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A flutter began in Jenny’s stomach and she pressed her palm to the lower part of her belly. “What if we don’t leave at all?”
Mrs. Atwood raised her brows in a critical manner. “I have a responsibility to see that the two of you attend this ball. Now, come. We mustn’t keep the duke waiting.”
* * *
The first person her eyes landed on when she arrived at the ball was Nicholas. He was on the other side of the room, engrossed in conversation with a group of gentlemen. He appeared to be taking his ducal duties rather seriously. She proceeded into the ballroom, careful not to catch his eye as she was not ready for his company this evening. The heat in her cheeks and the flutters in her stomach apprised her of that much. She needed something to distract her before she found herself in his arms again.
“Is that not your friend, Sir Phineas?” Daphne asked, pointing with her fan.
A smile crept up her features when she saw him. The moment he spotted them, he made his way toward them. “Might I say you look radiant this evening, Lady Jennifer?” He bowed over her hand.
“Thank you, Sir Phineas.” She drew Daphne forward. “Do you remember my friend, Miss Daphne Bexley?”
“How can I forget another beauty?” He took Daphne’s hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “May I have your first dance, Miss Bexley?”
“Yes, you may, Sir Phineas.” A slight blush touched her cheeks and Jenny smiled. She wouldn’t mind Phineas courting her friend and if she could do something to make it happen, she would.
Phineas turned to her. “And may I have your next dance? I know your first dance is promised to your betrothed.”
Jenny was expected to give Nicholas her first dance of the evening and her eyes moved to the group of men she had seen him with. He was not there and her brows furrowed as she searched the room for him. She might be avoiding him but she liked having him in the ballroom.
“I brought you this,” Phineas said, breaking into the bubble of her thoughts. “It has been collecting dust on my bookshelf for far too long and I think you will put it to better use than I did.”
She accepted the book from him and turned it over in her hand, examining the title in bold, gilt letters.Man and Stone: The Age-Old Chronicle of Rufus Caldwell’s Discoveries.
“This looks like a boring book,” Daphne remarked, craning her neck over Jenny’s shoulder to have a look at the book.
Jenny elbowed her gently. Phineas smiled. “I do appreciate an honest opinion. I take it you are not as keen on geology as Jenny.”
“Rocks have never interested me. Fabrics and colors, however, never fail to put a smile on my face.”
“You design?” Phineas asked, his brows shooting up and almost disappearing into his hairline.
“Yes, I dabble,” Daphne replied with a modest smile that she made to hide behind her fan.
“Pay that no mind, Sir Phineas. She has an entire room filled with sketches and fabric samples.”
“It is an unusual hobby for a genteel young woman.” Daphne seemed somewhat disconcerted by what Jenny had just said but she was confident that Phineas would not judge her. He was not that sort of person.
And he proved her right with his next remark. “I do hope you design for men. I am something of a sartorial connoisseur.” He absently ran a hand over his embroidered waistcoat.
Daphne laughed, seeming relieved. “Careful, Sir Phineas, lest I take this as your offer to be my model.”
“You should, Miss Bexley.”
Their interaction made Jenny smile. Now that she was engaged to be married, she wanted to help her friend find a husband and she hoped Daphne and Phineas would be interested in courtship. She looked around again for Nicholas, hoping to spot him this time. A new dance was about to start. When she couldn’t find him, she returned her attention to the book in her hand and remembered she had not thanked Phineas for it.
“This is a great book, Sir Phineas. Thank you.”
“I have more like that in my library.” He grinned down at her.
“I hope you will not empty your library for my sake.”
“If it means your face will be illuminated like this every time, then it is worth it. A beautiful smile is worth more than all the books in the world.”
Jenny had a feeling he was about to begin reciting a verse.
“Indeed, a beautiful smile is,” Nicholas drawled from behind her. Her body tensed, every fiber becoming aware of his presence. When she turned to behold him, she found him giving Phineas a cold stare.
