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Harold forced a smile of bonhomie which brought a laugh from Norfolk and another hearty shoulder slap.
“If you will excuse me. I won’t keep you from taking the floor.”
Harold beat a hasty retreat, his work done. As he once again made his way from the ballroom to the hall, he could not help but look for Alice. There was no sign of her. As he reached the hall and caught the eye of a serving man, an idea came to him.
“Could you furnish me with my hat and coat. And some writing materials,” Harold instructed.
The man bowed and hurried away on his errand. Harold waited patiently. The servant returned with the garments Harold had requested and a writing box. Harold wrote his note and addressed it simply, Alice. Blotting it and folding it, he hesitated before handing it over. Asking for it to be delivered to Alice would risk it being seen by her brother and taken away from her.
“I have a shilling for you if you arrange for this letter to be placed in Miss Alice Hathway’s chamber. You know which one it is?”
The servant nodded. He was a young man, barely into his teens by the look of him, and his eyes went wide at the promise of coin. Harold produced the coin and handed it over, as well as the letter. To his satisfaction, both went into a pocket inside the servant’s coat, safely out of sight.
CHAPTER10
The rest of the evening dragged by for Alice. She wanted to pretend fatigue or illness in order to be excused from returning to the ball. But the obvious cost of the affair prevented her. After Harold’s departure from the library, Simon had refused to speak to her further, leaving the room after a whispered conference with Ruth.
Then Alice was confronted by her sister.
“Did I not warn you about that man?” she demanded with hands on hips.
“You did not tell me what he looked like. And Harold did not share with me his title,” Alice said.
“And did you wonder why he did that? Because he was trying to hide his identity. I daresay there are many people that might not recognize the name Harold Clauder, but would certainly know who the Duke of Redwood was.”
“What on earth got into Simon? I thought they would have a fist fight.”
“Do you perhaps see why we warned you of him? Do you think it appropriate to be associated with such a man?”
“But he was only reacting to Simon pulling me by the arm and causing me to fall. I’ve never seen Simon so angry,” Alice replied.
Ruth winced and put her arms about Alice.
“There is more going on than you know about, my dear. Trust me that there is no reason for us to have any love for the Duke of Redwood. Simon is justified in his feelings.”
And no more had been said. Or rather, no more was allowed to be said. Alice dutifully returned to the ballroom and just as dutifully took turns about the floor. Her mind was filled with Harold and her eyes searched for him. But to no avail. She supposed that after Simon’s behavior, he had left. She would probably never see him again.
As the evening finally drew to a close, Simon reappeared. Alice and Ruth had been left to say goodbye to the guests and once the last had left, a servant appeared, requesting that Alice attend to her brother in the drawing room. She entered the room and found him beside a half-filled decanter of brandy.
That is unusual. Simon rarely drinks.
“Have you sulked enough, Simon?” Alice demanded as she entered the room.
Ruth had followed her and tried to hush her. But Alice would not be silenced. Not now that there was no one to overhear.
“Have you summoned me in order to apologize?”
Simon threw back a glass of brandy, putting the tumbler down onto the table which held the decanter.
“No, I have not summoned you for that. I want you to know that I do not blame you for what happened tonight.”
“That is well because I did nothing wrong.”
“I caught you alone with the Duke of Redwood,” Simon accused.
“Yes, you did. A perfect gentleman.”
“A scoundrel!” Simon raged.
