The Roguish Ways of a Hopeless Duke

by Lucinda Nelson

  On the following day, Lady Grace and Evie readied themselves, hardly stopping to chew their lunch as they prepare to take leave for the ball. They would be meeting up with Lady Grace’s friends and Evie’s sisters in London. Because Lady Grace and her friends were of the noble class, they would be divided upon arrival, yet it would still be a good time shared by each groups. Evie was radiant in her royal blue gown of the latest fashion. With her corset tightly bond and wig upon her head, she would be among the most beautiful at the ball.

  Lady Grace and Evie spoke the entire trip into the city. They did not even mind the traffic, sure that all of the coaches were filled with the most wonderful sort of people. They disembarked not far from the assembly room where the ball would be taking place. Lady Grace soon located Lady Bridget Gouldsmith, Lady Madalene Beaumont, and Miss Matilda Lambert. The ladies greeted Evie amiably before quickly moving off to find a good place inside of the room.

  Evie remained outside until she had spotted her sisters. She heard rather than saw Lady Lydia and immediately turned to see her flanked by Lucy and Hannah. They all looked very lovely and fresh. Once they had made ground with Evie, the three women exchanged kisses before stepping aside to let in the ensuing crowd. Lucy said, “We must wait for Lady Isabella. She should be along shortly.”

  They watched as the well-coiffed masses made their way through the doors. So many elegantly dressed, notable people passed by. There were so many handsome gentleman in their best breeches and waistcoats, a special glint upon the buckles of their shoes. The four ladies watched in growing excitement as the numbers of people did not disappoint.

  Finally, Lady Isabella came along to join them. She too looked beautiful in a corseted gown of jade. She was being escorted by her footman and many a head turned in her direction as she passed. She waved affectionately to her cousins and led the way inside.

  Although the ball had drawn a great crowd, it was separated. The higher class people were sequestered by a balcony raised to one side of the room. The lesser ranked and gentry moved about the other side. Lady Isabella would have been better suited for the balcony, yet she remained amongst her cousins, insisting, “Those people are such bores. All they do is looked about their noses in snide judgment of everyone.”

  The ladies found an area about the dancefloor and stood, looking about. As each lady’s head turned, Evie heard her sister Lucy let out a delighted squeak. Evie followed her eyes across the room, just beyond the balcony where she spotted Lord Oliver. He was flanked by a few of his fellows, in as good a humor as he had been when they had met him before. Lucy said, “I had hoped he would be here.”

  Isabella looked about, saying, “Of whom are you speaking?”

  Lucy replied, “Lord Oliver.”

  Isabella scoffed and said, “Oh him.”

  Lucy countered, “Do you not find him suitable?”

  “I find none of my brothers’ friends suitable. Lord Oliver is but a flagrant playboy. I warn you not to waste your time on him.”

  Lucy continued to look in his direction, apparently undaunted by Isabella’s remarks. Hannah was in a less excited mood. She had been courting Sir Leonard Townshend for some time. He seemed to be of fine sort and was of landed gentry with a handsome fortune. She had come to socialize and be with her sisters, yet she no longer felt the need to keep her eyes peeled for eligible gentlemen.

  Lady Isabella had also accepted her fate having been intended already with Marquess. She delighted in gossip about the many different attendees. She was also in the presence of quite a few associations and therefore turned every few minutes to engage in talk with one person or another. Evie looked enviously at the ladies who were already being turned about upon the dancefloor. She would also like to dance, yet knew of no gentleman at the ball in which she could engage.

  So she and Lucy stood there in somewhat hopeful anticipation of the fine young gentleman who might come to call upon them. It had not been long when two such gentlemen approached. They could tell from their dress that they were of at least minor nobility. The one standing before Lucy was a powerfully built, brown-haired fellow, with furtive grey eyes, and neutral expression. His companion was a taller gent of slighter build with a questioning expression upon his brown eyes. His black hair shown under the lights and his waistcoat hung slightly large upon him.

  The gentleman of neutral expression began, “How do you do? I believe we have become acquainted before.”

  Lucy answered back, “I do not believe so.”

  “Well, all the same, my name is Sir Duncan Sinclair. This is Kenneth Jennings.”

  Both Lucy and Evie answered, “How do you do?”

  Lucy continued, “I am Lady Seymour, this is my younger sister Lady Evie.”

  Evie shot a questioning look at Lucy. Her introduction suggested that they were of some nobility or gentry. She wondered why Lucy would make such a suggestion. Sir Duncan noted Lady Isabella talking beside them and asked, “Are you of relation to Lady Talbot?”

  Lucy answered, “Oh yes.”

  “Well, it is a wonder we have not yet been introduced.”

  “Certainly. It is lovely to have met you now, however.”

  Evie was once again taken aback by her sister’s transition into her more amiable and charming self. Lucy was always talkative and could be fun, but it seemed that a switch flipped when engaged in conversation with gentlemen. It was quite impressive. Evie sometimes wished that she were able to do likewise. Unfortunately, short of a smile, Evie tended to be a bit awkward when it came to flirtations. It was a tribute to her good looks that she was often able to maintain conversation for as long as she did.

  Evie made no effort to intervene in the conversation. She knew that it would not be necessary. Lucy would refer to her at certain times in the conversation, at which point she would either speak, giggle, or smile. She often tormented herself with the notion that she would become an old maid simply because she lacked the social skills to secure an engagement. All the same she remained hopeful, even though she did not find either of the gentlemen before them to be of particular interest.

  Evie had turned her head for a moment to admire a lady’s dress when she suddenly heard her sister concluding the conversation. She turned to see what had happened and immediately saw Lord Oliver coming near them. He walked up to Lady Isabella to greet her. She gave an unenthusiastic greeting followed be a snide remark. Lord Oliver’s eyes then turned to Lucy and a smile spread across his face. He stepped forward with a bow and said, “Ah, Miss Seymour. It is quite nice to once again make your acquaintance. I see you are with your sister.” He turned to Evie and said, “How do you do?”

  Evie politely curtseyed to him, not bothering to turn in his direction. She knew that Lucy would be dominating the conversation. It suddenly occurred to her that her sister may very well have turned up that evening in hopes that Lord Oliver had been in attendance. She had mentioned him often since their meeting and she knew that she anticipated their next encounter. Lucy became as charismatic as ever. She said, “Well Lord Oliver, you are certainly among the best dressed at tonight’s ball.”

  “Why thank you. You look exceptionally pretty tonight as well. You all do. I’m sorry, this is?”

  He gestured in the direction of Hannah, who had been so enthralled in the many comings and goings of the ball that she had been paying no attention. Lucy said, “This is my sister, Hannah. Excuse her, she can become quite caught up in observation.” Hannah made the smallest indication of awareness, nodding in Lord Oliver’s direction, before returning her gaze to the dancefloor.

  Lord Oliver continued, “Tonight has turned out to be quite a ball. It is among the best I have attended.”

  Lucy replied, “I am sure that is high praise. A gentleman like yourself must have quite a busy social calendar.”

  “That is true. Many of the parties in which I attend are more of the same. There is something entirely different about tonight.”

  Lord Oliver looked at Lucy as if she were the
something different. Lucy returned a smile of welcome and flattery. Evie felt as if she should leave the two of them alone for further discussion. She eased behind her sister to stand between Lady Lydia and Hannah. Lady Lydia began to make introductions between Evie and her acquaintances. Lady Isabella then came around to take the arm of Evie, who lopped the arm of Hannah beside her. The three of them took a turn about the floor, stopping to speak to those to whom Lady Isabella was familiar.

  It was while they were about this turn, having made a half circle in the room when Evie spotted him. It was the gentleman whom Lady Grace had made an introduction to, while they were about the shops in London. He was even more handsome in the night’s grandeur and stood out in the midst of his associates. As a knight, he was down on the level with Evie and the others, engaged in conversation amidst a large group of gentlemen. He seemed that he spotted Evie at quite the same time that she spotted him. He began to subtly drift in her direction.

  When they were standing within a one person distance, he said to her, “Good evening, my lady. How do you do?”

  Evie responded, “Good evening, kind sir. I am well.”

  “A fine evening, is it not?”

  “Oh quite.”

  “Are you finding everything enjoyable?”

  “Yes. It is lovely…and you?”

  “Oh yes. Everyone who is anyone is here.”

  “True indeed.”

  The conversation stalled at that point. Evie stood there waiting for him to continue. He looked about the space and then back to her a few times, allowing the silence to prolong itself. Evie considered making an attempt at furthering the conversation, yet could not think of any words to fill the space. So they stood there for some time, suspended in the moment. Finally, Sir Simon said, “Have you turned about the dancefloor?”

  “No. No one has asked me to dance.”

  “Oh really? How strange.”

  Evie was not sure how to reply to that. Sir Simon said, “Might you fancy a dance with me?”

  “Yes, I would.”

  Sir Simon put out his arm and led her over to the dancefloor. She casted a glance backward to be sure ,that the ladies saw which direction she was going. Both Lady Isabella and her sister were staring after them, exchanging whispers. Evie turned her eyes back forward and fell into the dance. She did not have a great deal of experience as a dancer. She mostly watched while others did it, but she had observed enough to be current on the most recent steps.

  Sir Simon turned her about the floor expertly, keeping step with those around. Evie found herself at first counting the steps in her head. As it became more enjoyable she allowed herself to be more liberal, meeting Sir Simon’s eyes. At the end of the song, they instantly broke apart. To dance at one turn was one thing, but to dance at two was a sign of engagement. They removed themselves from the dancefloor and back to where they had initially met up. Evie said, “Thank you very much. You are a splendid dancer.”

  “As are you.”

  Evie doubted it, but she appreciated the compliment all the same. She turned to find that Lady Isabella and Hannah had not moved very far and thought she might rejoin them. She turned back to Sir Simon and said, “Well, I shall rejoin my friends. Thank you again for the dance.”

  “You are quite welcome. I shall be seeing you. Good evening.”

  “Good evening.”

  Evie thought she detected a note of hope in his declaration that they should meet again. In the two encounters they had shared she had found him to be quite dashing and pleasant. She would like to have more time with him and perhaps speak at length. When she had regained Lady Isabella and Hannah, she asked, “What did I miss?”

  Lady Isabella said, “I think the better question is, what did we miss?”

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  Hannah said, “You know full well to what she is referring. Who were you dancing with just now?”

  Evie replied, “That was Sir Simon Drake. I was introduced to him about the city not long ago.”

  Lady Isabella said, “You have made no mention of him.”

  “There was nothing to mention. We have not spoken at great length and this is only the second time in which I’ve seen him.”

  “And yet you danced.”

  “He was just being a gentleman.”

  “Mark my words, you will be seeing him again. I should not be surprised if he began to inquire after you in future.”

  Evie made no reply. Although she was not nearly as confident as Lady Isabella, she could not deny that she hoped it. They completed their turn around the room and rejoined Lucy and Lady Lydia on the other side. Lady Lydia was engaged in some playful flirting with a gentleman, while Lucy continued her talk with Lord Oliver. She seemed entirely overcome and leaned in for his every word.

  Evie became concerned. She had heard the warning of Lady Isabella. She knew that gentlemen of Lord Oliver’s sort were prone to play about pretty girls for little more than mild amusement. They would draw up the hopes of the girl before becoming engaged to another. It was what had happened to Evie. She should not like to see the same occurring with her sister.

  However, she knew better than to get between Lucy and something she liked. Once when they were little girls, Evie had tried to play with Lucy’s favorite doll and had almost lost a braid in the ensuing skirmish. So she would allow her sister to make her own decisions. Evie only hoped that Lucy would not become so distracted by Lord Oliver that she might miss other opportunities.

  All the same the evening turned out to be lovely and by the time the ladies went to take their leave they were chattering excited about the newly minted memories. As they departed, Evie turned to find Lady Grace standing amongst her friends. Evie bid farewell to Lucy, Hannah, Lady Isabella, and Lady Lydia, making her way to where Lady Grace stood. The coaches began to depart and Lady Grace and Lucy moved toward the one that was designated for them. Instead of taking the lengthy ride back to Wellington Manor, Thaddeus had given them permission to take up rooms at the city townhouse.

  Evie was quite impressed by the building as the coach stopped and the footman assisted them in disembarking. The townhouse was every bit as imposing as Wellington Manor, although not as sizeable. They walked inside and found an elegantly done interior, luxurious without being too much. Lady Grace and Evie made their way to the rooms in which Grace stayed whenever she had occasion to be there.

  Lady Grace chatted excitedly about all of the people and things she had encountered while at the ball. She said, “It was just as had been advertised. So many people in attendance. I dare say only a select few of the most elite were absent. I know personally a few people who are on vacation and could not be there. They shall be aghast when they hear of what they missed. Did you enjoy yourself, Evie?”

  “Indeed I did. There was so much to see and the music was simply outstanding.”

  “I do believe I spotted you out on the dancefloor. With whom did you dance?”

  “I came upon Sir Simon Drake and he was kind enough to ask me to dance.”

  “Ah! I was right.”

  “Right about what?”

  “I knew that he had taken a fancy to you when I first made the introduction. He clearly fond you to be quite pretty and did not make much effort to conceal it.”

  “Oh, I am not so sure. He barely spoke to me.”

  “That confirms it. Sir Simon has a reputation for becoming lame of tongue when he encounters a lady that he is especially taken with.”

  “Anyway, he seems to be a fine gentleman.”

  “I cannot say for sure. I am only vaguely acquainted with him. We are not often to be found in the same circles. I am sure that will change now, though. He shall be seeking you out, I am sure of it.”

  Evie turned her face away to conceal the reddening of her cheeks. It seemed that both Lady Isabella and Lady Grace believed that Sir Simon had taken a liking to her. She was not sure what to believe, but she did not wish to get her hopes up. Instead, she decided to ply Lady Grace f
or information on what it had been like up in the balcony.

  They talked well into the night and still seemed to have more to discuss the next morning at breakfast. Following breakfast, the two ladies parted ways. Lady Grace met up with some cousins and returned to their estate, while Evie made her way back to Wellington Manor.