AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We are next,” Will said to Miss Whittleton. “Are you quite ready?”
“Quite, sir.”
He took her hand and waited for the musicians to be ready, for the butler to bang his staff, for the room to fall silent.
“Miss Whittleton and Mr William Fletcher.”
Back straight, head high, arms just so… hat off, bow to Lady Pinner… step to the side, turn, bow to Miss Whittleton… hat on… done without a disaster, thank heavens! And straight into the first figure, where he discovered that Monsieur Bouchard, for all his low background, had taught him well. The steps came easily to him, he remembered the proper positions for his arms, he held himself with an aristocratic demeanour. Here in this ballroom, in front of London society, for these few minutes he was their equal and a gentleman.
As Will’s confidence grew, he began to relax, to let the music flow through him and become part of him, just as Miss Whittleton had described. The crowds around the edge of the room, the whispered voices, the flickering candles and wafts of perfume all disappeared. There was only music and the movements of the dance and his partner.
It was a curious thing to Will, that he cordially disliked Miss Whittleton and she him, but as they gazed steadily into each other’s eyes, passed and repassed, all of that fell away. The minuet represented courtship, so it was said, and so it seemed as they came together and parted and circled around each other. He could almost imagine this as a true courtship, and when they came to the final movement, joining both their hands, he felt a burst of pride in her, almost as if she were truly to be his wife.
And then the hat again and the final bows and… it was done! He was aware of the crowd once more, applauding, smiling, stamping feet.
“There, Miss Whittleton,” Will said with satisfaction as he led her from the floor. “At least now you cannot question my right to be called a gentleman.”
“Because you can dance the minuet?” she said, amusement written on her face. “I am afraid you will have to do better than that, Mr Fletcher, for even the horses at Mr Astley’s Amphitheatre can dance the minuet. Thank you for your efforts, however,” she added, in kindly tones. “You did it very well.”
So saying, she swept serenely away to re-join the marchioness, leaving Will utterly bewildered. What on earth must he do to impress the icy-cold Miss Whittleton?
And why did he care what she thought anyway? That was a puzzle. But he did. Indubitably her good opinion mattered to him. It was very strange. No matter how many times she rebuffed him, he was determined to prove to her that he was truly a gentleman.
15: A Little Dalliance
Eloise could hardly believe the arrogance of the man! He was insufferable, and nothing she said or did seemed to deter him. How could he not understand the point, that a gentleman behaved as he did not from vainglory or selfishness, but from pure generosity of spirit? For a brief time, she had thought he asked her to dance the minuet from simple kindness, knowing it to be a favourite of hers and believing it would bring her pleasure. And it had! Oh, indeed it had. For those few minutes she was transported to another place, filled with music and gentle harmony between the two of them.
And then he had spoilt everything.‘At least now you cannot question my right to be called a gentleman.’That was his only concern, to score a point over her, and force her to acknowledge him to be a gentleman. But he wasnota gentleman, of that she was certain. Oh, he put up a good façade, and he was charming, she could not deny it, but inside he was still the same as all his kind — feckless and black-hearted, and never, ever to be trusted.
The congratulations of the Marfords were balm to her outraged spirits, and Tabitha looked up at her with admiration blazing in her eyes.
“You were sobrave,Miss Whittleton. I should have been quaking like a jelly.”
“Practice is all that is required, Tabitha,” Eloise said. “It is not so hard to do.”
“But hard to dowell,” Connie said. “You and Mr Fletcher were splendid together. One rarely sees such a superior minuet outside the Court. You will have all the best dancers wanting to stand up with you. I do believe we should have minuets at our own balls this year. It adds such an air of distinction to the proceedings. If it is good enough for the Court, it should be good enough for Marford House, too.”
It seemed that Connie was correct, for in moments Eloise’s hand was solicited for the first two country dances. That would be one in the eye for Mr Arrogant Fletcher! If he supposed that she would languish with the matrons once he had abandoned her, he was very much mistaken.
It was disappointing, then, to find him standing up for the opening dances himself, with Miss Kelshaw, Lady Frederica’s daughter. That was an odd and disinterested choice, after Lady Frederica had tried to distract Miss Fletcher’s attention during her minuet. It would be natural to ignore the family altogether. It was almost as if he wanted to show the girl some compassion… but surely he was incapable of that? Then she remembered that the Kelshaws were his neighbours in Hertfordshire, so no doubt it was self-interest, in not quarrelling with his country circle. This explanation pleased her so much that she determined to think no more of Mr Will Fletcher, and simply enjoy the dance.
Her pleasure lasted for the duration of the first two dances and no further, for Connie had bad news.
“Shall you mind terribly if we leave now, dear?” Connie said. “Humphrey has disgraced himself by taking five hundred pounds from his host at piquet, which is terribly bad form.”
“It was not my fault,” Lord Humphrey said cheerfully. “He challenged me, and it would have been rude to refuse.”
“You could have insisted on lower stakes,” Connie said severely.
“The challenger sets the terms,” Lord Humphrey said.
“Nevertheless, Lord Pinner is very cross about it and I do believe we should sound the retreat before he calls you out or some such male foolishness. I am very sorry for it, Eloise, for you and Tabitha were having such a lovely time, but we have two other possibilities — the rout at the Dunmortons’ and the card party at Lady Hartshill’s.”
“But no dancing,” Eloise said glumly.
“I am afraid not. But we have our own ball next week, and you may dance till four in the morning if you wish. We rarely see our beds before then. I am so sorry. You may berate Humphrey as much as you like, you know. He has said he will make it up to you, although I do not know how.”
“He could give me the five hundred pounds,” Eloise said at once. “Or half, and the rest for Tabitha, for she has been deprived of the possibility of dancing, too.”
