Chapter 28
“Lady Louise! How delightful to see you. I hear Lord Sulton is still in Bath. He must be recovering remarkably well there,” Lady Tupperton blocked Louise’s path to the refreshment table with the determination of a general defending strategic ground.
The woman’s narrow face held the sharp anticipation of a hawk spotting prey.
Louise forced her shoulders to remain relaxed despite the tension coiling in her stomach. “Lady Tupperton. Lovely to see you as well. As for my brother, the waters have been most beneficial to his health.”
“Indeed? How curious that no one in Bath society has encountered him.” Lady Tupperton stepped closer, her perfume overwhelming in its intensity. “My dear friend Lady Mansfield writes me every week from the Pump Room, and she mentions everyone of consequence.”
Around them, Lord Pemberton’s drawing room hummed with conversation.
Louise could see Lady Harbury across the room, resplendent in purple silk, engaged in an animated discussion with the Dowager Duchess of Raynsford.
Lady Densham stood near the pianoforte, her severe expression suggesting she found the music lacking.
Lady Merrow held court by the fireplace, but she might as well have been in another country for all the help she could provide.
“My brother prefers privacy during his convalescence.” Louise attempted to step around the woman, but Lady Tupperton shifted to maintain her blockade.
“Privacy. Yes, that would explain why no physician in Bath has heard of him either.” The woman’s smile could have curdled cream. “My nephew is studying medicine there, you see. He made inquiries when I expressed concern for dear Lord Sulton’s health.”
Louise’s fingers tightened on her fan. Behind Lady Tupperton, she could see the punch bowl that had been her destination, as unreachable as the moon.
“How thoughtful of your nephew.”
“Isn’t it? He’s terribly thorough.” Lady Tupperton leaned closer, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper that somehow carried to everyone within ten feet.
“Some people, unkind people naturally, have suggested that Lord Sulton isn’t in Bath at all.
I’ve heard some people whisper that he’s not in England, even. ”
“People do love to speculate, my lady.” Louise kept her voice steady through sheer force of will.
“Oh, but this goes beyond speculation. There are rumors of gambling debts.” Lady Tupperton’s eyes glittered with malicious delight. “Someone even suggested he’s involved with criminals. Can you imagine?”
Louise felt the blood drain from her face. Around them, conversations had quieted, everyone pretending not to listen while hanging on every word.
“Of course,” Lady Tupperton continued, her voice rising slightly, “I defended dear Lord Sulton vigorously! But it seems odd that he would abandon his sisters during their time of need. Unless, of course, his absence is not entirely voluntary?”
The implication hung in the air like poison gas.
“My brother is ill, my lady. There’s not much else entertainment to find in this story, I’m afraid,” Louise said.
Lady Tupperton’s eyes still twinkled with curiosity. “Oh, but of course, Lady Louise—”
“Lady Tupperton. Lady Louise.”
Aaron stopped directly before them, and Louise nearly sagged with gratitude. He had a smile that would have seemed genuine to anyone who didn’t know him.
“Lady Tupperton, I believe the musicians are beginning a waltz. Would you honor me with this dance?”
The woman’s mouth fell open in shock. Around them, Louise heard several sharp intakes of breath. The Duke of Calborough rarely danced at small gatherings, and certainly not with married women of Lady Tupperton’s age and disposition.
“Your Grace, I … that is … I would be delighted!” Lady Tupperton placed her hand on Aaron’s offered arm, her expression shifting from predatory to preening.
Aaron led her away without so much as glancing at Louise, leaving her standing alone by the punch bowl she no longer wanted. She watched them take their positions on the small dancing area, her chest tight with an emotion she refused to examine too closely.
Lady Harbury appeared at her elbow with the suddenness of a benevolent fairy godmother. “Well, that was unexpected.”
“His Grace is being courteous.” Louise kept her gaze fixed on the dancers, watching Aaron guide Lady Tupperton through the waltz with perfect propriety.
“Courteous.” The Dowager Duchess of Raynsford joined them, her tone suggesting vast amusement. “That’s certainly one word for it.”
“I prefer strategic,” Lady Densham observed, appearing at Louise’s other side. “Lady Tupperton can hardly continue spreading poison about your brother while His Grace honors her with his attention.”
Louise watched Lady Tupperton’s face, which had indeed transformed from sharp speculation to obvious delight at being singled out by a duke. The woman would dine out on this story for months, and any nasty gossip about George would be overshadowed by her triumph.
“Clever boy,” Lady Harbury murmured. “However, someone looks rather put out by his choice of partner.”
Louise realized the older women were all looking at her with knowing expressions. She straightened her spine. “I’m merely surprised. His Grace rarely dances.”
“Mmm.” The Dowager Duchess’s expression conveyed volumes of disbelief. “And it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s dancing with that harpy instead of you?”
Heat flooded Louise’s cheeks. “I’d never expect His Grace to dance with me.”
“Oh, my dear.” Lady Harbury patted her arm with grandmotherly affection. “For someone so intelligent, you can be remarkably obtuse about certain matters.”
The waltz ended before Louise could form a response. She watched Aaron bow to Lady Tupperton, who clutched his arm as if reluctant to release her prize. He said something that made her giggle like a debutante, then smoothly extracted himself.
Instead of returning to his previous position, he walked directly toward Louise and her companions.
“Ladies.” He bowed to the dowagers with genuine warmth. “You’re looking formidable this evening.”
“Flatterer,” Lady Densham accused, yet her severe expression softened slightly.
“Lady Louise.” Aaron turned to her, and something in his eyes made her pulse quicken. “I believe the next dance is beginning. Would you do me the honor?”
Louise placed her hand in his, letting him lead her to the dance floor. She waited until they had taken their positions before speaking.
“Thank you. I hope she didn’t bore you to death.”
His eyebrow arched in a way that always made her stomach flutter. “Would you have preferred my letting her continue her interrogation?”
“You could have simply interrupted and led me away.”
“Where would be the fun in that?” He guided her through the opening steps with easy confidence. “Besides, now she’ll spend the rest of the evening boasting about dancing with a duke rather than spreading gossip about your brother.”
Louise recognized the strategy, even appreciated it, but something still rankled. “She’s awful.”
“Tremendously.” He spun her, pulling her slightly closer than strictly proper. “Her breath alone could fell a horse.”
A laugh escaped before Louise could stop it. “That’s unkind.”
“You are correct. That was unkind.” He dipped his head slightly. “But also, rather true.”
She shook her head, unable to prevent a smile. His hand was warm at her back, steadying, guiding, far too pleasant.
“You seem in much better spirits now,” he observed.
“Do I?”
“Hm.” His mouth curved. “You look as though you’ve remembered that you are, in fact, allowed to enjoy yourself.”
“Well, that is largely your doing.” She glanced up at him. “You always manage to make things feel … less heavy.”
“A useful talent,” he said lightly. “Though I suspect you give me too much credit.”
“I don’t think so.” The words slipped out before she could soften them.
His gaze warmed, the smallest shift, but enough to make her breath catch. He turned her neatly, drawing her a little closer as the step required.
“I’m pleased,” he said quietly, “that you enjoy dancing with me.”
She swallowed. “I always do.”
He seemed to take that in with genuine satisfaction, not arrogance—something gentler. The music carried them into a more intricate movement, one that brought them nearer for a fleeting moment.
“You’re a very good partner, Louise,” he said. “You follow effortlessly.”
“That is because you lead effortlessly.”
“Do I?” The corner of his mouth curved. “I shall take that as the highest of compliments.”
“It was meant as one.”
The music drew them through another turn, then another, their steps attuned, their conversation easy. It felt almost like slipping into warmth after a long, cold day.
When the dance ended, he guided her to the edge with one last, lingering touch at her waist.
“You look well,” he said, softer than before. “Happier than when I found you.”
“I am,” she admitted.
“I’m glad.” His smile held a quiet intimacy, something just for her. “You make the evening infinitely more bearable.”
Louise felt a warmth bloom in her chest. “The feeling is mutual.”
For a moment, the ballroom faded to a softer blur around them, until propriety gently tugged them apart.
Louise wanted to respond, but Lady Merrow appeared beside them with timing that suggested she had been watching for the dance to end.
“Aaron, dear, Lord Pemberton is asking about your thoughts on the new banking regulations. Louise, come help me convince Agnes that she cannot adopt a peacock for her garden.”
They were separated by social obligation, but Louise felt Aaron’s gaze following her across the room.
When she glanced back, he raised his glass slightly in a private toast, his expression promising that their conversation was far from finished.
Lady Tupperton spent the rest of the evening regaling anyone who would listen with details of her dance with the duke. The gossip about George faded to whispers, then to nothing.
But Louise barely noticed the social victory, for she was in terrible trouble.
The kind that had nothing to do with missing brothers or social ruin, and everything to do with the way her heart raced every time the Duke of Calborough entered a room.