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Charlotte knew her mother’s mother had been great friends with Lady Jersey years ago, but that did not make the introductions less important. Still, Charlotte could not stand still with eagerness for the night to begin.
“I feel very nearly giddy with anticipation for this evening.” Charlotte continued, as she danced about the dressing room in excitement.
Jane laughed fondly. “Scarcely a week ago you were happiest in your tattered old riding habit, with mud on your boots and your hair smelling of gunpowder,” she teased. “Now look at you, as elegant a figure as I ever saw, as if you were born to wear the most exquisite gowns. I declare it is impossible to define you, Lady Charlotte Keening.”
“Think how tiresome it would be to be so easily defined,” Charlotte agreed, joining in the laughter. “I never know precisely what sort of girl I wish to be when I wake up in the morning. It depends upon the day, and perhaps what I decide to wear.” She twirled around, making the soft silk of her dress rustle.
“All the same, I am the sort of girl who is nervous,” Helen said firmly, as the lady’s maid put her mother’s pearls at her neck. “And for nearly all of the reasons that make you feel giddy, Charlotte. With the exception of the gowns, of course.” Helen ran a hand over the silver trimmings on her sleeve.
“You look like a pale goddess,” Charlotte assured her sister.
“I am glad that you both are fond of your gowns. I spent no end of time consulting with the modiste on Bond Street. What was her name?”
“Mrs. Burton,” Jane supplied.
“Yes. That’s right. She assured me that you would be at the height of fashion,” their mother said.
“That does not make me less nervous,” Helen said.
“It’s not as if it is our first ball Helen.” Charlotte added.
“Yes, but the Christmas ball was in our own home. It is not the same as London…or Almack’s.”
“Try not to think about being nervous, Helen,” their mother soothed.
“I am sure that as soon as you have your first dance you will have too splendid a time to remember that you ever had any worries,” Jane added.
“That is certainly my intention,” Lady Charlotte said, enthusiastically. “I shall dance all night long, and I plan to have at least three new suitors by the end of the evening.” She tossed her curls confidently.
“It is good to see you are no longer fretting over that odious Lord Marley,” the Dowager Keegain commented approvingly, paying no mind to her daughter’s slightly stiffened posture at the mention of the man’s name.
“It would hardly be sensible to waste my time fretting over a gentleman whose suit I declined, Mother,” Charlotte objected.
“Sensible is not quite the description most would use when speaking of you, my dear,” the dowager began with a smile. “At any rate, perhaps fretting is not exactly the correct word, but I believe that he occupied far more of your thoughts than was necessary. I am glad to see that you have put the whole affair behind you and are ready to embrace the idea of new suitors. I did not intend to dampen your spirits, my dear, and certainly not on the account of that fortune-hunting scoundrel.”
“Charlotte is bound to meet dozens of eligible young gentlemen tonight,” Jane commented, rescuing her friend from her mother’s inspection. “Gentlemen who have fortunes of their own and who are rightly bewitched by her lovely and charming manner. Just as Helen is bound to forget her nerves as soon as her feet touch the dance-floor,” Jane put in stoutly.
“I plan to have the time of my life,” Charlotte declared.
“And find the love of your life,” Jane added, as they descended the staircase and she caught sight of Charlotte’s brother, her husband. Lord Keegain was waiting to escort them to the ball.
When the Keening sisters finally arrived, Charlotte felt a thrill shiver through her at the sound of her own name as it was announced. Their own home at Kennett Park was grand, but this was Almack’s! There was something exhilarating about being in London at the most sought-after event in the most sought-after location. The ballroom glittered with a refined elegance that had been missing from even the nicest dances that Charlotte had attended in their country neighborhood. The revelers, likewise, dazzled the eye.
It was the simplest thing in the world to do exactly as she had planned, conversing and laughing with an enthusiasm that drew dance partners to her in droves. She realized relatively quickly that she did not have to spend time bolstering Helen’s confidence, which she had secretly planned on doing. Jane proved to be a trustworthy prophetess, and Helen was drawn out of her nerves almost immediately, as she twirled on the arm of a handsome gentleman. In moments, Charlotte herself was inundated with possible suitors and Helen was forgotten in the gaiety of conversations and dancing.
* * *
4
Sir John Ashbrooke, lounged against a wall at the far end of the ballroom in the blue damask room at Almack’s and moodily eyed the whirl of dancing couples. Thecrème de le crèmeof theTonwas here, but he was enjoying himself far less than he had hoped. He had come to the ball with every intention of finding a suitable heiress to woo, but had yet to approach anyone. Once he singled out some girl or other, marriage would feel entirely too inevitable. He found himself less than resigned to his fate. He took a glass of lemon water from a passing footman, and gulped it rather inelegantly. He would have enjoyed something stronger, but the patronesses of Almack’s commanded and ruled quite completely and they had decreed that, to discourage drunkenness, only tea and lemon water should be served.
“Good heavens, Ashbrooke, you must cheer up a bit. I declare your gloomy visage has been spoiling my good cheer from clear across the room.”
Lord Henderson approached from the dance-floor and slapped John heartily on the back. Henderson was slightly out of breath, and his brow damp with perspiration as he had been dancing the quadrille vigorously for the better part of the past half-hour.
“You seem to have been enjoying yourself well enough in spite of my disposition,” Ashbrooke replied shortly.
“Well, itisa ball, after all. Dancing is rather the point of attending, is it not?”
