I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh scent that reminded me of the arbor in his garden.
Perhaps Gregory would be at the ball. Surely Daniel would have invited him, after Gregory had come all this way to ensure the lake project ran smoothly. It must be why he didn’t want me to see the guest list—he wanted it to be a surprise.
Tonight I would see Gregory. Tonight we would dance.
I shook my head. I shouldn’t want to dance with him. I’d been a wager.
But he’d confessed his feelings had changed from what they’d been at first. He was out to secure my affections.
Foolish man. They were already his.
With a smile so large I knew I looked ridiculous, I walked back to the house, rereading the note and twirling the rose between my fingers.
Forty-Three
My hair was pinned up, a curl cascading over my shoulder, the white rose from the barn worked into my chignon as the only adornment. My white gown with blue embroidery was buttoned and pinned tight enough to be modest, loose enough to allow movement. My new blue ribbon from Alice was secured around the raised waistline, accenting the embroidery just as Alice must have known it would. A dab of perfume scented my wrists and neck. I was ready.
A knock at my door announced my mother’s entrance. “The carriage is waiting.”
I grabbed the thin blue silk wrap off my bed, its color matching my dress and Alice’s ribbon perfectly, and made to leave.
My mother, looking exquisite in her own ivory gown with silver embroidered flowers sprinkled along its bodice, skirt, and hems, placed a hand on my shoulder. “James Johnson showed a great deal of interest in you the last time he visited. Perhaps tonight you might show him some deference?”
James? “Mother, he has no more interest in me than I do in him. I promise you.”
“Still, a ball is a wonderful place to change opinions.”
“Because that’s how you and father met?”
“Many couples meet at a ball.” Her gaze drifted to a place behind me. “I’ll never forget when your father asked me to dance. I had no desire to dance with him. There was another man I had my eyes on. But since refusing your father meant sitting out the rest of the dances, and the evening had just begun, I accepted. I don’t remember ever struggling so hard not to laugh as I did during that set. Your father kept up such a relentless conversation of witty jokes, I was afraid of snorting right in the middle of the ballroom.” She smiled to herself, then at me. “You look beautiful. Let’s just hope James notices.”
It was not for James that I’d taken such care with my appearance. For while my mother may have met her love at a ball, my heart had been sealed in a ballroom to the north, with mirrors lining the walls and where the promise of a waltz lay unfulfilled.
We bid goodbye to Alice and joined Daniel and my father in the carriage. When we descended at the Rosthorns’, it was to the glow of dancing flames lighting the drive and stairway. Daniel offered me his arm and we followed our parents in to where Sir Edward and Lady Rosthorn awaited us in the hall.
Every wall sconce in the house seemed to be lit, for there was hardly a shadow to be seen. The polished floor sparkled and the wood of the staircase gleamed. I glanced at Daniel to find him anxiously glancing upstairs, his own eyes a reflection of the dancing flames along the walls.
“Louisa has not yet descended,” Lady Rosthorn said by way of greeting.
“May I go up?” I asked. “She asked me to attend her.”
Daniel’s expression turned to a poorly-constructed mask of unconcern that did nothing to hide his jealousy.
“Of course,” Lady Rosthorn said. “She would be delighted.”
“My dear,” Sir Edward said in a hushed warning. He indicated the stairs with a few nods of the head.
I glanced up, but there was nothing there. Had Louisa expressed a desire for me not to join her?
Ridiculous. I smiled and climbed the stairs, turning at the last moment to blow Daniel a kiss. Louisa would soon be his, and this was perhaps that last time I could goad him where she was concerned.
As I rounded a corner, I almost slammed into a man. I took a quick step back before realizing the man before me was Edward. His hair was darker than it used to be and his eyes seemed a little more tired, but otherwise he had not changed.
It seemed obvious he would be here. Why had I not expected him?
This must have been why Daniel had flipped over the guest list. So I wouldn’t see Edward’s name on it.
Had he thought I wouldn’t come if I had known?
Did that mean there was a chance Gregory wasn’t invited after all?
“Margaret.” Edward inclined his head.
It wasn’t worth the effort to request he call me Miss Brinton. It would only have made him laugh and handed him a tool with which to rile me. “Mr. Rosthorn.” I dropped a quick curtsy.
“I was wondering if we would see you this evening.”
Surely he didn’t think I still pined for him, that I would stay away because he was in attendance. “I believe it is customary for the sister of the groom to attend the betrothal ball.”
He smiled. “I see you have not changed. I am glad of it.”
Seeing his smile and the casual way he assumed that his being glad I hadn’t changed would somehow please me made me realize just how little I cared for him now, no matter how much I had fancied myself in love with him in the past. Relief seeped through me, and also a twinge of pain—I missed Gregory. “Please excuse me. I am here for Louisa.”
“Certainly, though you really needn’t bother. Evelina is with her.”
And he’d brought his wife, too. How awkward it would be to interrupt Louisa and her sister-in-law.
Edward offered me his arm. “Allow me to escort you back downstairs.”
No. I would not take his arm. I was Louisa’s friend and soon-to-be sister-in-law. She had asked me to come. I wanted to be with her. “No, thank you.”
I made to step past him, but he blocked my path. “I don’t believe you ever had the opportunity to meet Evelina. Shall I introduce you?”
How had I ever cared for him? How had I not seen the shallowness of his person, the calculation of his every move? “I am certain I can manage.” I stepped around him, knocked on Louisa’s door, and entered without waiting for a reply.
“Louisa, I hope you don’t mind,” I said, closing the door, “but I—”
She stood, and every word I had meant to utter fled. Her hair hung in perfect golden ringlets around her face. Her dress gathered at the bodice and then fell in sweeping lines to the ground. The slim sleeves, slightly longer than those of most ball gowns, added the most enchanting touch, especially with her face flushed with color and her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“You look beautiful,” I whispered.
“Thank you.”
A lady rose from the chair next to Louisa. She had large, brown eyes and full lips, and she was much shorter than I had expected.
“Evelina, I do not believe you have yet met my friend Margaret.”
Evelina—Mrs. Rosthorn—curtsied. “It is a great pleasure to meet you.”
I liked the quiet sound of her voice, the small but friendly smile, the slight hesitation in her eyes, as though she was uncertain how she would be received. I returned the curtsy. “The pleasure is all mine.”