of balls and routs for which Alicia and her mother required his escort. Alicia's father, lucky dog, had managed to have himself urgently recalled to the country the moment he had established his women in London. Thus it was that no matter how often Lord Chalfont
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