AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Four
Henry strode across the back of the ballroom. The event was a veritable crush. How his brother and Emily had found so many people to attend a London ball during the very hottest month in all of summer, Henry could not fathom.
And why he’d agreed to be one of the party was even less understandable.
Gads, it was positively stifling in here. Henry moved toward the refreshments table and downed two glasses of lemonade, one right after the other. The lukewarm liquid did little to cool him off.
At least, no matter what else happened tonight—no matter who fainted from the heat, or who left early to find reprieve—tonight would be a success in his family’s eyes. Emily’s parents had greeted her and David with large smiles. Though Henry hadn’t heard much of what was said, it seemed to him that they were as eager to renew their relationship with their daughter and her family as she was. He was happy for it. After all, he strongly suspected that him not offering for her was part of the reason they’d grown apart.
Henry didn’t like to see families drift apart. A distance like that did not come without some deep wounds.
He would know.
And yet...
After all these years, it seemed as though Emily and her parents might breach the chasm that had separated them. Even now, Emily swirled across the dance floor, partnering with her father. He seemed pleased, if a touch nervous. She seemed happy, if a touch unsure.
They had been close when Emily was young. He could remember many occasions when she, in pigtails and ribbons, had told him, who was many years her senior, to behave or she would tell her father. Hopefully, they would once again find that closeness between them.
Emily turned and faced her father, curtsying as he bowed, and the dance came to an end. She looked quite well tonight; her dress was not what he’d expected. It was far bolder in both color and style than anything he’d ever seen Emily wear. He had to admit that he found the dress quite to his liking, even if he didn’t think it truly suited Emily. It fit her well enough, only it stood out when Emily was the type to always wish to blend in. Unexpected, it certainly was.
But perhaps Emily had decided that tonight called for a bit more gumption.
A soft laugh came from across the room.
It was a sound he’d know anywhere.
Dinah.
Without turning away from the dancers, who were now returning to the outer edges of the room, Henry watched his wife out of the corner of his eye. She was standing in the center of a small gathering of gentlemen. His jaw tightened. Anger and jealousy burned against his stomach.
These past several days of nothing but impersonal exchanges between them were beginning to burn him up inside. Dinah rarely met his eye and usually looked away almost immediately. In the past several days, she hadn’t said anything more personal than that she hoped it wouldn’t rain during Emily’s ball.
Henry pursed his lips and focused on keeping his breath even. Hadn’t hewantedher to stop enticing him? Hadn’t he purposely done all he could to keep her at arm’s length? Wasn’t this precisely the outcome he’d hoped for?
Somehow, the knowledge was far from comforting.
She laughed again, and Henry’s fist squeezed so tightly that his nails bit through his silk gloves and into his palm.
And what of Dinah’s gown? He knew upon first seeing her, that the dress she’d been wearing tonight was not the one she’d designed. He knew because he’d seen her wear that dress before she’d even begun talking about making herself a dress. Had the one she designed been ghastly in the end? Could he convince her to show it to him, regardless? He was rather curious to see it, surprisingly eager, even, to see her creation. But that would require them to speak to one another about more than the weather.
A gentleman led Dinah to the dance floor as the next set began. He was quite tall and a stranger to Henry. Well, this was just delightful. Henry clasped his hands behind his back and focused on keeping his feet planted. The man was probably a popinjay, an imbecile. Dinah would no doubt see through any of the man’s fake charm and flattering lies. She didn’t need him to punch the man in the face—though he desperately wished she did. He could use a good fight just now.
Henry turned and walked purposefully away from the dancing couples. But no matter where he stood in the grand room, he never truly lost track of Dinah. She danced nearly every dance. She spoke with ever so many guests. He could not deny that he’d married a perfect hostess...albeit one who never wandered his direction or even glanced his way.
As the midnight hour sounded, Henry spotted Dinah walking with a gentleman toward a distant door. He could only see them both from the back; while he could pick out Dinah from any angle, Henry couldn’t tell who the man was, though he seemed familiar. Dinah and the man slipped from the room entirely, and Henry’s stomach leapt up into his throat.
It was probably foolish, but he followed.
Only a love-struck fool chased his wife from a ballroom.
Yet, here he was.
The corridor was nearly as full as the ballroom, and it took Henry several minutes before he spotted Dinah, still accompanied by the gentleman, stepping into his own office, of all places. Henry pushed through the crush and made his way to the decidedly secluded room.
The door wasn’t shut fully, and Henry—he’d probably never again be able to respect himself after this—peeked through the opening. Dinah stood near his desk, a single hand gently resting against the wooden surface. The man was to her right, standing where Henry couldn’t see him.
“Already?” Dinah asked. “I had thought they might enjoy a few more weeks of London’s diversions.”
