“Coddy, dear,” the dowager countess said, beaming at the newcomer and reaching for a cup of punch.
Lord Coddington, Alistair finally recalled the gent’s name, looked uncertain what to do with his second cup. Alistair quickly gave one of his to Jo, and then with a slight bow and a knowing grin, offered the other to Ben. Coddington sat down and sipped his punch.
Ben accepted with the barest hint of hesitation. He might be annoyed or insulted had anyone else acknowledged his infirmity, but Alistair had been among the searchers who found Ben when he’d been missing for weeks after the battle at Waterloo, near death in a Belgian farmhouse. It was a miracle that he lived and another that he had not lost his leg. Alistair had helped the surgeon on Nick’s ship tend to Ben on the journey home.
“S
