Della nudged Annabelle, who nudged her a bit harder in return, as if to say,Yes, yes, I already saw.
When the dance ended, gentlemen flocked to the liquor counters and purchased glasses of what looked to be beer and gin, often turning these over to their dance partners, who drank without restraint. Della couldn’t stop staring. Ladies could do whatever they wanted here! Why hadn’t she discovered this place sooner?
A few of the couples made their way back upstairs to rest after the song and Lord Ashton grew nervous again. “That’s enough, let’s go back to the alcove. It’s darker there.”
Della had seen enough to have satisfied her curiosity and moved to obey, though Annabelle ignored them.
“Leave her a little longer,” Della murmured. “She looks well enough like a boy in her suit. No one will give her a second glance.”
Lord Ashton frowned but said nothing, which she took for agreement.
“Might we have something to drink?” she ventured to ask. Her fan wasn’t as effective combating the heat as she’d hoped. “What’s that icy thing those people have got?”
“Sherry cobbler. It’s an American cocktail. I’ll buy one for you if you like. They aren’t too strong. Only you must give me your word you won’t wander astray while I’m gone.”
“You speak as if I were a cat rather than a person,” Della noted.
“You’re certainly as ungovernable as one,” he muttered, though there was a reluctant twitch at the corner of his lips. This seemed a victory.
Lord Ashton withdrew to the adjacent liquor counter and returned a moment later with two sherry cobblers. When he reclaimed his spot on the divan, he set the second one before Annabelle’s vacant seat rather than his own.
“Thank you. Don’t you want anything?”
“I don’t drink,” he said simply.
Della was so astounded, he might have knocked her over with a feather.Everyonedrank, save the teetotalers. The question was only whether a gentleman drank in moderation or to excess.
Goodness, was Lord Ashton a teetotaler?
How did such a man write a guidebook full of amusements?
Della tried not to let her shock show plainly, though she wasn’t sure she succeeded. She took a sip of her drink to give her face something to do besides make unwanted expressions. The sherry cobbler was both sweet and tart, but she refrained from telling Lord Ashton how much she enjoyed it, given his most recent revelation. Best to find a safer subject of conversation.
“Have you been here often?”
“Only once or twice,” Ashton replied. “I needed to see what all the fuss was about once it opened, but I can’t waste my time here every night.” After a small pause, he added, “Though I’ll own the music is excellent.”
He was right about that. There was nothing like music to unite a group of strangers in common feeling. Della’s thoughts were already leaping to plans for Bishop’s. They couldn’t fit anywhere near this many musicians on their premises, of course, but perhaps a string quartet would elevate the atmosphere…
Oh dear, she was neglecting their conversation to follow her own train of thought. And just when Lord Ashton had dropped some of his usual reserve. She could almost imagine they were old friends catching up.
“What sort of place do you prefer to frequent?” Della asked hastily. He didn’t gamble. He didn’t drink. He didn’t attend casinos or dancing halls. What was his pleasure, then? “How do you like to spend your time when you aren’t working on your books?”
When Lord Ashton replied, his tone was crisp and businesslike once more. Perhaps she’d lost her moment. “I don’t leave myself much time to be idle. I devote my days to my writing, and I sit in the House of Lords when the debate is important. I make time to visit a few close friends, but I don’t see the point of drinking and dancing all night.”
Della shouldn’t have been surprised by this, but somehow she was.
“You mean to say you don’t even attend house parties here in town?” She’d wondered why she’d never seen him before their first meeting at Verey’s, for she used to attend all the major events of the season before she’d begun devoting herself to Bishop’s. She’d presumed that a peer might run in a more exclusive circle than hers, even if the Danby family’s wealth was enough to make them welcome in most houses. “Not even a country ball?”
“I don’t have time for such things.” Those lovely green eyes of his had grown guarded. She’d touched a sore spot somehow, without meaning to. If only Lord Ashton would let her understand him, it might be easier to navigate his moods.
“It doesn’t sound as if you leave yourself any time for fun,” she observed.
“Fun?” He said the word as if he harbored great suspicion for it.
“Yes. It’s something people do to enjoy their lives and replenish their energy.”
“In my experience, the selfish pursuit of pleasure only leads toheartbreak. Men gamble away their fortunes, or drink to excess and make fools of themselves, betray their wives, or even get themselves killed at racing or dueling on occasion. Far from replenishing their energy, self-indulgence makes them useless for anything but further self-indulgence.”
