A pause followed, during which Louise could feel heat creeping up the back of her neck. She could think of nothing else to say, so she glanced at Mr. Fairbanks, who took this as his cue to ask, “Are you enjoying the ball?”
“Yes,” Louise said. “And you?”
“To be honest I found it rather dull until I encountered Lady Deidre. She told me the most incredible tale earlier.” He smiled at Lady Deidre who promptly simpered with affected bashfulness. It was nauseating to watch. “Perhaps you would care to repeat it for Lady Louise’s benefit?”
“Of course, I’d be delighted to do so,” Lady Deidre said, “though it is a rather long story and our set is sadly about to begin. Shall we proceed, Mr. Fairbanks?”
“Indeed.” He offered Lady Deidre his arm, which she latched onto like a leech. “Perhaps—”
“Mr. Fairbanks,” Lady Deidre purred while turning him away from Louise, “the other couples are already taking their places. We really must hurry if we’re to find a good spot on the floor.”
“Of course,” Mr. Fairbanks said while Lady Deidre proceeded to lead him away. “Please excuse us, Lady Louise.”
Humiliation burned the tips of Louise’s ears as Lady Deidre glanced back at her with a vindictive grin. The woman had known of Louise’s affection for Mr. Fairbanks for three long years, and had clearly chosen to turn this knowledge into a weapon.
Swallowing her anger, the frustration it wrought on her nerves, and the keen awareness that every poke Lady Deidre dealt her further chipped away at whatever confidence she still possessed, Louise glanced toward the terrace doors with longing. Kimberly and Helen had said they would wait for her return, but right now, all Louise wanted was to be alone. So she swept through the crowd with determined steps, leaving behind the buoyant music, the lively chatter and laughter, the dazzling atmosphere filling the ballroom to claustrophobic capacity, and Lady Deidre’s hatefulness.
Fresh air filled her lungs the moment she stepped outside, its coolness washing her skin of the heat she’d experienced indoors. She breathed in the sweet scent of jasmine that wafted toward her on the breeze and savored the stillness. Much to her surprise and pleasure, no one else was out here. For once, it would seem, something had worked in her favor.
She moved slowly toward the stone railing, closer to the spot where steps led down to a torch-lit garden. Overhead, the ink-black sky stretched in every direction, as if it wished to encompass the world. Stars – tiny flecks of sparkling silver – twinkled like sun-kissed diamonds. A smile caught Louise’s lips. The world had so much beauty to offer, if one would but take the time to pause and look.
“Riii—bit.”
Louise dropped her gaze. It took her a moment to locate the toad – a fat creature perched upon the top step. Her smile broadened – not because she cared for any form of reptile, but because it occurred to her that a toad’s presence was much preferred to Lady Deidre’s.
This thought brought her mind back to Mr. Fairbanks. “If only he would pay more attention to me,” she said, addressing the toad, “but what would ever compel him to? Do you have any idea?” When the toad continued to sit there, motionless and silent, Louise sighed. “Oh, if only you would speak.”
Someone cleared their throat behind her, and then a man said, “Forgive me. I believe you must have mistaken me for someone else.”
Startled, Louise spun around and nearly lost her footing in the process. Of course someone had to witness her talking to a toad. That was simply how her life worked. She stared at the stranger – a handsome gentleman with an inquisitive gleam in his eyes. “Who are you?”
He studied her for a moment. “Apparently not the person you believed you were addressing.”
“No. I…um…” She looked askance. Perhaps she could tell him something more socially acceptable than the truth?
“Riii—bit.”
Louise bit her lip.Drat!
The stranger frowned. His appearance was different from Mr. Fairbanks’s, whom she’d always thought the handsomest man in the world. By contrast, this man possessed fair hair, his jaw was more angular too – less delicate in appearance – while his mouth seemed on the verge of smiling, without actually doing so. The effect lent a jovial air of mischievousness to him that Mr. Fairbanks, who either smiled with complete abandon or not at all, lacked.
“Were you conversing with a frog?” asked the stranger, his casual tone not the least bit condemning.
“No,” Louise tried as the toad hopped out from behind her. It paused for a moment before continuing down the steps toward the grass beyond the terrace. She huffed a breath and chose to accept defeat. “Maybe.”
A low chuckle resonated between them. “How unusual.”
She knit her brow. “It wasn’t very helpful.”
“Not with its advice perhaps, but maybe by lending an ear.” The stranger tilted his head in thought. “Do toads even have ears? I’m sure they must.”
Louise instinctively smiled. There was comfort to be found in this man’s company, which was odd since she’d no idea who he was. And since they’d not been formally introduced… “I should probably go back inside. Being out here alone was all right until you joined me. Now it would be improper.”
She started toward the French doors behind him while he tracked her steps in silence. A pity she could not stay when instinct suggested she’d like conversing with him at greater length. She was almost at the doors when one side swung open and her father stepped onto the terrace. “Louise. What are you doing out here?”
She took a fortifying breath and prayed he’d stay calm. “I was merely taking a small reprieve.”
He held her gaze. “Go and find your mother. She’s in the supper room, waiting for you.”
