The music was loud. There was no one else nearby to overhear Michael’s words. His brows drew together. “Have you…are you…?”
Lilly cut him off with a nod of her head. “I have, and I am not.” She didn’t trust herself to say anything more. She didn’t trust herself to look at him again. She continued watching the couples dancing. She forced another polite smile.
Michael stood discreetly behind her.
“So, there is no…”
“There is no,” Lilly repeated firmly.
Michael cleared his throat. “Very well, then.”
His voice sounded husky, as though…he were…disappointed? She hadn’t expected that.
And then the dancing came to a halt, and the earl and his wife and Glenda and Joseph all crossed the room to join them. Wherever was Lady Natalie? Joseph’s parents were graciously thanking her and Aunt Eleanor for joining them in the reception line. The earl quite charmingly claimed a dance later on in the evening with Lilly. They were kind people.
Lady Ravensdale took Lilly by the arm and whisked her away to introduce her once again (because one simply cannot remember everyone one meets in a reception line) to her very best of friends. She hoped Lilly would work with her on some of her favorite charities.
Lilly considered inventing a dear friend of her own, one whom she could go visit for the rest of the summer somewhere south.
Her menses were seven days late. She had never been late before. Lilly did not feel any symptoms, however, as she remembered Rose had, so she continued to tamp down both her alternating terror and excitement. She had heard nerves could cause a woman to be late, and she had plenty of those.
After dancing the supper dance with Danbury, he escorted her into the dining room and seated them with the two engaged couples. Hawthorne had steered clear of them for nearly a month now, and they were hopeful they’d heard the last from him. Danbury graciously pulled out her seat and then excused himself to procure their plates. By this point, he knew all of her favorites and most of her aversions.
Lilly smiled at Lady Natalie. “You see,” she said, “Lord Danbury isn’t nearly the rake he is reputed to be. It’s like we’re an old married couple. He is an excellent escort on any excursion. He fetches me drinks, he carries my shopping bags, buys me ices, and lends me his coat.”
Lady Natalie merely shook her head. For some reason, she had decided Danbury was a reprobate and that Lilly was a fool to allow him near her.
Lilly took a sip of her champagne and listened as Lady Natalie and Glenda discussed wedding arrangements. It seemed Glenda and Joseph were considering a July wedding at the earl’s country seat near Bath. The Ravensdale children had spent most of their youth at Ravens Park, and Joseph considered it home. They would visit after Lady Natalie and the duke’s nuptials and make a final decision then. Although Natalie’s wedding was to be a grand affair, Glenda and Joseph were both in agreement on a simple ceremony followed by a tour of the continent during the fall. This suited Lilly perfectly, but it was difficult to hear about plans surrounding Michael’s wedding to another. It was beginning to look as though she was not going to be able to avoid attending. Perhaps she might be ill…?
Watching Michael, Lilly found, was bittersweet.
He was so close and yet, so very far away. These days his features were grim and serious, as though he were working out a problem.
He had grown into and become a very fine duke.
She knew he doubted himself and compared his efforts to what his brother might have done. As they’d walked around the lake, he’d admitted as much to her. But watching him and knowing the lengths he’d go to for the good of his tenants, for the good of the country, for that matter, she was certain his older brother and father would have been proud.
He exuded energy and a quiet power.
Michael was a good man.
He’d lived an honorable life. He didn’t live life on the edge as Danbury had. This was part of what she loved about him. He was kind to old ladies, wallflowers, and small animals. He would be a wonderful husband. He was going to make an excellent father someday. At this thought, she nearly gasped in pain. She experienced an urge to weep often these days. There would come a great relief after Glenda’s wedding. Lilly would be more than ready for the peace and solitude of that small cottage in her imagination. She had already contacted a land agent who was researching some options for her.
The last waltz of the evening was the one Michael had reserved. None of the guests had left early, for a Ravensdale ball was likely to be one of the highlights of the season. Nobody wished to miss a moment of it.
Her eyes followed his dark and commanding figure as he made his way across the room. His stride was relaxed and confident. Their eyes held as he stood before her. “I believe this is my dance?” He winged his arm toward her. And then he added, “My lady.”
“I told you?—”
“You’re nobody’s lady, I remember. Humor me.”
Shaking her head, Lilly reached her hand through the crook of his arm and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Once they stopped, he turned her to face him and placed one hand on her waist. He lifted her other hand to his lips before grasping it firmly. And then the music began.
The orchestra was one of the best in all of London, and the waltz they played was a slow and haunting tune. Michael led her confidently as the music rose and fell. She found it odd that it matched her emotions.
This dance would be her last.
It would be the last time he would hold her.
