Chapter 10 #2
I felt rather sorry for Lord Brookhaven, but it was his dinner party. If he wished for livelier conversation, he should stop seating Rose Rutledge beside him. In fact, Lord Brookhaven could escort anyone he wished, or he could move the place cards to wherever he wanted his guests to sit.
I grinned as I imagined him taking the place cards and moving them around just before dinner, placing me beside him in the highest place, rather than the lowest.
“What are you smiling about? Pray tell, Miss Robbins.” Lord Markeley then turned to Millicent. “What do you think she is smiling about? You are her friend. Does she laugh at us when we are not nearby?”
“Oh no, I don’t believe Miss Robbins would laugh at anyone.” Millicent was looking quite earnest as she stared at the viscount. “She is very kind.”
“Thank you, Millicent.” I winked at her.
“A wink!” Lord Markeley exclaimed, looking across at Mr. Merritt. “She is winking now. A very bad sign for us, eh, Merritt?”
“Indeed it is. I’m afraid Miss Skidmore is the kind one.”
I simply shook my head, allowing myself a small, mysterious smile. In the interest of not taking the gentlemen’s bait, I said, “Miss Skidmore is very kind and generous. That is certainly true.”
“Ahh,” Lord Markeley said, nodding, and Mr. Merritt frowned knowingly, then winked at me.
It was all in good fun, but Lady Rutledge cleared her throat and growled, “High spirits—perhaps too high for the dinner table.”
I glanced at Lady Derringer, terrified she would appear angry with us for being too loud. She gave me a crooked smile, as if to let me know she did not share Lady Rutledge’s disapproval. Nevertheless, the conversation was much more subdued for the rest of dinner.
We all retired to the music room, the men forgoing their usual smoking and drinking, and Miss Priscilla Allen was prevailed upon to play on the pianoforte and sing a duet with her brother Percy Allen.
I enjoyed hearing the music and the verses of the song.
It was a pleasure I’d had at Mrs. Southey’s school many times, but I’d not heard any music since I’d come to Lowndesbury House.
After two more songs, Miss Rose Rutledge took a turn. Truly, she had a very refined voice—much better than Miss Allen’s, of which Miss Rutledge was surely well aware—but she only played the one song before saying, “Mother, won’t you play something that will allow us to dance?”
“Of course, darling.” Lady Rutledge took her place at the instrument and looked at Lord Brookhaven. “Shall I play some lively tunes for dancing?”
“Of course. Just as you like.” Lord Brookhaven was the picture of an amiable host. He and the other gentlemen proceeded to move the furniture against the walls to make more room.
Lord Markeley took a step toward me at the exact moment Thomas Merritt opened his mouth as if to speak to me. But when Mr. Merritt saw Markeley, he turned immediately to Miss Priscilla Allen, while Lord Markeley asked me, “Will you do me the honor of granting me the first dance?”
“It would be my pleasure.” Now, if only I didn’t make a misstep and embarrass myself.
Lord Brookhaven, as I expected, asked Rose Rutledge to be his partner for the first dance. And Mr. Percy Allen asked Millicent. When we had all taken our places, Lady Rutledge began to play and the dancing began.
Despite my nerves, my heart soared as my feet moved in time to the music and in concert with Lord Markeley. Was this really me, Charlotte Robbins, a woman of no family or wealth, dancing with a young and handsome viscount?
And yet I couldn’t help wishing I was dancing with Lord Brookhaven instead.
How could he wish to dance with a coldhearted, haughty-eyed woman like Miss Rutledge?
He couldn’t intend to marry her, could he?
My thoughts seemed jealous and even envious.
That was not the kind of person I strived to be.
But I would need to think about that later.
Now I would enjoy my partner and the music and this dance and not clutter my mind with anything else.
Indeed, I did enjoy the way Lord Markeley kept his eyes on me, obviously enjoying the dance.
I could tell that everyone else was stepping lively, almost bumping into one another, as this wasn’t meant to be a ballroom.
And yet it was sufficient for our fourteen people, only eight of whom were dancing.
We were moving too fast for conversation, so we spun and hopped and skipped our way around the other three couples. I could feel my cheeks growing pink with the exertion, and I don’t think I could have stopped smiling if I’d wanted to.
As the song ended, Priscilla Allen cried out, then limped toward her mother. Everyone fluttered around her. Apparently she had turned her ankle. Her mother was asking her if she wanted someone to help her to her room.
“No, no, I’ll just rest it.” Her expression was sullen as she let out a quick breath and sat with her mother, who patted her arm.
We all wondered which of the men would have to do without a partner, until Percy Allen said, “Unless Lady Derringer wishes to dance, I’ll sit out the rest.”
Did the man never smile?
“My dancing days are over, I’m afraid,” Lady Derringer said apologetically.
So there were only three pairs of dancers getting ready for the next song. Lady Rutledge raised her brows, waiting for her cue, while we exchanged partners. Mr. Merritt claimed me, while Lord Brookhaven asked Millicent, and Lord Markeley stood opposite Rose Rutledge.
Once again, we all whirled around the floor. I was spinning so, my swaying dress almost got caught around my ankles a time or two.
Mr. Merritt was as agreeable a partner as Lord Markeley had been, perhaps even more so, since Mr. Merritt had a slightly more mature air about him.
Lord Markeley still had something of a boy’s manner, though he was the same age as me, Millicent had confided.
She had consulted her copy of Debrett’s Peerage to also discover that Lord Brookhaven was six-and-twenty, and since he and Thomas Merritt were schoolfellows, he was probably also the same age.
I’d glanced at Millicent and Lord Brookhaven—how could I not?
—and I found Lord Brookhaven giving Millicent his full attention, while she was looking enthralled, if a little nervous, as she gazed up at him.
Truly, his was the most commanding presence in the room.
Would he dance with me next? Or was that going too far, for an earl to lower himself to dance with a governess?
Again, I reminded myself to enjoy my partner, Mr. Merritt, who was undeniably handsome and agreeable.
The dance was soon over, and Mr. Merritt suggested we take some lemonade, which had been brought in after the last dance.
My heart was beating fast as my eyes met Millicent’s.
She was obviously happy, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks rosy.
But I was highly aware of Lord Brookhaven throwing back his lemonade as if it were a cup of medicine.
How could even that small act be so masculine and appealing?
When Lady Rutledge signaled that she was ready to play, Mr. Merritt wasted no time in asking Rose Rutledge for the next dance.
Lord Markeley approached Millicent, and I allowed myself to look toward Lord Brookhaven.
I’d already danced with the other gentlemen, who had now paired themselves with the other ladies.
It was Lord Brookhaven’s turn to ask me, but he was speaking with the butler, Mr. Mims, in the doorway.
Would I be passed over by Lord Brookhaven and be forced to sit down for this dance? I tried not to let my face show my disappointment.
I watched as Millicent stood opposite Lord Markeley and Mr. Merritt smiled at Rose Rutledge. Lady Rutledge was frowning from her place at the pianoforte, looking impatiently toward Lord Brookhaven.
My stomach twisted as the others glanced over at Lord Brookhaven, still in quiet conversation with the butler, and then at me. I could feel my cheeks starting to burn.
Suddenly, Lord Brookhaven waved Lady Derringer over, who immediately took over the conversation with the butler, allowing Lord Brookhaven to escape.
His gaze found me, and he strode over. “May I have this dance?”
“Of course.” I gave him my gloved hand. It was the first time we had ever touched, and a thrill went up my arm and across my shoulders.
He signaled to Lady Rutledge to begin, then he led me to the middle of the room as the music started to play.
Relief and joy enlivened me as I stared up at Lord Brookhaven, though I tried not to look too happy. No sense embarrassing myself in front of him and the rest of his guests.
Just like in my dreams, he was gazing at me with those mysterious blue eyes, and my heart was bursting out of my chest.
Dancing was for flirtation and courting and entertainment, although Lord Brookhaven had never struck me as being interested in flirting, courting, or entertainment.
He would need to secure a wife at some point, but he was so serious, even melancholy, that dancing in and of itself didn’t seem to be something he would engage in for pleasure.
I fancied I knew him, that I understood his nature, but from the expression on his face, I struggled to decipher his thoughts and emotions. Perhaps he was enjoying himself, though not as much as he enjoyed a good solitary ramble or deep conversation.
There was a moment during the dance that we waited for our turn to proceed between the two lines of dancers, and Lord Brookhaven had just enough time to say, “You dance very well, Miss Robbins.”
His words of praise went straight to my head and I nearly made a misstep as we galloped between the other dancers, took a twirl with other partners, then came back together.
“Thank you, sir, and you as well,” I said.
He wasn’t smiling as the rest of the dancers were. Was he even enjoying himself?