“We are not planning to dance later,” Allan told her. “Are we, Clara?”
“Not tonight,” Clara said, “but we have nine couples here. Why not go out into the long gallery now and dance?”
And so, they did, with the ladies and some of the gentlemen taking turns on the piano in the long hall that did sterling service as a place for children to play and adults to walk when the weather was inclement, as a picture gallery, and—as now—as a dance space.
It was ten couples, in fact, for the three children joined in, though the impromptu entertainment ended with the nineladies—the seven wives plus Mel and Harmony—dancing a circle dance.
After that, the children returned to the nursery, and the adults to the drawing room. The discussion on the rescue mission to the cellars was enlivened by the teasing and camaraderie of the brothers. As Mel had observed over the days since she first met them, they were fast friends. Being men, they often expressed their affection for one another in insults, mocking comments, and even outbreaks of shoving and fisticuffs.
On the whole, Allan was immune from physical attacks, though he came in for his share of pointed comments. Baldwin, in particular, had a habit of producing embarrassing memories at apt moments. One example was a comment about not letting Allan take charge of any keys, which led to chortles and a story about their early days in the tower, after they had first discovered the hidden doors to the stairs and had begun the adaptations, such as the trapdoor, that hid their secrets still further. Apparently, it was they who had installed the lock on the door to the lower tower, and hidden it behind a brick. Allan had promptly lost the ring with two keys given to him by the locksmith. It had been discovered a week later, when they were on the point of blindfolding the locksmith and bringing him in to open his own lock.
“It was on the floor of the necessary,” Hudson reported, with glee. “Kicked under the basket of rags. One can only guess how it got there.”
By contrast, the ladies showed their growing friendships by sharing interests and life stories, supporting one another with encouraging remarks. Even those who had not previously known one another well were merging into a sisterhood through their loyalty to their husbands, and they willingly opened theircommunity to Mel and even to Harmony, whose only connection to them was through Mel.
The ladies insisted on being part of the planning process, but said little until Mel declared that she would be part of the assault team.
“No,” Allan said. “A fight is no place for a lady.” Most of his brothers murmured their agreement.
“Allan, one or more ladies must be there. You will be dealing with an unknown number of women who have been repeatedly brutalized. If you want them to co-operate with their own rescue, you will need us.”
“She is right, Allan,” said Thomasina, and the ladies all nodded.
“I am willing to come,” said Clara. “I can help if any of them need immediate medical care before being moved.”
“I do not like it,” Allan complained.
“I don’t, either,” said Baldwin. “But Melody is right. And the points she makes are ones none of the rest of us would have considered without her.”
The clock was standing at thirty minutes past the hour of six when Clara called a halt so that people could change for dinner, which would be at half past seven. Mel went up to the nursery with Harmony and Allan and gave the children their promised story, then changed into a dinner gown.
One of the benefits of dressing as a man had been fewer changes, but she did enjoy seeing Allan’s eyes drop to her chest when she returned downstairs. Her dress was one of several Harmony had made for her, and the bodice was lower than the gowns she usually wore, and another gown that she generally wore with a fichu.
Harmony had assured her that many ladies of high estate wore their gowns even lower, and the last week of socializing had confirmed the claim. Even so, Mel had avoided the gownuntil tonight, when the close familial environment gave her the confidence to give it an outing.
Appearing in public naked from just an inch above her nipples made her self-conscious, so Allan’s burning look was a confidence booster. Even so, she was careful all evening not to lean forward. At least until she and Allan were alone. Perhaps she might leave the gown on and lean forward when he arrived to join her. It would be interesting to discover just what that look promised.
