Grace could almost feel the heat of Frannie’s fury when Copper took Grace’s hand.
“Who’s that bloke with the camera over there?” Copper asked as they began a waltz.
Sam Whitcomb was turning the crank of a wooden cinematograph, filming the ballroom, much to the chagrin of the upper class. Aunt Clove looked disgusted.
“Oh. He publishes that gossip rag,” Grace said. “TheFair’s Fare.”
Copper’s eyes widened. “How vulgar. I’m surprised they let him in here.”
“You sound like my Aunt Clove.”
“That’s the first time anyone’s saidthatto me,” Copper said with asly grin. He tightened his grip on her waist. “Yet I have to agree with her. I wish he would leave.”
“So you saw the things he published about Earnest and the accident?” Grace ventured.
“Except he claimed it wasn’t one, didn’t he?” Copper rolled his eyes as they whirled around the room. There were glassmakers next to the bar, dipping crystal into ruby-red glass to form a thin layer on top, then scraping it off in delicate designs. Guests were lining up to request personalized images and initials. The enormous, brilliant cut-glass punch bowl at the room’s center refracted light in endless crystal patterns.
“Do you think it was… sabotage?” Grace asked. “Did someone really want to hurt Earnest?”
Copper’s expression darkened. “People are never more driven than when the future’s at stake.”
Grace eyed the crystal staining red, like blood. “The fair will bring out the best and the worst in people, then.”
“Earnest will be all right,” Copper said firmly. “His ego and dreams were bruised more than his body, and he won’t stop. I know, because I’ve been in the trenches with him. At school. In the crew boat. On his flying machine.” He shook his head. “No, Earnest will be just fine. This was just a setback.”
“His tenacity is admirable,” she said.
She turned and startled at the sight of the woman Theo had followed on to the Ferris wheel. She was very good at blending in. Her dress was plain, but she must have means if she was there that night. She was standing innocuously beside Frannie, who was sulking in the corner.
Heart pumping, Grace searched for Theo in the crowd. He was speaking to a man in tails, sipping his drink. When he looked up, she subtly nodded toward the mysterious woman.
His eyes widened.
“Thank you for the dance,” Grace said to Copper abruptly.
Copper understood the dismissal. “It was my pleasure. Enjoy the night, Miss Covington.”
She caught Theodore’s eye again and gestured toward the bar. He extricated himself from his conversation and sauntered toward her.
“Trouble in paradise?” he drawled. They looked to the dance floor, where Oliver and Harriet were dancing, and Harriet’s face was flushed, her striking eyebrows drawn together in a frown. They appeared to be arguing, and quite publicly, at that. “They seem to enjoy dancing as much as I do,” he added, and she smelled the cinnamon and woodsmoke.
“He was planning to propose,” Grace said. It felt like a relief, to share the burden of that secret. She fought a sudden desire to take his arm.
“Hopefully he didn’t,” Theo said. “Or else we’re witnessing an unpleasant aftermath.”
Grace didn’t want to admit that she was the cause of their argument. Instead, she lowered her voice. “Why is that strange woman here? Is she following us? It can’t be a coincidence.”
Theo sipped his drink. “No,” he agreed. “Certainly not.”
“Perhaps you should ask her to dance?”
He shot her a dirty look.
“She won’t be able to resist your legendary charm.”
“I think you’re more like your cousin Oliver than you realize,” Theodore retorted. “Somehow I’ve been relegated to do both of your bidding.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m much handsomer than my cousin Oliver,” she said.
