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Melissa searched her mind for only an instant. "Take me home! We can leave a note for my parents in their carriage, telling them we've eloped. Then we can spend the night in one of the guest bedrooms on the third floor. No one will know we're there, and in the morning, we can greet everyone at breakfast as husband and wife."
That was such an audacious idea, Ian needed a moment to appreciate the beauty of it. Then his face lit up with a smile Melissa could see even in the darkness. He grabbed her in a boisterous hug, lifted her off her feet, and let out a wild whoop.
"By God, we'll do it!" he cried. He replaced his bride-to-be on her feet, took her hand, and led her back toward the Governor's Palace, intent upon beginning a marriage he prayed would overflow with the exquisite joy they'd share that night.
* * *
Alanna was the first to note that Melissa's absence from the ballroom had grown to an unseemly length. Fortunately neither Aunt Rachel nor Uncle John had missed their daughter's presence in the crowd. They had been dancing and talking with friends on the opposite side of the room for at least fifteen minutes, but Alanna was certain Melissa and Ian had been gone much longer. Perhaps they were merely strolling in the gardens and had lost track of the time, or had stopped to talk with friends, but whatever their excuse, Alanna feared their long absence from the party would draw severe criticism.
Graham Tyler had waited patiently for the opportunity to dance with Alanna again, and he was disappointed that she seemed so preoccupied. When she apologized for forgetting the steps of the dance which she had performed perfectly in her own parlor, he could no longer pretend that she was enjoying herself as much as he. "Would you rather have some punch, or visit the gardens?" he asked.
"Some punch first, and then the gardens?"
"Whatever you wish."
Alanna took his arm, as they slowly made their way toward the refreshment tables where punch was being served from ornate silver bowls. The berry-flavored beverage was overly sweet and rapidly losing its chill, but she sipped it without complaint. Melissa had insisted upon dressing her hair with pomatum and powdering it white, and suddenly catching sight of herself in a mirror, Alanna realized she had become so concerned about Melissa that she had completely forgotten her earlier fears of looking ridiculous. Her apprehensions now returned to increase her discomfort tenfold.
"Yellow is definitely your color," Graham enthused. "You're as radiant as sunshine, and I like your hair styled that way, too."
"Thank you, you're very sweet to say so."
Despite her compliment, Graham thought her distracted glance anything but appreciative. "I don't please you, do I?"
Mortified that he would ask her such a personal question, Alanna nearly dropped her cup and, to avoid such an embarrassing accident, hurriedly set it aside. She knew that in her place Melissa would open her fan, peer over it with a coquettish glance, then close it with a flourish to give him a tap on the chest, before reassuring him he was one of her favorite people on earth. Alanna was not Melissa, however. She could neither tell him flattering lies, nor the blunt cruelty of the truth.
"We scarcely know each other, Lieutenant," she said instead. "Could we visit the gardens now, please? I saw Melissa and Ian go outside some time ago, and I'm beginning to become concerned about them."
Instantly realizing how badly he had embarrassed her, Graham hastened to apologize. "I'm dreadfully sorry, Miss Barclay. I didn't mean to presume, or assume, that I had any right to inquire as to your feelings. Please forgive me."
"You're forgiven. Now could we please visit the gardens?"
"Oh yes, of course. I didn't mean that I wouldn't escort you through the gardens, regardless of your feelings for me."
Exasperated nearly beyond endurance, Alanna shot Graham such a withering glance that he immediately offered his arm rather than endless apologies, and led her outside. The air was several degrees cooler here, and caressed her flushed cheeks like a welcome splash of spring rain. "It was becoming unbearably warm in there, wasn't it?" she asked, as she peered down the main path hoping to catch sight of her missing cousin.
"Yes, it was." Fearing that he would unintentionally insult her again if he said more, Graham clamped his mouth shut. He envied Ian then, for Melissa's charm was apparently endless, while Alanna was so shy, any effort to draw her out ended in failure. He still liked her enormously though.
There were more than a dozen couples touring the gardens, but Melissa and Ian weren't among them; Alanna didn't know where else to look. "They can't have just disappeared," she mused fretfully.
"Perhaps they were returning to the ballroom on another path, while we started down this one. Would you like to wait here while I go back inside to look for them, or would you prefer to come with me?"
Alanna sat down on the adjacent bench. "I'll wait for you here, thank you."
Not surprised by her decision, Graham returned to the ballroom alone. He skirted the fringe of the dancers, assessed the groups clustered near the windows, walked by the refreshment tables again, and then began to inquire as to whether or not any of their friends had seen Ian or Melissa in the last half hour. When he received only shrugs and denials rather than any encouraging news, he began to worry, also. He knew Ian was fond of Melissa, but could he have lured her away from the ball so intent upon romance that he'd been unmindful of how quickly her presence would be missed?
Discouraged that he had nothing to report, he returned to Alanna. "I'm sorry, but I can't find them. Do you think we ought to tell her parents?"
Alanna gave her head such a violent shake that her side curls tickled her cheeks, and she hurriedly brushed them back into place. "Good heavens, no." Alanna didn't know what else to suggest, however, and drew her skirt in to make room for Graham beside her. He promptly sat down and folded his hands together, rather
than reach for one of hers.
"Could they have left for another party?" he asked.
While there had been several entertainments from which to choose on other nights, the Governor's Ball was the only one she knew of taking place that evening. "We weren't invited to any other parties. I don't believe there are any."
"Maybe they had a fight. Could she have gone home?"
"I don't recall Melissa ever fighting with any of her beaus, and even if she and Ian had had words, she'd not have left the ball."
