When the guests combined afterward, things began to get a bit wild. Lord Tewsbury elected to remain in the library with the older gentlemen of the party to discuss some upcoming parliamentary procedure, which was the point of the entire house party, after all. Lady Tewsbury took the wives to view the family portraits in the long gallery upstairs, which Amelia suspected meant they were going to drink sherry and gossip. The young ladies and gentlemen were left on their own in the parlor for games. Her father stayed in the library, of course, and Amelia thought Nate might have stayed behind with Lord Tewsbury and Lord Hyde, as well. Apparently the charms of Julia were more alluring than ingratiating himself with the earl, because he chose the parlor, along with Radwill and Cheadle. Mr. Cheadle placed himself right at her side from the moment he entered the room, much to her dismay. The night took a turn for the worse when Evelyn, clearly set on mischief, suggested blind man’s bluff for the first game.
