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“I prefer to be realistic. Then again, nothing about life ends up being smooth sailing or easy.” Edwin dusted his shoulder and checked himself in the mirror one more time. “Shall we go downstairs? The guests are probably arriving by now, and we shouldn’t be hovering upstairs.”
“We aren’t the hosts, Edwin. We don’t need to go downstairs immediately.”
“Christiana said she would be arriving early with her parents.” Edwin smiled. “I want to see her.”
Thomas couldn’t help smiling in return. Edwin’s admiration and attention for Christiana was really sweet. Edwin was slightly quieter than Thomas or Pierce, so women didn’t often notice him. But Christiana had noticed him, and there was an instant connection between them. Edwin was clearly enamoured with her. Thomas didn’t want to stop that.
He wished he was able to have that for himself. Maybe he would eventually. He just had to get past this complicated mess first.
Following his brother out, Thomas headed downstairs. Some of the guests were already arriving, and Lady Beauchamp greeted them in the foyer. Baron Beauchamp was nowhere to be seen, but that was to be expected.
He didn’t like balls and tended to keep out of the way. His wife was the perfect hostess, so he let her get on with it. Thomas could see why; he didn’t think he would be a good host for anything this big. Something small and intimate would work better with him.
An image of him and Sophia hosting together came to mind, and Thomas had to push it away. He was getting ahead of himself again. He needed to take this one step at a time.
And he needed to tell Sophia how he felt and what he wanted. If Sophia felt something as well, surely she would be saying she wanted it as well, wouldn’t she?
She said she felt a connection, not that she was in love with you.
I just need to find out for sure. Just enough to know that I’m doing the right thing.
And if she doesn’t feel the same?
Thomas didn’t know what he would do if she refused him. She was skittish enough when they kissed, and Thomas knew she would be on her guard around him after what he said. If only he could explain things to her, tell her how he really felt … maybe she would be able to understand it all.
He saw the way she reacted when he spoke about Constance. She was innocent, with no experience of love at all. And he had gone straight into it like a raging storm. No wonder Sophia ran from him and wouldn’t see him anymore.
Was she going to be here? Thomas knew that Pierce had invited her, seeing as he was meant to be courting her. But he didn’t think he would get a chance to be alone with her to explain everything. Not if Pierce was going to hover around her all evening. This wasn’t something Thomas could talk about in front of him.
Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Christiana and Sophia entered the foyer, followed by Christiana’s parents. Immediately, Edwin’s eyes lit up at the sight of Sophia’s friend. He waited until Baroness Beauchamp greeted her incoming guests and then approached Christiana.
Thomas stood and watched as his younger brother bowed over Christiana’s hand, almost pressing a kiss to her gloved fingers. She blushed a very pretty red, biting her lip as Edwin looked up at her with an expression that made Thomas wish he could look at Sophia like that without anyone questioning it.
As it was, Sophia was hovering off to one side, watching her friend. Then she looked up, and their eyes met. Thomas felt a flutter in his belly, and he was sure he forgot how to breathe. Seeing her again after several days felt like a punch to the chest. She looked very beautiful, wearing a pale-yellow dress that showed off a slim, delicate frame. Her hair was piled up on her head, pulled away from her face. Not her best look – in fact, it looked rather severe – but Thomas didn’t care. Sophia could appear lovely no matter how she looked.
He itched to get the multitude of pins out of her hair so he could feel the silky softness against his fingers, to let it fall about her shoulders and see it kiss her skin.
“Sophia, dear!”
Thomas jumped and saw Pierce coming out of the ballroom. He was beaming as he approached Sophia. Sophia looked a little shy as she gave him a smile and curtsied.
“Mister Shore, good evening. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Of course, I would. I’d never think about not inviting you to a ball in my home.” Pierce took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Thomas could see the salacious look in his eyes. “Now the evening has really improved. I’m feeling better already.”
“You don’t need to exaggerate, Mister Shore.”
“I wasn’t exaggerating. I mean it.” Pierce glanced at Thomas before offering his arm to Sophia. “Come with me. We can get a drink, and then maybe I can ask for the first dance?”
Thomas stared. The first dance? Often, it meant that there was intention towards the lady from the gentleman. Pierce had to know that. But Pierce had already steered Sophia towards the dining room, telling her something that had Sophia shaking her head.
“Thomas, darling!”
Thomas’ heart sank as he turned to see Aimee striding over. Lord and Lady Westbury were speaking to Baroness Beauchamp, so there was no one to keep Aimee from approaching him. Fixing a smile on his face, Thomas came off the stairs.
“Lady Aimee. Glad you could get here.”
“I wouldn’t miss one of Mister Shore’s balls for anything.” Aimee grasped his hand, tilting her head back with an expectant smile. “There is certainly a lot of … entertainment whenever he’s the host. Something always happens.”
