“I am not so certain of that, Lady Wentworth, but I shall take your advice and not concern myself with such details.”
She laughed with pleasure. “Do give my regards to your mother.”
“She arrived in town just three days ago.”
“Then I will call tomorrow. Good evening, Your Grace, and good luck to you.”
Damien bowed then turned to leave, once again leaning heavily on his cane that there might be no insistence that he dance. He waved to Emerson, though he was not at all convinced that man noticed, and left his friend in Eliza’s company.
Truly, he could not regret the prospect of another encounter with the formidable and beautiful Miss Esmeralda Ballantyne. That she almost certainly despised him for his part in her arrest would only add a certain fire to their encounter. How would he convince her to forgive him for his error? Would she confide the location of Jacques Desjardins? Damien would do anything to ensure her safety and only hoped he could convince her of it.
The lady, he knew, was not inclined to accept a claim simply because it had been uttered aloud. Damien would persuade her, one way or the other.
Indeed, he was so intent upon his quest that he forgot to limp as he approached his waiting carriage.
Of course, Nicholas would be present to witness Eliza’s first failure in defending the chastity and reputation of his sister.
And as a result, what should have been a wondrous experience—that of dancing a waltz with Nicholas—could not be savored because of her wretched responsibilities.
That those were duties she had willfully undertaken, and done as much in order to spend more time with Nicholas, was vexing indeed.
Eliza’s luck was unfailingly bad on this particular evening, even without the realization that Mr. Galveston clearly intended to continue to pursue his suit.
Who was Helena’s partner?
Nicholas tightened his grip slightly on Eliza’s hand, drawing her attention back to him. “I know we are mere allies in the matter of Helena’s future, but my pride will suffer great indignity if you spend the entire dance watching my sister.” He lifted a brow when she met his gaze and Eliza knew he would tease her. “Or perhaps the gentleman is the object of your fascination.”
“You must know something of him,” Eliza said worriedly.
Nicholas spared the man in question a glance over her shoulder. “His tailor is excellent. His valet might be indifferent, as I fancy he could have encouraged a brighter gloss from his boots.” He sobered. “It may in fact be a question of the age of the boots themselves, and given their condition, no greater gloss may be had.” His gaze locked with hers, a wayward twinkle in their depths. “I should require a closer inspection to be sure, and there are much more pleasant occupations than a scrutiny of any gentleman’s boots.”
Eliza found herself smiling. “Do you dare to confide the nature of these other temptations?”
“If I did, you would surely be astonished.” He eased closer to the couple in question and cleared his throat with vigor before Eliza could ask. “Helena, I trust you are enjoying your waltz.”
“Nicholas!” The maiden in question jumped in a most satisfying way.
Nicholas spun Eliza out of his embrace, but continued to support her hand as he surveyed the other man with obvious expectation. “I do not believe we have been introduced.”
Helena gave him a poisonous glance but moved away from her partner dutifully. That man did not manage to immediately hide his irritation. “Nicholas, this is Mr. Ethan Melbourne. We met last season before he was called away to his family home. Mr. Melbourne, this is my brother, Captain Emerson, recently returned from the Continent, and Mrs. North, who is kindly escorting me this evening.”
Bows were made and pleasantries exchanged as the dancers swirled behind them. Helena fairly tapped her toe in her obvious urge to step back into her partner’s embrace.
Nicholas had other plans, to Eliza’s relief. “I have been advised, Helena, that it is not appropriate for you to dance a waltz with a man to whom you are not engaged or otherwise related, which means we shall be obliged to change partners.”
“But...”
“The next is an allemande,” Eliza said, as if that would reassure the girl. “As you do not have a commitment as yet, perhaps Mr. Melbourne would be your partner.”
Mr. Melbourne, clearly seeing his lack of options, bowed. “I should not dream of bringing any taint upon Miss Emerson,” he said. “I was simply overcome with delight to see her again and would have escorted her to whatever dance they played.”
“Of course,” Nicholas said, offering his hand to his sister. Her eyes flashed and her smile was a little bit tight, but she ceded—and Eliza found herself dancing with Mr. Melbourne.
They danced in silence for some moments, a perfectly decorous distance between them. In contrast, Nicholas had already prompted Helena’s laughter. Mr. Melbourne’s interest was clearly in his former partner and he did not even trouble to make conversation.
Eliza cleared her throat. “How pleasant that you should encounter an acquaintance again so early in the season.”
“Indeed, I was very pleased to see Miss Emerson. She is an excellent dancer.” He turned them so that he could watch Helena and smiled at the view.
