Clarissa grasped Etta’s arm. ‘Not now! Lord Stanhope is approaching! He’s a friend of your brother’s, isn’t he?’
Etta saw him immediately. He was like something hot off the pages ofVogueorGQ. His hair shone in the candlelight and his immaculate clothes only accentuated his masculinity. It was his expression, though, that was most arresting. Etta thought his eyes might bore into her very soul.
It was exciting and thrilling and slightly too intense. Did he not realise she was halfway through an existential crisis? She felt irrationally cross with him, then looked down. She coughed out a bubble of laughter as she saw his feet.
‘Miss Bainbridge, I’ve been looking for—’
‘Max, yourshoes.’
‘Lord Stanhope,’ Max said. ‘What of my shoes?’
‘Yourshoes. Look at them. They’re like ballet slippers or something.’
Clarissa stepped into the breach, nudging her gently. ‘Miss Bainbridge, Lord Stanhope’s shoes are quite appropriate, I must tell you.’
Max looked at Clarissa quizzically and Etta remembered Miss Marley’s earlier venomous attitude towards Miss Best. Well, nobody could accuse Clarissa of being anything but lovely.
‘Lord Stanhope, delightful to see you,’ Clarissa said demurely. ‘Miss Bainbridge is still learning the ropes, as you see.’
Max raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh, please don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll be fine under your tutelage. If,’ he added, looking rather pointedly at Etta, ‘you decide to take her on, Miss Best.’
Clarissa smiled and murmured some form of agreement, while Etta continued to take stock of his shoes and pleasingly well-cut britches.
Her gaze lifted to his face and she found he was smiling at her.
‘Miss Bainbridge. Have you had your dance lessons yet? Will you dance with me?’
Etta pulled a face. ‘Okay, then. I’ve been learning non-stop, so I might as well give it a bash.’
Poor Miss Best looked appalled at Etta’s lack of graciousness, as Max guided Etta towards the dance floor.
She did well enough, she thought. Hetty would probably have floated like a fairy. But Etta barely bothered to mind her steps as she romped around the room. She knew people were probably staring, but at this point, what had she really got to lose? She may as well have fun, she thought, narrowly avoiding stepping on another set of toes as she rounded a corner.
Perhaps others were disapproving, but Max seemed more than happy to match her energy. Slowly, she felt everyone seem to perk up. At first she thought she was imagining it, but she saw young women smile a little wider, their partners swinging them slightly more enthusiastically.
The dance ended and Max led a somewhat out of breath Etta off the dance floor.
‘Wow. That was way more fun than it looked inBridgerton, and certainly more fun than that old dancing teacher at home made it look. More like a ceilidh dance,’ she said.
Max manoeuvred her towards the edge of the room. ‘Well, you certainly brightened things, I must admit.’
‘Do you think? I thought they all had sticks up their arses, but I don’t care. It was fun.’
‘Etta! Miss Bainbridge!’
Etta smiled. ‘Yes, I know, I know. No swearing. Sorry, I forgot.’
Max looked like he was wrangling with what to say next. ‘Miss Bainbridge, we need to talk and we don’t have long. You’re not Hetty, are you? So what has happened to her?’
‘If I tell you, you’re going to think I really am Mad Hetty Bainbridge.’
He looked at her seriously. ‘Try me. I promise to hear you out.’
Etta took a breath, considering this. The party all around her seemed to blur out of focus.Oh well, she thought.In for a penny, in for a pound.
‘I think … I think Hetty and I swapped lives. One minute I was heading to work and it was 2023, and then these two old ladies appeared and told me I was about to swap with her and that … That it was about this bracelet. Then I wasin a cellar strapped to a chair and it’s 1817 and it’s not a dream …’ Etta’s voice caught. ‘I know I probably sound crazy, but it’s not going away. It’s been weeks and I haven’t woken up.’
Max rubbed his temples. After a moment, he leaned forward, his face fixed, his voice low. ‘Miss Bainbridge, there is clearly more to this story than can be told here. I am aware this is a scandalous proposal, but … do you think your maid could arrange a correspondence between us?’
