His lordship was very gracious to her, and seemed desirous to atone for his rudeness on the night of Lady Peasewell’s drawing-room, though Isabel noticed that a spasm of pain contracted his face when his eye first fell upon her as she was presented.
He introduced her to Lady Dunforth, who completely surprised her by turning to a gentleman at her side, and saying:
“Miss Coolidge, allow me to present my grandson, Mr. Dredmond.”
She looked up astonished, and the color flamed into her cheeks at his cold salutation and the well-remembered, scornful curl of his lips, as his critical eye took in every item of her costume from head to foot.
He, too, had recognized those lovely corals, with their diamond garnishings, and he longed to wrest them from her hair and bosom, and denounce her as the false-hearted woman he knew she was.
He, then, was the grandson of the Earl of Dunforth.
Isabel had known all along that he was heir to an earldom, but supposing it to be a nobleman by the name of Dredmond, she had never made any inquiries about the matter.
A feeling of chagrin came over her that she had not played her cards differently, for she knew the Dunforth wealth far exceeded that of the Randals.
A sense of fear, too, arose in her heart lest he should strive to influence Sir Charles against her.
Lady Randal had told her that she and Lord Dunforth were cousins, consequently Sir Charles and Adrian were connected, and might he not tell him what he knew?