They arrived at the ices store, and Barbara shared the treats with everyone. Selina was thankful for the distraction and took her snack eagerly.
“Speaking about Morgan,” the dowager said to Selina. “You know, for the longest time I’ve been speaking to him about getting married. I do believe he has a fine chance of meeting a match at the ball tomorrow.”
“Hmm?” Selina said, pretending not to hear and swallowing a mouthful of ice. She crunched on it loudly, and it gave her an excuse not to show just how upset she was at the mention of Morgan getting married.
The dowager was looking right at her though, with her curious eyes. Selina smiled at her, but deep down she wondered why the dowager had thought about marriage at all.
She dismissed the thought, pulling her scarf over her head. She was still out in the open after all, and she didn’t know who might be watching her. She couldn’t afford to get careless thinking about things that had little to no importance.
Selina hunched over in her seat and continued eating her shaved ice, pointedly ignoring the dowager, who was watching her with a knowing smile.
CHAPTER19
“Oh dear! Your Grace, the last time I saw you, you looked so little! Look at you now!”
Morgan made an effort to smile, searching desperately in his mind for the name of the dowager’s friend. He was sure he had seen her at some point, but as she said, that was over a decade ago.
“You’re not wrong,” another one of his grandmother’s friends chimed in from behind him. “I remember him running through the gardens. And now, he looks like a giant.”
Morgan ducked his head slightly in acknowledgment. The Dowager Duchess’s friends created a ring around him, and spoke simultaneously as they recollected how he used to look as a young boy.
Morgan turned to his grandmother pleadingly and she smiled mischievously in reply. The fussing and attention he was getting was making him feel very uncomfortable. He felt like an exotic animal from the plains of Africa on display at some fancy zoo.
Remind me never to follow you to a ball again, he thought as he scowled at his grandmother. The dowager, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying Morgan’s predicament.
“Tell me, my dear boy,” the first woman spoke over the fussy chatter. “How come you always make yourself scarce during the Season? Dare I say, you’re one of the most eligible men on this side of the English Channel. And yet, none of the lovely women who gossip endlessly about you seem to find you when the time comes.
Speaking of, I have someone to introduce to you. She’s my goddaughter, and a most pleasant woman. Trust me, Your Grace, you will find her to be quite breathtaking. Now, if only I can find her…”
The woman locked her arm in Morgan’s and craned her neck this way and that, looking for her goddaughter in the crowd.
Morgan was convinced his grandmother had put this woman up to the task. Of late, she had made it a habit of droning in his ears about how he wasn’t getting any younger and the importance of settling down early.
That was the main reason he avoided the Season when he could. There was always some matron who had the perfect match for him. He found it exhausting constantly having women presented to him like a wealthy man at an auction house.
Thankfully, his grandmother, seeing his discomfort, came to his rescue. “All right Elizabeth, that’s quite enough. Now is not the time. Perhaps, we could have tea sometime, and you could bring your girl? We still have some time in London yet.”
“Wonderful!” the lady exclaimed. She let go of Morgan’s arm, to his relief, and he wasted no time folding his hands behind his back.
While the dowager and her friends spoke, he scanned the room. The whole evening, he had tried to look for her without being rude or distant to his grandmother and her friends.
Now, he saw her. Selina looked gorgeous in her light blue dress, with the hem a deeper shade, and white gloves. She looked glorious and regal, and Morgan was awestruck by her.
The voices of the women around him dissipated like mist on a sunny day, and the room seemed to melt away for all Morgan could tell. All he saw was Selina, bright like a lone star on a dark, cold night.
Ever since he figured out his true feelings for her, he had started to see her in a true light. He felt his heart beat faster just from watching her, and a physical pull towards her. A desire to be with her. That desire ravaged his insides, setting him on fire.
And then, out of nowhere, Arthur entered the picture, breaking Morgan’s trance. The sound from the chattering women came back with a rush into Morgan’s ears, and activity resumed all over the ballroom.
For what seemed like an eternity to Morgan, time had stopped. He had no idea how long it lasted, but it had felt beautiful, perfect. That was until he had seen Arthur walk up to Selina.
A frown creased Morgan’s face as he watched Arthur bow elaborately, in his usual flirtatious way, to Selina. He took a sip from his drink, not wanting to be caught leering at the pair.
Morgan had received a note that morning, informing him that Arthur would be joining him and his family in London after all. From the look of things, Arthur had barely arrived in London, just in time for the ball.
While he knew Arthur planned to attend the ball, he had not thought about how charming Arthur would plan to be around Selina. Watching her smile and converse freely with Arthur, Morgan felt hot with jealousy.
Selina, who had seemed a little tense the whole time, finally started to relax the more she spoke with Arthur. Whatever he was saying to her, it was working.
