Page 83 of Regency Whispers: Scandalous Matches

‘I have never seen anything like this,’ Lydia said, her mouth open in awe.

‘Thank you,’ Alice said, squeezing her friend’s hand. ‘For making me come tonight. You’re right. I deserve one last night of happiness before a lifetime of being married to vile Cousin Cecil.’

Lydia leaned in close and held Alice’s eye. ‘Enjoy it to the utmost. Dance with every man that asks, sip sparkling wine like it is water, admire all the marvellous women in their beautiful dresses.’

‘I will.’

For a moment Alice felt a little overwhelmed. This was not her world, not where she belonged, and she was aware she didn’t know how to talk to these people. It felt as though someone might come and pluck her out of the crowd and announce Alice James, you do not belong here.

A young gentleman, no older than Alice and Lydia, approached, swallowing nervously. He smiled at them both, showing a line of crooked teeth, and then directed his focus on Lydia.

‘I know we have not been introduced, but may I have the pleasure of the next dance?’

Alice watched as her friend blushed under her mask. Lydia was bold and confident on the outside, but sometimes she would stutter and stammer amongst people she did not know.

‘I would be delighted,’ Lydia said, giving Alice a backwards glance as her partner led her off to the edge of the dance floor to wait for the next dance to be called.

Suddenly alone Alice felt very exposed, and she shrank back, aghast when she brushed against a large pot filled with a leafy plant with brightly coloured flowers. It wobbled on its table, threatening to crash to the ground. She lunged, trying to steady it, and as her hands reached around the ceramic she had an awful vision of the container crashing to the floor and the whole ballroom turning to her in the silence that followed, realising she shouldn’t be there.

‘Steady,’ a deep voice said right in her ear, making her jump and almost sending the pot flying again. An arm brushed past her waist, reaching quickly to stop the plant from toppling.

For a long moment Alice did not move, only turning when she was certain there was going to be no terrible accident with the plant in front of her. When she did finally turn she inhaled sharply. Standing right behind her, just the right distance away so as not to attract any disapproving stares, was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. He wasn’t wearing a mask, and Alice reasoned there was no point. Everyone in the room would know who he was just by looking at his eyes. They were blue, but not the same pale blue of her own eyes but bright and vibrant, piercing in their intensity. He had that attractive combination of blue eyes and dark hair that was uncommon in itself but that, added to the perfect proportions of the rest of his facial features, meant he was easily the most desirable man in the room.

‘Thank you,’ she said, her heart still pounding in her chest from the worry that she was about to cause a scene with the crashing décor. ‘That could have been a disaster.’

Simon smiled blandly at the pretty young woman in front of him and turned to leave, not wanting to get caught up in conversation with someone he should probably know. There were hundreds of young ladies in Northumberland he’d been introduced to, and he could never remember their names. It was one of the tribulations of being an earl: everyone knew you, everyone recognised you, and most expected you to remember them.

His brother had been good at that sort of thing, remembering every face and name, making connections between members of the same families. When out on the estate or visiting the local village Robert would stop and talk to almost everyone he met, enquiring after the health of various ailing relatives or newborn babies. Robert had been loved by their tenants and staff in a way that was impossible to follow, especially when Simon had trouble remembering even a fraction of the names of the people he encountered in the local area.

As he turned he spotted his sister-in-law entering the ballroom. He had a lot of time and respect for Maria, the dowager countess, but right now he did not want to see her. Recently she had been urging him to marry and settle down, which was the furthest thing from what he had planned for his life. Tonight no doubt she would have a list of eligible young ladies lined up for him to dance with, all perfectly nice and decent young ladies, but there was no point in him seeking a connection with anyone, not now, not ever.

Not wanting to get caught by Maria and her list of accomplished young ladies, he hastily turned back to the woman in front of him.

‘I don’t think we’ve been introduced,’ he said.

‘Miss Alice James,’ she said, bobbing into a little curtsy. She looked up at him expectantly, and he realised she was waiting for him to introduce himself.

‘Lord Westcroft,’ he said, seeing her eyes widen. Unless she was a consummate actress it would seem she hadn’t known who he was. He didn’t like to view himself as conceited, but generally most people did recognise him when he entered a room. It was one of the disadvantages of being an earl.

‘A pleasure to meet you, my Lord.’

‘The dancing is about to begin, Miss James. I wonder if I might have the pleasure of this dance?’

‘You want to dance with me?’ She sounded incredulous, and he had to suppress a smile at her honest reaction.

‘If that is agreeable to you?’

She nodded, and he held out his arm to her, escorting her to the dance floor just as the musicians played the first note of the music for a country dance.

He had been dancing all his life, and over the years been to hundreds of balls and danced countless dances. Before his brother had died he had quite enjoyed socialising, but everything had lost its shine after Robert’s death. Miss James stood opposite him and beamed, looking around her in delight. She was young, but not so young that this could be her first ball, and he wondered if she approached everything with such irrepressible happiness.

The dance was fast-paced, and as it was their turn to progress down the line of other dancers, Miss James looked up at him and smiled with such unbridled joy that for a moment he froze. Thankfully he recovered before she noticed, and they continued the dance without him missing a step, but as they took their place at the end of the line he found he could not take his eyes off her. Even with her mask on he could see she was pretty. She had thick auburn hair that was pinned back in the current fashion, but a few strands had slipped loose and curled around her neck. Her eyes were a pale blue that shimmered in the candlelight, but the part of her he felt himself drawn to was her lips. She smiled all the time, her expression varying between a closed-lip, small smile of contentment to a wider smile of pleasure at various points throughout the dance. When she got a step wrong, she didn’t flush with embarrassment as many young ladies would, but instead giggled at her own mistake. Simon realised he hadn’t met anyone in a long time who was completely and utterly living in the moment and, in that moment, happy.

As the music finished he bowed to his partner and then surprised himself by offering her his arm.

‘Shall we get some air, Miss James?’

She looked up at him, cheeks flushed from the exertion, and nodded.