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I held his green-golden gaze. “It was something to me.”
A maid entered the room with a small bowl of water and a rag, and another followed her with a glass of ratafia. I took the drink and sipped a few swallows before setting the glass on a nearby table.
“Are you ready to face the hordes?” James murmured.
“I don’t think I have a choice.”
We met my parents in the corridor, and James offered me his arm. I leaned on it more heavily than I intended, but the fainting weakened my legs, and it was nice to have someone beside me.
Papa held the doors open for us, and James and I stepped into the ballroom together. Conversation amongst the occupants nearest the doors came to a swift halt, and James leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Smile, darling, or they’ll think you are not happy about this arrangement.”
I smiled naturally and glanced up at him. “You would hardly credit it, I am sure, but I have not felt this well in some time.”
He held my gaze, a look passing over his face that was entirely unreadable.
I swallowed hard. Had I said the wrong thing?
Mrs. Hutton approached us, a tentative smile on her lips. “Have I heard correctly that congratulations are in order?”
“You have, indeed,” James said, loudly enough for all nearby to hear. “I am a fortunate man this evening, for Miss Thurston has agreed to be my wife.”
Wife. The word was solid and thick with meaning. It held so much more weight to it than the measly four letters warranted . . . so much expectation and requirements that spanned the remaining decades of our lives. I was sobered immediately by the duties and responsibilities awaiting me, and yet free at the same time.
“When do you plan to marry?” Mrs. Hutton asked.
“As soon as we are able,” he said. “I am eager to take Felicity home with me.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Hutton said, clearly pleased by this pronouncement. It was a credit to her that she appeared genuinely glad and relieved for James. “I do think she will adore Chelton.”
“Undoubtedly,” he agreed.
We moved further into the room, and I leaned close. “Chelton?”
“My estate. It is in Cumberland.”
Cumberland? “Good heavens, that is a fair distance away. I might as well have gone to Scotland.”
He looked at me strangely, and I bit my tongue. “Do you usually remain in Cumberland, James, or do you spend a good deal of time in London?”
“I prefer Chelton. I think you might as well once you’ve seen it.”
That would certainly explain why I’ve yet to see the man before now. But the reality that I was to be so great a distance from my parents was concerning.
“Is there room to entertain?”
He glanced down at me. “Yes. Who would you like to invite?”
“Only my parents.”
James looked over my shoulder at the group surrounding Mama, and I followed his gaze. The women who had refused to speak to her upon our arrival this evening were now making themselves up to her, undoubtedly hoping for scraps of information, and it sickened my stomach. They were fickle in their attentions, and it angered me that the tide of their feelings could be so easily altered.
“Your parents will of course be welcome as often and as long as you wish.”
“That is very generous of you.”
He slid his fingers around mine, and my heart stuttered. “It will be your home too.”
The music continued to fill the room and dancers moved about the center of the floor as friends and acquaintances approached to congratulate us.
