“I am observing the fact.”
“I could have sworn that you sounded quite displeased.”
He leaned closer, his breath brushing the small curls escaping her coiffure.
“Oh, Bella,” he murmured, “when it comes to you, I can only ever be… pleased.”
His hand tightened on her waist just one fraction, just to remind her who she truly belonged to, no matter how many names were on her card. And he would make sure she would never forget.
CHAPTER 21
Corridor encounters
Gerald watched Arabella as she honored those who had put down on her dancing card. After all, she had shared two consecutive dances with him and only with him.
After a while, she returned to him to refresh herself with some more lemonade. He noticed with satisfaction that his family kept their distance. Perhaps this night would end uneventfully.
“I have known that engagements are indeed a unique event,” Arabella said, offering him some refreshment, “but I was unaware that it required some military vigilance.”
He looked down, frowning.
“I was referring to the fact that you are watching the whole ballroom like a general before the battle. Perhaps I should have brought my sword after all.”
“It would have inconvenienced your dance partners.”
“And that would have brought you some delight.”
He felt his shoulders relax, and for the sake of Arabella, he decided to school his alert expression to a less stressful one. He had to admit that this was fun.
“Your Grace, you must excuse me for a moment,” Arabella said and set down her glass. “I should like to visit a powder room.”
“I will accompany you.”
“Surely the Duke of Albury has better things to do than accompany ladies into the powder room.”
“Not a lady. I am accompanying my wife.”
“Imagine how that would look. I know we’re newlyweds, but we wouldn’t want others to believe that you cannot bear to be parted from me even in such intimate moments,” Arabella laughed.
Gerald leaned down into her ear and, with a mysterious grin, whispered to her.
“I can’t say that this is entirely false, Your Grace.”
“You are incorrigible,” Arabella said and left unceremoniously. “After all, it will only be a moment.”
Gerald reluctantly let her go. She was right, he wouldn’t want to seem like an overly clinging husband. And what is more, he could sense that his vigilance had made her anxious. After all, he was the target of any attack, and he was still safely mingled with the ton.
He followed her with his eyes until she vanished into the corridor. He still felt uneasy to see her vanish from his side, but he decided to keep his distance.
He still held the refreshment Arabella had handed him as if it were some sacred relic, and perhaps it was, since apart from his staff, rarely did somebody anticipate his needs in order to cover them. But Arabella did.
He looked around again in the room, and he felt a sudden wave of reassurance. Everything seemed absolutely normal. The music continued, and the couples were dancing. There was this soft hum in the air by the small talk everybody was having.
Gerald drank from his glass and took one breath. Perhaps he was indeed overreacting, thinking there was danger everywhere he turned. There was always a chance that his ruse of getting married had actually managed to solve the problem as foreseen.
He took another sip of his drink. It was the last one, the very last drop, which meant that he had been sipping on it for a while.Then he noticed that the dances and the couples had changed in the ballroom.
As he was perusing the ballroom, he noticed his half-sister rushing to Joseph. While the two siblings met, they were very close, and they spoke to each other in a way that conveyed they didn’t want anyone else to hear them.
