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That was all that she wanted to do, because she loved him. The final dance ended, and she curtsied to her partner—the Marquess of Mawbray.
She excused herself, and then began looking for her parents, so that they could say their goodbyes and head home. She saw her father, first. He was watching her, from near the door to the terrace.
“I need to speak to you,” he said.
“About what, Pappa?” She was afraid to ask—not after they’d been on such cold terms for the past few days.
“I saw you, dancing with Mr. Conolly,” he replied. Her heartbeat rose, as she expected him to tell her that he would never employ him again. “I want to apologize.”
“What?” She couldn’t have been more surprised. She thought that she’d misheard him.
“I realize that the two of you are in love,” her father said. “How is it my place to keep two who are so deeply in love apart?”
“Oh, Pappa,” she said, beaming.
“I’m so sorry for the way that I acted,” he said. “Please forgive me?”
“You were only acting in what you believed to be my best interest,” she said. Even though he’d been wrong, he had been trying to keep her in an economic situation that she was used to.
“Quite right.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” she said. “So long as you’re planning on fixing the mistake.”
“I will speak with Mr. Conolly myself,” he told her, offering her his arm. “Let’s go find your Mother and get her home, yes?”
She grinned, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow. She glanced around, looking for Charles, but she couldn’t find him.
He must have gone already. Pappa wouldn’t have spoken to him here, though.
She rode back in the carriage with both of her parents. She watched through the window as London passed by, all lit up in the winter darkness. The sky overhead was deep blue. The light of the moon on the frost was cold, glittering.
Arabella was so impossibly happy. For the first time in what felt like ages, she had hope for the future. Once her father spoke with Charles, it would all be decided. She’d never thought that she would end the night so happily.
