A Midsummer Night's Kiss (Howertys #1)

Chapter 4: Not A Prince

From across the ballroom, Nathaniel watched Angel dancing with Chettisham again. A sight that bothered him more than he cared to admit. Gowthorpe stood next to him, sipping on a glass of fruit punch as he eyed the ladies present.

"What is Chettisham's relationship with your family?" Nathaniel asked. "He appeared quite familiar with your sister."

"Chettisham?" Gowthorpe sounded a little distracted, tearing his eyes from the form of a beautiful lady a few feet away to look over at his sister. "Oh. He's Angel's intended."

Intended? Nathaniel frowned. The information didn't sit well with him. From the look on Angel's face when the other man had cut in, he never would have guessed it was the man she was meant to marry. She'd looked about ready to bolt and run in the other direction. "They're betrothed?"

Gowthorpe took another sip of his punch. "No, not yet. It's more of an informal understanding between our families. Nothing has been announced."

"Why him?" The thought of Angel with Chettisham... It simply felt wrong. He didn't know the man particularly well, they had attended Eton and Oxford at the same time, but had never hung out with the same crowds. The few times he had interacted with him, he had never quite taken to the other man.

"Our parents and his were great friends and I've been told they always wanted a union between our families." Gowthorpe shrugged. "So when our parents passed... The understanding was that Angel and Chettisham would eventually marry to honour that wish. My aunt wanted her to marry him without attending the season, but I put my foot down there. She deserves a season in London before settling down. It also affords them a chance to get to know each other, as they have only met a few times."

Nathaniel nodded, though he wasn't sure why. It wasn't for him to get in between a planned engagement, so he would keep his mouth shut. He had no business getting involved in what Gowthorpe's sister did. Who she married. Especially when he was not on the lookout for a wife himself. Finding her in the crowd, he discovered she was on her own at the very edge of the room. She was beautiful in a pale-rose-coloured gown, and he couldn't help but wonder why no other man had noticed yet and she was not inundated with suitors. Gowthorpe's thoughts seemed to have drifted in the same direction.

"I expected to have to fend suitors off, but it seems I will be spared the trouble since Angel is making herself invisible," he said, sounding amused by his sister's obvious attempts at not drawing attention to herself. The moment Chettisham had left her side, she had moved into a corner of the room and was nearly concealed behind other guests. Gowthorpe chuckled, nodding towards the other side of the room. "You, on the other hand, are not so lucky."

Looking in the direction indicated, Nathaniel caught sight of his sister. A group of young fops surrounded Jessica, all looking at her as if she was a sugarcoated treat and they had not eaten for days.

"I should have agreed when she tried begging off the season," he muttered.

His friend laughed. "Come now. It's not that bad. Your sister is a nice-looking lady and has a sizeable dowry to boot. You knew this would happen."

"I did." He sighed. "But that does not mean I cannot wish it wasn't so. How will I ever find one that I think deserves her?"

"You won't," Gowthorpe said. "Whoever she chooses, you will simply have to accept it and move on."

"Sounds awful."

"It's the plight of us brothers." Gowthorpe grinned. "Now, if you will excuse me, I see a lady who requires a dance partner."

As his friend disappeared, Nathaniel stayed where he was so he could keep an eye on his sister and her suitors, but he could not keep his eyes from straying until he found Angel in the crowded room. Each time he saw her, he realised what he was doing and forced his gaze back to Jessica. But every time, they returned.