Page 4
With a cordial nod to the ladies, each of their expressions schooled into blandness but a knowing glint in their eyes, she led Bethea away.
“Has he been pestering you, Bethea?” Marjorie asked beneath her breath as they fell into step, putting several feet between themselves and the pungent earl.
“Aye, and I can scarcely relax and enjoy myself. I’ve taken to hidin’ or lurkin’ in shadows. Montieth makes my skin crawl.” Bethea extracted her hand and then fitted it into Marjorie’s bent arm. “I fear he means to propose, and I canna abide him, Marjorie.” A note of anxiousness crept into her voice. “Keane wouldna—”
“Lord have mercy, no.” Marjorie gave a vigorous shake of her head. “Never think it, my dear. He thinks Montieth’s a sweaty toad, but the earl does have valuable connections. We’ll need to put Montieth off without offending him. I’ve already extracted a promise from Keane that you and Branwen will have your choice of husbands.”
“Have I told ye how glad I am Keane married ye?” Bethea pressed nearer to Marjorie’s side, a wide grin arcing her mouth. “I didna ken how we managed without ye before.”
Marjorie squeezed her arm. “And I’m delighted he has wards who could be the younger sisters I never had.”
They were upon Branwen now, resplendent in midnight blue and white. Her stance uneven, she offered a pained smile. “I fear my last partner trod upon my feet so many times, my toes are severely bruised. I believe I’ll rest for a few minutes in the ladies’ retirin’ room. Hopefully, puttin’ my feet up will do the trick.”
“I’ll go with ye,” Bethea offered, seizing the excuse to help her sister and avoid Montieth.
Marjorie nodded. “I’ll let Keane know.”
“Ah, there you are, Marjorie.” A pretty, plump woman with light brown hair and a radiant smile approached. “I’ve been searching for you all evening.” Her curious gaze gravitated to Bethea and her sister. “And these must be Keane’s wards.”
“Anna, I didn’t know you were in Scotland,” Marjorie bussed her cheek. “Yes, this is Bethea.” She indicated Bethea with a sweep of her hand. “And Branwen Glanville. Girls, this is Anna Buchannan Hawthorne. She’s actually a second or third cousin to Keane. We were girlhood friends.”
Anna laughed, a merry twinkle in her pale brown eyes. “Well, my branch of the family rarely ventured north of the border, and that’s why I’ve never met you in all this time.”
“’Tis a pleasure,” Bethea greeted. “How wonderful that ye were friends, and now ye’re cousins.”
“Indeed,” Branwen agreed, shifting on her feet and grimacing slightly.
She truly was uncomfortable.
Marjorie linked her elbow with Anna’s. “The girls were just on their way to the retiring room, but why don’t we find a quiet corner and catch up?”
“A splendid idea,” Anna agreed. “Ten years is far too long.”
“I’ll come for you in a half an hour,” Marjorie told Bethea and Branwen before turning away, her coppery head bent to hear what Anna was saying.
Bethea promptly wrapped an arm around Branwen’s waist and slowly guided her slightly taller sister from the ballroom. Though Branwen put on a brave face, her pinched lips and occasional flinches revealed the state of her damaged feet.
Ladies ought to be warned of Lord Hurstwood’s proclivity to mash his partners’ feet.
“Ye poor darlin’,” Bethea murmured as they entered the corridor.
“Lord Hurstwood is an exuberant dance partner, and I vow he tromped upon my toes a score of times.” Branwen winced again, and a small gasp escaped her.
Lord Hurstwood was no small man, either. Not given to corpulence like Montieth, Hurstwood was nonetheless a thick, stocky sort an inch or two over six feet.
Alarm spiked in Bethea.
Just how badly injured were Branwen’s feet?
Bethea’s scalp tingled, and she had the unmistakable sensation that someone watched her. As she turned the corner, she cut a swift glance along the passage. Her flesh puckered when she spotted the Earl of Montieth, his bulbous form framed in the ballroom’s entrance, staring at her with unfettered lust upon his fleshy face.
A sly smile curved his full mouth, and he boldly winked.
Just as she jerked her focus away, Camden Kennedy’s massive form appeared behind the earl. He looked straight at her, and a scintillating current sparked between them.
Heis here.
When had he arrived?
And more mystifying, why hadn’t he sought her family out?
