“Go ahead, darling,” Samuel said. “I know you want Mr. Moore to meet Father Patrick. Your mother and I will greet the remainder of our guests.”
Madeline’s encouragement was noticeably cooler than her husband’s. “Perhaps you’ll start the dancing as well. I think there are several couples who would like to begin.”
Lydia, who had already accepted Brig’s proffered arm, stood rooted to the floor at her mother’s suggestion. She could feel the tide of heat rushing to her face. Her mind worked furiously, searching for something to say that would extricate Brigham Moore from an obligatory offer. It came too quickly.
“I’d be honored, Miss Chadwick, if you’d allow me to partner you for the first dance.”
Wishing she were anywhere but where she was, Lydia forced a smile to her lips. “Of course.” She felt herself being led away and was grateful for her guest’s calm because she had none of her own. When they were out of earshot of her parents Lydia whispered, “I apologize for Mother. You needn’t feel that you have no choice but to dance with me.”
Brig halted in his tracks and bent his head slightly in Lydia’s direction. “I’m afraid I should be the one to apologize for taking shameless advantage of your mother’s suggestion.” He looked quickly around the ballroom. “There are a number of gentlemen here this evening without obvious partners. Perhaps there is one to whom you’d rather give the honor?”
At first she was taken aback, then Lydia’s tremulous smile brightened. She stopped biting her lower lip. “No…there’s no one,” she admitted, and added, “I’ve danced with all of them before.”
Brig’s tawny brows raised slightly, his handsome face full of good humor. “And none of them met your standards?” he asked. “That doesn’t bode well for me. I’m not very accomplished on the dance floor.”
“Oh, no…I didn’t mean…that is...” Her voice trailed off when she realized he was teasing her.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “You rise so beautifully to the bait that I can’t help but dangle my hook. Shall we?” He placed one hand on her waist and lifted his chin in the direction of the musicians warming up at the opposite end of the room. “I believe they’ll take their cue from you.”
Lydia raised her face to look up at her partner and take measure of his sincerity. He was tall and slim, square-jawed, and even-featured. There was something young in his smile, a youthful excitement that made his green eyes bright. There was eagerness and expectation in his stance. His head was tilted to one side and a lock of sandy hair had fallen across his forehead. By slow degrees, as if full realization was against her will, she acknowledged that she liked what she saw. Her solemn dark blue eyes widened a shade. “All right,” she said softly. She caught the attention of the leader of the small orchestra and nodded once. Almost immediately the room was filled with the heady, lilting strains of a Strauss waltz.
“What power,” Brig said as he turned Lydia gracefully about the ballroom.
“Pardon?” Was that her voice? she wondered. That breathless, slightly husky tone, did it really belong to her? He had lied about his skill in the dance, she thought distantly. He led her through the steps effortlessly.
“I was referring to the way you cued the orchestra. A regal nod from you and suddenly there’s music and laughter and dancing.”
“Regal?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so, Mr. Moore. My mother, perhaps, but not me.”
“At the risk of arguing, I’d like to point out that I’ve seen the queen.You,Miss Chadwick, were regal.”
Feeling more comfortable than she could ever have imagined, Lydia laughed. “Tell me about London, Mr. Moore, and how you came to see the queen...”
At the entranceto the ballroom Nathan’s hand was taken in a warm embrace. “Glad you could make it, Hunter,” Samuel said. “You’re the last guest to arrive. I was afraid you were going to stand me up. This is my wife, Madeline Chadwick. Madeline, Nathan Hunter. I invited him for the—”
“Poker game,” Madeline said, finishing his sentence. “Don’t apologize, Mr. Hunter. I assure you, I’m quite used to this. I had hoped my husband would partner me in one dance...”
Her voice fell away and she looked at Samuel with a sideways glance that was more suffering than amused.
“Oh, but...” Samuel began, looking quickly for his poker partners.
Nathan interjected. “Perhaps your husband would permit me the pleasure. I admit I enjoy holding a good hand at poker, but I enjoy holding a beautiful woman more.” Samuel looked as if he were about to object and Nathan shook his head, sweeping Madeline Chadwick into his arms and onto the floor. “Too late,” he told Sam over Madeline’s white shoulder.
Samuel shrugged good-naturedly. “I’m going to go mark the cards.” He disappeared into the hallway, making a brief stop in the dining room on his way to the library.
“So,what do you think of the plans, Mr. Moore?” Lydia asked. They were standing in a relatively quiet corner of the ballroom where Lydia had arranged the three-dimensional model of the proposed orphanage as well as the architect’s drawings on a table. “This will take the place of the mission Father Patrick’s using now. It’s been the site of the orphanage since fire destroyed the old one about a year ago. The mission was never really intended to house so many people, certainly not children, and is wholly inadequate to their needs.”
Brig casually rested one hip against the table and studied the model. “It’s quite an undertaking. I’m impressed that you want to offer so much to these children. There was nothing like this when I was growing up.”
“You make it sound like a lifetime ago.”
“I’m thirty-four, Miss Chadwick. Itwasa lifetime ago—your lifetime.”
Lydia extended her chin a notch, not flattered that he thought her so young. “I’m twenty, Mr. Moore.”
“I beg your pardon,” he said, setting his mouth so as not to betray his amusement. He was not entirely successful.
“Laugh if you will,” Lydia said. “I’m used to people not taking me seriously.”
