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“Oh dear! Why...Miss Partington!”
Appearing out of the darkness, a gentleman had inadvertently knocked her arm, causing her to spill her champagne over the front of her pelisse. When she saw it was Mr. Woking, she had to try hard to keep the acid out of her tone, if only for Lord Ludbridge’s sake.
But when she saw that her beloved’s attention had been caught by their hostess, Araminta sent Mr. Woking a narrow look as she pointedly dabbed at the moisture.
His dark eyes were nervous in his pallid face. “How will you forgive me?” Nervously he ran his hand over his weak, receding chin. “My deepest apologies, Miss Partingon!”
“Oh, do stop it, Mr. Woking. You were very clumsy but there’s an end to it and now I must move on. Why don’t you go and talk to Miss Harcourt over there? I cannot but notice the interested looks she is sending you.”
She quickly got rid of him as she cleaved to Lord Ludbridge’s side, encouraging him to take another coupe of champagne, which, she noted, he drank rather quickly.
“The fireworks begin in an hour,” he murmured, putting his head close, his breath tickling her hair. “I’m told the best view will be from the top of that rise over there.” He pointed in a direction quite distant from the spot at which Araminta intended to enjoy the fireworks.
“How lovely,” she replied. “Shall we walk now? I’d like to see the lights on the bridge. I’ve never done that before.”
“Certainly. Where is Mrs. Monks?”
“Perhaps we needn’t take Mrs. Monks.”
He looked a little scandalized at this, hesitating as he said, “Our departure will be observed, and I would hate to cause whispers, Miss Partington.”
“I...I thought you had something important to say to me, Lord Ludbridge,” she said a little breathlessly. “Should Mrs. Monks hear it too?”
“Indeed not, but I had in retrospect wondered if tonight was quite the right time.”
No! He could not bow out now. Taking a measured breath, Araminta smiled tentatively. “Of course you’re right, my lord. We can’t have tongues wagging. I’ll go and ask Mrs. Monks, who is talking to the dowager Duchess Dalrymple.”
She hurried over to the elderly women, and soon had Mrs. Monks alone. “Lord Ludbridge wishes to take a walk. Please will you accompany us?” She paused, weighing up how to couch her request. “He wishes to ask me something...important, but I doubt he will do so with you in attendance. I will therefore give you a sign. When I remark that the sky is full of stars tonight, I would have you say you are not feeling at all the thing and that you wish to leave; that you are confident in leaving me safely in His Lordship’s company for just a short time.”
With this agreed to, Araminta bore her reliable chaperone back to the cluster of guests of which Lord Ludbridge was a part. He greeted Araminta with a smile, a flourishing bow and his arm, which she took with shaking fingers.
Soon. Soon she would be the happiest girl in the world.
Lord Ludbridge took up a lantern and leisurely they strolled along the path that rose gently above the river toward a high vantage point, Araminta chatting as if she had no idea of the momentous question she intended he would ask. When they reached a fork in the path, one option rising to a distant spot just out of sight, the other in full view of all the revelers by the river’s edge, Araminta stopped and gazed upward. “Oh my, but the sky is full of stars tonight,” she murmured.
Like a well-trained pug, Mrs. Monks quickly fulfilled her part in the arrangement and within a few moments, Araminta was alone with His Lordship. Pretending she did not notice his concerned look, she pointed up the hill, tugging his hand as she said, “Oh, do let’s see if we can see the fireworks from there.”
In less than a minute they were at the top of the rise, where they discovered, nestled in a dip but with magnificent views of the river, a small rotunda.
“It’s like a tiny fairy castle!” Araminta exclaimed. “How utterly darling. Come, Lord Ludbridge! Come and let’s see inside!”
He was reluctant to go so far from the crowds but Araminta had already darted ahead.
Thrusting open the door, she gasped. “How beautiful.” Reverently s
he touched the silk cushions arranged on the banquette and around the walls. “What do you suppose this little bower is used for? I can imagine someone coming here to write great compositions. I know Lady Marks is very fond of music. Perhaps she comes here.”
Mullioned windows overlooked the river and a large bowl of fruit was set on a table in the center of the room.
Lord Ludbridge hung his lantern on a hook by the doorway as he gazed around. He too seemed equally entranced by Araminta’s discovery. When next he looked down, Araminta was standing so close, staring through the windows, that he bumped against her and, startled, she gasped.
“I was lost in another world,” she declared. “I feel like I’ve entered some magical fairy palace. Look, the fireworks have just begun, and we can see them from here.”
As she spoke, a cascade of colored embers burst in the sky, sending trails in all directions, which floated like sparling gossamer until they disappeared into the river. Araminta clapped her hands in delight and, seemingly unconsciously, rested against Lord Ludbridge’s side.
She felt his hand caress the side of her face, and looked up to see him smiling tentatively.
“My Lord?”
