Free Carola Dunn by Lord Roworth's Reward

move soon, he was discussing his ball in a fortnight’s time as if he believed it would take place. Did he really trust the Rothschilds’ reports, as he claimed, or would he once again wait for confirmation from Colonel Grant?
    “I wonder what Boney is up to?” Unintentionally, Felix spoke his thought aloud.
    “Pray do not speak of the wretched man, my lord!” Lady Sophia gracefully seated herself on a striped satin loveseat part-screened by potted palms. “Surely we can find more interesting topics of conversation.”
    So he poured compliments into her shell-like ear, so much more attractive and, he hoped, attentive than the Duke’s. It took some skill to avoid the narrow line that separated the acceptable from personal remarks she would consider vulgar. Nonetheless, all the while he was wondering what Fanny would think of Wellington’s casual reaction to his news. Tomorrow morning, after sending off the courier revived by her efforts, he would speculate with her about what the Emperor was concealing behind his impenetrable barrier.
    The Goddess eventually tired of hearing her own praises sung and they talked of the Duchess of Richmond’s ball.
    “Mama says the duchess is preparing a great surprise,” Lady Sophia told him, “but she will not reveal it.”
    “Lady Daventry is on intimate terms with her grace, is she not?” asked Felix, a brilliant idea suddenly dawning on him.
    “They have known each other for ever. That is why I count Lady Georgiana among my friends, for in truth I find her a trifle too spirited for my taste.”
    “The duchess would accept as a guest anyone your mama brought with her, would she not?”
    “Certainly,” she said, puzzled, “but you have received an invitation, I am sure.”
    “Yes, I’m not thinking of myself. Lady Sophia, let me beg a favour of you. Ask your mother to take Miss Ingram with you to the Richmonds’ ball.”
    “Miss Ingram!”
    “She is a young lady who resides at my lodging house, the sister of an officer...”
    “Lord Roworth, how dare you mention that loose woman in my presence!” Her voice vibrated with fury. “To ask me to associate with your...your chère amie goes far beyond the bounds of what is permissible even in a foreign country!”
    Felix was aghast at her misconception, and angry. “In plain English,” he said tightly, “Miss Ingram is my dear friend. She is not and never has been my mistress.”
    Lady Sophia flushed. “Since you say so, of course I must believe you. However, everyone knows she has an illegitimate child.”
    “Anita’s birth is irrelevant, since Miss Ingram is not her mother. She is the daughter of a Spanish lady and a British soldier.”
    “You are excessively credulous, my lord.”
    “If she were Miss Ingram’s child, how much easier Miss Ingram’s life would be if she called herself a widow! No one would challenge such a claim, for many of her friends died in the Peninsula and those who survived are very protective of their own.”
    “Supposing her to be telling you the truth, she would do better to put the girl in an orphanage. She will never find a husband with a love-child on her hands.”
    Felix had to admire her change of heart once she knew the facts: now she was expressing concern for Fanny’s well-being. She was not to blame, gently raised as she was, for being unable to comprehend the impossibility--the horror!--of the notion of Anita in an orphanage.
    “Miss Ingram has chosen a difficult life,” he admitted. “All the more reason to give her a little gaiety for once.”
    “I respect your kindness in wishing to give her the pleasure of a fashionable ball,” Lady Sophia said stiffly, “but alas, it will not do. I am willing to accept that Miss Ingram is respectable. However, I cannot possibly ask my mother, let alone the Duchess of Richmond, to lend countenance to such a nobody.” Her air of finality was softened by a sweet smile as she added, “Come, my lord, I believe they are striking up