The momentary lull seemed filled with a collective oddity. Instinct told Raoul the girl’s identity was universally questioned. The increase of candlelight upon her face showed a wash of colour momentarily drowning the freckles. Then she put up her chin and it faded again. Raoul was conscious of a prick of admiration.
“Now then, gentlemen. Who will offer the first bid for Miss Felicity Temple?”
Confronted with the battery of eyes under the dazzle of the huge chandelier, Felicity struggled to keep her countenance. Her pulse, already awry, bumped so uncomfortably in her chest she feared she might lose her senses. She had only fainted once in her life, but the memory of waking to confusion stiffened her spine. She must not swoon in this assembly.
She hardly heard the man who was asking for bids. She scanned the faces, looking for the one she knew. Or at least she knew it well enough after this short week to be able to recognise Mrs Sprake, even in this motley crowd. The creature had promised she would not be far away. Felicity had not seen her guardian either for at least an hour. Where was he?
“Five guineas, sir!”
Felicity’s stomach lurched. Heavens, someone was bidding!
“Ah, thank you, Mr Finglesham, a fine beginning.”
Her mind flittered in tune with her uneven heartbeat. Five guineas? A poor start, rather. Others had begun at ten. Even fifteen for the blonde beauty. Sophia, was it? Still, it was more than was offered for the poor girl who had preceded her. Not that it mattered a jot. What in the world was she doing here?
“Come now, gentlemen, no hanging back,” came the auctioneer’s encouraging tones. “Who will raise Finglesham’s stake for the lovely Miss Temple?”
Lovely? Felicity bit back the threat of hysterical laughter. Or no, why? It meant nothing. He had said the same for all. Different words.Delightful? Yes, a dark girl had been delightful. Oh, and that Sophia wasdelectable.
“Seven guineas!” A different voice.
Felicity caught sight of a chubby countenance, grinning from a coterie of young people. Oh, heaven help her, she would go mad in a minute!
“My lord Abinger enters the lists. Excellent, sir.”
“Ten!”
Felicity looked quickly back to the first bidder who had countered. An ordinary face. Nothing remarkable or frightening about it. Her alarm lessened a trifle. She might manage to fend him off if he pried too closely.
“Now you are talking, gentlemen.” The auctioneer gestured to the new bidder. “Don’t let her slip through your fingers for a mere ten, Abinger.”
Mere? Ten guineas? A fortune! Not that Felicity would receive a penny of it. As far as she could see, no money changed hands. Each winning gentleman took his prize to a table at the side and wrote a chit. She had watched it happen during the long wait, desperate for any distraction from anxiety. Had Lord Maskery known all this? Could he not have warned her? Where had he got to?
“Twelve guineas!”
Her gaze darted back to the chubby-faced creature, who was laughing as the company about him encouraged him with both word and gesture.
“Go to it, old fellow!”
“An intriguing prize, if you can get her.”
Catching the murmur, Felicity felt the warmth leap into her face. Intriguing? Dear heaven, if they knew the truth! She should never have consented. She should have stayed at the academy where she was safe. Dull, yes. But secure at least. This was fast turning into a nightmare. Where in the world was Mrs Sprake? All the other duennas or mothers had watched over their charges while they took their turn.
“Fifteen!”
“Sixteen!”
“Sixteen and a groat!”
“Sixteen and sixpence!”
Laughter rang in Felicity’s ears as the vying gentlemen fell into a ridiculous game, raising the stakes by a few pence each time. They shifted out of their spheres, moving to confront one another, taunting bids at each other face to face. It ceased to be about Felicity at all, and she breathed more easily. If only she could slip away right now. But that would make her even more conspicuous, raise more questions.
When they reached seventeen, the auctioneer intervened.
“Enough jollification, gentlemen! Come, we have more young ladies to put up. Let us have a solid bid, sirs.”
The two fellows laughed, and the chubby one cuffed the other on the shoulder.
