AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rose laughed, the first time in several days.“Will the patronesses of Almack’s approve?”
What a shame that every time his mother had had to prostitute herself, Matthew benefitted from it.A new wealthy patron and Matthew learned to read.Another patron six months later and he was taught a variety ofcontredansesand required to memorize poetry.And kindly Mr.Snell, who came and suddenly went, taught Matthew the value of money, how to discipline himself in the spending of it and how to turn a penny into a pound.And then there was Alice DuPuis.
Somehow it all led to this and his growing desire to have it all.And with Rose in his arms, the realization that maybe he didn’t need it all.He just needed her.
“Perhaps Lady Jersey will dance with you at Almack’s?”Rose said after the first two turns.
“Can I trust a woman with both my money at her bank and my reputation on a darkened dance floor?”
“As your wife, I would say to keep your distance from her hands.I don’t want to encourage your pomposity on a night such as this, but you are very sure in your steps.”
He knew he was graceful, even though he was not carelessly confident.A misstep was very possible if he wasn’t countingone-two-threesin the back of his mind.
“It’s not just tonight, but I will tell my mother you said so.”He smiled down at her.“But if I stumble, I don’t care if it is on the dance floor.I care that I’ve made a stumble with you.”
“We are married, Matthew.Until death parts us.What is the purpose of keeping secrets, especially knowing they will someday be discovered?And by that time, the hurt and drama of those secrets only becomes magnified.”
He tilted his head, acknowledging her words.“Who should I dance with next, since I can’t dance with you all night?”
“Lady Connelly is here.She is a baron’s daughter who married an earl.She will remember what it is like to...you know.She is also very kind with a sure step, but I fear you are in for three or fourcontredansesbefore we sit down to dinner.There, in the bright red.”Rose nodded toward the lady in question.
Matthew saw Lady Connelly in the turn.If he kept Rose and all the other wives happy on the dance floor, especially any old tabby with a sense of over importance in the Beau Monde, he could win the respect of the othertongentlemen.A streak of vicious gossip started by a woman he’d slighted tonight would be a disaster.
“And my darling wife, would you be so good as to spin around the floor with Easterling?I want him to feel as though he got something out of this bargain I concocted.”
“You do not need to ask or require such a thing.It is only good manners that one dance with the host and hostess, if an opportunity presents itself.You should be dancing with Easterling’s wife.But there are not so many people in attendance that you should miss any of the wives as a partner.And consider this a lesson in etiquette for tomorrow night.”
“I don’t know Easterling’s wife.”
“Good Lord, Matthew.How do you manage in business?”
“I know the husbands.That is enough,” he said.
“In the Beau Monde, it is vitally important to know the family out three generations.Longer, if necessary.”
“That seems excessive.I only need to know who pays the debt.”
The music was winding down.Matthew would have been happy to continue with Rose in his embrace.The dance was the closest they’d been since the kerfuffle over Welliver.
Rose’s brows shot up.“Do you know how many women in London would love to discuss the wine order with a female sommelier rather than a condescending importer with alcohol on his breath?Why do you think modistes are so prosperous?We get the dress we want with the extravagances we want and get to gossip while doing it.A tailor would just find a way to make us all look the same and barely utter a word while we were allowed to select from four fabric choices.”
Matthew laughed but thought the point was well-made.The dance finished.Rose curtsied and Matthew bowed, but she didn’t leave his side until there was another opportunity to dance with the hostess and other guests.
The midnight meal was one of incredible extravagance and elegance.All the guests polite to a fault.The dress impeccable, even Matthew’s.The food fragrant, indulgent and decadent.
Would Rose ever be happy to give up this luxurious life completely?He’d promised her balls; he’d promised himself the world, but this ball and this world were nothing like the exciting, interesting, dirty and gratifying work of London.
There wasn’t a noble in England who would ever admit such basic joy or indulge in it.Even if Matthew were a duke, could he change?The dukes that he knew, he despised.And yet, month after month he maneuvered to become that which he disrespected.
It was a childhood dream to attain his rightful place.Had his mother weaved too many stories about what he should have been?Matthew did not remember when he realized there would never be an opportunity to perform a valiant service to the crown or be recognized as the true heir to Welliver.That another was in line to inherit.But the bitterness it caused was deep in his soul.
Lessons were sometimes needed so the next time one made a colossal mistake it could be tempered with experience.Forcing his way into the Crestview Ball was a true lesson in humility.Matthew had none of the refined graces on exhibit tonight.Copying mannerisms wasn’t the same as having them bred into you and practiced under the watchful eye of an instructor.He was polite, just not polished.
Rose had maintained her signaling system by constant touch.He supposed all married couples must develop this fine-tuned sense of communication over time.A look.A touch.A head bob.Or just be direct and change the topic of conversation.
The woman across from him at the dinner table was smiling and stared in a knowing way, one brow suggestively raised.Lord, he despised such behavior.Everyone here was married; that was the Crestview Ball’sraison d'être.Many balls had their themes, and if all went well, the Highwood Gala would also develop into a grand annual event over which thetonraved.
If Matthew could stomach the elitist crush at Highwood.He’d made it a peaceful and prosperous place.Was he about to spoil the ambiance?
The first course included queen soup, petits pates of oysters and roasted turkey with truffles, morels and chestnuts.When the second course was served, he gritted his teeth.This wasn’t what he wanted.Sitting between women who had no idea about the poverty, misery and unfairness around them.And if they did know, he doubted they cared.
Or the men?Did any of them understand or appreciate the underpinnings of society that kept England, the Crown or society running and prosperous?
Dear God, he did not know what he wanted in life.He knew he didn’t want a seven-course meal at a table where he was considered the outsider.He glanced at Rose, who had leaned toward the noble next to her, but her gaze met Matthew’s.Her brows moved slightly, questioning.
She was beautiful with all the qualities most men sought.Shouldn’t it be enough that he had her?That he had the money to do the things even some dukes could never accomplish.Would he ever find satisfaction?Would he punish Rose when she had nothing to do with his foolish ambitions?
He’d forced Easterling to do his bidding, and now, he felt no delight sitting amongst the set to which he rightfully belonged.Would he feel any pleasure when he confronted Welliver and demanded recompense for the family outliers?Would exposing the real Sandhurst resolve his feelings of animosity toward a treasonous bastard?
Other than Rose’s standing, did Matthew have a reason to attend anothertonball, ever?Not only did he not belong, but he also no longer wanted to belong.Marriage had changed him.Was Rose right when she proclaimed their marriage had saved him?Had she saved him from himself?
