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Dear Ruth, always so in tune with my thoughts. She knows what I am feeling almost before I do myself. But, you can’t see what I really want, Ruth. To experience the world. Adventure. Not settling down to produce babies and run a household.
“Indeed,” Simon said, resting a paternal hand on Alice’s head, like a benediction. “Your future lies before you but you are not alone. We will guide you to ensure you do not make the wrong choices.”
“She will not. Alice is a steady girl with a good head on her shoulders,” Ruth said.
“She is a Hathway,” Simon agreed.
A solid, dependable Hathway. With my road already decided for me. How dull.
“Well, shall we go downstairs and greet our guests?” Alice said.
“Your guests. Tonight, they are your guests,” Ruth said with a fond smile.
“Ruth, will you go downstairs and have the butler prepare to announce Alice? I will escort her down when the guests are assembled to welcome her,” Simon said.
Ruth nodded and walked to the door. As she did, Simon took her arm while Alice turned her attention back to the mirror, checking her hair and dress one last time. Simon’s voice was pitched low but Alice caught his words nonetheless.
“Is he here?”
Ruth’s response was inaudible and Alice couldn’t turn her head to look for a response without giving away that she was listening.
“Damn him. He’s taunting me.”
Ruth whispered a furious reply, words beyond Alice’s hearing but tone explicit.
Who is he? And what has he done that has Simon in such a taking? Is this mystery man the cause of his worry?
Alice stared through her own reflection in the mirror, her mind ranging far beyond. Perhaps this occasion would not be the beginning of a road to boredom after all.
CHAPTER5
Her name reached Alice’s ears as though from a great distance. Simon stepped forward, his arm raised and Alice’s hand resting delicately in the crook of his elbow. They took three measured steps along the hallway before turning to the right and standing, framed by the elaborately carved banisters of the house’s grand staircase. Alice took a breath as Simon paused so that everyone gathered below could see his sister.
A chandelier directly above them shone coruscating crystal light. It caught on every jewel Alice wore but never more than in the shining blue of her eyes. There was a murmur from the assembled guests. It ran through the throng like a wave driven by a strong wind. Hands were raised and the applause began. Simon commenced his descent of the staircase, Alice following and suddenly, acutely afraid of stumbling and falling.
“Graceful as a swan, Alice,” Simon murmured, barely moving his lips. “Mama would be proud.”
That made Alice flush, more than she was already. She looked at Simon quickly, not wanting to take her eyes from her feet for too long, and gave him a quick, grateful smile. His arm was solid and his presence beside her was a reassurance. It felt almost like having her father standing beside her.
“Don’t miss this moment. Take a look at them all when we reach the landing,” Simon whispered.
They stepped onto the level platform that divided the staircase, giving Alice a chance to look up from where she was putting her feet. She gazed out over the hall and the people that filled it. Lords and Ladies, resplendent and grand, looked back at her. Wherever her eyes wandered she saw smiling faces and welcoming expressions. It was the way she had always imagined her debut would be. It felt wonderful.
As they neared the next step, Alice’s eyes fell on the back of the room and a corner that lay just outside the light of the last chandelier. A man stood there, watching her with an unblinking gaze and an intense, unsmiling face. She hesitated for a moment. He was tall and lean, face framed by long black hair. In the half-light, she could see an angular face and those coal-dark eyes. For a moment it was as though she stopped breathing. As though the room full of people faded to smoke. There was only her and him.
“Alice? Shall we?” Simon said quietly.
Alice realized that he had taken a step down and had turned back to her, reaching with his hand, inviting her to walk with him. For a moment she was confused, then she remembered where she was and what she was doing. Her eyes went back to the mysterious dark man but he had either stepped further back into the shadows or lost himself in the crowd. She could not see him. Simon frowned and followed her gaze.
“Of course. I was wool-gathering. I’m sorry, Simon,” Alice said quickly.
“It is a lady’s privilege to make her guests wait,” said a dignified-looking, silver-haired gentleman who stood at the front of the guests.
Alice smiled at the gallantry as she and Simon recommenced their way down the stairs. Upon reaching the hall, the silver-haired man was the first to greet them.
“May I present His Grace, the Duke of Norfolk,” Simon said.
“And may I introduce my wife Anna and my son, Duncan,” the Duke said.
