A Sisterly Regard by Judith B. Glad Page A

Reggie had truly changed so much from the young man he
remembered. He eyed the other's footwear. "The shoes are an especially
good touch. One would not expect someone of your height to increase it
even more with such heels."
    Their drinks arrived. Each raised his glass in a silent salute to old
friendship.
    After a suitable pause in respect to the liquor's fine flavor,
Reggie stretched a long leg before him and appeared to admire his fine
leather shoes with their tall red heels. "Ah, my boy, should you breathe a
word of my drab past, I shall call you out. I have no desire to be
considered a potential husband by the insipid chits who flock to the
Season. What mama would take me seriously, dressed as I am and with
neither title nor fortune? I am the eternal dancing partner, the salon
conversationalist, the safe escort for innocent young ladies. But I am not
an eligible match."
    "And do you garb yourself this way in the country?"
    "At house parties, yes."
    Aware his question had been only partially answered,
Wilderlake contained his unsatisfied curiosity. "You almost convince me
to adopt your style. Almost, but I fear I couldn't carry it off as you do. I
would burst into laughter each time I saw myself in a mirror."
    He thought Reggie's lips twitched, but the small motion--it
there had been one--was so slight, so quick, that he might have been
mistaken.
    The two of them sat in comfortable silence, for several minutes.
At last a thought occurred to Wilderlake. "Tell me, Reggie, when I had to
leave Eton for a year, to pick up the pieces of my inheritance, you were
speaking of going for the army when you finished your education. Did
you?"
    "I did not. Instead I took a position with a trading company in
India, and lived to regret it. The place is hot and filled with nasty insects
and snakes. No place for a gentleman, I tell you, particularly one with my
delicate sensibilities. I vow, I spent four years fearing for my life and
health, until my great aunt Charlotte died and left me everything. I sold
out and came home as soon as I could."
    "Wasn't she the one who wed the Nabob? The aunt you used to
visit during the long holiday?"
    "The very one. A formidable woman, but one with a good
heart. I would have wished my deliverance to have come at a lesser
cost."
    "So you are a country gentleman. I cannot imagine you in that
role."
    "No need. I leave such bucolic worries to my agent. London is
my milieu, except for the occasional house party" He yawned, a sure sign
to Wilderlake that no more personal information would be forthcoming.
Reggie had always been reticent about himself.
    Wilderlake changed the subject. "You are probably acquainted
with most of this Season's offerings on the Marriage Mart. Have you met a
Miss Hazelbourne?" He waited tensely for the answer.
    "I have. Were you wishing to make her acquaintance?"
    "Yes, I am. Actually," he paused, "I have already met her under
rather unpleasant circumstances. But it was not a formal introduction so I
cannot claim an acquaintance."
    "Aha! You're the chap they rescued on the road to London. You
owe them a great deal. They have not breathed a word of your identity,
except to the Duchess of Verbain, who told only me. If the ton only knew that a member of the FHC--you do still have your membership,
I trust?--had been thrown from his phaeton. Tsk tsk. Now I know
you will keep my secret, else I will tell your tale."
    "My lips are sealed."
    "As are mine." Reggie made an appropriate gesture and his eyes
gleamed with laughter. "Have you an invitation to Her Grace's ball next
week?"
    "No, I do not."
    "You will receive one, for she told me so last night. Do you
make sure to attend and I will see that you are introduced to Miss
Hazelbourne." He laughed aloud, but gave no reason for his
amusement.
    "What is the joke? Is Miss Hazelbourne a secret drinker,
perhaps? Or is the family dirt poor and she hanging out for a husband of
great wealth? Not that it matters. I should merely like to correct