by Fanny Finch
They moved around the room like butterflies, gliding and flittering from conversation to conversation. Georgiana could hear their laughter like bells.
The men were all looking fine in darker suits, standing like pillars, the lot of them. Steady and impeccable and immoveable. When they moved, it was with grace and stateliness.
Georgiana hadn’t seen most of the people in this room before. She recognized a few as people that she had seen in London during the season previously.
Most of the people in Bath, however, were not quite at her level. Although she hated to think in such terms.
Public ballrooms were for people of a slightly lower social status than those with titles. Most of the people here were not people that Georgiana would generally speak to out of deference for the class system.
But not tonight. She couldn’t possibly snub ninety percent of the people in this room.
And she was of the higher status. That meant she could talk to whomever she pleased. Most of them could not approach her but if she wanted to start a friendly conversation then that was her right.
And she would have to. If she didn’t, everyone would think her the most horrible snob. When the truth was she was simply not the best at conversing in crowds.
Georgiana stood in the doorway for a moment, observing. Wondering who she should approach first to converse with.
Perhaps she should get a glass of wine first? That would give her another moment to compose herself. She could not imagine that she would be asked to dance, so having the glass would be a good excuse for any man not to ask her.
Julia squeezed her arm. “I see Mr. Tomlinson.”
“Perhaps you ought to go over and say hello, then.”
Julia looked at her in astonishment. “Oh, no, I meant for you!”
“Oh, Julia, please, no matchmaking. It’s terribly unfair to the poor man.”
Julia fixed Georgiana with a frustrated look. “Do you honestly mean you did not note how he was looking at you last night? My dear Georgiana. The man thinks you are quite lovely.”
“I’m certain that he thinks of me as no lovelier than any other lady of good breeding. Men and women can enjoy one another’s company without it being a sign of romantic infatuation, you know.”
“Of course it is possible. I am certainly managing to do it with Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Norwich, and our dear captain.” Julia’s look was sly. “But I know the difference, Georgiana, between friendly affection and romantic intent.”
“We have only met the once, Julia. I will not have you making up wild conjectures about myself or Mr. Tomlinson. Certainly not about the both of us together.”
Julia pouted. “My dear, surely you must realize that my partial aim in asking you here was to help you to finally be wed?”
“Trust me, Julia, I have drawn that unfortunate conclusion already,” Georgiana said dryly. “Are you going to persist in this endeavor? And am I going to have to retire for the evening before it has even properly begun?”
Julia sighed. “No, I will not, and therefore you shall not. If you insist on being such a stick in the mud about it.”
“I hardly know the man.”
“Many women hardly know their husbands.”
Georgiana knew she could not afford to be picky. But surely it wasn’t too much to ask that she spend several evenings with a man before any talk of marriage was made? Rather than just one?
“I am going to get myself some wine. Would you like any refreshments?”
Julia shook her head. “No, I think I see Mr. Norwich. I should like to bid him good evening. Miss Perry I see is already hard at work dancing and flirting.”
“She does both very well, it seems.”
“Go on, get your glass of wine, then,” Julia said with a smirk. “But do not think I don’t see your aim, Georgiana. You ought not to let a glass stop you if a man asks.”
“A man will not ask. Therefore, I will have a glass handy. It gives him an excuse and spares me my dignity. What little of it there is left.”
Georgiana went towards the refreshments table while Julia sought out Mr. Norwich, who was standing over by a staircase.
Julia, Georgiana noted, was the sort of woman who was good at conversing with men and being their friend without there being any misunderstanding about intentions. If she did not have feelings for a man, she was remarkable at somehow being able to show such a thing without offending anyone or leading anyone on.
Georgiana was just about to pick up a glass when Mr. Tomlinson appeared at her elbow.
“Good evening,” he said, bowing to her.
“Good evening, sir.” She curtsied.
Now that the idea was in her head, Georgiana could not help but notice how he had sought her out and was now smiling at her.
It was all just nonsense that Julia had filled her head with. She was not going to start either getting paranoid or getting her hopes up.
Besides, she did not know Mr. Tomlinson well enough to formulate an opinion on him. Whether that opinion was in favor of him or not.
“I had been hoping to see you here,” Mr. Tomlinson went on. “I’m afraid there aren’t many large homes here in Bath.
“People cannot really host balls in their homes here. Nothing of any proper size, anyway. And so we must avail ourselves of these public rooms.”
“They are not nearly so bad,” Georgiana said. “I think it is rather nice that everyone can get to know people that they would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet.”
“I suppose that is a nice way of looking at it,” Mr. Tomlinson said. “I am fortunate in occupying the position where I may speak and be spoken to by almost anybody.
“But I can imagine, as the sister and daughter of a duke, that you have more pressing societal obligations.”
“It is true,” Georgiana admitted. “It can be trying at times, having to always be the one to start the conversation.”
If she were to marry, her status would switch over to that of her husband’s rank.
It was a nice idea, to be a little less… important, so to speak. She had never wanted to be the person who made everyone stop and bow when she walked into a room.
Father had liked being that person. He’d reveled in it. And Edward was slowly learning how to handle it.
But Georgiana wanted a simpler life. She always had. If she married a man who was not titled but had a good income, she could achieve that.
Could Mr. Tomlinson be that man?
No, she told herself firmly. She was not going to leap to any foregone conclusions.
She could not completely blame herself for thinking in that way, though. It was how she had thought of nearly every man she had met her entire life since her first season.
None of them came close to Captain Trentworth, of course.
She shoved that thought aside as well.
“I think that it is admirable of you to handle your station with such grace,” Mr. Tomlinson said.
“And what of you?” Georgiana replied. “You have recently come up in the world. I ought to be congratulating you. Along with giving you my condolences.”
“Please, no need for that,” Mr. Tomlinson said. “My uncle’s time was long coming. We were happy to see him released of his pain.”
“I am glad to hear that it was dealt with so well, then.”
“I admit to some trepidation,” Mr. Tomlinson said. “Before, I was the youngest of three brothers. Everyone was polite to me of course. I was the son of a gentleman after all.
“It was expected that I would go into the navy or the clergy. And now I’m an heir in my own right. It makes people treat you differently.
“To be honest, it can be confusing. I feel as though I almost no longer know who my friends are. If I may take a more pessimistic view of things.
“Yet I have the feeling that you would treat me the same had you known me before the inheritance as well.”
He smiled at her.
Georgiana could feel her face warming sl
ightly in return. “I think that a very high compliment given how little we still know of one another.”
“But I could tell it almost immediately,” Mr. Tomlinson replied.
“How is that so, Mr. Tomlinson?”
“Well, by virtue of your being friends with Miss Weston. And that she invited you to dinner last night.
“Had you been one of most people I know who are concerned only with status, you would not have become friends with her for despite her wealth she has no title in her family.
“And had you only made an exception for her and would have been embarrassed to be among such company as ours, she would not have invited you to dinner.
“We all have those people of our acquaintance who are of a higher level than we are. And we know that we are their friends, but we also know that we are an exception to their rules.
“Yet, Miss Weston invited you to dinner where there is only one person who is going to inherit a title and his father is not yet dead.
“Miss Everett and Captain Trentworth have both come from even lower backgrounds than myself and Miss Weston.
“But you treated all of us with grace and dignity. One would not have thought at all that there was any difference in our status.”
“I am only carrying myself with the kindness and thoughtfulness that I should think all of us are brought up to show,” Georgiana replied, unused to the praise. It made her uncomfortable.
“And yet, so few people employ it,” Mr. Tomlinson replied. “And so I commend you for it. You have my utmost respect, Miss Reginald.”
Georgiana thanked him, and turned to fill up her glass once more.
“Since I have you here, and I am not engaged for the next dance…” Mr. Tomlinson’s voice rose hopefully. “Might I ask if you will accompany me and be my partner for it?”
Georgiana was unsure. On the one hand, he was a perfectly nice man. And she could not so easily refuse.
On the other hand, his high praise of her was very discomforting. She was not at all sure she was worthy of it. And his charm, as it had last night, made her question his sincerity.
But then she saw, over his shoulder, Captain Trentworth enter the room.
He looked around, as if searching for people that he would know and with whom he could converse. He looked marvelously fine in his suit. Dignified as always. And handsome.
Georgiana could feel her heart starting to beat faster.
She must not be tempted to converse with him. She must not stand around waiting, hoping that he would choose to come up and converse with her.
She had to remain strong.
And so she turned, and told Mr. Tomlinson, “I would be delighted to take the next dance with you.”
He seemed to be genuinely happy to hear her say so, and offered her his arm. Georgiana took it and let him lead her out onto the floor as the music paused to allow everyone to shuffle around and change partners.
This part was always awkward at balls. Everyone had to move to their new partner if they had one set up. If not, they had to get out of the way quickly. New dancers came on. Everyone was moving about and it was chaos for about thirty seconds.
But then it all settled again, and the next dance began.
Georgiana took her place in the line, across from Mr. Tomlinson.
It felt like ages since she had danced.
Of course, she had done so plenty during the season. But there were always more women than men at those parties.
She had been asked to dance a few times only out of courtesy, she knew. So that she would not have to sit down the entire night.
Most of her dancing had, in fact, been when she was instructing Maria and helping her to practice.
But that did not mean that she had forgotten the steps. She knew them quite well. When one had been dancing since childhood as she had, it was not something easily forgotten.
Dancing with a man that seemed to be interested in her, however, was an entirely different matter.
She forced herself to give Mr. Tomlinson a small smile as the music struck up.
After all, how could he help it if he was the kind of man who charmed easily? People could not always help it if they were naturally witty or had a way with words.
Miss Everett was also quite a wit. Why should Georgiana judge Mr. Tomlinson but not Miss Everett?
She ought to give him a fair chance.
If nothing else, focusing on him would keep her from thinking about Captain Trentworth.
A part of her wondered if he saw her, hoped that he did, also hoped that he did not.
Then she realized that the dance was starting and she ought to not only move her feet but pay attention to her partner.
That was the thing about dances: they were not simply for the enjoyment of dancing itself, or music, or exercise.
Rather, they were a chance—one of the only chances—for men and women to converse uninterrupted and to get to know one another.
It wasn’t exactly private. There were other couples all around them. Anyone could overhear their conversation and oftentimes couples would interact with one another, and conversations would be shared between multiple couples.
But it was still one of the few places that a man and a woman could get to know one another and spend a great deal of time together.
And while conversations could be overheard or held by multiple couples, most couples were too busy being focused on one another. It was as close to private as one could get.
It made an excellent place for a man and a woman to get to know one another and see if they were suited for each other.
Georgiana waited for Mr. Tomlinson to start the conversation. Not that it was conventionally the job of the man to begin the conversation. But Georgiana had always been better at listening.
And Mr. Tomlinson struck her as the sort of man who conversed easily and was happy to start a conversation. It was probably best that she let him. Without making a fool of herself.
“How is it that you have never been to Bath until now, Miss Reginald?” Mr. Tomlinson asked.
As she suspected. He barely waited to take the first step before asking her.
Not that it was a bad thing. Georgiana wasn’t sure how to feel that he had conversation so readily at hand.
“I’m afraid I’ve been busy helping to run my family estate,” she said. It was true. After Mother’s death, it had fallen to Georgiana to help run the estate of Foreshire while Father handled his business and trained Edward in everything.
“Remarkable,” Mr. Tomlinson said. “I find it is a true sign of an intelligent woman if she can run an estate. Of course, so many young ladies still have their mothers alive. But I do wish that mothers would take more care to help their daughters learn.”
“It is unfortunate that my mother was taken from us at so young an age,” Georgiana replied. It had happened long enough ago that it no longer pained her. She could discuss it. “But it did give me an advantage in that respect.”
“I wish that someone had given me a bit more direction with my understanding of estates,” Mr. Tomlinson said. “I ought to find a wife who knows what she is doing in that respect. Being the third son, my father never bothered with that.
“But he did give me an excellent education in the classics. Latin and Greek and all that. It fostered in me a great love of books.”
“Well then, you will always find yourself with friends,” Georgiana replied. “I have found the easiest way of making acquaintances is to ask if anyone has read the latest novel. Or, barring that, ask everyone’s opinion on the Judgement of Paris.”
Mr. Tomlinson smiled, delighted. “And am I to understand that you have your own opinion on the subject?”
“I think that it says quite a lot about the folly of man,” Georgiana replied. “He gives up the things that would help him to live a long and happy life in favor of possessing a woman he does not even know, simply because she is beautiful.”
“Many men fall into the trap of wanting a beautiful
woman without looking for any other substance,” Mr. Tomlinson pointed out.
“I certainly hope that you are not that type, then, sir,” Georgiana said. “I should hope that you will have a happy marriage and not a frustrating one.”
“Well, I think that hopefully I shall be lucky enough to find a woman who is possessed of both brains and beauty.”
“My brother was so lucky, and so I think you can hold out hope that you will be as well.”