Free Miss Cresswell's London Triumph by Evelyn Richardson

her wandering attention was occupied elsewhere. "And so, the mahout and I climbed down from the elephant and I was able to dispatch the wounded tiger with a bullet between the eyes," Freddie concluded.
    "Very interesting. I am sure you did yourself proud, Arabella replied vaguely with a notable lack of enthusiasm. "Was Ned with you? I vow he is vastly changed since I saw him last. I overheard Lady Jersey telling Countess Lieven that he left a trail of broken hearts in India and Europe. Such a man of the world is sure to cast the other pinks of the ton into the shade, such dull lives as they lead. Did you say he stays with his sister?"
    At last Freddie understood the impetus behind the visit and was highly amused by it.
    Cassie, on the other hand, was incensed. She could barely keep from ringing a peal over their visitor and was debating the wisdom of depressing their visitor's ill-concealed interest in Ned with a sharp retort when the object of all this interest himself was announced.
    Ned Mainwaring in riding clothes was even more arresting than Ned Mainwaring in evening attire. The exquisite cut of his coat showed off his broad shoulders to advantage and the close- fitting breeches emphasized the powerful long legs that made him tower over other men. This height, which had made him a gangly and somewhat self-conscious youth, now gave him an air of command, which was further accentuated by his piercing blue eyes and resolute jaw.
    "Hello, sir," he greeted Julian, extending a lean tanned hand to his former guardian and mentor.
    "Ned, my lad. It's wonderful to see you. I hope you have come to enlighten us on the true state of things behind the undoubtedly highly embellished tales with which Freddie has been regaling us," Lord Mainwaring greeted his nephew with quizzically raised brows.
    Ned barely had the opportunity to shake his hand and bend over Lady Frances's before Arabella pounced.
    "Ned! How delightful to have you back. WeVe missed you this age. London has been sadly flat," she declared as she swept gracefully across the room, extending a hand and smiling at him in such a way that he received the full effect of charming dimples and pearly teeth.
    Behind Cassie, Freddie, who was enjoying the scene hugely, snorted, "What a bouncer!"
    And Cassie, unable to contain herself, gasped, "Why she never paid the least mind to him in Hampshire, let alone London!"
    The subject of all this attention appeared unaware of it as he smiled broadly down at Arabella. "Arabella, you are as exquisite as I remember you. Though absent from London's salons, I have nevertheless heard news that you have taken the ton by storm."
    If Freddie had snorted before, he fairly gagged now. Ned was the best of good fellows and someone you could count on in the most desperate of situations, but this was doing it much too brown.
    Cassie, too, was taken aback. How could Ned, her simple, direct, awkward Ned, speak such fustian?
    Arabella, who did not share the twins' critical point of view, scolded him archly as he bent over her hand. "Flatterer. You know you never gave a rap about the latest on-dits."
    Ned raised a mobile eyebrow, rejoining, "You will not let me forget the gaucheries of my past, I see, but where the on-dits concern you, I assure you, I listened very carefully."
    This bantering exchange could have continued for some time, delighting some and boring others, if Lady Taylor had not recalled with a start their appointment with the dressmaker. "Arabella, come my dear, we must be off," she announced, rising majestically. "Lady Frances, I shall be sending cards for an affair we're having—nothing elaborate, you understand—just a pleasant evening with a card party for us and some dancing for the young people."
    Cassie, who could barely keep her own lip from quivering at the thought of Frances and Lord Mainwaring relegated to the card room with the likes of Sir Lucius and Lady Taylor, wondered how her sister was able to keep her countenance. A