Chapter Four

Martha sighed inwardly but quickly forced a smile as her mother looked sharply at her, perhaps hearing the heaviness there.

"I know it is difficult," Lady Hampshire said, though there was a note of firmness in her voice, "but you must be strong in your hope and determined in your mind that this Season will bring you a husband. I understand that standing at the side of the ballroom without company can be disappointing and rather dull at times, but it is important that you do so."

"But father is having no success," Martha said, softly. "He has not even attended the ball this evening!"

The way her mother's mouth pulled to one side made Martha's eyes sharpen just a little. Thus far, her mother had not shared with her as to why Lord Hampshire had not attended the ball with them this evening but herself was clearly well aware as to what was going on.

"I am sure that he shall have success," came the reply. "You just must be patient."

"But if he is not here, then what purpose can there be in my standing here?" Martha asked, quietly. "Why are we here, Mama? It is not as though any gentleman is going to come and ask to dance with me! I am not only a spinster, but I am also a wallflower and – "

"Oh, how glad I am to hear you say that!"

Before Lady Hampshire could speak, another voice broke into their conversation and, a little surprised, Martha turned around to see a young lady beaming at her as though she had said something truly wonderful. "I… I beg your pardon?"

The young lady, that bright smile still on her face, threw up her hands. "It is wonderful to hear you say that you are a wallflower, for I am also! I find myself so very lonely, however, and my own mother is much too taken up with my sister – for she is not a wallflower – and I must hope that, even though we have not been introduced, you might consider a friendship between the two of us? I certainly would benefit from a dear friend for as I have said, I am rather lonely."

Martha blinked furiously, not quite sure what to say. The young lady had spoken at great length and had barely taken a breath and now was looking back at Martha with expectation.

"Might I ask for your name?" Lady Hampshire smiled gently, looking to the young lady and then glancing to Martha. "My daughter would be very glad to be your friend, I am sure."

"Of course," Martha murmured, as the young lady nodded fervently, her blue eyes shining as her blonde curls bounced.

"Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Yes, of course. My name." She paused and bobbed a curtsy. "Miss Anna Stockton, daughter to Viscount and Viscountess Denley."

Martha dropped into a curtsy also. "How very good to meet you, Miss Stockton. I am Lady Martha, daughter to the Earl of Hampshire." She watched, waiting for a flicker of recognition to come into Miss Stockton's eyes but none came.

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance!" Miss Stockton beamed at her all over again and Martha could not help but smile, such was the young lady's enthusiasm. "Though I am sorry that you are also a wallflower. That is difficult, is it not?"

"Yes, it is," Martha admitted, as her mother turned away, leaving the two of them to talk though Martha caught the smile on her mother's lips before she stepped away. Clearly, she was glad that Martha had this opportunity and was hopeful that she would now make the most of it. "You say that your mother is busy with your sister?"

Miss Stockton nodded, her smile fading. "Yes, I did."

"And she is not a wallflower?"

Miss Stockton shook her head. "No, she is not." That smile quickly returned. "I can see that you look rather surprised at this for it is very often that all the sisters from one family are considered wallflowers, though that is usually due to a failing of the mother, the father or one of the daughters themselves, is it not?"

Martha nodded slowly, wondering silently what it was that Miss Stockton herself had done to become a wallflower.

"Alas, it is only I who am to bear the punishment of being a wallflower," Miss Stockton sighed. "I was engaged to a gentleman last Season and he, very sadly and abruptly, ended the engagement."

The way that she spoke, so matter-of-fact and without any seeming emotion made Martha's eyebrows lift in surprise.

"I cared for him a great deal," Miss Stockton continued, clearly not at all interested in keeping any of her emotions to herself. "It was most unexpected, but such are the minds of gentlemen on occasion, I suppose."

"I am terribly sorry to hear that you had to endure such a thing," Martha answered, all the more astonished that the young lady spoke without any sort of real feeling. "You said that was last Season?" When Miss Stockton nodded, Martha frowned. "I would have thought that the ton would have forgotten about such a thing."

Miss Stockton's eyes tugged away and for the first time since they had been introduced, Martha caught the way the young lady's chin wobbled. "Alas, it might well have been forgotten if it had not been that my betrothed declared himself in love with my sister."

Without meaning to, Martha's mouth fell open in astonishment. She quickly shut it, looking away and apologising profusely as heat began to build in her cheeks.

"No, no, you need not apologise. It is an astonishing situation but, as you might have supposed, it has required that I take a large step away from society though I am still present, I suppose."

"That must be very trying for you," Martha replied, her heart swelling with a gentle sympathy. "Your sister and this gentleman – "

"Lord Bavidge."

"Lord Bavidge," Martha continued, "are they to marry?"

Miss Stockton sniffed and nodded, turning her head away from Martha again. "There was much discussion and they did not begin courting until this Season. I believe that it was to give an adequate amount of time between my engagement to him and my sister's engagement to the very same gentleman, but that has not stopped the ton from taking a great and prolonged interest in it all."

Martha winced. "It is unfortunate that the ton is all the more interested in gossip rather than truly considering the pain that those involved must endure."

Miss Stockton finally looked back at her and Martha's heart squeezed all over again, seeing the pain which still lingered there. "Thank you for saying that." She took in a breath and then her lips curved. "I apologise for how strongly I spoke and how eagerly I demanded that we become friends. As I have said, I have found myself being rather lonely this Season and – "

"Of course we are to be friends," Martha interrupted, quickly, wanting to encourage the young lady. "I am just as much a wallflower as you, if not more so! You may have gentlemen coming to ask you to dance on occasion, and you will have ladies willing to speak with you but I am afraid that, should you linger in my company, you may find such things removed from you." Her smile grew rueful. "I should, mayhap, encourage you to consider that carefully, Miss Stockton."

Her new friend tilted her head. "Might I ask why you are rejected so?"

Martha hesitated, then shrugged inwardly, reminding herself that everyone else in the ton was aware of the circumstances which surrounded her family and that Miss Stockton, whether she knew of it now or not, would soon be informed one way or the other. "Some years ago, my father brought himself and his family to the brink of ruination. He did so by his foolish gambling and the building up of a great many debts which he could not repay."

"I see." There was no hint of judgement in Miss Stockton's voice, rather a simple interest. "And so society has decided that you are not worth considering?"

Martha nodded. "My father has, over the last few years, economised to a very great extent and, much to my relief, the crops have done well and a few small investments have brought good returns with them. Therefore, his debts were just recently repaid and he then insisted that we come to London so that he might find a match for me." She shook her head at this, smiling ruefully. "I have told both himself and my mother that I think such a thing impossible but they are both quite determined!"

"But that is a good thing, is it not?" Miss Stockton smiled but there was a hint of sadness to it which Martha could not help but notice. "I would be very glad for a mother who showed me such interest or for a father who would do all that he could to make certain I had a suitable match. Though you may see it as something of a failure before it has even begun, I can see that there is a hope there for you still."

"I suppose I had not seen it in such a light before," Martha murmured, frowning a little to herself as guilt began to press lightly against her heart. "You are quite right, Miss Stockton. I should be more grateful for that." She smiled. "Though, I should tell you that I found myself more than delighted with my mother recently."

"Oh?" Evidently hearing the lightness in Martha's voice, Miss Stockton's lips twitched. "What happened?"

Martha chuckled, remembering the incident. "Two gentlemen approached me – both with rather unkind smiles on their faces, I should say – and seemed to suggest that we had been previously acquainted. I made it quite clear we had not been, but my mother was the one who then spoke with such firmness, it set them away from here without even a moment to respond!" She laughed softly, her heart lifting as she remembered how she had felt at the time, both proud and delighted at her mother's defence of her. "She did not give them the cut direct but it was very close to it. As I have said, I did not know who they were but my mother did. They were two scoundrels, I believe, two rogues well known to society. I think they presumably knew exactly who I was and what my father had done and thought they might come to have a little sport at my expense." Her smile grew all the larger as she thought of it. "I do not think they expected for a moment to be dealing with the sharp side of my mother's tongue! They were a little ashamed by the end of it, I think, though I do not know if rogues can feel any sort of shame. I should like to think that they did."

Miss Stockton chuckled. "I should have liked to have seen that, I think. Do you know what their names were?"

Recalling, Martha nodded. "Yes, there was first Lord Radford, I think, and then with him, Lord Granton."

"The Marquess?" Miss Stockton's eyebrows lifted high. "He has very fine features, with very dark hair which tends to fall carelessly across his forehead, and blue eyes that are a piercing blue."

"Rather cold, if you ask me," Martha replied, remembering how he had looked at her. "But yes, that is who they were."

"Well, in that case, I am not in the least bit surprised that your mother defended you so quickly! Lord Radford I know is something of a scoundrel but Lord Granton is a dreadful fellow. He is always pursuing whatever young lady he has taken an interest in, regardless as to whether or not they are eager for his attentions! He always manages to convince them to give in to him in the end, I am sorry to say – but I suppose that his handsome face and flirtatious manner make it rather difficult for such young ladies to refuse him."

"That must be true, though I thought him rather arrogant and certainly not at all kind."

Miss Stockton chuckled. "Ah, but that is because he had not fixed his attentions upon you! He had not decided that you were the one he wanted to pursue, albeit for a very short time. I am sure that, should he have done such a thing, you would find yourself struggling against such attentions."

Martha spread out her hands. "Mayhap you are quite correct, Miss Stockton," she admitted, a little surprised at how easily they had fallen into a friendship. "I do not know but I can certainly say that he will never be interested in pursuing me in that way. I am relieved about that, I must admit!" She shivered lightly, recalling how his gaze had swept over her. "In fact, should he draw near, then I will myself turn away from him for I do not even want to look at him."

"I do not think that you have anything to fear in that regard this evening," came the reply. "My own father has gone to Lord Mayhew's soiree, for there is to be card games and the like there this evening."

Martha blinked, her heart suddenly freezing in her chest as she looked back at her new friend. "Gambling?"

Her friend nodded. "I presume there will be, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Because my own father is not present this evening," Martha said slowly, a sudden, desperate fear clutching at her. "He did not explain why and now… now I am afraid that he too has gone to Lord Mayhew's soiree for the sole purpose of playing the very game which caused us so much difficulty so many years ago." It felt as though a hand was tightening around her throat, squeezing hard as she fought to breathe with any sort of ease. Miss Stockton's reassuring words meant nothing to her for Martha could not take any of them in. All she could see was, in her mind's eye, a picture of her father sitting at the card table, coin in hand, ready to once again, put his whole family into jeopardy.

She could only pray it would not be as she feared.