The last thing that she wanted was for him to be overly interested in her.
“I suppose I get by fine,” she replied. She could see that Harper was watching him, though he pretended not to.
“And what would be say about my skills?” he asked.
“Well, I suppose you are competent at leading,” she replied. If he was fishing for a deeper compliment from her, then she simply did not possess the capability to deliver it.
They spoke about some boring and trivial matters, which Temperance had already expected. She had barely ever met a man who was able to hold her interest for long.
It was only towards the end of the dance that he said something that caught her attention enough to remember.
“I confess I was not certain what to expect this evening.”
She looked at him. “Of the ball?”
“Of the evening generally.” He smiled. “I had heard things about the situation, you know with the late Viscount’s bequeathment.”
“Had you?” she said.
“One hears things. I didn’t know what to make of it as the dowager viscountess has quite the reputation.”
“She does,” Temperance said. The last thing she wished to do was defend herself, as it felt rather exhausting.
“And you as well, I suppose.” He said it with the tone of someone who considered this a natural and unloaded observation. “The nunnery story is rather distinctive and it’s not often one hears of an unconventional upbringing, in this kind of setting.”
“What kind of setting?” She looked at him as they turned through the figure.
“Oh, you know.” He gestured vaguely with his free hand at the room around them, “All this. It requires a particular formation, I suppose. One usually knows what to expect of the people in the room. You are not quite what anyone expects.”
She kept her expression neutral.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said pleasantly.
“Well.” He seemed slightly surprised, as though he had expected her to say something else. “Of course. I suppose what I mean is that Sedgewick must have his work cut out. Getting you, that is to say, getting the household, settled. You must require rather a lot of managing.”
Temperance looked at him. How presumptuous. But she smiled, in the particular way she had developed at the age of nine, that gave absolutely nothing away.
“You are a very competent dancer, Mr. Alford,” she said pleasantly.
He blinked.
“Thank you, I….”
“The footwork on this figure is usually where people struggle and you haven’t misstepped once.”
“I appreciate that,” he said, slightly uncertainly.
“Very competent,” she said again, in the exact same tone.
She said nothing further for the remainder of the set. She danced correctly and smiled at appropriate intervals and when the music stopped she curtsied with every appearance of enjoyment, thanked him and then she did not go back toward Harper.
She needed a friend instead.
CHAPTER 7
“The thing is, I could bear all of it. The whispers and the columns and the Mr. Alfords of the world. I have been bearing it for three years and I am very practiced.” She looked out across the ballroom. “What I cannot bear is the idea of my mother’s life being decided by a man again.”
Charity was quiet, and knew that her friend needed a listening ear more than anything else.
