Page 26 of A Lady's Wager
Well, perhaps she wasn’t quite to the point of thinking that yet.
“Very light with the powder tonight, Jemima,” Corah said, tilting her head to examine the coiffure. “I want only enough to take off the sheen of the pomatum.”
“Yes, miss.”
Aunt Mary lifted a brow. “Au natureltonight?”
“Nothing changes one’s mood better than doing something different with her look.” Good heavens, that sounded like something out of Miss Whiting’s mouth. But she needed this. Tonight was for her and Aunt Mary. She would put away the dreams of Lieutenant Owens. The world was bright and large, and she would find her way home, wherever that was.
DERRICK PAUSED AT THE ENTRANCEto the ballroom, pulling at the stock about his neck that he must have fastened too tightly. Crystal glittered from the ceilings. Silk shimmered. The brightness hurt his eyes after so many weeks belowdecks on a frigate.
A pair of giggling young ladies jostled past him, not sparing him a glance. How would he find her in here? The rooms were larger than in Bristol’s assembly hall and far more crowded.
Mr. Colston’s family had been out when Derrick attempted to call at their rented townhouse earlier in the day, but he’d easily convinced the inexperienced footman to relay the family’s schedule. There had been little time for him to fetch his dress uniform and change before the assembly. Blast this gargantuan city.
Dancing had stopped and chatter commenced. He couldn’t decide if it would be easier to find her in the middle of a set or between dances. The last time he’d found her at the very beginning of a set, after Mrs. Stewart pointed her out to him. He didn’t have his friend’s assistance this time.
Fifteen minutes of scanning the ballroom left him wondering if the footman had sent him on a fruitless chase. No onematching her features milled in the crush. Perhaps she’d taken sick. He’d make a round about the room, then double back to the townhouse. His palms were sweating inside his gloves. Every moment he couldn’t find her rattled his resolve. Captain King had given him a ridiculous mission.
“Why, Mrs. Lee. Miss Bradford!”
Derrick tensed. Where had that voice come from? He swung his head from side to side, searching. At the end of a line of chairs, he spied a gentleman in rich silk.
“I did not know you had made the journey from Bristol. How do you do?”
Haltwhistle. Derrick’s lips twitched as he remembered ruffling that peacock’s feathers. And standing before the gentleman was a young woman in yellow, her back to Derrick. Brown curls fell over her shoulder.
With a breath to gather his fortitude, Derrick wove through the crowd. The orchestra took up their instruments, signaling the impending resumption of the dancing. He increased his speed, excusing himself as he bumped into others.
“Miss Bradford, would you do me the honor of dancing the next two dances?” Mr. Haltwhistle said, dipping his head in what he must have thought an elegant gesture.
Derrick reached out, catching Corah by the elbow. “Miss Bradford has promised me this dance,” he said breathlessly.
Her head whipped around to stare at him. Her eyes widened, the candlelight catching the gold and green in her hazel eyes.
“You!” Haltwhistle turned a brilliant shade of red.
Derrick narrowed his eyes, cocking his head. “Do forgive me, but have we met?”
The man’s mouth worked like a fish dropped onto the deck. Any other night, Derrick would have lingered to make sport of the buffoon, but he had things to say that could not wait.
“Perhaps we may dance later, Mr. Haltwhistle,” Corah finally said. She seized Derrick’s hand, holding it against her arm as though afraid he’d let go. He smoothed his thumb over the back of her arm. He was here and he wasn’t leaving her. “I…I believe the music is starting. Shall we, Lieutenant?”
He didn’t have to offer her his arm before she latched on to it. They hurried toward the other side of the ballroom. Where would he be able to speak to her alone? An assembly was a terrible place to talk about these things. He’d been so consumed with the need to find her, he hadn’t thought anything else through.
As they passed a door leading outside, Corah tugged on his arm. He followed her urging, and they slipped out of the hot ballroom into the coolness of the night. His heart thundered in his chest, both at being alone with her after so long and at what he needed to say next.
“Is your grandfather here?” Derrick asked.
“Yes, in the cardroom.”
He swallowed. That man would have his head when he learned they’d escaped the assembly. As Corah pulled him across the street to the park on the other side, Derrick found the worry flitting away. He’d worry about the grandfather later. He squeezed her hand. They had happier business ahead. He hoped.
Corah dragged him toward the nearest tree, where a bench rested in its shadows. Brilliant moonlight guided her path, her feet pounding the ground in time with her heart. She didn’t take a seat when they’d reached the shelter of the tree. Instead she whipped around to face him.
“Why are you here?” she demanded. How was he standing before her? Lantern light from the streets reflected in the goldbuttons and braid that trimmed his dress uniform. Simple ruffles cascading from his throat to his chest rippled in the faint breeze. He raised his arms, adorned in fine sapphire sleeves, ever so slightly, as though longing to wrap her in them. Gracious, Melinda was right. A man in navy blues was a thing to behold. Or was it simply that she couldn’t believe this vision of Derrick?
“You seemed to have fallen into the grasp of Mr. Haltwhistle again,” he said. “I felt it my duty to step in, as I clearly hadn’t scared him off properly.”
