I wonder if they were a gift from Monsale, he does so love his flowers.
A small orchestra had set up at one end of the room, and the gentle ‘plink’ of violins being tuned drifted to her ears.
A hand slipped under her arm and Naomi found a grinning Evangeline standing beside her. “This looks wonderful. People have been so welcoming and kind, I shall find it almost impossible to return home to France.”
Naomi placed her hand gently over Evangeline’s. “I think that’s the idea. If you fall in love with London, you may want to stay.”
Evangeline laughed. “If only. But we have the château to continue rebuilding, and the shipping business is always calling for Gus’s attention. Occupé. Occupé.”
Naomi didn’t reply. She doubted that there was a person in the room who didn’t know that the shipping business was actually a smuggling operation, moving goods between Brittany and Portsmouth. She was tempted to ask Evangeline what her plans for the future were with regard to the illegal trade. Bridget had made mention of Gus wanting to find another source of income, one which was less dangerous. There was hope that in time all the members of the RR Coaching Company would finally step away from their old lives.
And that thought raised another question in her mind.
What will Monsale do when he takes on a wife? He can’t think to keep that sort of thing secret for too long.
The first strains of a quadrille now filled the room. Bridget and Stephen, paired up with Harry and Alice. The Jones’s and Lord and Lady Steele making up the rectangular set of dancers.
Naomi frowned. Why weren’t the newlywed couple being included? Across the other side of the dance floor, Gus was conducting an animated conversation with George and Monsale.
“You are not dancing?”
Evangeline shook her head. “I don’t know the steps of your English dances. I can muddle my way through a French traditional folk dance, such as the gavotte but the waltz and this formation dancing is beyond me. I might come from a good family, but with the upheaval in my country which followed the revolution, dancing lessons were a luxury not afforded to me.”
The heat of embarrassment burned on Naomi’s cheeks. She didn’t know much about Evangeline’s background, but it appeared to have been less privileged than her own.
“I’m sorry, that was thoughtless of me. Sometimes I forget that not all my friends have been granted the sort of life I have led,” she said.
Evangeline waved her concerns away. “You have all been so welcoming, I cannot begin to tell you how much that means to me. Besides, I have Gus and my home, it's more than I ever thought I would have.”
Naomi beckoned a footman over and selected a glass of champagne, handing it to Evangeline. She took one for herself, and they sipped their drinks. It was nice to simply watch friends and family enjoying themselves.
A short while later, the tempo of the evening changed as the orchestra struck up a waltz. The different ways the various couples moved around the floor was interesting. Harry and Alice laughed their way through the steps, with Harry throwing in the occasional outrageous piece of footwork. Alice was in fits of giggles.
He will always be a society peacock at heart.
The sensual movements of Stephen and Bridget had Naomi taking several hurried, and large gulps of her champagne. They didn’t seem to give a damn if anyone else saw their love. When Stephen captured his wife’s lips in a scorching kiss as he pulled her through a turn, Naomi didn’t know where to look.
Gosh. That is…
Her skin flushed with heat. As she tore her gaze from the dance floor, she met the cool gray eyes of —him. Monsale glanced at the orchestra, then leaned in and spoke to Gus. There was a brief exchange, at the end of which Monsale nodded. His eyes shifted back to Naomi, then to the dancers, before returning to her once more.
He is thinking of dancing, that would be…no. Don’t you dare, Naomi Steele. You swore you would never again ask him to dance. He has humiliated you for the last time.
Their gazes were still locked on one another as Monsale made his way across the floor. He was headed straight for her. She hated the way her heart began to beat fast in her chest as he approached.
If he asks you to dance, be calm and polite. Hold your nerve. And for heaven’s sake, don’t appear eager or grateful. If only my heart would stop racing.
He didn’t deserve her going all weak-at-the-knees just because he finally decided that it was time to take her hand and dance.
Monsale drew closer.
And take a deep breath.
She caught the salacious grin on his lips and silently cursed him; his swagger only made things worse. The blackguard.
Her heart rate kicked up to an almost scary pace, going ‘thump, thump’ in her chest. Despite her best endeavors, hope flared. She had been waiting years for this moment.
When he reached her, he nodded. “Lady Naomi. Madame Jones. I trust you ladies are enjoying this evening.”
