by Tia Siren
“Hmmm…” Elizabeth had that look on her slender face again. She pursed her red lips, giving Rose a direct look. “I am having an idea.”
I can tell, Rose thought and smiled at Elizabeth.
“What are you plotting now, Liz?” She asked.
Elizabeth sat forward, leaning toward Rose. “There’s a ball coming up. I am going to take you as my guest. Then you will have an opportunity to dance with Richard!”
Rose was taken aback. She raised her eyebrows. “How can that happen? What about the children?”
“I will find someone to care for them for the night. We won’t tell Richard until after the ball. We won’t go until after Richard leaves.”
“He may refuse to dance with me.” Rose was nearly petrified. Suppose he was angry about the whole thing and dismissed her? Last night, he seemed determined not to do such a thing but what if she pushed past her boundaries?
“It’s a masquerade ball. Night after tomorrow. You will be wearing a mask. He won’t even know it’s you!”
“Until I speak to him. I can’t just be silent the whole time.”
“Dance with him for a few minutes before you say anything.”
“I don’t know, Liz. Is this overstepping my boundaries?”
Elizabeth shook her head, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand. “Nonsense! I think it would be a wonderful surprise for him. He is comfortable with you. You must take advantage of that if you want to get any further with him. I think it would be wonderful if he fell in love with you!”
Rose’s heart began to thump in her chest. The thought of Richard falling in love with her was almost more exciting than she could bear.
“It’s settled.” Elizabeth sat back. “I will bring you an outfit tomorrow, I have several you will fit into. We are about the same size, aren’t we? I’ll have Becky take it in if not.”
“Are you sure about this, Liz?”
“Absolutely sure!”
Rose pulled in a deep breath and held it for a moment. She wondered if she would be able to dance with Richard without falling all over her own feet.
Richard dressed for the ball slowly, without much enthusiasm. It seemed strange to him that Elizabeth was not going with him. He pulled on his clean white shirt and began to button it. She hadn’t been on his back about dancing with as many of the Ladies as possible, either. In fact, she had completely stopped badgering him. He had no idea how to feel about that. He couldn’t imagine she had changed his mind about his situation or no longer cared. That simply wasn’t feasible. She had been pushing him for two Seasons relentlessly.
He picked up his jacket while reaching into his pocket for his watch. He flipped it open to see he had twenty minutes if he wanted to be on time. He sighed. Another boring night watching other people dance. At least, he would hear some good songs while he was there.
He would go to keep up appearances. He would smile and laugh. His place in society would be maintained.
He chuckled at his thoughts as he went out the door. It was too bad Rose was not one of the Ladies. Their conversation two nights ago had made him see her differently. He nodded at his driver and got in the carriage thinking about Rose. He had noticed many things over the last two days, things she had done or said that he hadn’t paid much attention to before. She was wonderful with his children, treating them as if they were her own. She was a good-looking woman, too, something he berated himself for never noticing before. He had stopped himself from saying something to that effect several times over the last two days.
He thought about her as he looked out of the carriage window, wondering what she would be doing tonight. If he had invited her, would she have come along? Probably not. She was not the kind of woman who would feel comfortable in an atmosphere like that. He wouldn’t want to subject her to feeling inadequate when, in fact, she was more than adequate.
He wished status didn’t mean so much to society. He wouldn’t allow Rose to feel less than another woman, simply because she didn’t have a title. She was a worthy woman.
By the time he got to the ballroom, he had made a solid case for Rose in his own mind. He would begin to talk to her more. He wanted to get to know her better.
He immediately got a drink and sat down at a table in the corner. If he wasn’t spotted by too many, he stood less of a chance having to do anything he didn’t want to do. He kept his eyes open for Elizabeth. She was coming late, and he wanted to talk to her about Rose. He knew they spent a lot of time together, and he valued her opinion. He also knew she would gladly give it.
He looked around at all of the masked people, Lords and Ladies that he knew but didn’t know and wondered how he would spot Elizabeth. Had he told her what his mask looked like? He couldn’t remember. He sighed. Maybe he would recognize her by the way she walked.
He focused on several women, wondering if she was Elizabeth each time. He nearly jumped out of his seat when a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up at the woman who had touched him, hoping it was his sister.
“Richard.” He was relieved to hear Elizabeth’s voice.
“How did you know?” He asked.
“You told me, remember?” Elizabeth laughed and shook her head. “Over there. See her? Go ask her to dance. No one is asking her. She looks lonely.”
“How can you tell?” The woman’s mask was a dark velvet purple and covered most of her slender face.
Elizabeth laughed.
“Who is she? What’s her name?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just go ask her to dance. I was talking to her, and she seems very nice.”
“Has she been here before? Have I danced with her before?”
“Will you just go over there? Don’t make me take you by the hand and lead you, brother, that would look very strange, I think.”
Richard sighed. This was the Elizabeth he was used to. It appeared he’d gotten a short reprieve from her nagging.
“All right, all right.” He stood up and crossed the room, moving around people politely. When he reached her, he leaned over and held out his hand.
“Would you like to dance, my lady?”
Without a word, the woman smiled and gave him her hand. He led her onto the dance floor, where they waited a few seconds for the song to begin. Richard’s first thought when they began to dance was that the woman felt very comfortable in his arms. He wondered about her silence but was enjoying the dance too much to say anything about it. It was the first time he had danced in comfortable silence with a woman. His arm felt good around her waist.
He was surprised when the song was over. He didn’t want to stop dancing with the silent woman. Unable to contain himself, he bowed low to her and said, “That was a lovely dance, my lady. May I have your name?”
She smiled and laughed softly. She had been nervous the entire time but had enjoyed the dance more than she ever would have imagined. Now she would have to tell him who she was and had no idea how he would react.
“Please?” He prompted with a laugh of his own.
“It’s Rose,” she said softly.
He stared at her from behind his own mask. “Rose? My Rose?”
His use of the word “my” delighted her. She giggled and lifted her mask slightly so he could see who she was.
“Rose!” The way he said her name made it clear he was not unhappy that she was here. “I thought there was something familiar about you! I am glad you are here. I suppose Elizabeth brought you?”
“Yes, she did.”
“We must dance again, Rose. Would you like that?”
“I would very much like to.”
When the music started, they began to dance, his arm around her waist again. She thought she enjoyed that more than anything else.
“I have been thinking about you, Rose,” he said.
“Have you?”
“Yes. You are…you’ve been so good to me and my children. I wish I had seen it before. I wouldn’t have…wasted much of the time I have spent looking…” He stopped tal
king, and she felt his hand on her waist gripping her a bit tighter. It made her heart skip a beat. “You’re lovely, Rose. I would like to spend more time talking to you.”
“I would like that, too.”
He leaned down and when he whispered to her, his lips brushed her ear lightly, sending chills over her arms.
“The children will be delighted.”
They both laughed.
*****
THE END
CLEAN REGENCY Romance - A Sister’s Plan
Chapter One
Marie Downing glanced at herself in the mirror, pushing her dark hair back and away from her forehead. She looked with disappointment at her face and sighed. She had seen no improvement with the makeup her sisters wore to hide their flaws so she chose to wear very little of it. The blush only made her washed out face look like she’d just been slapped on both sides and lipstick only brought attention to the fact that her lips were thin and her mouth wide.
Marie painted a picture of herself in her mind as a side show clown and felt very heavy in her heart. She could hear her sisters upstairs. It was time for her to get ready, as well, but she was delaying it. Her sisters took a lot longer than she did, with all of their lace and layers. They did their hair up in fancy dos and painted their faces. Marie didn’t do those things. It was a waste of time. She kept her dark hair back in a bun and only used a bit of powder to add color to her whole face and some pencil around her eyes at the insistence of her older sister, Lucinda.
Marie began to take the stairs up to the room where her sisters were talking and laughing. She wished she could get in on the fun but had felt like the odd girl out since the beginning. She had one younger sister, and her four other sisters were older than she. They were all beautiful girls, with slender bodies and pretty smiles. They wore the nicest clothes their father, the Earl of Weatherton, could supply. He had offered her the same opportunities, but she had chosen more practical wear and was less enthusiastic about the Season when it came around. She had found no interesting men to come courting her and would rather have played the piano and sang for the guests than dance with them.
Her father had given her permission to do just that before the Season started. It was her second time around, and she had spent several miserable weeks during the first one being forced to fill up her card every time she went to a ball and dance with some decent and some hideous men.
She reached out and turned to the knob to enter the room where her sisters were readying themselves for the ball.
“I suppose we will all have to dance with Duke Arlington and that deplorable Earl George.” She heard Angela saying.
“George Wright?” Lucinda asked, pulling on the ties to Angela’s corset to tighten them.
“Yes, that’s just who I mean,” Angela confirmed.
“He’s not a bad sort.” Lucinda continued. “I won’t mind dancing with him. At least, he doesn’t step on your toes!”
“It’s simply amazing how many men have no clue about dancing!” Another sister, Caroline, standing by the window looking out, said to no one in particular.
Marie took her spot in the corner, where her dress was hanging. She pulled it down from the hook and held it out in front of her to scan it. It was new, something her father had picked up for her while abroad in the Americas. He had picked up similar dresses for each of her sisters and had each of them styled slightly differently so they would have their own unique look.
She liked hers. It was a deep, rich purple that offset the color of her eyes, which had a slight purple tint mixed in with the blue. Her pale skin and indigo eyes were in sharp contrast with her almost-black hair. She felt like it made her look like a ghost.
Her younger sister, Jenny, was watching her and approached from a few feet away. “Do you like the dress papa bought for you, Marie?”
Marie looked up at her. Jenny was smiling at her, which prompted her to smile back. “I do.” Marie nodded. “I like it very much. It’s very pretty.”
“It is pretty.” Jenny reached out and stroked the fabric. “Papa always picks the best fabrics for us, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, he does.”
A voice from behind her made Marie turn. “I don’t know why he bought you a dress at all.” It was her second- to-oldest sister, Madeline. Madeline was due to be married off this year. If she weren't soon, she would be considered a spinster, not just to the masses but in her own mind. Marie was aware that Madeline was unhappy about that situation and confused as to why it was happening at all. Marie wasn’t surprised. Madeline had the personality of a coiled snake about to strike. She had learned nothing in finishing school and insisted that everything be her way or no way. That didn’t go over well with the men that Marie had met so far.
“Why would you say that?” Jenny asked before Marie could say anything. Not that Marie would say anything. She was used to Madeline’s word jabs.
“Because all she’s going to do is sit behind the piano and play, making eyes at all the men around her instead of actually dancing with them and attracting one.”
“I don’t think you are one to talk about attracting men, Maddie.” Jenny took a step so that she was in between Madeline and Marie. “You have not been very successful at that yourself.”
Madeline huffed and put her nose in the air before turning to pull on a small waist jacket. “At least, I put some effort into it.”
“Marie has plenty of time. She doesn’t have to choose quickly and get it over with. It’s an important decision and must be made wisely.”
Madeline had turned her back to Jenny, fastening the small buttons on the jacket.
Jenny turned back to Marie and reached out to help her pull the gown over her head. “You don’t listen to a word Maddie says, Marie. You know what you’re worth. Don’t settle for anything less.”
Marie nodded, looking at Jenny with a soft smile. “I won’t.”
Jenny was a year younger than Marie but wiser in many ways. She had already found the man she wanted to marry but was too shy to tell her father. At just 17, she knew he wouldn’t approve of her choices and especially when he knew who it was – Jonathan Bligh, a nearby farmer who was just now trying to put his father’s farm back on its feet. Jonathan was 20, his father had died only months before, and Jonathan was working his fingers to the bone to save the only home he knew.
Jenny had been in love with Jonathan for as long as she could remember and they had made a pact to get married as soon as she turned 18. Now it was only a few months away, and she was anxious. She was a wise girl, and Marie approved of Jonathan. She hoped their father would, as well, when the time came.
“Somebody needs to tell Duke Arlington what he’s worth,” Madeline said, joining their sister, Caroline, at the window, where they both looked out over the grounds and at the bright blue sky dotted with just a few white clouds.
“Are you interested in Duke Arlington??” Caroline stared at her with wide eyes, a shocked expression on her face.
Madeline screwed up her face in disgust and then laughed abruptly. “No, dear sister. Not at all. The Duke’s problem is that he thinks he’s worth more than he is. Someone needs to bring him down to the ground, in my opinion. A man that ugly shouldn’t be trying to win over the hearts of pretty women.”
“That’s a cruel thing to say, Madeline,” Marie spoke up.
Madeline turned to stare at her. “You wouldn’t know a thing about it, little girl. You spend all of your time hiding behind your piano. If you aren’t even going to try, I’m not going to give you any sympathy. And you shouldn’t speak when you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Stop it, Maddie.” Lucinda shook her head at Madeline, sitting to pull on her boots and lace them. “You are being very foul today. What’s wrong?”
Madeline turned her narrow eyes to Lucinda and shook her head. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. What’s wrong with her? She is never going to get married at this rate!”
“Madeline, why doe
s it matter to you when Marie gets married?” Lucinda had stopped in the middle of lacing one boot and was staring at her older sister. “You are not yet there yourself. You should be worrying about what is going on in your own life instead of berating Marie for the lack of action in hers.”
“Beth was married when she was Marie’s age.” Madeline sniffed.
Lucinda raised her eyebrows at the mention of their oldest sister and gave Madeline a disgusted look. “Maddie, you are several years older than Marie, and you aren’t married. Please don’t continue. You are only making a fool of yourself.”
Madeline huffed in embarrassment and stomped out the door, one hand holding on to her skirts so she could walk quicker and the other one clutching her folded fabric fan. Before she reached the door, she had flipped it open and was fanning her heated face. She gave them all one more defiant look before flying out the door and slamming it behind her.
Jenny turned back to help Marie after watching the scene unfold. She was shaking her head. “I can’t believe that girl sometimes. It seems she is living in her own world most of the time.”
“And she is the queen there,” Marie added.
Jenny pulled Marie into a quick hug. “She’s going to be very lonely for a long time if she continues to live there. You’re going to be fine, Marie. God will provide your man in due time.”
Marie smiled at her. “I know. I’m not worried. I don’t feel sociable most of the time anyway, why would I want to share that with a man? I really don’t feel I need to. At least, not right now.”
Jenny took her sister’s hand, and the two of them sat on a long cushioned bench so Jenny could apply a bit of makeup to Marie’s eyes and face. “You like to be alone, don’t you, Marie?”
Marie shrugged. “I don’t mind it.”
Jenny squeezed her hand. “When you are attracted to a man, and you fall in love, you will feel more sociable, I bet. There’s nothing like love to make you glow like a firefly.”
“Is that so?” Marie smiled at her sister.
“It is.”
“That must be why you are always glowing then.”