Husband Wanted (HC #1)

8: The Men on the List

He recovered quickly. "Congratulations old man." he said, shaking his hand slowly and offering the couple a steady smile. "When did this happen?"

Lord Decker grinned, obviously excited by the news. Beth wished his excitement didn't sting. "Just this last week."

"I'm very happy for you." Bart nodded at Miss Eliot. "The both of you." Unable to speak, Beth nodded her support. Miss Eliot still hadn't spoken a word, so she didn't feel too bad that her tongue had atrophied in shock.

"We had best be getting back to our family, Ben, but we should go shooting some time. You can fill me in on what else I've missed." He nodded at them both again and then took Beth by the elbow.

His nonchalant pace made the palms of Beth's hands itch, and she curled them into fists to hide her shame. She felt as if the room was watching her, as if they were all aware that her first introduction to a marriage had been a dismal failure. She kept her eyes on the ground.

"By-the-by Ben," her brother turned back suddenly, forcing Beth to pause in her retreat. She twisted on the spot, smiling at the happy couple over his shoulder. Her lips felt stiff and she hoped it appeared more genuine than it felt. Judging by Miss Eliot's returned smirk, it did not.

Lord Decker nodded once at Bart, encouraging him to continue.

"I'm trying to identify a signet ring. Have you had any dealings with a man whose emblem bears a curled 'J'?" he sketched the design in the air with his finger, but his friend was already shaking his head.

"Not that I recall."

Her brother smiled his thanks, offering his arm to Beth as they turned to walk away again. Beth made the mistake of lifting her gaze as she moved, only to find Miss Eliot's victorious sneer framed by the stares of strangers.

Beth turned away quickly, slapping her brother's arm with her free hand as discreetly as she could. She was sure her cheeks were red enough to be mistaken for fruit. "Bart, how could you not know he was engaged!" she whispered through clenched teeth, trying not to draw any further attention to her embarrassment.

Bart spotted Simon across the room and led them in that direction. "I'm sorry Beth, but how was I to know? It only occurred this past week."

He hardly sounded apologetic, so Beth bit her tongue and offered him small glares. When they reached Simon, he smiled at them hopefully.

"How did it go?"

Beth's teeth ground together, and she thought she might scream if only her jaw would unclench.

She felt Bart's eyes dart to her. "He introduced us to his fiancé."

Simon's eyes instantly filled with pity, and he extended a hand to grip her comfortingly by the upper arm. Beth's anger doubled. Why was she so hurt by this? It's not as if she had formed an attachment with the gentleman! He was just the first on an albeit short list of names of potential suitors – but she would be the one to choose off it! There was no reason to pity her.

Matt suddenly joined their group, sipping on a glass of bright red punch. He glanced around the faces of his siblings. "Well?"

Simon coughed awkwardly, releasing Beth's shoulder. "He's, uhh... affianced." He murmured the last quietly, as if to protect Beth from the news.

Her pride flinched, even more so when Matthew began to chuckle. "Well, sister, you moved too slowly there!"

Before she could snap out a retort, Bart grabbed their younger brother's elbow and swiftly transferred her hand to the crook of his elbow, stepping out of the way with an eyebrow raised at the younger man.