Hoping he saw beauty where she saw flaws.
Had her hair curled as well as she’d wished? Were the ribbons and pearl combs going to improve her looks or take away from them? Did the shade of her gown complement her eyes?
Did any of this matter?
It was all a distraction, this fussing and preening. Graham had seen her with her hair tossed and down, windblown while on horseback, and he’d kissed her then. He had seen her in a plain day dress, hair in a simple chignon, and he had kissed her with passion.
He had held her in his arms without seeing what she was wearing and kissed her hair all the while.
Nèamh pray he might love her half as much as she loved him.
Heart thudding in her throat, Edith made her way to the ballroom, smiling as she caught sight of others milling about, the music not having begun. What in the world could anybody be waiting for?
There was as much glory in the ballroom as there had been the first ball of the party, but somehow, more magic. Every lady was dressed in somehow finer gowns than before, and every gentleman looked pristine in stark eveningwear. Candles were everywhere, and the gold detailing of the ceiling and walls positively sparkled.
It was enough to make one breathless in mere appreciation.
Edith looked around for something else she wished to appreciate, more specifically someone, but he was nowhere to be seen. He was the host, so he would be in attendance soon, and in the meantime, she could settle her nerves with her friends.
She smiled at other guests as she moved to Charlotte and Grace, both of whom praised her appearance enough to settle her.
Amelia looked forlorn as she stood apart from them, her attention on her gloves, though the rose-colored gown did lend her cheeks more color than they had in them naturally. Edith sighed as she watched her friend, noticing that she brightened the moment someone spoke to her, in an attempt to disguise her hurt. Somehow, it seemed wrong to be so full of hope, love, and joy when Amelia was feeling the loss of them.
Grace and Charlotte suddenly grew silent, their eyes widening.
Edith frowned at them. “What is it?”
Charlotte clamped down on her lips, giggling softly, and indicated Edith turn around.
Edith did so, her breath catching, heart pounding. As she had hoped, Graham stood there, more elegant, refined, and handsome than any other man in heaven or on earth. His eyes raked slowly down the length of her, then back up, and anyone looking at him would know his regard for Edith.
There was no mistaking it now.
He bowed, holding out his hand, and murmured, “Will you take the waltz with me, Lady Edith?”
A few people nearby gasped, no doubt from his suggesting the waltz, and others that he would open the ball with her, of all ladies.
Edith could have professed her love for him then and there, but for the sudden impulse to tease him.
She tilted her head in an almost coy fashion. “A waltz, my lord? Do ye no’ find the waltz rather distasteful?”
Grace snickered next to her, and Amelia grinned beside her.
Graham, however, continued to look only at Edith, his hand still outstretched. “I do, Lady Edith, under usual circumstances. But it is my personal opinion that the right sort of partner could make the waltz a glorious thing. If I am proven right in this, I shall have no qualms about dancing every waltz at every event with that precise partner.”
More gasps echoed, and Edith’s cheeks flamed in embarrassed pleasure. It was nearly a proposal, and there was no mistaking it.
Her knees quivered, but she had promised to tease him, and she aimed to do so. “And you are under the impression that I could be such a partner for you, my lord?” she inquired, unable to keep the smile from her face.
His mouth curved into a dangerous half-smile. “I am quite assured of your suitability, Lady Edith. I will have no other. Now, will you waltz with me?”
Heart fluttering, Edith put her hand in his and let him lead her out into the middle of the room.
“Now, Edith,” he murmured as he took her waist in hand, raising their arms over their heads, “we will waltz.” He paused, tilting his head from side to side. “Again,” he added.
“Without me pushing you,” she reminded him as she placed her hand on his back, her fingers rubbing the fabric.
Graham smiled at her and dipped just a bit closer. “Yet you did render me without words once more. A pattern, I think, is being established.” He exhaled softly, shaking his head as the music began. “A full waltz with you, Edith. I can think of nothing so close to perfection.”
Edith sighed and was swept into the movements of the waltz, Graham’s steps sure and his hold strong. She couldn’t look anywhere but his eyes, couldn’t believe she had lived any moment before this.
He smiled then, as if he knew something amusing that she did not.
“Tell us your secrets, then,” Edith encouraged, delighted by such a smile.
“I was thinking,” he mused in a low voice, “that I just might find myself becoming a dancer after this.”
Edith laughed at the image that presented. “Graham, why have you only ever danced with two other women before me? You do it so well.”
He seemed to shrug as they turned in a great swell with the music. “I never found any other reason to. If I was to make a fool of myself, it had better have been worth my while.”
“And this is?” she asked with an impertinent tilt to her head.
The look he gave her was a kiss in and of itself. “I don’t know that anything has ever been more worth my while than this.”
Edith bit down on her lip to hold back a whimper of the most pleasant distress, longing to fly away from this room and these people, to just be with him and no one else.
Graham’s eyes drifted down to the exact place where her lip puckered beneath her teeth. When they returned to her eyes, the intensity pulled her closer to him, the hand at her waist sliding further around, anchoring her there as much as any dance could allow.
She’d have gone closer if she could have.
And then, far too quickly, the waltz was finished, and the respectability of their proximity could not last.
“Graham…” Edith whispered as their hands lowered, fingers lacing.
He brought her hand to his lips, lingering in a manner that made Edith shiver. “Save me the supper set, sweetheart. I want to spend as much time with you as I can.”
“You can have them all, mo chridhe,” Edith breathed, knowing he wouldn’t understand the endearment, but needing to say it.
As if he knew, he kissed her hand again, before returning her to Grace and Charlotte, neither of whom had words for her, though both took her hands.
The ball proceeded another hour or so without much fuss, Edith dancing with Henshaw, Aubrey, Tony, Francis, and Sebastian. Graham danced with her friends as well, but nothing made Edith happier than watching him dance with Amelia. She smiled more brightly than Edith had seen her do in months, and Graham was doing it for her.
If Edith hadn’t loved him before, she certainly did now.
Suddenly, there was a ruckus at the front of the ballroom, disrupting the music and the dance. Edith grabbed Georgie’s arm, fearing the worst for herself, and for Graham.
Then, through the crowd, came a man dressed too casually for a ball, breathing as if he were desperately winded, and his eyes scanned the entire company eagerly.
As soon as Edith could see his face, she gasped and released Georgie’s arm, turning to her other side, where Amelia had gone very still, her eyes wide.