by Amelia Grey
“There must be at least two hundred people here,” Lady Sara said as they stood in the archway and looked down into the ballroom. “Griffin, you can’t possibly know them all, can you?”
“Most, and we might as well get started with the introductions. It looks as if the Earl of Daundelyon and his ladyship are standing closest to us, so we will begin there.”
“I want to meet Lord Henry first,” Vera said.
“Yes, we want to meet him first,” Sara corrected, giving her sister a stern look.
“That would be fine,” Griffin said. “But I don’t see him. There’s no reason to pass by others just to go looking for him.” He turned to Esmeralda. “Are you ready, Miss Swift?”
“Yes, Your Grace,” she assured him.
The earl and his wife were delighted the duke chose them to be the first introduced to his sisters. While they chatted with Lord and Lady Daundelyon, Esmeralda stepped back and scanned the ballroom, looking at each male face to see if she could identify any of them as her cousin, Viscount Mayeforth. If he was present, she didn’t recognize him.
After hearing some time ago the viscount was in ill health, she didn’t expect to see him at the ball, but there was no way of knowing for sure. It had been almost fifteen years since she’d seen him, but she didn’t think he could have changed all that much. Though it was his father who’d banished her mother from the family, she didn’t expect her cousin to acknowledge her if they should come face-to-face. Still, she felt a sense of relief that she hadn’t spotted him in the crowd.
Immediately after Lord and Lady Daundelyon said their good-byes and moved away, the Earl of Hatterston walked up and bowed. “Good evening, Your Grace.”
Griffin returned the bow and said, “My lord.”
And so began the formal and tedious introductions all over again.
The widowed earl was a pleasant-looking fellow with dark brown eyes and a square chin. He had a full head of slightly graying hair and a robust build, but he was at least twenty years older than Lady Sara and Lady Vera. His wife had died more than a year ago. He’d already made it known in Society his mourning had passed and he was looking for a new bride.
Esmeralda didn’t know if the earl could sense it, but she certainly could see the twins had no interest in the older gentleman no matter that he carried a title and great wealth along with his name. That made no difference to the sisters. As far as they were concerned, there was only one prize in the room, Lord Henry, and it looked as if they were prepared to fight over him.
Once securing the promise of a dance from Lady Sara and Lady Vera later in the evening, the earl excused himself. That started an avalanche of people standing in line to be introduced to the twins. Twins were such an oddity to begin with, and these two encouraged attention by wearing their hair in the same style and similar gowns of ivory lace over a pale melon underdress.
But that wasn’t their only draw. There was the added attraction of the recent gossip concerning them, not to mention the fact they were the daughters and sisters of a duke. Not many young ladies could boast having that many reasons for someone to seek them out at the first ball of their first Season.
After each time Esmeralda was introduced as the chaperone, she would step back on the conversations so as not intrude, and let the others talk pleasantries. Not only was it the right thing to do, but she wanted to make herself as uninteresting as possible so no one would question her too closely about her position or about herself. It wasn’t difficult. Everyone’s interest seemed to be solely on Lady Sara and Lady Vera.
Esmeralda took special notice when the beautiful, blue-eyed Miss Irene Froste approached with her father. The young lady couldn’t keep her eyes off the duke, and Esmeralda couldn’t keep her gaze off Miss Froste. Like the twins, it was her first ball, and Esmeralda quickly surmised that the young lady had made up her mind that Griffin was the one she wanted, much like Lady Sara and Lady Vera had set their sights on Lord Henry.
Miss Froste had been schooled well in how to be charming. The duke was her main focus of interest, but she took time to talk with both twins and promised to pay a visit in the next few days, which thrilled Lady Sara. Griffin didn’t appear to have a problem listening to every word she said either.
Esmeralda tried not to let the young lady’s overinterest in him invade her thoughts and fill her with envy, but she failed miserably. Miss Froste glowed with charisma, confidence, and a smile that invited the duke to call on her. Regrettably, Esmeralda couldn’t find one thing to dislike about the young lady—except that she wasn’t wearing gray!
At last Miss Froste and her father moved on and the onslaught of other attendees wanting introductions continued. Only a few sets of eyebrows were raised when Griffin introduced Esmeralda as the twins’ chaperone, but none higher than when she was presented to the Dowager Countess Norwood. That concerned Esmeralda a little. The elderly countess could very well remember the scandal of Esmeralda’s mother eloping with the poet almost fifteen years ago. In all her years of being a governess, Esmeralda had never heard a whisper of gossip about her mother, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t occurred. Thankfully, the lady excused herself without asking any probing questions.
Esmeralda made mental notes on all the bachelors who stood in line to meet the twins, including Lord Henry when he approached. Lady Evelyn hadn’t been wrong about the man. He was divinely handsome. Esmeralda, who had no designs on him whatsoever, felt an uptick in her pulse at the sight of him. He reminded her of Griffin in that he wore his handsomeness as comfortably as most gentlemen wore their everyday coat. He stood tall, like Griffin, but maybe not so wide in the shoulders. His dark blond hair was thick and full of waves that fell attractively to the top of his neckcloth. To add to his handsome looks, his light brown eyes were full of merriment and his smile could have charmed a wild boar. It was no wonder he set all the young ladies’ hearts to swooning.
She thought Lady Vera might faint when she was introduced to him, and Lady Sara was positively besotted by him too. But what must have been a huge disappointment to both girls was that Lord Henry didn’t ask either sister to save him a dance before he left. It niggled at Esmeralda’s mind as to why he didn’t. All the other young bachelors, and the older ones too, had asked for a dance. Perhaps reticence was the way Lord Henry kept the young ladies interested in him. Maybe he liked to lead them on a merry chase.
The evening wore on and the crowd thinned. Mr. Albert Trent and Sir Charles Redding finally made their way over to meet the twins. Esmeralda and Griffin had made eye contact when the two approached. If they had gotten wind that Griffin had narrowed his search for the mischief-makers to them, they showed no signs of it. Esmeralda looked both over carefully as they smiled and bowed to the duke and his sisters. She’d expected to see something sinister or devilish in their manner, but they appeared as friendly and interested in Lady Sara and Lady Vera as had all the other bachelors.
After over an hour of formal introductions of the twins, Esmeralda was happy when Lady Sara strolled off to the dance floor with Mr. Lambert and Lady Vera walked away to dance with the Earl of Hatterston.
Griffin turned to Esmeralda and said, “It’s time for a glass of champagne.” He stopped a passing waiter, took two glasses from a tray, and handed one to her. He clinked his glass against hers and said, “May the Season progress quickly.”
She’d never tasted champagne, though she’d always wanted to. She lifted her glass and took a very small sip. Hmm, she thought. It was really quite tasty. She took a larger sip.
“I noticed you wore my least-favorite color tonight,” Griffin said.
Esmeralda saw a twinkle in his eyes and suddenly felt warm all over. It amazed her that just a look from him could do that to her. She lowered her glass.
“Did you?” she asked innocently.
“You know I did.” His lips crooked into a captivating grim. “It’s the only color I’ve seen you wear.”
“It’s the only color I have,” she said. “I
t’s serviceable.”
She looked down at her gown. A delicate pink lace lined the scooped neckline, which fell a respectable three inches below the hollow of her throat. A drawstring of pink satin ribbon cinched the high waist and the cuffs of the sleeves.
“And it’s a light shade of gray,” she argued. “Silver really.”
“It’s gray.”
“If I had known you had such an aversion to the color, I would have chosen another. Perhaps mulberry would have suited you better.”
A wrinkle formed in his brow. “The thought of you in such a dark and dull shade of red is no better than the colorless gray you are wearing now,” he murmured and took a drink from his glass.
Esmeralda smiled. “Then there will be no pleasing you with my wardrobe choices, so I’ll change the subject. Tell me, what did you think of Sir Charles and Mr. Trent tonight? Did either of them appear pensive, ill at ease, or untrustworthy to you?”
“Not in the least. I kept my eyes on them the entire time. I didn’t sense any mischief. I really shouldn’t have expected to. If anything will be done, it won’t be when I’m present.”
“I agree with your assessment,” she answered. “If they are some of the ones who were spouting off that night, they could have very well changed their minds once it was made known you were aware of their dangerous talk. Dukes can be very powerful when they choose to be.”
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly with amusement, and her heart tripped ridiculously fast. Her feelings for him were so foolish. Griffin belonged with someone such as Miss Froste, not with a chaperone.
“So you think I might have scared them off when they heard I’d cut their hearts out if anyone dared to touch one of my sisters?”
Esmeralda mouthed a silent O. “You didn’t say that, did you?”
“No.” He grunted a short laugh. “But I thought about it, and more than once. What did you observe about the other gentlemen the twins met tonight? Any appear suspicious to you?”
“No, but then I’ve had little experience with men, Your Grace, so I could be wrong about that. I still think Mr. Lambert is harmless and seems to be quite smitten with Lady Sara.”
“I noticed that he looked more at her too.”
“Lord Henry didn’t give either of the twins any lingering glances. Not because they aren’t beautiful, of course. It must be that he has so many young ladies to choose from, he has no reason to flatter or favor any young lady in particular.”
She stopped talking. Griffin was looking at her in the way that always made her think about being held in his arms and kissed. And that was the last thing she needed to be thinking tonight, so she took another sip of her champagne.
“I believe you have Lord Henry pegged exactly right.”
“No doubt you know how he feels about having his choice of all the young ladies.”
His lips formed an attractive half grin. “Let’s just say I know that he isn’t lacking any female companionship he wants.”
“I thought as much. And though I have no knowledge of him, and very little of men in general, I feel comfortable saying I doubt he will have any interest in matrimony for the foreseeable future.”
Griffin chuckled softly. “For someone who has little knowledge, you seem to be right about most things. Now tell me, what else did you make note of?” he asked, changing the conversation back to where it started.
She let her gaze drift over the ballroom. “I see at least five or six gentlemen who didn’t come over for introductions.”
“I noticed that too,” he said. “What do you make of it?”
Esmeralda knew Griffin didn’t need her input on the men. Apparently he was trying to make her feel useful. “Probably the same thing you do. They know you are on the lookout for trouble. It could be they are either guilty or perhaps decided to stay away rather than have the possibility you might think they are up to no good concerning your sisters.”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”
“All the ones we met tonight looked to be genuinely interested in your sisters. And why shouldn’t they be? Lady Sara and Lady Vera are intelligent, lively, and beautiful. All the things a man could want in a dance partner or when thinking of making a match. I hope that means that your worry over their being compromised in some way is all for naught.”
“That is my hope.”
His eyes met hers and she found herself wanting to smile at him, to engage him with clever banter. The duke was divinely handsome, standing beside her in his crisp white shirt, elegantly tied neckcloth, white quilted waistcoat, and black evening jacket. An intense longing filled her. She wished she were free to let him know she wanted him to pursue her the way Miss Froste had let him know. Esmeralda would have liked to be dressed in a stunningly beautiful gown made of silk and organdy, trimmed with the most delicate of laces and tiniest of bows.
But she wasn’t, so she finished off her drink.
“Would you like another?”
She looked into the empty glass. “No. That was very nice, but I won’t have more. I’m afraid I drank it much too fast.”
“It’s easy to do with champagne. It can go to your head quite quickly.”
“Thank you for the late warning,” she said absently. Miss Froste would have been told that and taught the proper way to drink champagne, she thought grudgingly. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Was it your first taste of champagne?”
“Yes,” she offered quietly while continuing to stare into the bottom of the glass. “I’ve not spent a lot of time in social settings where champagne is offered.”
“I keep forgetting that because you handle yourself so well in every situation.”
Her livelihood depended on it. Esmeralda had been taught many things a young lady should know before her mother absconded with Myles Graham, but not everything she needed to know.
“What are you thinking about?”
Seeing no reason not be honest, she raised her head and said, “I was wondering why you didn’t ask Miss Froste to dance.”
“What do you think my reason was?”
“I asked because I don’t know,” she answered. “She’s lovely, friendly, and she—and her father I might add—made it quite clear they wanted you to ask her. Lady Agatha wanted to dance with you as well.”
“Hmm,” was all he said.
Suddenly exasperated she said, “Oh, for the love of heaven. You cannot make me believe you didn’t notice they both practically asked you for a dance.”
One corner of his mouth lifted in humor. “You forgot Miss Waldegrave. I believe she expected me to ask her for a set around the dance floor too.”
Esmeralda laughed. “It’s impossible to get the best of you, Griffin.”
He laughed softly too. “All right, I noticed. And I noticed that you just called me Griffin.”
Esmeralda gasped. “I didn’t.” Oh, she should have never started thinking about him as “Griffin.” She should have known she would slip up and land herself in trouble. “Please tell me I didn’t.”
“You did, and I don’t mind. I’m glad you realize that when no one else is around, you are Esmeralda and I am Griffin,” he finished in a low tone as Lady Vera and Lady Sara were delivered back to their brother’s side by their dancing partners, laughing and out of breath from the fast quadrille.
As soon as the earl and Mr. Lambert left, two more dapper gents approached the twins, and they were quickly off to the dance floor again. Having seen a woman who once worked for Miss Fortescue, Esmeralda excused herself from the duke and walked over to speak to her. They chatted for a while and then walked around the ballroom eyeing the beautifully prepared food on the buffet tables, the flowing fountain in the center of the room, and all the flowers. But Esmeralda was careful to keep glancing toward the twins as well.
The duke talked with various people throughout the evening, but he and Esmeralda would always meet up together again when Lady Sara and Lady Vera returned from their dances.
It was much later when Lord Henry finally approached and said, “Excuse me for interrupting, Your Grace.”
“You’re not interrupting.”
“Good. I wanted to ask Lady Vera or Lady Sara to join me in the next dance.” He took the time to bestow a smile on each twin. “They are both so lovely, I’m not sure which one to ask first.”
Stepping forward, Lady Vera said, “I’ll help you with that, Lord Henry. Of course you should dance with my sister, Lady Sara, first. She’s the oldest, we’ve been told, but only by a few minutes.” Lady Vera turned and smiled sweetly at her sister. Lady Sara was clearly astonished by her sister showering her with such a favor. “I wouldn’t dream of putting myself before Sara. Would you mind if she danced with you first?”
“Not at all, Lady Vera. I shall return for you another set.”
“Yes, do.”
Esmeralda was amazed by Lady Vera’s generosity too, and knew there had to be a reason behind it. A reason that would only benefit Lady Vera.
After the two walked away, Griffin said, “That was kind of you, Vera.”
“It wasn’t kind at all. It was strategy, dear brother. Lord Henry will not remember he danced with Sara first, but he has made note of my willingness to so eagerly let my sister go first. Now, he has to wonder whether or not I want to dance with him. That means he will be thinking about me and not her.”
“Perhaps you are more clever than I gave you credit for.”
“Oh no,” Lady Vera said under her breath. “Maybe not. Here comes Mr. Trent, and I can tell by his determined smile he’s coming straight over here to ask me to dance.”
Griffin glanced at Esmeralda before asking, “What do you find objectionable about him?”
“Nothing I’m sure, except for the fact that he’s not Lord Henry.”
A few moments later, Esmeralda smiled as she watched Lady Vera dancing with Mr. Trent. Serves her right, Esmeralda thought. Vera had been nice to her sister but only because she wanted to gain from it.
When she turned back to Griffin she saw two tall, handsome gentlemen walking up to greet him. One had an instant, exotic appeal, with wide dark eyes and black hair that almost touched his shoulders. Most Englishmen were much fairer. He had a lean stride to his step and a slight swagger to his shoulders. The other man was no less attractive, and maybe more so. His hair fell just below his collar. He’d been blessed with intriguing green eyes and more of the classic handsomeness of Griffin and Lord Henry.