by Lucy Langton
“So delighted to have you in my home,” Lady Constance said with a winning smile, to which Roderick smiled back. “If you’ll excuse me,” she added before departing.
“She was flirting with you,” Emilia said teasingly.
“Stop it.”
“She was. It was written clearly on her face.”
“Lady Constance is far out of my league.”
Emilia couldn’t help but think that Lady Constance Belmore was out of her league as well. Standing before her hostess, Emilia was reminded of everything that made her unfit for society. She didn’t have that winning smile that Lady Constance had, in her own estimation. Not only that, her dress was sub-par in comparison. These things didn’t bother Emilia too much. She had no great ambitions to be a perfect fit for the ton. Yet still, she did wish to present herself appropriately. Or at the very least to not embarrass herself.
“She was not mean-spirited in the slightest,” Emilia finally said.
“Because she was flirting with me, indeed,” Roderick replied.
“Tell me,” Emilia went on, curiosity getting the better of her. “If you could select one lady to dance with – any lady in this room,” Emilia said, wishing to know her brother’s mind. She found it fun to talk with him about his affections for ladies. “Whom would you dance with?”
“Anyone?”
“Anyone.”
Roderick looked about the room, and yet again that mien of sadness came over him. Emilia cocked her head in confusion at the sight of it.
“No one.”
“You jest,” Emilia replied.
“I do not jest. There’s no one here I should like to dance with.”
“What has come over you, brother? It’s as though you’ve quite forgot yourself.”
“I suppose that I have.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“Not just yet,” Roderick replied. “I first need a fresh glass of champagne.”
Emilia was beginning to feel troubled. She’d never known her brother to drink more than two glasses in his lifetime. Something really was troubling him, and Emilia wished to get to the bottom of it. Despite her desire to do so, Emilia didn’t wish to push her brother to admit to anything he didn’t want to. She decided to let the matter go and found a chair to seat herself in while Roderick procured a fresh glass.
Being seated helped to make Emilia feel more settled. She no longer felt on display, nor did that anxious anticipation flutter in her stomach. She could do what she did best, and that was to observe those around her. None of those rarefied creatures seemed real from where she sat. They were all like characters out of one of her novels. Their smiles were too bright, their hair too flaxen, and their apparel too well-tailored to be believed.
Emilia turned her attention to the handsome faces that populated the ballroom, of which there were many. Did being a part of society instantly make men more handsome? They all sported the Roman coronet of hair, which was very much the fashion of the day. Blue coats were favoured over green or black, and all trousers were tan in colour. Funny that all those men should wear the same thing whilst each woman was a world of fashion unto herself.
Although Emilia delighted in the handsome faces, there was not one that immediately struck her as being more handsome than the rest. Some were tall, others short. Some had brown hair, others blond. Emilia sighed to herself. How was she ever going to find a husband who stood out from the pack? Someone who was, alas, specifically designed for her.
Then Emilia scolded herself for having such thoughts. She believed in love, yes, but to believe that god created someone for everyone, someone that was specifically intended for them and them alone, all of that seemed like utter nonsense. Emilia had heard horror stories of marriages going awry. Of husbands running for fear from their wives, and wives running into the arms of another. Yet still, she did know that the marriage between the late Baron and Baroness of Rutledge was peaceful and loving. The servants told her as much, as did Lord Stanley Grey. So sad that they had to die when they were so seemingly happy in one another’s company.
“Here you are,” Roderick said, handing Emilia a glass of champagne and seating himself beside her.
“I’ve been contemplating love,” Emilia admitted.
“A perilous thing to do,” Roderick replied.
“Do you think it all impossible? A fantasy?”
“I am unsure. I know that love is real. I have felt it myself. But what remains when love is gone? Does love give, and then taketh away?”
“It’s not like you to be so dark.”
“To put it plainly, there’s someone I wish was here, who has not attended.”
“Who else would you wish to be here but me?” Emilia quipped.
“A true lady.”
Roderick’s face was deadly serious and Emilia realised that she should stop teasing him so and listen to what he had to say.
“What lady?”
“Lady Marina Spencer.”
“I do not know that name.”
“That’s because I’ve never told you of her before.”
Roderick took another sip of his champagne whilst Emilia half expected him to throw back the entire thing.
“You never keep secrets from me,” Emilia said, although she did realise that her brother was, indeed, allowed to keep secrets from her if he so chose.
“Some things are difficult to explain, sister,” Roderick replied.
Silence followed and Emilia decided to not push the matter further. Roderick didn’t wish to explain who Lady Marina Spencer was, and Emilia sensed that, in good time, she would find out.
Chapter 2
Although Roderick’s mention of Lady Marina Spencer had captured Emilia’s attention, soon thereafter Emilia assumed that something else might occur that would captivate her imagination entirely.
She was merely looking across the ballroom, as she had been doing for most of the evening, and there, with her eyes, she finally came across a figure like none she’d ever seen before. The gentleman was quite tall, his hair dark and short, his suit immaculate, and everywhere he went, and ladies would approach him and blush and coo in his presence. The fellow was impossibly handsome, to such a degree that it might instil suspicion. Emilia had encountered one or two gentlemen like this in the past, so cunning in their handsomeness that it led Emilia to believe that it was merely a facade erected for some kind of vicious endgame.
When the man abruptly turned his gaze towards Emilia and their dark eyes locked, she instantly turned away, thinking that direct eye contact with the fellow was far too stimulating for the senses to endure.
“What is wrong?” Roderick asked, instantly seeing the blush upon her cheek.
“Nothing is wrong. Why do you even ask?” Emilia said, feeling her heart beating rapidly in her chest.
“You seem flustered.”
“Perhaps you’re reading into your own feelings this evening,” Emilia suggested.
“Perhaps you’re right,” Roderick replied, returning to his contemplation.
In the silence, Emilia slowly and cautiously turned her eyes back towards where the mysterious man had been but moments before, and sure enough, he looked at her yet again. Emilia turned away more quickly that time, thinking that perhaps she had just been caught in the most embarrassing fashion imaginable.
Despite her shame, Emilia couldn’t help but be transfixed by the man, even in the short moment that their eyes had met. Something akin to excitement and pleasure rushed through her veins. Had she seen him before? Why was it that he seemed oddly familiar, and yet so foreign at the same time? And there was, indeed, something foreign about him. As though he were a visiting prince from an exotic place such as Spain or Italy. He stood out from the other men at the ball and, considering how dully handsome she experienced those other men to be, perhaps it was a situation that Emilia should go ahead and delight in.
The ‘accidental’ looks continued, even after Emilia excused herself from her brother’s company
and began to do a turn about the room. As she made her circumnavigation, the man would follow her with his eyes, briefly returning to the conversation that was forced upon him before finding her yet again. In the moments where their eyes did not meet, she could swear that she felt his gaze upon her, even without seeing it. Why was he looking at her so intently?
The gaiety, gossiping and dancing that filled the ballroom endlessly were beginning to make Emilia feel lightheaded, and so she walked into the dining room in order to procure refreshments, of which there was a countless selection. Taking a small sandwich and placing it upon a plate, Emilia walked over to the rather large and grand windows in order to regard the night sky while she took in her sustenance. That was when a rather deep voice caused her to turn back.
“Are you dreaming of escape?” the man’s voice said, and Emilia nearly jumped when she discovered the dark, mysterious gentleman standing right behind her.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Escape. The way that you’re looking out of the window. It leads me to believe that you’re dreaming of greener pastures,” he said with an affable smile. It was the first time that she saw him smile so, and it brought a blush to Emilia’s cheek yet again.
“These events are rather...stifling, are they not?” Emilia replied affably.
“It takes some time, but one does get used to it.”
The sound of the man’s voice and his relaxed stance brought Emilia momentary ease.
“So my brother tells me.”
“You have never been in Lady Constance Belmore’s home before?”
“It is my first time, yes,” Emilia replied.
“You seem to be handling yourself quite well.”
“It takes a lot to get under my skin,” Emilia replied, then instantly regretted those words.
Silence followed as the man smiled to himself, as though Emilia’s reply had had a double meaning.
“I am Lord Joshua Pembroke, Earl of Dannay.”
Emilia was in shock. The earls of Britain were some of the wealthiest and most powerful in the land, and she had never met one who was so young, and so striking. The very mention of the word ‘earl’ brought to mind old, crotchety men who preferred weak tea.
“It’s a great pleasure to meet you,” she replied with relaxed composure. “I am Lady Emilia Grey.”
“I know that,” Joshua replied.
“How?” Emilia asked, thinking it impossible that the Earl of Dannay should have any notion of who she was.
“I asked someone,” Joshua replied with a guilty smile.
“I suppose that is a sound way of finding out,” Emilia replied with a laugh.
“All one need do in this life is ask.”
“Indeed.” Emilia looked down at her sandwich thinking it unnecessary to eat. The presence of Lord Joshua Pembroke had quite steadied her senses.
“Don’t let me prevent you from enjoying that,” Joshua said, nodding his head towards her plate.
“I think it was more an excuse to escape,” Emilia replied bashfully.
“So I was right, then.”
“What?”
“You do wish to escape.”
Joshua was looking at her intently and Emilia couldn’t help but wonder at it. She had never seen anyone look at her like that before. What was it that he found so interesting about her? Truly, she didn’t think that she was exceptional in the slightest. But Lord Joshua was looking at her as though she were Helen of Troy.
“I take it that you often find yourself at such affairs,” Emilia finally said.
“What leads you to make such assumptions?”
“You seem practised in it. And I could see that you know a great deal of people.”
“So, you were spying on me?” Joshua asked, lifting his brow.
“I...” Emilia stumbled.
“I’m merely teasing you, Lady Emilia. I was spying on you a great deal as well.”
“I did not notice,” Emilia replied humorously.
“I find you striking.”
Emilia’s tongue was struck dumb for a moment. “For the life of me, I don’t know why,” she managed to reply.
“Allow me to explain myself,” Lord Joshua said, putting out his hand. “But may I do so during a dance?”
“I fear that you might not be on my dance card,” Emilia said, fumbling quickly through her reticule in order to find the document. Once she had it in hand, she inspected the names and did not see Lord Joshua’s there. Before she knew what happened, Joshua gently took the card from her hand and tore it into two pieces.
“One thing that you will learn after attending a number of balls is that there’s no need to rely upon this,” Joshua explained casually.
“Oh,” Emilia said in shock. The surprise written upon her face seemed to amuse him, for Joshua smiled at the sight of it and took her by the hand, gracefully leading her back towards the ballroom.
As they passed through, Emilia noted that all eyes were on them. She even saw Roderick seated by a side table, equal shock written on his face.
What the devil is going on? his face seemed to say.
I’ll explain later, was Emilia’s facial reply.
And so the music from the orchestra recommenced and the dance quickly began. At first, the only thought in Emilia’s mind was to not step upon Lord Joshua’s toes, as she had been worrying before. The fear was even greater for, looking down, Emilia could see that Lord Joshua had the shiniest black boots she had ever seen. He was the type of man who cared about every detail of his appearance, and were she to muck up his boots, Emilia was quite convinced that it would be the end of her relations with the Earl of Dannay.
Lord Joshua was an incredibly graceful dancer, which did not surprise her in the least. But she was not the first to talk of skill.
“You’re well-practised in the dance,” Joshua said to her, looking down and admiring her form. Emilia was quite sure that he was not merely admiring her steps.
“I’m afraid that a great deal of that is due to luck. I’m also dancing with an exceptional partner.”
“So, you had said that you didn’t know why I was looking at you earlier,” Lord Joshua said, bringing up a topic that still left Emilia in confusion.
“It’s, perhaps, because I look out of place,” Emilia replied honestly.
“That could be said to be a good thing,” Joshua said with a smile.
As they continued to dance, Emilia found that she had to think of her feet less and less. The formations became effortless, and her and Lord Joshua’s bodies moved effortless in unison.
“How so?” Emilia countered. “The women here are some of the most beautiful in Britain.”
“What we have in this ballroom is an assortment of delicacies, yes,” Joshua went on. “But it all comes down to a matter of taste.”
“And what’s your taste?” Emilia asked.
Lord Joshua paused and then looked down at Emilia’s blue gown.
“Blueberry sponge.”
Emilia blushed and Lord Joshua smiled in seeming satisfaction that he had had such an effect upon her.