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She smiled and thanked him.
“I do hope you enjoy the remainder of the ball this evening,” Sir John said, his deep blue eyes twinkling with merriment.
“So far, I have found it utterly charming,” she said. “I have danced my slippers almost entirely to pieces, and yet I have still not satisfied my desire for the endeavor.”
“I am sure that is because you have not danced the waltz,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
“You are too bold, sir.” She tapped his arm lightly with her fan in chastisement.
“One must be bold for love.”
“Love?” she said. “Oh, you do over step yourself.”
“In that case, might I ask you to step out with me for the next set?”
“Two dances, Sir John?” she asked coyly.
“And still not a waltz,” he sighed. “What say you?”
“I say, I would not want Lady Jersey to think less of me. To dance a waltz without permission would be the end of my Season.”
“Ah but, I would hate for you to go home tonight unsatisfied.”
There was a heat to his words and Charlotte felt a shiver of delight creep up her spine, at their implication.
“At least let me claim a second dance. I should hate to be parted so soon.”
She handed him her dance card and let him most scandalously pen his name once again. He smiled and flashed white teeth. “Lady Charlotte,” he said with a bow over her hand. His eyes held her with a near burning intensity in their blue depths. “I shall count the moments.”
Charlotte watched his back as he took his leave, a small flutter of pleasure singing through her. She noticed with satisfaction that he did not dance with another lady. Instead, he returned to his gentlemen friends.
* * *
“It seemsas though Ashbrooke has made a strong beginning, at least,” Lord Henderson observed from his vantage point on the gallery.
“He looks to have proven his point fairly well already.” Lord Blakely commented with admiration
“Heavens, Blakely, do not act as if a brief conversation and a single dance are tantamount to marriage. I do not see that he is done anything so very much out of the ordinary. After all, the entire purpose of a ball is to speak with young ladies and to dance with them,” retorted Lord Weston. “If we did not partner the ladies, we would soon lose our vouchers.”
“All the same, the endeavor can often prove to be more complex than it might seem on the surface.” Lord Edward said.
“If Ashbrooke succeeds in winning this wager I will not only pay him with a glad heart, I believe I will throw myself on his mercy and beg him to take me on as his pupil,” declared Lord Blakely, as the group of gentlemen watched their friend escort a giggling Lady Charlotte for a second dance.
* * *
6
Lady Charlotte awoke the next morning when a murderously bright beam of sunlight suddenly hit her face.
“Ugh,” she mumbled, pulling the coverlet defensively over her head, only to have it yanked firmly out of her grasp.
Although she was not an early riser, Charlotte was most often awake by nine or ten o’clock, but with the late hour of the ball last night she was sure she had not gotten to bed until the small hours of the morning and now it was nearing mid-day.
“Come on, Charlotte, you cannot sleep the entire day away,” Alice sang out cheerily.
“Oh, I assure you, Ican, if you would only go away,” Charlotte grumbled, blinking reluctantly at her youngest sister.
“You have sleptallmorning and are in danger of sleeping through midday as well. Come, do not be so selfish. I want you to tell me all about the ball. Spare no detail. It is only fair, since I had to stay here all night like a child.”
