Page 33 of Holding Onto Love

Well, not funny for him, of course. He escorted Alice onto the floor. He reminded himself he needed to make conversation with the young lady. “How pretty you look, Miss Fogbotham. I trust you’ve been enjoying your Season.”

“Very much so, Iversley. Especially with Georgiana and Reginald back in London. I only wish Crispin and Olivia could be here.”

He recalled how she, how they all, had teased him at Chaumbers for clinging to formal address while they—unbeknownst to him—had progressed to using given names. Lud. Quite a bit had been going on unbeknownst to him. It would be too scandalous for her, here, to call him Jasper. Especially as he was now the Earl. But of course, she knew that. He winked at her, so that she would know he was teasing too.

He led her to the top of the reel. The music began and they danced. She had nimble feet and a quick smile. But after a few admittedly banal compliments, he realized she was not paying attention to him. The pattern of the dance took them away from each other and then back again.

“Am I so dull?” he asked. In his head, the words were teasing, but they emerged from his mouth like blocks of wood.

She blinked, startled, then said, “Oh, good Heavens, no. Please! I am indebted to you for favoring me like this—”

“Well, that’s nonsense.”

“The truth is, I am distracted by something. It’s terrible form for me to ask about it. Yet I can’t think of anything else. Especially talking to you.”

And then they were obliged to whirl away from one another. It occurred to him he hadn’t devoted much time to Alice when they were at Chaumbers. Was she sincere or was this some new way girls were trying to flirt?

They faced each other again. The little furrow between her brows suggested sincerity. He suppressed a sigh. Did it matter? So long as they presented a picture of amusing one another.

“You’ve piqued my interest. It would be rude, now, not to ask.”

She took his permission and ran with it. “How was Hazard’s speech received? I asked him, but you know how it is when he wishes to deflect attention.”

“His speech was magnificent.”

“Was it?” She beamed. “I knew it would be. So, he kept serious then?”

“Remarkably so.” Then he thought about her words. “How did you know?”

“How did I know that he was making a speech?”

“That he would be serious. Hazard is never serious.”

“Yes, but it is a serious topic.”

“Good Lord, Alice!”

She shushed him. Then she slipped off on Mikton’s arm while he twirled with Miss Felicity Brewer. He absentmindedly flashed a smile at her that he had not used since he was Reginald’s age. He hadn’t meant to. The duchess would be thrilled with him. He gladly relinquished the startled, blushing girl to Mikton and hurried back to Alice so quickly that he missed a step and nearly crushed her foot.

“Jasper,” she hissed. “Ouch! Georgiana said you danced well!”

“I do.” He sorted himself, annoyed. Now the duchess would be wringing her hands. The point was to convince people there was nothing here to gossip about. Instead, they would be saying Iversley was falling all over Miss Fogbotham and flirting outrageously with all the debutantes. He must be carrying a torch for his brother’s wife.

For a moment, he danced with more decorum, a bland smile on his face that Alice copied. Then he imagined the triviality of what the gossips could say about this. And how little it mattered. Then he remembered what had set him off.

“Is Hazard discussing politics with you?”

The little furrow deepened to a brow-wrinkling frown.

“Don’t do that,” he warned, through smiling teeth. “We are enjoying ourselves.”

She pasted back her smile. “He mentioned he was giving a speech.”

“He mentioned the Coal Tax?”

“Leath—” She bit off the word. “All right. Yes. He wished to practice it, so I listened.”

He recalled how much sharper the arguments were in the speech Hazard had given versus the one he had written. And how very serious Hazard had been. Laying the groundwork. Ha! He certainly was. But not for this bill, which hadn’t a chance of failing.