Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

A aron looked after her as she rejoined her friend, feeling entirely less certain of his role in her life. He'd been tasked with a job he hadn't wanted, found Judith rather irritating when they met again, but now found himself at a crossroads.

He'd taken quite a lot of joy out of teasing and exposing her a little, but her reaction had shaken him. Had he taken things too far? Their banter and her biting replies to his challenges had given him the impression she was rather a fiery, steely young woman, but there was a vulnerability there he hadn't expected. Perhaps he'd have to approach their time together with a little less bravado and a little more empathy.

He sighed, for this was proving far more challenging than he'd anticipated. Curse Oliver and his tasks. His friend should have warned him about how difficult this would be.

"Aaron?" Henry called behind him and caught up to him a moment later. "Pray, did I say something wrong?"

Aaron shook his head. "No, not at all. It is just that I overestimated her…" He waved a hand. "I should not have introduced you to her in this manner, or her to you. She was ill-prepared."

"I'll say. I do not think I've had such a peculiar introduction in a long time," Henry admitted, before he laughed. "Why did you want me to meet her?"

Aaron shrugged. "A friend of mine asked me to help her find a husband. She has not courted in a while, and I thought… I thought this would be a simple task. I ought to have told you ahead of time."

Henry shrugged in return. "It would not have made a difference. Pray, how old is she? She seems a little old not to be married."

Aaron frowned. Judith had made a bit of a cake out of herself, but this judgment was harsh and hardly deserved.

"She is… unique. She knows what she wants, and she is rather independent."

Henry chuckled. "She seemed rather bird-brained to me. Pray, who is this friend who has asked you to help her find a husband? Ah, wait. Judith Birks? Is her brother Oliver Birks, the new Marquess of Worcester? It all makes sense now. Lady Judith has a bit of a reputation for being picky."

Aaron perked up at this and drew his eyebrows together. A chill whipped through the air, and he pulled his shoulders back. "Does she now?"

He'd heard that she was on the shelf from Oliver and that she wasn't terribly interested in making a match, but now he was told she had a reputation for being picky? There was little worse than a lady with a poor reputation. For a man, even when one could be considered a rake, a reputation always added to the mystery and allure. For a woman, it made it almost impossible to find a husband.

"Indeed. She had a good match and was to be married but then ended it. Nobody has wanted to court her since, and she has not seemed terribly interested either. Pray, do you really think you can find her a husband?" Henry let out a snort as if this was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"I think I can, and I shall," Aaron declared. "I think you have forgotten who I am. The Duke of Nottingham does not give in or give up, and he always gets what he wants."

He realized that speaking about himself in the third person sounded arrogant, but he knew that with people like Henry, one had to display confidence.

"I do not envy you one bit," Henry said. "Indeed, I think I will have to place a wager on the matter."

Aaron narrowed his eyes, suddenly irritated by his friend. "Do not say such things, it is improper and unkind."

"Improper and unkind?" Henry parroted. "Are you not the one who will place a wager on anything at a moment's notice? Why not this? Or do you not have any confidence in yourself at all?"

Aaron pressed his lips together "I can find her a husband. I know I can. But I do not think it right to be a fool about it and place wagers. This is her life we are talking about."

Why am I suddenly protective of her? It makes no sense…

"Come now, Aaron, do not play coy," Henry scoffed just as Sir Marius joined them.

"What is this I hear about a wager?"

Henry turned to him with a bright grin. "I told Aaron here that I'd place a wager against his ability to find a husband for Lady Judith, but he seems ill-inclined. You see, she is the one. The picky one. Lord Worcester's daughter."

"Ah, I see," Marius replied, as though he knew exactly what Henry was talking about. "A wager? I am for it," he agreed at once. "I bet you ten Guineas that you won't be able to find a man to take her off your hands by the time her brother returns."

Henry nodded. "As do I."

"You are both horrid," Aaron huffed and crossed his arms, his eyes following the young woman as she continued on her way. She and her friend were now walking along the Serpentine, arm in arm.

"You only say that because you know you cannot win," Marius jested. "For I dare say, while she is beautiful, she seems entirely ungraceful and incapable of having a meaningful conversation."

"I agree," Henry said. "Finding her a husband will be near impossible. Had I known she was so ill-spoken and slow, I'd have not agreed to let you introduce me to her."

What had he been thinking, introducing Henry to Judith? Had his friend always been such a horrible man? Or was this just the way young men acted? Had he simply never noticed before? It was so odd that people would act in such ways. Aaron had never judged a woman for her appearance or her mannerisms—unless she was outright rude to him, which of course was the case with Judith. Still, she didn't deserve such judgment.

Still, she had displayed a shocking lack of class and charm when speaking to his friends. He wasn't sure what had happened exactly, other than the sudden introduction, but he could not help but worry that perhaps she was simply incapable of being charming. Not every beautiful woman had the skills needed to catch a good match.

No, he had to stop thinking like this. Judith might have all the grace of a milk maiden, but she had something most other unfortunate ladies did not. She had him. And if there was one thing Aaron knew, it was how to charm someone.

He'd find her a husband—and before Oliver returned.

With his nostrils flared, he looked at Henry and Marius. "I guarantee you that by the time Oliver returns in two months, she will not only be involved in a courtship but she will also be betrothed."

His friends broke into whoops and hollers before shaking his hand, accepting his wager.

As he shook their hands, Aaron could not deny feeling a sense of foreboding and unease in his stomach. But it was too late now. He was committed, one way or the other.

"It was a disaster. I do not know how else I can say it," Judith moaned later that day as she, Joanna, and Rosy sat in the drawing room, cups of tea growing cold in front of them. "The moment he introduced me to his friend, my entire mind went blank. I did not know what to say. I could not speak properly. I do not know what came over me. I am not such a bumbling fool."

Joanna chewed on her bottom lip and leaned back. "Well, I think it is no wonder that you reacted as you did. Your brother has made you sound as though you do not know how to speak to a gentleman, and this Duke of Nottingham has not helped matters by teasing you and implying that you need his help. If people keep telling you that you lack skill, you will start believing it. But you know it isn't true."

"Yes, Judith, you know it isn't true. You were always one of the most graceful ladies in the ton. Gentlemen always wanted to dance with you and be in your company," Rosy added.

Judith let out a puff of air. "That might have been the case in the past, but I am older now. Everybody who hears that immediately thinks there is something wrong with me. Why else would I be unwed? They think something is wrong with me, and the way I conducted myself yesterday will only give more credence to this."

She closed her eyes, and the sound of the wind whipping around the house drifted to her ears. It mingled with the crackling from the fireplace. Usually, winter was one of her favorite times of the year. She loved how the leaves changed color and then fell in big piles, which she would sometimes joyously kick with her feet into the air to watch them dance around as they fell back down to the ground.

She loved bundling up on the lounge with hot chocolate and freshly baked pastries while reading a good book. Some nights, she liked to play the pianoforte until her fingers grew stiff. When her father was alive, he used to sit beside her and enjoy the music. She hadn't played yet this year. In fact, her fingers felt so stiff that she wasn't sure if she would be capable of producing any sort of pretty sound.

Hang that Aaron Fitzwilliam and his haughty nature. Joanna was right.

"He had made me so uncomfortable. He had me thinking that I truly did not know how to entice a gentleman into desiring my company. I know I am an exceptional conversationalist. How dare this man instill doubt in me?"

Judith's friends exchanged glances before focusing on her again.

Joanna asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I agreed to go to the Wednesday night ball at Almack's tomorrow with His Grace. He's accompanying me along with one of the maids. He said he would introduce me to gentlemen he knows and ensure my dance card is full. He asked for the first dance, however," Judith replied.

Rosy raised her eyebrows. "The first dance? Why in the world would he ask for that?"

Judith shifted in her seat a little sheepishly. "I might have implied that I have not danced in a while. I know it is not something one is likely to forget, but in the moment, when we were speaking to one another, I felt so very low. I felt like such a failure. I worried I might not be able to dance properly and humiliate myself. So, he offered to dance with me first." She paused then and slid forward on her seat. "Rosy, Joanna, I will tell you something I have not told anybody else."

Her friends both leaned forward and waited with anticipation.

Judith took a deep breath and then shared with her dearest friends what had been on her mind these last few hours since returning from the park.

"When my father was alive, I was not highly concerned about what would happen to me if I did not find a husband. Of course, I wanted to. I still do, but I had resigned myself to being alone if I could not find love. I knew my father would look after me. He would have allowed me to live here, with him and Matilda and John when he's home from Eton. They would not have forced me into any sort of marriage. But with Oliver, it is different. His Grace implied that he will marry me off to a man I do not want if I don't find a husband by the time he returns."

"What?" Rosy exclaimed. "An arranged marriage? That is dreadful. Are you sure he meant it?"

"Rosy is right. What if the Duke only said that to make you agree to his plan?" Joanna added.

Judith shook her head. "He did not seem to want to tell me, and the truth is, I suspected it for some time. Oliver isn't like my father was. He's… I don't know what it is, but he isn't so concerned about my happiness—he never has been. I do not doubt it is true." She pressed her lips together for a second. "The Duke indicated that it would be better for me to let him introduce gentlemen to me that I might like. And I feel he might be right. I think, otherwise, Oliver might choose someone for me who is far more dreadful."

"Do you truly believe that your brother might force you into a marriage you do not want?" Rosy asked, her tone betraying her feelings. "That is unconscionable."

"But not unheard of," Joanna pointed out. "You know that is how many couples meet. Our parents might not have, but your in-laws and mine both found one another in this way. And both were miserable."

"Joanna!" Rosy hissed, but Judith raised her hand.

"It is all right. I am glad Joanna is as blunt as she is because she is right. Arranged marriages often spell nothing but misery. I want to choose a husband of my own, and I most certainly do not want to rely on my brother to pick one for me. He doesn't even know me. He has been away for so long… But can I trust Aaron? He tormented me when I was a child."

"Did not you torment him also?" Joanna asked. "I remember your father telling mine that you were a little wild as a child."

Judith tilted her head to the side. She did not recall acting in an unkind way toward Aaron Fitzwilliam, but the truth was, she had been a child, and memories of that time were not exactly clear.

"It doesn't matter," she replied in the end. "I do not think that I can trust either of them with my interests. But what am I to do?"

"It is simple," Joanna said. She crossed her legs at the ankles as she leaned forward. "Let him teach you whatever it is he thinks he can teach you. Let him introduce you to gentlemen. But be sure you do not allow yourself to be pushed into anything. If he thinks he knows eligible gentlemen who are looking to be married and who might be suitable for you, let him. You have two months. That is an eternity before your brother returns. And if you have not found a husband by the time he does return, we will tell our husbands to sit down with your brother and talk sense into him. All will be well."

Judith smiled at Joanna, genuinely grateful that the two of them had managed to revive a friendship that had been forged back when they were in finishing school.

Thanks to her foolishness, Judith had managed to ruin her friendship with not just Joanna but with Rosy and their older sister, Sally, some years ago. But since then, they had mended things, and she had never been more grateful for their friendship.

The click-clack of boots on the marble floor drew their attention, and then Matilda entered.

"Your Graces," she greeted with a smile upon spotting Rosy and Joanna, curtseying before the younger women who outranked her. "I thought I heard voices here. Are your fine husbands with you?"

"No, My Lady, they are not. Although we were just here talking to Judith about finding her a husband," Joanna said.

Judith shook her head. She did not want her stepmother to know what they had been talking about because she had a habit of inserting herself into things that did not concern her. Alas, it was too late. Her stepmother took Joanna's comment as an invitation to join them and sat in the armchair by the door.

"Oh, I wish you would find a husband, Judith. Your father hoped for it also, but he used to tell me not to press the matter, that you'd know when the time was right."

Judith blinked, wondering why—if this was the case—her father had written to Oliver, asking him to find her a husband as soon as possible.

"Well, time might be of the essan?—"

"Essential, that is true. Timing is essential," Judith interjected, cutting Rosy off.

She didn't want Matilda to know the truth. There was no reason for her to know what Oliver had planned. In fact, she preferred that Matilda did not know anything about her personal affairs. She liked her stepmother, but they weren't friends, and she wasn't a mother figure to her. More like an aunt, a distant one. The sort who'd come to live in one's house after losing her husband.

Was that unkind? No, Judith didn't think so. It was life, that was all.

"If you ever want me to help you find a matchmaker, you let me know," Matilda offered, a smile gracing her lips.

She'd switched from wearing all black to navy now, and Judith knew that it would be some time before her stepmother wore anything with color, for her mourning was deep.

"Is that how you met the late Lord Worcester?" Rosy asked.

"No, not at all," Matilda answered, and Judith wished Rosy had not encouraged her to stay longer. "I met him at Almack's, in fact. I met my first husband through a matchmaker, but it was not meant to last, as he decided he'd rather keep company with another lady." She sighed and shook her head. "But that is another tale. You see, I never thought I would marry again after all of that, but there I was, aged four-and-thirty, at Almack's, when I saw your father. And he saw me."

The smile on her lips made Judith forget that she'd been vexed just a second prior. Her father hardly ever spoke about Matilda when he first met her because Judith had struggled with his romantic life, but now she appreciated hearing about this. It was almost as if he was back among them, if only fleetingly.

"Was it love at first sight?" Rosy asked.

Matilda's cheeks colored. "I think so. It was for me, anyhow. We danced the quadrille together and then talked for an hour, and then danced the Boulanger. It was magical. I never thought I would experience anything like it in all my life," she sighed, and her eyes filled with fresh tears.

Judith swiftly withdrew her handkerchief and handed it to her stepmother, the rush of happiness replaced by sadness for their mutual loss.

"Thank you dear," Matilda croaked as she dabbed at her eyes. "I did not mean to dampen the mood."

"No, not at all," Joanna reassured her. "I adore hearing stories such as this one. It shows how important it is to marry for love." She looked at Judith. "True love is worth waiting for."

"Indeed, it is," Matilda agreed. "But I do encourage searching for it as well, rather than waiting for it to find you."

She glanced at Judith, who looked away, uncertain what her stepmother was implying, if anything. Surely Matilda did not mean to imply Judith hadn't been looking for love. Or was she?

Judith had never considered that her stepmother held any opinion over her unwed status. She sank lower into her seat, her mind suddenly swirling with thoughts of just what Society thought of her. Both her stepmother's and Oliver's words echoed in her mind, filling her with doubt, but it was Aaron's voice that rang loudest with his promise to help her.

Would he? Could he? And more importantly, did she really want him to?