Leonard suddenly coughed, then covered his mouth. “Excuse me,” he said, looking to the floor.
Miss Birks’s cheeks flushed, and her smile grew.
Honora watched with great amusement as Samuel and Miss Birks conversed, while Leonard and Mrs. Birks interjected random thoughts of their own. Mrs. Birks was quite encouraging of the pair, but Leonard seemed strangely stilted. Perhaps that was just his way with people. It wasn’t as if he had been particularly welcoming to Honora upon their first acquaintance. She had attributed it to the way they met, but it was plausible that he just did not enjoy crowds or socializing in general, which he had made no secret of. And yet, something still seemed off about his demeanor.
“Would you care to dance, Miss Birks?”
The conversation ground to a halt, and Leonard’s head swung toward his brother. “Samuel,” he said, his voice gentle and quiet, yet not enough so that Mrs. Birks and her daughter would not have heard.
Samuel didn’t look at him, but his neck tightened. “Excuse me,” he continued. “I meant to ask if you would like to take a turn about the room with me.”
Miss Birks noticeably brightened. “Of course. That would be lovely.”
He held his arm out to her, which she took, her cheeks flushing further. Mrs. Birks nodded at Leonard, then followed her daughter.
“Goodness, what was he thinking?” Leonard said as he watched them go. “Had he really thought he would be able to dance?”
“Leonard,” Honora said, putting a hand on his arm as she stood at his side. “Can you really blame him?”
“I bloody well can.” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “I am responsible for him tonight. It is bad enough I snuck him out of the house, but to have him collapse in the middle of the room while a sea of people watched? My father would lose his head!”
“Leonard.” Honora stepped around until she faced him, squeezing his arm. “It is fine. He isn’t dancing. They are only going for a short walk. That is what you wanted, is it not? For him to have a bit of freedom? Some fun?” She glanced over her shoulder where they were slowly making their way around the border of the room, both laughing and smiling. “And I would say they are enjoying themselves, wouldn’t you?” She turned her face back to him.
Leonard swallowed, then looked to the floor, running a hand up the back of his neck. “Of course. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Are you all right?” Her eyes flitted over his face.
He nodded. “Yes. I am all right.”
The remainder of the evening, Honora did her best to remain in the shadows, though she was forced into several introductions as people came to speak with Leonard and Samuel—family friends from over the years. At one point, Samuel took to a chair to rest, and Honora kept a steady supply of punch coming to him to hopefully help keep his strength. At last, the final dance was about to begin, and Samuel stood, shoving his cup at Leonard’s chest.
“Excuse me,” Leonard hissed as he rushed to grab it. “What the devil are you doing?”
Samuel leveled his eyes at his brother. “I am going to dance even if it kills me.” He turned on his heel, making for the nearest young lady.
Samuel smiled, all charm and good manners, and in only a short moment he was leading her onto the dance floor.
Leonard’s mouth hung open, but Honora found herself trying not to smile. When Leonard looked at her, she did her best to hide it.
“You are enjoying this, aren’t you?” he accused her.
She shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a romantic.”
“You aren’t the one who will have to deal with the ramifications of this.”
“Who says there will be ramifications?” she pressed.
Leonard watched, his gaze heavy as Samuel made it to the line of dancers. “Goodness, he doesn’t even have his cane.”
Now it was Honora’s turn to roll her eyes. “How could he dance with it, Leonard? Be sensible.”
“I am,” he said, eyes not leaving Samuel. “It is my brother who is not being sensible.”
“He looks happy.”
This gave Leonard pause, and he watched for several moments before uttering a soft, “He does.” He sighed. “Very well. If he wants to collapse in exhaustion in the name of love, who am I to stop him? He is his own man. I will not stand in his way.”
Honora’s lips lifted in a smile, and her heart warmed. “And that is why I love you so.”
