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Percy looked hesitant to inform her, and so she continued, saying, “You can rest assured that this information will never go to anyone else and I …”
“Oh yes, I know that thank you, Miss Seymour,” he said kindly. He took one of his hands off of the edge of the bench and moved it closer to her. She resisted the urge to take it and squeeze it. “The look on my face was because I don’t believe you’ve been introduced to him. His name is Arthur Middleton, and he is a visiting duke who I dislike immensely. He has a terrible reputation for being frivolous with women, especially younger ones, and I won’t have my sister’s reputation ruined by that scum. I have told her this very plainly several times, and yet she will not listen to me.”
Lydia thought of the people she had met that night, but none had been named Arthur. She was so curious to know who this man was, and so she plainly asked Percy, “What does Arthur look like?”
“He’s older, probably around forty. He has dark, greying hair with a well-kept beard. He’s a good few inches shorter than I am, and he always wears a green jacket,” Percy described.
Lydia recalled once more the people she had seen that evening, and then she finally landed on the man who had been with Edmund, who had wanted to leave early. He had been wearing a dark green coat and had the hair that Percy had described.
“Does he typically have a sour look upon his face?” she asked, and Percy nodded. “Then I know exactly who you are talking about, but you are correct. I have not had the chance to meet him. He came to the party this evening with a distant relative of Mr Crawford’s.”
“That is right,” Percy commented. “He’s come to quite a few of the functions that have been happening in and around town, and at each one, he seems to somehow find my sister and speak with her, even though I’ve tried to keep her away from him. And Georgiana has already ... been rebellious several times in the past, and so I am trying my hardest to help her find her place in the world without destroying her reputation. I’m sorry for telling you all of this, and for how rude I was to you, but I hope that it makes sense now.”
Lydia looked at Percy seriously and then smiled. “Your Grace, I should hope that you will stop apologizing to me soon, for I am beginning to tire of it. You are very gracious to ensure that my feelings have been mended. However, if you say you’re sorry one more time, I might have to bring some of my father’s instruments with me the next time we meet and torment you with them,” she teased.
That broke the tension between the two of them, and Percy laughed. “I suppose I had better behave then,” Percy responded with playfulness in his voice. “I wouldn’t want you to use those instruments on me and make me ...”
At that point, the two realized the underlying implications of what they were saying and just stared at each other for a moment. Lydia felt a twinge of something inside her, and desperately wanted to keep talking like this, but absolutely could not imagine anything more improper. Finally, she looked away from Percy, and that seemed to stop whatever was happening between them. She did, however, promise herself that she would think about this more later tonight when she was alone in bed.
Suddenly, there was a tapping on the glass door leading back into the ball, and when both of them looked up, Lydia saw Mabel standing there, looking rather unimpressed. She waved to her to tell her that she would be there momentarily and then turned to Percy.
“I suppose that I have to go now,” she said apologetically, “but thank you ever so much for the explanation and the company. I ... very much enjoyed our short time together.”
Lydia rose from the bench, as did Percy. He was looking at her as though he did not know the right thing to say, but he finally managed to get something out.
“Will you be at the Lucas’ ball?” he asked. Lydia nodded, and Percy continued, “Would you set aside a dance for me then?”
Lydia’s heart fluttered, and her stomach did a somersault. She nodded emphatically and said, “That ... that would be delightful.”
And then, without warning, Percy took her hand, lifted it to his lips, and gave it a very delicate, quick kiss while looking her in the eyes. Lydia’s heart very nearly stopped, but it did not have time to, as Percy then disappeared deeper into the garden so quickly. She stood there stunned for a few seconds, looking off in the direction that Percy had disappeared in, and then finally remembered herself. She shook her head to try and clear the love-struck fog that had descended on it, and then went back inside the house. She knew that she would not be able to focus on anything much for the rest of the evening.
