Page 31 of The Earl’s Inconvenient Nemesis

“Try telling her that,” Anthony replied. “We ought to start heading back. I do not want to anger your aunt by returning you late for morning calls.” His eyes shone with amusement at the face Alice was unable to prevent herself from pulling at the thought of the hours of ‘polite society’ ahead of her.

As they turned back towards Aunt Jane’s house, Alice felt a quiet contentment she had not expected to find in London.

Chapter Twelve

The next ball Alice was to attend was one of the largest of the Season, which could prove either a blessing or a curse. On the one hand, more people would mean more eyes upon her; on the other, a large crowd might allow her to fade into the background if she so wished.

Her aunt had insisted she have yet another new dress for the event, this one a beautiful pale blue silk. The fabric draped elegantly and Alice felt rather more confident in her appearance than she had at previous balls, though her nerves still fluttered wildly.

Anthony joined them just as they were about to leave in Aunt Jane’s carriage. He looked as handsome and perfectly groomed as ever, even though he had almost missed them leaving.

“My apologies, ladies,” he said, offering a bow. “I was held up with business and lost track of the time. I do hope I have not kept you waiting.”

“Not at all,” replied Aunt Jane, who looked completely charmed by him as usual.

“You look beautiful, once again, Alice,” he said, his eyes travelling slowly down her gown.

“Thank you,” Alice muttered in reply, receiving a roll of the eyes from her aunt, as she felt her cheeks begin to turn red. The short carriage ride sitting opposite Anthony did nothing to calm her fluttering pulse.

Alice was engaged in conversation almost as soon as they arrived at the ball by some of the other women who wanted to know who had made her dress, and Aunt Jane and Anthony were soon lost to her in the crowd. Thankfully, she was becoming more adept at these situations and the evening continued as well as could be expected. Alice could not, in all honesty, say she was truly enjoying herself, but it was definitely becoming easier to pretend the more she attended these events and learned the unspoken rules.

Her dance partners were . . . uninspiring though courteous and polite, and the sheer number of guests meant she would go long periods without spotting Anthony or her aunt. Still, knowing he was keeping an eye on her somewhere in the room felt strangely reassuring - a far cry from how she had first felt about him accompanying her to London. Just the thought of him being close by, even if she could not see him, made her pulse race.

Eventually she spent some time with her aunt while the musicians were taking a break, but there was no sign of Anthony. Had he left? She glanced around surreptitiously, attempting to spot him until couples began to prepare for the next dance and Alice’s partner came over and led her onto the dance floor.

A lively reel began, and Alice was swept along with the other couples. The music was faster than she was used to, and the musicians at the far end of the ballroom seemed to be enjoying the exuberance of the young dancers, playing with particular energy.

Truth be told, Alice would have much preferred slower music so she might have some hope of executing the footwork correctly. She was being spun around rather vigorously, attempting to maintain at least a semblance of a smile, when she thought she caught sight of Anthony dancing with another lady. Craning her head to get a better look, she immediately felt herself losing her balance. She moved her leg in an effort to right herself but misjudged the step and tripped her partner. In fairness to him, he did everything he could to prevent disaster, but they still ended up sprawled in an undignified heap on the floor.

Other couples hastily moved aside, only to collide with more dancers, and soon the entire dance floor was in chaos. The musicians finally stopped playing.

From her spot on the floor, which was far from clean close up and had marked her white gloves, it felt as though every single person in the room was staring at Alice. She could not blame them. She would be too if she was in their position. She sat up gingerly, checking that nothing besides her pride was badly hurt. Thankfully, she appeared relatively unscathed.

Her partner grimaced as he got to his feet and offered her his hand. She accepted it and was heaved up to standing rather unceremoniously she felt, with him doing a superb job of avoiding all eye contact.

“I am so sorry,” Alice said quietly. “I really should have warned you what a terrible dancer I am.”

“It is of no consequence,” replied the gentleman stiffly. “If you will excuse me.” He gave a swift bow and disappeared into the crowd with a noticeable limp before Alice had a chance to respond with a curtsy.

Apparently the drama was now over. The musicians struck up again and Alice had to move quickly off the dance floor for fear of causing another catastrophe.

A group of concerned ladies immediately flocked around her. She reassured them she was unharmed and moved through them quickly, her mind set on getting to the retiring room. She had her head down hoping to attract less attention and had almost reached safety when someone caught her arm. She spun around and found herself facing a very concerned Anthony.

“You should be sitting down,” he said anxiously, looking her over.

“Thank you, but I am fine,” she said, glancing pointedly at her arm. He removed his hand from her. People seeing that and believing they were a couple would be the absolute icing on the cake that was this terrible evening. “I am trying to get to the retiring room,” she added through gritted teeth.

“I will accompany you,” Anthony said firmly. There was no point in arguing with him.

“Would you please inform my aunt that I would like to go home?” Alice asked as they reached her sanctuary which she prayed was quiet.

“Of course,” said Anthony.

A rather flustered Aunt Jane came to find Alice a few minutes later. The retiring room had not been as free of fellow ball attendees as Alice had hoped, but at least there was no one there who Alice knew well enough to feel obliged to converse with. She was very grateful to be rescued by her aunt, who was thankfully unaccompanied by Anthony. It sounded like Aunt Jane had insisted he stay at the ball as it was rude enough that the two of them were leaving early.

Aunt Jane whisked Alice outside to the waiting carriage and home, reassuring her niece that, “Everyone will have forgotten all about it by the next ball.” Alice nodded politely, though just the thought of attending another such social event filled her with absolute dread.

Alice stayed in her bedchamber for as long as she thought she could without causing her aunt undue concern the next day. Her left wrist was a little sore from when she had landed on it awkwardly, but other than that she was glad that she was uninjured.