The two gentlemen walked back across the ballroom to the place where they had left the ladies—but Isabella and Felicity weren’t there.
Arthur frowned. “Where could they have gone?” he asked. “We told them we would meet them back here.”
“Don’t look now, but I see the answer to your question,” Taylor said, inclining his head toward the dance floor.
Arthur did look—he couldn’t help himself. Sure enough, there she was in the arms of a gentleman he didn’t recognize, beaming up at him. “Who is that?” he demanded.
“Lord Hussington,” Taylor said. “A very kind fellow. I’m sure he’s showing her a good time.”
“And what gives him the right to do that?”
“You weren’t doing it,” Taylor said gently. “And this is a ball. Shouldn’t she be able to enjoy herself? She ought to dance with someone if you’re not going to dance with her.”
“You make it all sound perfectly reasonable.”
“Well, I think it is,” Taylor said. “I did warn you that you had made a mistake by not dancing with her when you had the opportunity. You can hardly complain that she’s found someone else.”
Arthur felt the scowl on his face and didn’t bother to fight it.
“Don’t worry yourself about it,” Taylor said. “It’s one dance, and when it’s over, they’ll go their separate ways.”
“And no doubt someone else will ask her to dance. She’s the most beautiful lady here.”
“Forgive me, Arthur, but you didn’t think of this before you brought her here tonight?” Taylor asked. “Didn’t it occur to you that she would wish to dance and that she would find people who wished to dance with her?”
“I suppose so,” Arthur said, “but it’s different seeing it.”
“You’re falling for her,” Taylor observed.
“Perhaps…more than I thought I would,” Arthur admitted. “I didn’t think that I would care as much as I do when I saw things like this. I thought I would be able to look the other way.”
“You’d be within your rights to tell her she’s not permitted to dance with anyone else, you know,” Taylor said, observing him.
“But how could I do that when I know it’s what she wants?” Arthur asked. “You’ve never cared for a lady the way I care for her, Taylor.”
“It’s true. I’ve never felt anything like what you seem to be feeling. But what do you mean? What’s your concern?”
“I couldn’t possibly take away something that’s bringing her joy,” Arthur explained. “Not unless I had to.”
They stood and watched as Isabella and Lord Hussington spun around and around in time to the music. The smile on Isabella’s face was so lovely that Arthur knew he could never be the person who took it away—no matter how envious it made him feel to see her in the arms of another gentleman.
And Taylor was right. Thiswasa ball, after all. He had known what would happen when he had brought her here. Of course, she had found someone to dance with. And that was a good thing.
With a sigh, he turned away.
“Just dance with her next,” Taylor said. “She’s your wife. That’s all you have to do.”
But it wasn’t that simple, and Arthur knew it. If he could have simply danced with Isabella without risking becoming too emotionally involved, he would have, but he didn’t trust himself to be able to do that.
He had to keep his distance. It was the only sensible thing to do—for his own sake, and for hers as well. Because he didn’t want to give her false hope. He didn’t want to let her believe that the two of them could ever be anything more than they were right now.
Even if he was starting to wish that they could.
CHAPTER 23
“You’re very quiet,” Isabella observed as the three of them rode home. “Didn’t you have a nice time at the ball?”
Arthur looked over at her. Isabella wondered whether the sarcasm in her voice was too obvious. She had meant to be somewhat subtle about it, but perhaps she hadn’t managed. Shewasangry, and maybe she had allowed her anger to show through.
