Lady Ball was in a dark, steely gray, but Mrs. Beaumont was in white. It was a very simple design, however, and she wore a large and lovely black lace shawl over it and pearl and jet ornaments.
“White was the color of mourning, you know,” she said as she took a seat in the box. “And people understand that the White Dove never wears colors, not even on the stage. You’re fortunate, Lady Dauntry. Dark colors frame you. White would never suit.”
“What’s it like to be on the stage, looking out at so many people,” Kitty asked, “all expecting wonders from you?”
The actress grinned. “I love it, especially when the play’s a good one. The response flows back from the audience to the actors. It’s a heady brew. Of course, if the play isn’t good, we’re more likely to get rotten fruit.”
“Truly?”
“Never for me these days. I choose my parts carefully.”
“And Blanche is much loved,” Lady Ball said. “Are you enjoying your time in London, Lady Dauntry?”
The ladies had been given the front seats, and Kitty was to the right of the other two. “I am very much. But I lived here for eight years until my husband died.”
“Ah yes,” Lady Ball said. “He was a hero, sadly left crippled. I give thanks daily that the war is over.”
“Amen,” Kitty said.
The Earl of Charrington arrived then, and Kitty was struck by his effortless elegance. He rivaled Braydon in that, but in a subtly different manner. He kissed her hand in a way she found just a little flowery.
When he turned to speak to Braydon, Kitty leant close to Mrs. Beaumont. “Is he foreign?”
“Clever of you. No, but he was raised and mostly lived abroad until recently. His friends tease him about his Continental ways. Did you ever hear of Sebastian Rossiter?”
“The poet? He’s not him, is he?” Kitty looked at the suave earl in astonishment.
Mrs. Ball almost choked on laughter. “Never. But he married Rossiter’s widow, his ‘Angel Bride,’ if you’re familiar with that poem. Judith’s a lovely woman, but you wouldn’t expect the match. She’s very down to earth. We’d love to see more of her, but she prefers country life.”
An unexpected match. Kitty’s marriage could be seen as that, and if the Charringtons’ had worked out well, she’d take it as a good omen.
“Do you pine for copse and pasture?” she asked.
“Only on stage,” the actress said with a chuckle. The curtain rose, and she added, “There’s a farce first. A rollicking bit of nonsense, or so they say.”
The plot was quite ridiculous, but Kitty was instantly enthralled by the action on the stage. She was sucked into the events there as if she were watching real people through a window. She worried as Captain Tickall was chased by bailiffs and Captain Wingem by the law, even though she didn’t approve of debt or dueling. She gasped in shock but couldn’t help laughing when the rascals persuaded two honest wives to help them escape by telling the pursuers that they were their husbands.
The farce ended in an “all’s well that ends well” manner, and the curtain came down for the first intermission. Kitty tried to pretend carelessness, but Braydon said, “I think you enjoyed that.”
She plied her fan. “It was silly stuff, but very well done.”
“And I can’t help thinking,” he said softly, “that it’s no more ridiculous than my business.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “You think the princes weren’t the princes at all?”
He groaned. “Don’t toss that speculation into the stew!”
Edward was serving wine and cakes from his place at the back of the box. A German gentleman came in to greet the Earl of Charrington as a long-lost friend, and they left to stroll the corridor together. Then Sir Francis Burdett came and sat with Ball to talk politics. Kitty knew he was one of the fiercest reforming members of Parliament.
Lady Ball murmured, “Can we never escape politics?” but with a wry smile.
Braydon went to join them.
He had a seat in the House of Lords, whether he wanted it or not, but was he inclined toward reform? That could be dangerous, as it so often seemed to involve gatherings and riots, and then military action to keep the peace.
“Is something amiss?” Mrs. Beaumont asked.
“Politics,” Kitty said with a wry smile.
