AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He will think as I do, mother; I am sure of it,” Fergus said with a sigh. “For what reason do we need a ball?”
“A ball!?” Antony sat up straighter in his chair. “What for?”
“A celebration,” Rose said with glee. “It is your birthday soon, Antony.”
“Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that,” he sighed, not liking to remember when it was. It had been the very day of his birthday when the last disaster in his life had occurred. He had no wish to celebrate the memory ofthat.“I am not bothered about a ball, mother. Fergus is quite right.”
“Oh, please, it would be so lovely to have a big celebration like that again.” Rose was practically squirming in her seat with excitement at the idea.
“What of all the preparations?” Antony asked, knowing her objections of old. “You always said they were too much work.”
“Well, this time I’ll work harder at it.” She seemed buoyed by her own idea. “It will be a slice of cake!”
“Piece of cake, mother,” Antony said, seeing Fergus smile as he did at their mother’s errors.
“But we always cut slices of cake?” She frowned, not understanding him at all.
“It is a rather absurd saying,” Lady Hermione agreed, speaking up for the first time and earning Antony’s intrigued gaze. “I could help you, Your Grace, in the preparations,” she addressed his mother. “I would be glad to be of use to you.”
“Would you? Oh, I would like that dearly!” Rose smiled and turned back to look at him. “Then it is decided. We shall have a ball to celebrate your birthday, and Lady Hermione will help me with the preparations.”
Antony realized he had no more objections he could make without sounding rude, so he sat back and agreed with a silent nod. Still, his gaze lingered on Lady Hermione, wondering why she had done it. Was it possible she wanted to help prepare his celebrations? Or had she done it to help his mother?
After breakfast, as Lady Hermione and Rose retired to the drawing room to make their plans together, Antony followed them which was something that was not missed by his mother. “Are you coming to help too?” she asked.
“Merely to observe,” he said with a smile, taking a chair on the other side of the room and picking up the book he and Lady Hermione were both reading. Well, he was pretending to read it. Rather than coming to observe the preparations, he had come to observe Lady Hermione with his mother.
The more he watched, the more he was warmed by the sight. Lady Hermione was taking extra care in the way she helped his mother. Every time Rose became stressed by an idea, such as which glasses to present at the ball and what music to be played, Lady Hermione tactfully kept things calm and comforted her, ensuring everything was under control.
“I’m beginning to remember why such things are so stressful,” Rose said, picking up the parchment on which she and Lady Hermione had made all their notes.
“There is no need to be stressed now,” the latter said, pointing at the parchment. “We have everything sorted.”
“Yes. Yes, you are right,” Rose smiled, genuinely this time. “I do thank you for your help, Lady Hermione. I might have abandoned the idea entirely otherwise.”
At the interaction and smiles between the pair, Antony gave up trying to read the book completely and watched the two of them. The easy way in which Lady Hermione had helped his mother and been kind to her was something he hadn’t seen before. Even the previous woman in his life had not made such an attempt.
Lady Hermione is different to her. Remember that.
He knew it all too well. Where his past love had turned out to be cruel and selfish, the woman before him was kind, caring, thoughtful, and yet outspoken and strong in her opinions. She was alluring to him, not just in appearance but in her nature.
The door opened, and another entered the room. It was the Earl of Branigan. Antony didn’t welcome him or make conversation. He was still suspicious that the Earl may well be the cause of Hermione’s bruise, and if he ever found out he was right, he would certainly send the Earl out of his house for good. Yet the more Antony didn’t acknowledge the Earl’s presence, the more he found that eyes lingered on him. He glanced up briefly to see the Earl had been watching him. It was just for a minute before the Earl snapped his gaze away, pretending he hadn’t been looking.
What was that about?
“In truth, when it comes to events such as these, it is the sums that upset me so,” Rose said as she turned more toward Lady Hermione and pointed down at the costs they had added up.
“Is it too much?” Lady Hermione asked.
“Well, I suppose not. It is just that I am not fond of large expenses. I like to ensure nothing is wasted when it comes to my son’s income.” She lifted the parchment and pointed it toward Antony. “What do you think? Is this a fair amount?”
He leaned forward and took the parchment from her, seeing that it was a really rather small amount that could be easily afforded. “Of course, mother, that is not a problem,” he said decisively, passing it back to her.
“Nevertheless, maybe there are a few things we could do, to cut things down.” Rose bent over the parchment to make some more notes.
“Are you inviting people from London, your Grace?” the Earl addressed Rose.
“No, just our friends in the countryside,” she answered with a smile.
