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Chapter Sixteen
“Was it terrible, m’lady?”
Rosabel smiled over Sally’s words even though she ached from head to toe. She hadn’t even realized she had become so tense until she was finally able to relax. Reaching toward the ceiling, Rosabel tried to stretch all the kinks from her muscles.
“Not as bad as I would have expected. But now she has hopes of a match between me and Wexford. So, in a way, that is worse. I tried to tell her I didn’t think he was interested in me like that, that he only wanted my help with his sister, but that didn’t move her in the least. She is convinced that his sister’s visit is merely a ruse.”
“Well, you can hardly blame her. You thought the same thing.”
Rosabel laughed a little but flung herself onto her bed. “I’m exhausted. What a wild ride today has been. I feel as though I could sleep for a week. But we have two different balls we’re promised to tonight.”
“Perhaps you ought to beg off.”
“My mother is already put out with me for trying to explain to her that Wexford isn’t courting me. I don’t think she would take kindly to my staying home.”
“Well, at the very least, you ought to try to have a bit of a nap now. You won’t be able to enjoy the dancing if you’re falling asleep on your feet tonight.”
“A part of me wants to protest that I don’t need a nap, but I know that’s foolish and untrue, so I will do as you suggest. Please, make sure I’m awake in plenty of time.”
“To be sure, m’lady,” Sally murmured as she drew the curtains before slipping from the room.
True to her word, Sally was gently shaking Rosabel awake two hours later. Rosabel sat up feeling bleary and rumpled. But to her delight, Sally lifted the cover off a plate of food just as Rosabel’s stomach announced its needs quite loudly.
“Thank you, Sally. How much time do I have?”
“Plenty, my lady,” Sally assured her as she bustled around, shaking out the gown Rosabel was to wear and checking to make sure all the pins were ready for her hair.
After making quick work of her meal, Rosabel submitted herself to Sally’s capable hands. In very short order she was standing before a mirror casting a critical eye over her person.
“You never cease to amaze me with your skills, Sally. You would never know to look at me that I felt like I had been run over by a coach and four earlier today.”
“You’ll be the prettiest one there,” Sally answered, ever loyal.
“Thank you,” she accepted with a smile as a knock sounded softly at her door. “That’s probably one of the footmen. Everyone else must be waiting for me. I trust you’ll get some rest while I’m gone,” she added with a smile before hurrying out the door.
Before long, Rosabel found herself on a dance floor, being expertly led by a tall, handsome man she had just been introduced to by their hostess.
“I’m surprised we’ve never met before now, Mr. Northcott. I thought I was familiar with all Lord Everleigh’s family.”
“Seeing as I’m the fourth of five sons, it’s not hard to mix us up,” the man answered with a pleasant smile, not seeming in the least put out by the fact that Rosabel hadn’t recognized him. “I’ve also not attended a single Society event in at least five years.”
“Really?” Rosabel was all the more interested now. “Why is that? Is London not to your taste?”
“It’s not that. I quite like London, as a matter of fact. But I’ve been travelling a fair bit, for one thing. Since I am, as I said, the fourth son, I have absolutely no expectation of any inheritance, and I had even less desire to marry a fortune, so I needed to make provisions for myself.”
“And have you now done so to your satisfaction? Is that why you’ve now seen fit to attend this evening?”
He answered her with an easy grin. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be completely satisfied, to be perfectly honest. But I certainly won’t be homeless or hungry. As for why I’m here tonight, my sister-in-law demanded my presence. She said if I was going to be staying in Town for a bit, then the least I could do is escort her about from time to time.”
Bel laughed lightly. “Then why is it me you are dancing with, instead of her?”
He met her gaze directly, and Rosabel could read approval in his eyes. “She had ladies she wished to visit with, and I wanted to dance with the prettiest woman in the room.”
Even though she had been on the receiving end of compliments from the cradle, she couldn’t prevent the heat that filled her face in view of his apparent admiration. Thankfully, they were both sufficiently skilled in the dance that neither of them missed the steps, even though Rosabel felt a little flustered.
Finally, Rosabel thought,a wellborn gentleman who is not in line for a title and doesn’t seem in the least bothered by that fact. Just as she was thinking it, though, the hairs on the back of her neck rose in a disconcerting fashion, and as her eyes scanned the crowds as she and Mr. Northcott circled the room, her gaze landed upon Wexford. She now had an explanation for her strange reaction, but she couldn’t rightly say she was happy about it. Bel suppressed the shiver that threatened as Wexford stared at her. He nodded briefly to her and she tore her gaze away.
With a blink, Rosabel returned her attention to her dance partner. “You mentioned you have been travelling,” she reminded him. “Where have you been?”
