His Lordship's Chaperone by Shirley Marks Page A

paused
and smiled politely past Haverton. “Excuse me.” Simon turned from his brother
and gave a shallow bow to Catherine. He smiled and held out his hand. “I don’t
think I’ve had the pleasure.”
    “Are you referring to my chaperone?”
    Simon blinked, regarding the woman in disbelief. “I
had heard you have gone beyond the pale yet again, but—a chaperone? I say, Robert, that is a fresh idea.” It didn’t take long for Simon
to put the pieces together. “Is this what you wanted to speak to Mother about?”
    “Simon, this is my chaperone, Mrs. Hayes.” Haverton
brought her forward with a gesture. “Mrs. Hayes, my brother, Lord Simon.”
    Catherine curtsied. “It is an honor, Lord Simon.”
    “Mrs. Hayes,” Lord Moreland bowed over her hand, “I
must admit it is more of a shock than a pleasure.”
    “That is quite understandable, sir.”
    “Now that we have dispensed with the introductions,
I believe I shall circulate among the guests,” Haverton announced. “Mrs. Hayes,
I suggest you rejoin the rest of the chaperones and continue your vigilance
until I am in further need of your presence.”
    “Yes, my lord.” Catherine headed for the chaperone
corner.
    Lord Simon did not follow his brother. “Are you
coming, Simon?”
    “I’ll be with you presently.” Simon called out,
“Mrs. Hayes, a moment, please.”
    Catherine paused, waiting for Lord Simon. Although
handsome in his own right, he was not quite as devastatingly handsome as his
brother.
    Lord Simon leaned forward and she did the same,
keeping their conversation quiet and assuring privacy. “Tell me, Mrs. Hayes,
are you truly my brother’s chaperone? Or is this all a hum?”
    Miss Hayward. Catherine almost corrected him but
decided against it. The second thing to occur to Catherine was that Lord Simon
looked at her, and spoke to her, not just in her general direction as her
employer had.
    How many more times would she need to confirm or
explain her position? “Yes, as unusual as it may sound, I am Lord Haverton’s
chaperone.”
    “If anyone can change the constraints of London
society, he will certainly be the one to do it, all right.”
    “I doubt the Marquess intends this arrangement to
go as far as that.” Catherine kept an eye on her charge who stood across the
room.
    “Don’t be surprised if you’re not the only
gentlemen’s chaperone after the night is out. I might venture to say it won’t
take long before your arrangement will be considered de rigueur and adapted by
other members of the ton.”
    “And what of his lordship’s brother?” Catherine
wondered if he would give in and do the very same. “What happens to you, my
lord, for consorting with the likes of a chaperone?”
    “Me?” Lord Simon splayed a hand upon his chest. “I
am the mere younger son of a duke. I need not make an impression nor amount to
much when all is said and done.”
    This young man appeared to Catherine to have his
feet solidly planted on the ground, at least more so than his brother. Lord
Simon had none of the airs that the rest of society displayed.
    “Did my mother talk you into this?” Lord Simon
murmured with a pretense of scratching the tip of his nose.
    “She was the one who recommended me for this
position, yes.”
    “I should have known she would have had a part in
all this. I can’t imagine what you thought when she told you that you were to
be a chaperone for a man.”
    Lord Simon’s chuckle turned into full-fledged
laughter. Apparently he possessed a very good imagination.
    “Just the thought of him in danger of being
compromised.” He couldn’t stop laughing. “That a woman would purposely—I mean,
a lady would have to—have to—” He stopped, the smile faded from his lips and he
cleared his throat before turning scarlet. “I do beg your pardon.”
    Catherine tried to give him a reassuring smile. “I
must admit, I, too, was skeptical at first but after what I have observed in
the garden just this evening …