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He guffawed at her suggestion with a little shake of his head. She dropped her hands to her sides. A few months previously, she would have sulked, stamped her feet with annoyance and pouted for hours. On this occasion, she merely expressed disappointment.
“Probably for the best. Our older guests are very much set in their ways and I would not wish to offend them.” She gave a small shrug. “We young ladies will have to wait a few more years for Derbyshire to catch up with modern times.”
“I am not that much older than you,” said Edmund with a wry smile.
She returned to her list of preparations for the ball, which Edmund had thoughtfully written out for her. Each passing day, she grew more confident in her role as mistress of a great house. Edmund’s loyal team of servants assisted her in the build up, ensuring no last minute disasters and finally, to Alice’s ecstatic jubilation, the day of the ball arrived.
The musicians took up their seats at one end of the ballroom and in the dining room, a grand supper awaited the hungry dancers. A dance master had been appointed to ensure all the ladies would have fair access to the floor.
The guests arrived in a vast convoy of closed carriages. Her parents had arrived a day earlier. Her mother, still weak and thin about the face, could not be dissuaded from making the journey. She had gone to bed early the previous day and reassured Henry and her daughter she was quite capable of watching the dancing from a comfortable seat.
“I have no plans to dance a reel. I will not miss this great day. You would have to drag me out on my heels.”
Henry frowned at his wife. “She is a stubborn one, Ned. What can a man do?”
Edmund said nothing and Alice hid a grin. She knew her own husband had plenty of ways to ensure his own wife’s compliance. However, the secrecy remained, as it always would and the pastimes of their bedroom kept behind closed doors.
Each guest was announced to the gathered throng as Alice stood regally beside her colonel in the ballroom’s antechamber. She had practised her curtsey and she gave each guest a perfect rendition. Her husband bowed and charmed the ladies with his sparking eyes and coiffured hair.
Alice required no adorning scarlet uniform upon his sturdy frame. She now understood, her husband exuded elegance in whatever garb he chose to wear. The couple proudly circled the room, mingling with the guests and engaging them with wit and cordiality.
When Caroline Fanshawe arrived, Alice made a particular point of greeting her friend as publicly as possible. She promenaded around the room with Caroline on her arm and introduced her to her Macclesfield friends. Lucy and Philippa remained transfixed in a state of shock upon arrival, their eyes wide open as they took in the scale of Westfell Hall. Only offers of dances with the eligible men of Buxton drew them out and ended their gawping.
The highlight of the evening had been the toast. First to the monarch, wishing the new King a long reign following his long period of Regency. Then Edmund made the announcement that made Alice’s heart soar with pride.
“I would like to inform all of my friends, those from Buxton and Macclesfield, that my wife and I are expecting our first born.”
There followed a roar of applause from all four corners of the ballroom. Tears sprang to Alice’s eyes as she witnessed her delighted mother leap to her feet and clasp her hands to her chest.
Sometime after midnight, the last guest left Westfell Hall. Only her parents, and close friends, remained behind to stay the night. Alice bade each one good night, thanking them for their attendance.
Edmund led Alice out on to the terrace overlooking the garden. A full moon lit up the formal garden and the fresh night air cleared her lungs. Alice stared up at the brightest of stars and leant against Edmund, and his arms draped about her, hands resting on her belly.
“You have made me a proud man, Alice. It has been an honour to have you at my side throughout this evening. No one will doubt your integrity or status. You are special to me.”
She smiled. “I am a lucky lady to have you as my husband. I thank all these stars above us that you came back here from your terrible wars and chose me as your wife. I will love you eternally.” She felt him hardened behind her back and it filled her with delight. The evening would not end on the terrace.
Edmund had not been the only person she had impressed that night. She pictured the joyous expressions of her proud parents as they retired for bed. Her father, shaking Edmund’s hand, had given her husband warm congratulations for both the calibre of the ball and the news of their impending baby.
“Well done, Ned,” Henry had said gleefully, his eyes sparkling.
Alice twisted her head around, she pursed her lips, wondering how Edmund might take her question. He seemed transfixed by the night sky, but clearly content and at ease with his surroundings. “Will you ever let me call you Ned?”
The snort was soft, almost inaudible. “No.”
Alice tried hard not to hide her disappointment. Had she not earned the right to such a familiar endearment? “Why not?”
Edmund took a deep sigh. “I do not like the
name—”
Her jaw dropped low and she spun around to face him properly. “But my father—”
“Alice, I haven’t the heart to tell him.”
For the first time since she had met him, Alice detected a little shame on her husband’s expression. It filled her with adoration because it meant he would always be open with his thoughts and emotions.
“Oh, my love, that is one thing you do have, a heart.”
The End
