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Chapter6
“Where might I lie her down?”
The voice reached my ears as awareness slipped back into my mind, and I shifted against the firm, but padded, sofa.
“Is she stirring?” a woman asked.
“Yes. Do you have a retiring room, madam?”
The rumbling of James’s words were close, vibrating through my arm, and I struggled to open my eyes.
As soon as I did, I closed them again. James’s face was only just above mine, and his arms were wrapped around me. I felt the rumble of his words because the man was carrying me from the ballroom. It was not a sofa I leaned against, but James’s shoulder. If I could sink into the floor and escape this horror forever, I would.
The gentle sway of his steps lulled me, but I did not allow myself to succumb to the sleepiness that generally overcame me after a spell. I inhaled sharply and instantly regretted it when my nose was assaulted with James’s spicy cologne. It was incredibly delicious, and now I could never forget how great he smelled.
We followed a woman into another room, and James bent to lay me on the chaise longue. Cool air rushed in when he released me, and I immediately missed the feeling of being cradled in his arms. He crouched beside me and lifted a hand to move hair from my face. “I see now why you avoid dancing at all costs,” he whispered.
I could not help but smile. “I am glad you can be taught to see reason.” I swallowed, a real fear moving in to take over my drowsy state. He had now seen me at my worst. “If you no longer wish to move forward with the engagement—”
“On the contrary,” he said, before I could utter another word. “I think it wise to announce our good news as soon as it is reasonably possible for you to do so. Can I retrieve for you a glass of ratafia or perhaps a cool cloth for your forehead?” He glanced up to the woman who stood in the room with us, and I noticed it was Mrs. Pickering.
“Oh, of course,” she said at once, her feather bobbing with her jerky motions. “I will send for both of those at once.”
When she left us alone in the room, James smiled ruefully. “I am glad you’ve agreed to the engagement, for now that Mrs. Pickering has overheard our mention of it, she has surely begun to spread the news about her ballroom.”
“Devious,” I whispered.
He laughed lightly and took my hand, bringing it to his lips. “I am only glad you appeared to recover so swiftly. You cannot know how dreadful it was to watch you fall.”
“Did I not hit my head this time? Sometimes the accompanying headache can last for days.”
“No, you did not hit your head,” he confirmed softly.
The door opened again, and Mama stepped inside. “Oh, drat. I had hoped you would be able to complete at least one dance tonight.”
“Forgive me, Mama.”
She waved away my apology and turned to James, who rose in her presence. “Thank you for catching her, Mr. Bradwell. Sometimes she hits her head, and the resulting headache will linger for days.”
I looked at him sharply. “You caught me?”
He nodded. “It was nothing. I appreciate the warning, or I might not have known to keep an eye on you.”
He caught me? I had been looking for him and unable to see him in my final moments of lucidness. He must have been paying close attention to me. I could not determine why the thought of that caused a shiver to run through me, chased by a warmth in my chest.
“Can you stand yet?”
I swung my legs over the side of the chaise and waited. I was no longer dizzy, but I was weak. “Nearly,” I said.
“We would like to announce our good news,” James said.
Mama looked sharply to me. “Is that so? I shall fetch your father from the card room. He will want to be present.”
We watched her leave, and I expelled an airy breath. It was amazing how quickly mothers were willing to leave us alone once they learned of our official engagement. It was as though the one thing we were admonished not to do time and again was immediately acceptable. Though I felt no different, and our circumstances hardly felt changed.
I craned my neck to see his face. “Thank you, James.”
He bent to look at me. “Truly, it was nothing.”
