Page 67 of Return to Satterthwaite Court

Which was no fault of Miss Burton-Smythe’s, really.

Dropping Charles’s arm, Kate stepped forward to greet the girl. “Miss Burton-Smythe. It’s been an age.”

“Lady K-Katherine.” Miss Burton-Smythe bent her head.

“Kate, please. And may I call you Meg? Miss Burton-Smythe is so dreadfully formal.”

“Oh yes,” Meg said. “If you p-please.”

Ivo drew Meg closer. “Allow me to introduce Lieutenant Charles Heywood, grandson of the Earl of Gordon. And this is Lieutenant Heywood’s sister, Miss Hannah Heywood. They’re staying with us until tomorrow.”

Charles and Hannah exchanged polite greetings with Meg.

Ivo stood by, exhibiting not an ounce of shame. “Now that our numbers have evened up,” he said to Mama once the introductions were dispensed with, “James can take over your duties at the pianoforte while the rest of us dance. You won’t mind, will you, James? We can’t spare any of the ladies.”

James plainly minded very much. To be sure, Kate’s normally unflappable eldest brother looked as though he were a hair’s breadth from throttling Ivo.

“An excellent idea,” Kate’s mother said. She took Papa’s hand, her fingers threading through his. She gave his hand a meaningful squeeze. “Shall we, my love?”

Kate’s father held Ivo’s gaze for a long moment before allowing Mama to draw him away.

Ivo didn’t flinch. “Play something jolly, won’t you?” he said to James.

Kate held her breath. But James didn’t rise to the bait, thank goodness.

He strode to the pianoforte and sat down. Unlike Kate and her mother, he didn’t require someone to turn the pages of his music. He didn’t require music at all. James had a prodigious memory and could play most pieces entirely by ear. He did so now, pounding out the opening chords of a march with bone-rattling strength.

Jack approached Hannah. “Would you do me the honor, Miss Heywood?”

“Yes, of course,” she said.

Charles lined up across from Kate. He couldn’t fail to recognize the peculiar tension in the room, even if he didn’t understand the source of it.

Kate resented the fact as much as she resented Ivo for inviting Meg.

The last thing she wanted to be doing during the Heywoods’ brief visit was explain her family’s scandalous history. She was trying to persuade Charles that she was a worthwhile partner, not the reverse.

Though whether Charles would even ask her about it was an open question. A gentleman who was serious about her would surely want to know. One who was genuinely contemplating an alliance. But…was he?

A frown tugged at her mouth as she crossed places with him in the dance. Herein lay the danger of being the pursuer instead of the pursued. One could never guess what the other person was thinking or feeling. For all she knew, Charles didn’t care one way or the other about her family’s history. About any of them.

About her.

The prospect sank her spirits far more than any ill-advised stunt pulled by her brother.

Kate wasn’t the only one whose spirits were waning. As the eight of them joined and separated again in the pattern of the dance, she observed that Mama’s smile was brittle and Meg’s face was aflame. Even Hannah was looking out of sorts, her eyes perpetually flashing to her brother as if seeking reassurance.

Oh, but it was all a disaster!

When Kate linked hands with Ivo in turn, she scowled at him. “Are you satisfied?” she asked under her breath.

“Immensely,” he replied. “I’ve often found that the best way of enacting change is to force it upon the resisting parties.”

“You may have ruined my plans.”

“Really? My own are going swimmingly,” he said unremorsefully as they parted again.

Meg Burton-Smythe remained for another two hours, dancing with each of Kate’s brothers and even Kate’s father. All was painfully polite and excruciatingly civil. But there were no more waltzes. No more flirtatious looks or easy conversation. The pall over the room never lifted, not even after Ivo departed to see his controversial guest safely home.