3rd Oct. 1814: A little London season

"I think an hour will be perfectly fine - longer and Rottlaender will start polishing the silver and drive Wilson, my butler, to distraction."

Edward smiled and bowed slightly to Emma.

"Although you certainly don't need to change on my account, Miss Vickery, should you not wish to make the detour."

-----

Bella smiled impishly.

"It is, Mylord! I have heard so much about you!"

"And risk being the latest victim of The Tatler - I think I should prefer to take the time to change," she replied, with a smile. "If we go now, we should be there much sooner, of course."

"You have? May I enquire who dared soil your ears with scandal?" asked Hunter, smiling to show that he was jesting.

"Oh, my brother has. He told the most remarkable stories about you. Is it true that you once nearly duelled and then fell into a river?"

She smiled engagingly at him, like a girl trying to charm a treat out of a favourite uncle. In some ways she was very like her older brother - if he allowed this side of him to show. In Bella, it was an integral part of her behaviour. As her father often said affectionately, she was a minx.

"Oh, it is entirely true, Lady Isabella. It was really quite lucky we fell into that river, otherwise we'd have stayed there until the end of time, trying to defeat each other.' He grinned, remembering the incident. 'Your brother looked most fetching with weeds about his person.'

Not quite sure what to do with the last comment, Bella just smiled and said artlessly:

"He said that you were a very fine swordsman ... although he added that you would be better off with a broadsword than with a saber?"

She made the last bit a question, but also infused it with the gently teasing voice her brother had used for that comment.

'Ah, he is right. I would be better with a broadsword, I find it an easier weapon to use, but come, this cannot be interesting to you. Perhaps, you'd rather hear of that one time when your brother and I were involved in a tavern brawl.'

'George!' exclaimed Henry, 'I am sure Lady Isabella would not want to hear about such things.'

Isabella had begun to nod eagerly, but at the exclamation put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh, I shouldn't, should I? But I would like to! Edward never tells the parts when he actually did something interesting ... he only ever tells of what brave things others did. And I know he can't have been that boring!"

She didn't have a trace of archness or coyness in her behaviour - it was her honest, if rather romantic opinion, expressed in an engaging innocence of the more practiced playfullnes some women employed to attract males.

'Henry, calm down. I am sure Lady Isabella has read books and has talked to servants and knows that such things as brawls happen.' Henry huffed, but didn't interrupt him any more. 'Well, Lady Isabella, we ended up in a tavern to celebrate your brother buying a very good horse from a gypsy. As you may imagine it wasn't all polite society and beautiful manners. So when a lady's honour was threatened your brother and I felt obliged to step in. Unfortunately, it turned into a proper brawl. Your brother had to resort to using a decanter as a weapon.'

"Well then...we shall meet there." Willoughby hated to depart, but he had hardly a choice if he did not wish to become properly ill. He was hardly presentable with his wet clothes as well , another good reason to depart.

"Oh,..have you heard?" It was not the sort of thing that he would usually speak about, but since it connected them with the past in the Peninsula, it somehow felt of importance and interest.

Momentarily lost, Edward followed Miss Vickery's suggestion and got back into the saddle.

"What do you mean?"

----

Bella dimpled.

"My brother was in a brawl? But of course he would help a lady in distress. What did he do with the decanter? Knock the villain out?"

"It can't be more than a few days ago that a ship arrived in port. Mind, there is little surprising about that.. but what was on it, may be less usual. I believe you remember one Lopes da Almeida?"

The arrival of the first sneeze announced that perhaps the story should be cut short, or else the poor hussar would really not be able to attend and necessitate to lie in bed instead.

'Oh, yes, quite effectively. You'd not think your brother was lord if you saw him fighting,' Hunter grinned. 'Except for his reason to get involved, of course.'

Helen restrained the outraged Henry, but she herself was starting to feel that this was not a very appropriate conversation between a young society lady and a man she'd met for the first time.

"I don't think I have met Senhor Lopes da Almeida, no." Edward frowned. "But I have been introduced to Senhorita Lopes da Almeida, certainly. Vickery, you remember her, do you?"

He was about to inquire further when the sneeze stopped him.

"Better give us the news later and change, though. Come around for breakfast!"

He quickly gave the directions to his house.

---------

Bella's dimples deepend. "Now you quizz me. Edward wouldn't! He would do something totally inapprobriate with the utmost decorum!"

She seemed to realize that the conversation had become quite familiar and begged engagingly:

"Oh ... please forgive me. I shouldn't have talked to you like that. It is only that I have a feeling I already have known you for quite some time!"

"Of course I remember the lady," Vickery replied, and broke off from saying anything further when Willoughby - Lord Gwydyr - sneezed. "I think you should find some dry things to wear, my lord. My sister and I will meet you all in an hour. Ladies, gentlemen." He touched his hat and mounted Brandy again, before taking the improvised leading rein, and turned to head to the nearest hiring stable to return their much-abused horse, with Emma beside him

Edward touched his hat.

"Miss Vickery. Apologies again for so rudely interrupting your morning ride. I look forward to seeing you both later!"

Willoughby bowed his head to Miss Vickery and waited to see her and Vickery go. He turned to Edward again and smiled. "I shall hope to see you soon. " He paused again. "..meet you half way there...What is your address now?"

"There is nothing to forgive, my lord, and I look forward to furthering our acquaintance," Emma replied with a smile, before turning Shilling to accompany her brother.

Hunter smiled. "Please, Lady Isabella, if anybody should be apologising it should be me. Will I have the pleasure of seeing you at Lady Caroline's ball?"

"Mama intends us to go there!", Bella confirmed.

She quickly took a mental tally of her dance-card. It had already a few spots promised, but she rather thought if his lordship would ask her, she had a few nice choices open for him. Mama would probably pick a country dance as appropriate for the first time she danced with him, she mused.

---------

Edward named street and house, and just to be sure added a quick description of how to get there - he was not sure how well Willoughby knew London.

George was on the verge of asking Bella for a dance. He found her pleasant, a breath of fresh air. He'd not been back in England for long and most of the time was spent in the county with only Henry for company. Bella was the first practically innocent and carefree person he'd talked to in years.

It's was exactly her youth and her innocence that stopped him. Henry, the only friend he'd made in society, rather than army, had always had a slightly rakish reputation. Helen, though unmarried and beautiful, was no longer in the first bloom of youth. George realised that the scandal attached to his parents had been more or less forgotten and his mother went about freely enough with the ton, especially since the wife of the Russian ambassador had taken a liking to her. But though so far people had forgiven him any unorthodox behaviour, he wasn't sure that they would go on doing that, in fact he wasn't sure how long he would be able to carry on conforming. And of course, when Wellington returned to London, no doubt tales of him being in almost constant trouble with the triumphant General would spread.

Hunter realised that he couldn't let himself damage Bella's reputation in any way, as much for her sake as Torrington's. So he smiled pleasantly at Bella, but kept his comments to a simple: "Oh, my mother intends me to accompany her as well."

[OOC: Yes, I am giving him angst, please suspend your disbelief. XD]

Willoughby inclined his head. "Thank you. Shall meet you there then, if it is alright with you, else at our meeting point?" He suggested considering which would be the better choice. He gave Torrington the chance to choose , rather than have himself where perhaps the lord would not want it.

If Bella was disappointed, she was at least adept enough at social pretence not to show it. Pleasantly, but neutral, she answered:

"Oh, then I will look forward of seeing you there! Will you come as well, Mister Winwood?"

The moment was over, even though she was not quite certain what had ended it, and she made a determined effort to draw the others back into the conversation again.

'But of course, Lady Isabella, wouldn't miss it for the world. I clean forgot what a ball feels like. Dare say Sir George and I will find it more exciting than most of the young ones.'