Chapter 20
Twenty
“An evening assembly,” Hattie said, her eyes wide. “I cannot believe I am attending an evening assembly in London.”
“You will probably meet the Earl of Brookhaven,” Millicent said. “He is Charlotte’s good friend, you know.”
Hattie kept clasping and unclasping her hands in the carriage. “Are you sure my dancing is good enough for an evening assembly such as this?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” I patted Hattie’s hand. “Just take a deep breath and don’t look at your feet. I assure you, you dance as well as most of the young ladies who will be there.”
Hattie still looked frightened, but she said, “Thank you so much for loaning me your dress.”
“I shall have some made for you now that you’re here.”
“That is too generous, Charlotte. I would say no, but I don’t want you to be embarrassed by me around your new friends.”
Mrs. Drake was staring out the window, fanning herself.
I could guess her thoughts. She thought I should find new friends, ones of higher birth than Hattie and Millicent, as I sought the approval of this new social class.
But what good was a fortune if I had to cower to others, people who were neither related to me nor to anyone I loved and therefore should have no bearing on my opinions?
We arrived at the assembly rooms at the same time as everyone else in London.
“What a line of carriages,” Mrs. Drake said. “We shall sit here half the night waiting for our turn, I dare say.”
But we did not wait half the night, and soon we were pressed in with the rest of the crowd who were being greeted one by one by the hostess. Then we were in the ballroom, where the musicians were already playing a lively dance tune.
All the faces around me were unfamiliar. I searched, hoping to see someone I knew.
“I shall be sitting here,” Mrs. Drake said, heading to a chair against the wall, beside one of her friends. “Take every opportunity to dance,” she said, “and check in with me after each one.”
Hattie leaned close to me and whispered, “I shouldn’t be here. Everyone looks so elegant.”
Her face had gone pale, and her eyes were watery.
“No, Hattie. You have every right to be here. You are my guest, and you are safe, do you understand?”
She barely nodded, and I could see that her hands were trembling.
Three gentlemen approached, and I recognized Mr. Merritt.
We greeted each other. I introduced Mr. Merritt to Hattie, and then he introduced his two friends, Mr. Honeycutt and Mr. Treadwell.
Mr. Honeycutt asked Millicent to dance, while Mr. Treadwell engaged Hattie in conversation.
However, I could see from Mr. Treadwell’s frozen expression and raised eyebrows that he was put off by Hattie’s nervous manner.
A moment later, he was excusing himself and asking the young lady standing just behind Hattie to dance, who politely declined.
I said quietly to Mr. Merritt, “Would you mind terribly asking Miss Jacobs to dance? She is nervous, and—”
“Of course.” He immediately stepped forward and held his hand out to Hattie. “Miss Jacobs, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”
Hattie placed her trembling hand on Mr. Merritt’s arm and let him lead her to the dance floor.
I quickly excused myself from Mr. Treadwell before he could ask me to dance. I wasn’t certain I could be civil to a man who had slighted my friend.
“Oh.” I bumped right into Lord Brookhaven. “Forgive me.”
“The fault was mine,” he said.
“I wasn’t looking where I was going, and—”
“Will you dance with me?” He held out his arm.
I laid my hand upon it, and we took our places beside Hattie and Mr. Merritt.
How I’d looked forward to dancing with Lord Brookhaven again, to make up for the last time when I’d been offended by his warning me about Mr. Welton.
His handsome face was serious as he gazed at me, bringing to mind pleasant memories from my time at Lowndesbury House.
The dance steps frequently had us spinning away from each other and switching partners for short periods, and I took the opportunity to glance at Hattie.
Her face looked frozen, but her shoulders had slowly loosened, and I even saw her smile at Mr. Merritt, who seemed to be doing a wonderful job putting her at ease. God bless Mr. Merritt.
When the dance brought us together again, Lord Brookhaven asked, “Is this young lady your friend from school?”
“Yes.”
“I would be pleased if you would introduce me.”
“Of course.” I gave him a smile and wondered if there were any other earl in all of England who would ask to be introduced to a poor orphaned schoolteacher. But from my estimation, she was as good a person as anyone with a title, whether in this ballroom or outside of it.
It was not a common opinion, I was aware.
The dance ended, and Lord Brookhaven asked, “How are Joshua and Sarah?”
“Well, I thank you. They are good children, and I quite adore them. They make me think of Samuel and Annabelle. I was thinking of visiting them later this week, if that is all right.”
“Yes, of course it is. They would be pleased to see you. You should bring Joshua and Sarah, if you like.” His blue eyes met mine as we stopped near Mrs. Drake.
Hattie and Mr. Merritt stood nearby, so I introduced Hattie and Lord Brookhaven. He spoke with her for a moment, welcoming her to London, then asked, “Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”
Hattie’s eyes widened and her voice cracked as she said, “Yes.”
I watched as Lord Brookhaven escorted her to the floor, my heart expanding in my chest as Hattie smiled at something Lord Brookhaven said.
“And now, may I have a dance with you, Miss Robbins?” Mr. Merritt was holding out his hand to me.
“Yes, you may.”
I happily danced, looking nearly as much at Hattie as at Mr. Merritt. When it was over, as he was escorting me back to Mrs. Drake, I said quietly, “Thank you for being kind to my friend. It is her first time in London.”
“She is a skilled partner, and I enjoyed dancing with her. But I admit, I enjoyed dancing with you even more.”
What could he mean by that? Probably just a little flirtation, as when we were at Lowndesbury House, although he’d never said anything quite like that before.
“May I fetch you some lemonade?” he asked.
“Oh, um, yes, thank you.”
Lord Brookhaven was looking at me at that moment, then he turned and walked away.
“There you are, Miss Robbins.” Mr. Anthony Welton suddenly appeared at my side. “Will you dance with me?” He was leaning quite close and gazing into my eyes.
“Of course.”
“I have been searching for you.”
He was a bit too close for comfort, so I took a step away from him. “You have not met my friend Hattie.” I introduced him.
After initial pleasantries, Hattie and Millicent began talking of the people they had met and of which of the ladies’ dresses they thought was the most beautiful.
Mr. Welton leaned close again and said, “You are looking particularly beautiful this evening, Miss Robbins.”
“I thank you.”
I couldn’t help enjoying his attention, even if I did think his behavior was a bit too forward.
Mr. Merritt returned with two cups of lemonade. He gave one to me and the other to Hattie as Millicent walked away to speak to an acquaintance she’d spotted on the other side of the room.
I knew Mr. Welton was waiting for me to accompany him to the dance floor, but I pretended not to notice as I sipped my lemonade.
The two men eyed each other, as they stood one on either side of me.
Mr. Welton said to Mr. Merritt, “Didn’t I see you at Hyde Park yesterday? Your horse had thrown a shoe, and you were leading him home.”
“No, you are mistaken.” Mr. Merritt looked away from him as if to signal that the conversation was over.
“It was you. Your horse was limping, and you were wearing a green coat and black hat.”
“It was someone else. I wasn’t at Hyde Park yesterday. Miss Robbins, would you care to get some air?”
Before I could speak, Mr. Welton said, “She is engaged to dance the next with me.”
I gave Mr. Merritt an apologetic look.
Mr. Welton said, “You will excuse us, as our dance is about to begin.”
“Very well. I shall see you later in the evening, perhaps.” Mr. Merritt bowed to me and to Hattie and excused himself.
I placed my cup on a tray, and Mr. Welton and I joined the dancers.
This dance was more stately than lively, and Mr. Welton barely took his eyes off me the entire time. When it was over, he squeezed my gloved hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm while he led me back to Mrs. Drake, whose smile was wide and approving.
I had to admit, my mood was quite joyful; I liked being the object of a young handsome gentleman’s attentions, but I also hoped Lord Brookhaven wouldn’t be angry with me for dancing so much with the man about whom he’d tried to put me on my guard.
The musicians took a short break to shuffle through their music sheets and to drink a glass from a tray brought to them by a servant.
“Miss Robbins, I—”
“Charlotte—oh, forgive me,” Millicent said. “I didn’t realize I was interrupting you.”
“It is all right. Miss Skidmore, is it not?” Mr. Welton gave Millicent a bland smile. “And are you enjoying the evening?”
“Oh yes, very much. I always enjoy a good party.”
“Then you must dance with me after I’ve had one more dance with Miss Robbins.” He raised his eyebrows at me and held out his hand, as people were starting to line up for the next dance.
I let him lead me back to the dance floor. We didn’t have long to wait before the music started.
It was probably my imagination, but it seemed people were staring at us and whispering behind their hands.
Had I done something wrong? Had my hem ripped, or was it caught on my shoe?
I didn’t feel anything amiss, so I didn’t think it was that.
I almost made a misstep, so I concentrated on the dance and stopped glancing about the room.