The woman gave her a figure, and Charlotte agreed without hesitation. She had pin money. If she couldn’t convince William to come home by the end of the week, then there were plenty of trinkets like her shoe clips she could sell.
She pressed the clips into the woman’s hands. “I just need a little more time to fix everything. But I will. You’ll see.”
***
John stood at the entrance to the Mottram ballroom, trying hard to force a smile and appear as though he were happy to be attending his first ball in over a decade.
Trying hard not to dwell on what had happened at the last ball he attended, where he’d finally gathered the courage to ask his crush to dance and had been fool enough not to realize she’d only accepted in order to make a mockery of him. As she’d walked off the dance floor, leaving him alone as the first strains started, he’d wanted the floor to swallow him. All the nearby dancers looked at him askance. From within the watching crowd, he’d heard his brother’s sneering voice. “P-p-poor B-b-barnesworth.”
That was the last time he’d joined thetonwhen it gathered in large numbers. Was it any wonder that his stomach was in knots now?
Charlotte brushed her skirts just before they stepped into the ballroom doorway, and then she turned and brushed John’s lapel before snatching her hand back, her ears flushing red.
“I…Sorry…I’m not sure why I just did that.”
John knew exactly why. She saw a problem and she fixed it, without conscious thought half the time. It should annoy him. Instead, it was bizarrely endearing.
She handed the butler their invitations, and no sooner had their names echoed through the room than a cacophony broke out. All heads turned in their direction, desperate to lay eyes on the newly minted viscount who had been estranged from society for so long.
His skin crawled, as though the caustic stares sent in his direction reacted with his skin. He pushed back the hair that flopped into his eyes, glad his left hand could hide in his pocket because he couldn’t stop the anxioustap, tap, tapof his fingers. “We’re here for as short a time as possible,” he muttered.
“Of course.” Her tone was guileless, but the question was whether they shared a similar understanding of “as possible.”
A wave of guests swelled in their direction, mostly young girls being prodded by their mothers. At their crest was their hostess, Lady Mottram, who greeted them with a glowing smile. “Lady Charlotte, how lovely to see you again.”
Charlotte clasped hands with her. “Lady Mottram, such a stunning display, as usual.” She gestured to the intricate flower displays that ringed the room, each housed in a Chinese porcelain vase. Just one of those vases would pay six months’ wages for John’s London staff.
He took Lady Mottram’s hand and bowed over it, letting the training his mother had forced on him all those years ago rise to the fore.
Lady Mottram fluttered her lashes with all the enthusiasm of a debutante. “My lord, what an honor to have you attend. I do hope you’ll tell me all about where you’ve been these past few years. Perhaps during a waltz? There are two.”
John stiffened. “I don’t dance.” The words came out far more terse than he intended, and Lady Mottram’s smile became pinched at the edges.
Charlotte stepped on his toes. “What Lord Harrow means to say is that it’s been a long time since he’s attended a ball and he needs to get his bearings before he risks the dance floor. He wouldn’t want to cause a collision.”
Lady Mottram seemed a little mollified, and Charlotte leaned forward, positioning herself between him and their hostess—a human shield deflecting further comments away from him. “I have heard that Dame Edna Evensbury will join us this evening,” she said. “What a delight her singing is. However did you manage such a coup?”
Lady Mottram preened. “Such secrets are best kept close to the chest, dear girl. But I do hope you’ll enjoy the performance. Excuse me.” Their hostess moved to greet the guests that had entered behind them.
“You don’t dance,” Charlotte muttered as they threaded their way deeper into the room. “Goodness, John. Could you have said that any louder? Now that’s all the guests are talking about.” She gestured to the ripple of fans as raised eyebrows turned in his direction and the women in attendance whispered to each other.
“I am not hopping around like an insect under glass for any woman. It’s best they know now, so I won’t be forced to disappoint them later.”
Charlotte snorted. “You really don’t understand women, do you? You could not have delivered a more direct challenge had you slapped them with your glove.”
Indeed, on closer inspection, the women in attendance were looking at him as though he were prey to be captured.
“We’re here to play cards, Charlotte. There’s nothing else in the equation.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “We can’t very well walk into the gaming room, win every trick, and walk back out again. Our scheme would be far too obvious.”
“Which means?” he asked with a sinking feeling.
“Which means it’s time for you to meet some more of your peers.”
***
He couldn’t breathe. Whenever he and Charlotte remained in one position for more than a few minutes, the circle of people talking, talking, talking at them tightened.
