He shrugged hisshoulders under my hands. ‘I’m telling you the truth, Mrs Fitzroy. I live in Hartmoor Castle when I am not in Bath or London for the Season. It is a hulking draughty pile of stones, but it is home.’
‘Gracious,’ I said, a bit awestruck in spite of myself. ‘I’ve never met anyone who lived in a castle before.’
We transitioned into circling then, so he could not reply but did so when we were back together.
‘And how long are you staying in Bath for, Mrs Fitzroy?’ he enquired.
I had wished to hear more about the castle, but it seemed he did not wish to speak of that any longer. Very well.
‘Six weeks,’ I replied.
‘Marvellous. Then I hope we will meet again.’
I gave a polite nod, unsure if I should agree to this or not.
The dance ended. Mr Hart removed his hands from my waist, and I from his shoulders, and we clapped politely. I thought he would bow as was expected, but he held out his hand for me to shake.
Bemused, I placed my gloved hand in his own.
‘It was most enjoyable to meet you, Mrs Fitzroy,’ he murmured, gazing at me.
Before I knew what was happening, he drew my hand up to his lips and placed a quick kiss on my fingers. It was unexpected, and I snatched my hand out of hisgrasp immediately. Even though his lips had not touched my skin, a thrum of traitorous desire reverberated in my stomach.
‘Good evening, Mr Hart.’ Without looking at him, I hurried to the bench, collected my reticule, and headed in the direction of the tea room. I resisted the temptation to look round as I was sure the man would be watching me with laughter in his eyes.
Oh, Mr Hart was trouble with a capitalT, and Lucinda was not the only one who should stay away from him!
Feeling hot and flustered, I entered the tea room, which was situated next door to where the dancing was held. This room was cooler, and the array of tables neatly laid with white linen tablecloths and the people decorously drinking tea calmed me considerably.
In saying that, there was no tea drinking at the table Elizabeth, Jane, and Lucinda were ensconced at, although there was a teapot and cups. They all looked rather disgruntled, in fact.
‘Flissy, there you are,’ said Jane upon seeing me. I pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘Is everything all right?’ she enquired curiously when I extracted my scented handkerchief from my reticule to dab my perspiring forehead. I considered using my fan to cool down as well, but that might look suspicious.
‘Yes, quite,’ I said. ‘It was rather warm in the dance room.What is happening here?’
‘We were discussing if we should collect Edward and leave shortly as we are all rather tired. It has been a busy day.’
‘I am not tired, though,’ said Lucinda somewhat petulantly, folding her arms.
‘We have been explaining to Lucy about Mr Hart,’ said Elizabeth carefully. ‘And that it may not be wise to associate with him based on what Mrs Spencer has said.’
‘Forgive me, but I think that is most unfair,’ said Lucinda stiffly. ‘Mr Hart has been a perfect gentleman to me, both at the pump room and just now when I was dancing with him. You have taken one spiteful mother’s opinion and believed it wholly without even giving him the chance to defend himself!’
Elizabeth and Jane looked at me expectantly, and I knew that they had tried their best to make her see reason, but she was resisting it because she liked him a lot and did not want to hear a bad word said about him. So now I had to try.
‘That is true, Lucy,’ I said gently. ‘But in this case, where there is smoke, there is usually fire.’ (Heat was still emanating from where his hands had touched my waist, so I certainly knew what I was talking about.) ‘I am sure there are numerous other young gentlemen who would be more than happy to make your acquaintance. Besides, your mama would want you to get to know as manygentlemen as possible in the time we are here rather than narrow your focus to one so soon in the piece, as then you will be able to compare them more objectively. Someone who appears to be a perfect match on the first or second meeting may on the third show a deplorable tendency to let off wind.’
I thought this was rather a good speech and light-hearted too as Jane giggled. But Lucinda only scowled. She opened her mouth to say more on the subject. But at that moment, Edward came hobbling into the tea room on his crutches, looking for us. Elizabeth told him we were more than ready to take our leave. With that, we exited the rooms and flagged a hackney to take us the three minutes back to Queen Square, whereupon Lucinda flounced to her room in a huff. Jane and I retired to our room silently after bidding the others good night.
I was a touch concerned about Lucinda’s behaviour but hoped she was just tired and would be back to her sweet self tomorrow. As for myself, I felt I had done what I had been asked to do—namely prevent Mr Hart from entering the tea room. But in doing so, I had somehow caught his attention.
All I could do was hope that he would forget our meeting and not pursue any further acquaintance with myself or any of our party.
PART TWO
The Chaperone’s Dilemma
Chapter 7
