THE BRIDE WORE BLUE

by Cheryl Bolen

  Stanton informed them Glee had already come downstairs and rushed to the carriage.

  A still-angered Felicity found her sister happily seated beside Dianna in a front-facing carriage seat, chatting as rapidly and unflappably as a hen’s cackle.

  Felicity became more enraged. She would have to sit beside the odious Mr. Moreland. Sighing, she plopped onto the velvet seat and scooted as close as she could to the outer side of the carriage.

  Thomas sat next to her, his eyes jutting to Glee. “You are beauty and innocence and all that should rob young men of their ability to speak tonight, Miss Pembroke.”

  A huge smile brightened Glee’s pretty face as she cast her long lashes down. “How very kind you are, Mr. Moreland.”

  Felicity felt her own anger toward Thomas softening. It was very kind of him to sense Glee’s fears over her first assembly and very considerate of him to take notice of the young girl.

  It was not consideration, however, that caused Felicity to commend Dianna on her appearance. “And you look quite lovely, Miss Moreland. You two shall be the most sought-after dancers of the night, to be sure,” Felicity said.

  Dianna wore white, too. The pristine stiffness of her elaborate gown should have cast Glee’s simple dress into shabbiness, but it did not. While Dianna’s gown signaled wealth and breeding and extraordinary taste, Glee’s soft gown spoke of sweetness and quiet elegance.

  Though the light was dim and infrequent, Felicity studied her sister on the short ride to the Assembly Rooms. Lettie, whom the two sisters now shared, had outdone herself with the challenge of Glee’s thick, unruly auburn spirals. Though swept back from her oval face, coppery-colored, curly tendrils framed her sweet features. Felicity could not remember Glee’s lips ever appearing so red. Had the scamp colored them? She smiled to herself at her younger sister’s unaccountable penchant for stretching and pushing rules.

  He should be bursting with confidence and goodwill, Thomas thought. He was about to launch into society in the company of the three undoubtedly most beautiful young women in the social hub of Bath. To him, Felicity was loveliest of all despite her absence of sparkling jewels and her drab mourning gown. She was actually quite striking in black with her fair hair and pale butterscotch skin. But then, she would be striking in pauper’s rags. How he loved to see her dimples pierce her solemn face. If only she could soften toward him. He wondered if she would consent to dance with him tonight.

  The thought of dancing brought a twinge of fear. He had never danced on English soil. He had bought the services of a qualified fop to teach him dancing, and as with everything, it came easily to him. Would that he could remember the steps if Felicity would do him the honor of dancing with him.

  Thomas was learning to sense Felicity’s feelings and moods, and he knew by the way she edged herself into the bitterly cold side of the carriage that she was angry with him.

  But she had met her match in him. He turned toward her and spoke. “You know, Mrs. Harrison, I am not ashamed that my father was merely the proprietor of a bookshop. He was the most noble man I’ve ever known. I hold far more respect for a man who builds his own position than for one who is given it.”

  “It is a difficult concept for me to understand self-made men since you are the first I have ever encountered,” Felicity said. “Your satisfaction with your rank I do find commendable. Even noble.”

  She seemed to soften, he noticed. Her shoulders relaxed, and she edged away from the chilly side of the carriage. He found himself reacting to her nearness in a profound way. He fought the urge to draw her hand into his own, and as much as he desired to hold her in his arms during a soothing waltz, he did not want this intimacy in the carriage to come to an end.

  Chapter Five

  Though she had probably been to the Assembly Rooms a hundred times before and knew every last soul there, Felicity felt utterly self-conscious tonight. It was as if a second nose protruded from her face, the way everyone watched her. That they were watching her entire group, she had already taken into account. Glee and Dianna did indeed draw a great deal of attention from young bucks, and no doubt a man as tall and handsome as Mr. Moreland was bound to be the recipient of admiring stares.

  Carlotta, for one, wasted no time in swooping upon Felicity and her friend, like a predator in the jungle.

  “Felicity, dear, you simply must make me acquainted with this tall, dark, and handsome man,” the black-haired beauty purred once Felicity had settled on the side of the room where peers took their seats.

  Not bothering to sit down, Felicity turned to Carlotta. “Do me the goodness of welcoming my friend Mr. Moreland of Winston Hall and his sister, Dianna,” Felicity said with newly summoned grace. Turning to Thomas, she said, “May I present you to my friend, Mrs. Ennis?”

  Carlotta moved her head ever so slightly toward Dianna and nodded before turning her full attention on Thomas. “How good it is to meet you,” she said, gushing with enthusiasm. “I cannot pretend that I haven’t heard about you as well as the wonderful things you’ve done to Winston Hall. Pray, you must allow me to see the improvements there.”

  He took her proffered hand and pressed a flat-lipped kiss to it. “Whenever you would like, I should be happy for you and Mrs. Harrison to pay a call.”

  Felicity scowled. Why did she have to be included in all his schemes? Accompanying him at social functions was compensation enough for his services. Surely he could not force her to dance attendance upon him at Winston Hall.

  Carlotta seductively raised her lengthy black lashes at him. “It is refreshing, indeed, to have new blood here, Mr. Moreland. I daresay the regular company grows quite tedious.” She turned to Felicity. “Why did you not tell me you were acquainted with Mr. Moreland?”

  Felicity could not meet her friend’s gaze. “It had been such a very long time since I had seen Mr. Moreland, I simply did not realize he was the one who had taken Winston Hall.”

  “I knew Mrs. Harrison before I went to India,” Thomas explained.

  Why did the insufferable man keep saying that? an agitated Felicity wondered.

  “Then you must have known Felicity when she was still Miss Pembroke,” Carlotta said.

  He nodded slightly, his mouth firm. “Yes.”

  An authoritative man’s voice cut in. “I would happily trade my medals and my wealth to have known the delightful Mrs. Harrison before she lost her heart to Captain Harrison.”

  Felicity looked up at Colonel Gordon and felt her face coloring. She glanced quickly at Thomas, who held the colonel in his scathing gaze.

  “Allow me to introduce you to Colonel Gordon, Mr. Moreland,” she said.

  The two men eyed each other like circling lions.

  Colonel Gordon threw his head back. “Ah, yes, the man who purchased Winston Hall.”

  Felicity felt awkward over the extreme coolness in the heretofore pleasant colonel’s tone. Could he be jealous of the nabob? What a ridiculous notion! Surely the colonel knew by now that no man would ever again own her heart. Every time the colonel had begged her hand, she had reminded him of her undying feelings for Michael.

  Thomas bowed curtly to Gordon. “I have found, Colonel Gordon, there is little in the kingdom that cannot be purchased, provided one has a large enough purse.”

  “And from what has come to my ears, you most certainly have the purse,” Carlotta said in her soothing voice, her eyes dancing.

  The colonel steered the conversation away from Thomas’s hefty purse. “I understand you spent some time in India, Mr. Moreland.”

  Thomas nodded. “Nearly six years.”

  “Did you come in contact with Colonel Armstrong there? I believe he was in Bombay.”

  “I did, though we were not well acquainted.”

  The colonel began to impart his memories of Colonel Armstrong when he was a young officer, which afforded Felicity the opportunity to watch her sister enjoy her first assembly.

  By this time, a sizable group of ogling young men had gathered around D
ianna and Glee, clamoring for a dance.

  Felicity was well pleased. She watched with satisfaction as both girls filled their dance cards. Glee not only looked lovely, but she had dressed with quiet good taste and thus far had conducted herself with genteel deportment. Felicity had feared her little sister would be unable to repress her vibrant, giggly nature. She also feared that Glee would be entirely too flirtatious. More than likely, Miss Moreland could be thanked for Glee’s subdued behavior.

  The orchestra began to play, and for some unaccountable reason, Felicity felt her heartbeat accelerating. Knowing Mr. Moreland would ask her to dance, she refused to look in his direction.

  It did not matter.

  “Tell me, Mrs. Harrison,” Thomas said, edging closer to her, his back to Carlotta, “does your mourning prohibit you from dancing?”

  She felt small and unaccountably feminine standing next to the overpoweringly strong Mr. Moreland. Her gaze swept upward into his hopeful black eyes. “I am no longer in mourning, Mr. Moreland. I live a full and satisfactory life, and yes, I can dance.”

  “Then I must beg you to stand up with me,” he said.

  Why did she have the distinct feeling he did not doubt that she would comply? That very afternoon the odious man had told her he always got what he wanted. “Now?” she asked mockingly.

  “It’s as good a time as any,” he stated flatly, offering her his crooked arm.

  It was a country dance that afforded little opportunity for intimacy. In fact, Felicity rather enjoyed the dance because she was close enough to Glee to appreciate her sister’s flawless dance steps as she stood up with a swarthy young man who appeared to be the age of George.

  Flawless, too, were Mr. Moreland’s steps. Must the man succeed at everything? When they reached the head of the line and had to hold each other’s hands for more than a second as they moved down the long-way, Felicity fought the tremblings rumbling deep within her.

  Judging from the rattling effects of his touch, it had obviously been too long since an attractive man had held her hand. But Colonel Gordon was good looking. His touch, though, had certainly never caused the unexpected reaction Mr. Moreland’s touch provoked.

  As she was thinking about the colonel, she saw him from the corner of her line of vision. He glowered at Mr. Moreland. Before she had time to ponder this, Mr. Moreland settled her at the end of the line and faced her contentedly. And before she realized what she was doing, she favored him with a beaming smile. He really had done awfully well, especially for one not born to such a life.

  When the dance was finished, Felicity led Thomas to the opposite side of the room from where they had started. She had at first automatically gone to the peerage side of the ballroom from a lifelong habit, but such a seating situation obviously excluded Mr. Moreland. She whispered to him. “I had forgotten the far wall is reserved for members of the peerage.” She wanted to prevent him from embarrassing himself by sitting down in the elite section.

  “It troubles me that my presence prohibits you from enjoying what is yours by birth.”

  “Pooh!” she said. “It does not signify in the least.”

  He actually believed her. Now she reminded him of the Felicity he had fallen in love with six years ago, the Felicity who had compassion for others regardless of their rank. He was also touched that she warned him about the peerage section so that he would avoid what could be an embarrassing situation. It occurred to him that Felicity was at her most lovable when she initiated the kindness. He would have to remember that.

  When she issued another warning, he was even more delighted.

  “I am not sure the extent of your social education, Mr. Moreland,” she whispered, “but I thought it best to tell you one simply does not dance more than two or at the most three times with the same partner.”

  “And I had hoped to dance every dance with you,” he said with exaggeration.

  A self-conscious smile turned up the corners of Felicity’s mouth. “In case you are deaf, dumb, and blind and have failed to notice, my friend Carlotta appears to be most anxious to dance with you.”

  “The raven-haired beauty?”

  Felicity nodded.

  “What of her husband?”

  “I am surprised your surveillance of me did not ferret out that information,” she said with agitation.

  He shrugged. “I daresay before the night is out, the ravishing Mrs. Ennis will make her marital situation known to me.” He was half ashamed of himself for his arrogant reply, but he had come to expect beautiful women to push themselves on him. Not that he for a moment believed he was sought after for anything other than his fortune. He watched Felicity as her eyes narrowed with displeasure.

  “You are positively odious,” she said.

  The skin around his dark eyes crinkled when he responded. “Yes, you’ve told me before.”

  “Oh, there you are,” Carlotta greeted Thomas breathlessly. “How very well you dance, Mr. Moreland. I daresay you brought to mind my dear departed husband, who was tall like you.”

  Thomas threw a mischievous glance at Felicity, who could not avoid smiling cynically. Then he quickly regained his manners and thanked Carlotta for the compliment. “You must do me the goodness of standing up with me, Mrs. Ennis.”

  Her lush black lashes slowly peeled away from her lavender eyes and her voice crooned seductively. “But most certainly. I am all yours, Mr. Moreland.”

  As soon as she spoke, the orchestra began to play another set.

  Thomas paid little attention to Carlotta as they went through the steps of the dance. His gaze stayed on Felicity and the colonel, who were sitting down. Thomas did not like the colonel, and he prided himself on his ability to evaluate other men. The runner’s report had told him that Colonel Gordon was a frequent visitor at Felicity’s town house. A single look at the lame military man confirmed that he was in love with Felicity. No, Thomas thought, his neck muscle tightening, he did not at all like the man.

  The rest of the evening Thomas hovered near Felicity. He wanted to be at her side when a waltz was played. Detecting the first violin strains, he made eye contact with her. “May I depend on you, Mrs. Harrison, to suffer through a waltz with me? Perhaps you can impart instruction that will render me an agreeable waltzing partner.” He held out his hand, and she took it.

  Truth be told, Thomas thought the waltz his best dance. How fortunate he was that he no longer limped. Felicity’s doctor had been most skillful. With confidence, he drew Felicity into his loose embrace, reminded that he owed everything to this woman he held in his arms. God’s eyes, but she felt even smaller than she looked. And despite his confidence, her nearness caused him to forget the steps, to forget where he was, to forget everything save that his cherished Felicity was in his arms. He trembled. He grew hot He could not find his voice.

  “Mr. Moreland,” she said softly and not without affection, “you are forgetting to count and are scarcely moving your feet at all.”

  “I must confess that dancing with a living, breathing woman is a great deal different than dancing with my previous waltzing partner.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “You have brought to mind my first actual waltz and how utterly mortified and scandalized I was. I daresay, I feel five years younger just remembering it.”

  “You are still a very young woman, far too lean of years to speak like one in her dotage.”

  “You sound exactly like my abigail, who really is in her dotage!”

  “It’s very kind of you to help me and Dianna,” he said. And to save me from dying, he wanted to say.

  “It has nothing to do with kindness, Mr. Moreland,” she snapped.

  The magic was gone. The remainder of the dance passed in silence, his only satisfaction coming from the tortured feel of holding her in his embrace. He disliked excessively the thought of another man waltzing with Felicity.

  “Upon my word,” she exclaimed, “there’s George with Mr. Blankenship! George never graces the Assembly Rooms,
except to play cards, which he has sworn off. I cannot imagine what he is doing here.”

  “Perhaps he wishes to assure that his little sister is not a wallflower,” Thomas offered.

  “That does not sound one bit like George. He’s rather self-absorbed, which you must be aware of.”

  “As are all men of three and twenty years.” Thomas’s stomach jerked as she peered into his eyes.

  “Somehow, Mr. Moreland, I cannot picture you as an idle young man. Were you once?”

  He smiled and shook his head. “Actually, no, but you must own that my circumstances are not of the ordinary.”

  “To be sure.”

  He was very sorry when the dance came to an end and he had to relinquish his hold on the fair widow. As they removed from the dance floor, her brother joined them.

  Felicity looked upon George with smiles and cordial greetings. “You will be happy to know Glee is a great success.”

  But it was not Glee whom George was watching. He could not remove his eyes from Miss Moreland. When Dianna finished dancing with a young man who was her own height, George greeted her as one would an old friend. “May I hope there is room on your dance card for me, Miss Moreland?” he asked.

  She glanced nervously at her brother. “I was not sure what Thomas would think of me waltzing, so there is but the next waltz left open on my card.”

  “I have no objection to your waltzing with Lord Sedgewick,” Thomas said, nodding to George.

  “Then I shall look forward immensely to the next waltz,” George informed Dianna as he and his friend strolled away.

  Carlotta snapped her fan shut as she watched the two young men depart.

  Thomas saw Lady Catherine Bullin enter the room and stroll past him.

  “Good evening, my lady,” he said.

  She kept on going, giving no sign she had heard him. Then Thomas realized she had heard him. He had been given the cut direct by the lady who formerly inhabited Winston Hall.

  Colonel Gordon, who had been acutely aware of every move made by Felicity, now crossed the room to her. “Since I am unable to dance,” he said, “I was hoping you would sit with me for a moment.”