Chapter 8
Less than ten minutes later, Bingley arrived with his guests. There were two young ladies with him that Alan had never met before as well as a tall, imposing gentleman who was also a stranger. The other gentleman was well-known to Alan. It was Hurst.
Hurst was the one who had introduced him to the club Alan now had a membership to.
Looking back on it, Alan wouldn’t be surprised to find that Hurst had been bribed to bring him and that the entire membership had been a scam from the start, simply to convince Alan to spend more than he ought on cards, drink, and women.
Two months ago, Alan would have greeted Hurst with a smile and a hearty slap on the back. Now, however, when he had been sober for a month and he could think about the last year with clarity, he did not truly wish to claim the friendship.
It could not be helped. Hurst quickly spied Alan and came over to him, greeting him with a smile.
“Goulding, it has been an age. You set the gossip mill on fire when you disappeared from London without a word to anyone. People were saying you must be dead in a ditch somewhere. But here you are, moldering away in the country. At least with you around, these next few months won’t be quite so deadly dull as I expected.
You must join us for cards some evening or other.
Or perhaps you prefer hunting? I am certain I could scare up an invitation from Bingley for you to join us when we go out. ”
Alan forced a jovial expression onto his face. “It is good to see you, Hurst. As for cards, I’m afraid I’ve lost my taste for them for the moment, but I would be happy to join a hunt with you and Bingley. I have already renewed my friendship with him when he was here before.”
“Lost your taste for cards?” cried Hurst. “That cannot be. Next thing you will be telling me that you lost your taste for drink.”
“I am afraid I have,” said Alan.
Hurst looked at him appraisingly. Then his face cleared.
“Ah. I see. It is because you are in your hometown. Obviously, you cannot behave as you might wish with your mother staring over your shoulder constantly. I quite understand. It is why I, personally, never go home to my parents. At least I have a wife to keep me busy, and she makes a nice excuse when I tell my father that I will not be coming home.”
Alan did not correct Hurst’s assumptions. It was easier not to. “Speaking of your wife,” he said, “do introduce me. I don’t believe I have ever met her, though I distinctly remember the night before your wedding. You celebrated so hard, I am genuinely surprised you made it to the altar.”
Hurst laughed. “It was a close thing. Let me tell you,” he said. He looked back over his shoulder at the rest of Bingley’s group. The tall stranger had already broken away, apparently declining to be introduced to anyone, but Sir William was introducing the rest of the party to his family.
“It looks as though your introduction will have to wait,” said Hurst. “I believe she is occupied at the moment.”
“Do not trouble yourself,” said Alan. “I am certain there will be opportunities later. She may be occupied for quite some time. That man they are speaking with is the most sociable gentleman in the area. He will certainly lead them around the entire room, attempting to introduce them to everyone all at once.”
Hurst shrugged. “At least she will know everyone. Perhaps, then she won’t be complaining that she is surrounded by strangers.”
“Well, if you can’t introduce me, perhaps you can at least tell me which of the two ladies you are married to,” said Alan.
“The shorter one is my wife, Louisa,” said Hurst. “She and Caroline, the other lady, are Bingley’s sisters. Louisa may not be as pretty as Caroline, but she is far more pleasant to be around. Caroline is just a spoiled brat.”
“It sounds as though you made a good choice for your wife, then,” said Alan.
Hurst shrugged. “One lady is much like another, I suppose. I had to marry, and I did. Now, if only Louisa would be so kind as to bear me a son.”
Despite all his efforts to be friendly, Alan had no idea what to say to that. He couldn’t agree or even relate to any part of that statement. Fortunately, Hurst didn’t seem to require a response.
“Now, do show me where the card room is,” said Hurst. “I assume I can find some port there as well.”
“I do not know whether the card room is set up just yet, but it is through that door. As for drink, I believe they will be serving wine later, though it is usually not offered until after the dancing has begun.”
“Well, I believe I will make my way there, anyway. At least I will be among the first to get a game,” said Hurst. “Will you be joining me? Oh, yes. You mentioned you didn’t play anymore. Most peculiar.”
With that, Hurst walked away, and Alan sighed in relief.
~~~~~
Though Mary had walked away from Alan, she continued to observe him indirectly. She was well aware when he was greeted heartily by one of the gentlemen in Mr. Bingley’s party, and she wondered how they knew each other so well.
She assumed they knew each other from his time in London, much the same as how he knew Mr. Bingley, but this only raised the question in her mind of what he had done with his time there. He never spoke of it, and Mary had never had the courage to ask. She wondered if he would answer if she did ask.
As she moved slowly toward the back of the room, Mary also pondered over their conversation. He had finally made it very clear what Jane had been trying to tell Mary. He liked her. He had always liked her, even when he was being mean to her.
Mary didn’t know and couldn’t say whether “like” had turned to “love,” but it didn’t matter very much to her.
What mattered most was that she knew she returned the feeling.
He said that she had always had all of his attention, but the reverse also held true.
From the day they met, she had always noticed him far more than anyone else.
The question in her mind was, could she let the past be the past? Was she ready to let go of the many times he had hurt her so that they could move together into whatever the future held? She did not know.
She supposed it would likely depend on his explanation of his past behaviors which he had promised to give her later. It would also depend on what that future together looked like. She did not know that, either.
By the time she reached the back of the room, she had grown frustrated at the number of things she did not know, and she sighed a bit as she turned back around to face the room.
The crowd had grown, and the room was now full of people greeting each other and discussing all the little things life had thrown their way since last they met. Mary found a seat and settled in to wait for the first dance.
When it finally came, the experience was like nothing Mary had ever imagined. Alan was very solicitous in guiding her to the dance floor, and his arm was strong under her hand.
Mary had known Alan Goulding for years. She knew what he looked like. Yet, somehow, standing across from him in the dance, it felt as though she had never truly seen him. He moved with strength and grace, though there was some imperfection there as well.
When he took her hand as they circled each other, there was warmth that passed from his hand up her arm and straight to her heart. So much so, that by the end of the dance she was decidedly flushed, though it wasn’t a particularly intense dance.
Mary had never felt like this before, and the sensations and feelings confused her. At the same time, however, the familiarity of Alan’s face looking upon her with pleasure and warmth somehow made it all bearable and even pleasant.
They didn’t speak much, but the silence was not awkward. It felt as though there was nothing that needed to be said.
When Alan escorted Mary away from the dance floor, he bowed to her and said, “Thank you very much for the dance, Mary.” His eyes were aglow with some kind of intense feeling that Mary was not ready to comprehend. Nevertheless, she could feel herself responding in kind.
“Thank you, Mr. Goulding,” she said. It was the first time she had called him by anything other than Alan, but somehow it seemed necessary to establish some form of formality simply to help her cope with so much that was new.
To take away any possible offence he might have taken from her form of address, she added with a small smile, “It was a pleasure.”
Alan studied her face for a moment. Then he smiled in return and said, “I do hope you have a good evening, Mary.”
She watched him as he walked away. Even when he was out of sight, her gaze lingered in that direction for quite some time afterward.