Page 67 of The Best of Friends
Poor Toss. To want to follow his heart and to have been so close to doing so, only to have those dreams repeatedly snatched away.
As the evening continued and more performances were offered, Daria was repeatedly pulled away to answer a question from the staff or to check on some bit of preparation or another. Toss wandered elsewhere as well, standing at times beside one of his friends or near his brother. Daria felt almost guilty being so pleased with the evening when she knew he was suffering.
Her father was now standing at the front, nearly all the performances completed, his eyes darting to Daria with a mixture of panic and impatience. No one was rising to perform next. The order of the participants had not been determined ahead of time. Did Father not remember that was how musicales were organized? How was Daria to explain that if no one wished to display, then the evening would simply progress to the food and drinks set out in the drawing room? If she said anything, that would publicly reveal that she was, in fact, the one in charge of the evening. Her parents would never forgive her for that embarrassment.
The lull was growing, and the silence was becoming uncomfortable. Father’s gaze had turned to a glare. Just as Daria began to abandon hope of a solution, a voice spoke.
Toss.
“My apologies. I had forgotten I was meant to go next.”
Oh, merciful heavens. What is he doing?His brother would be livid. But still Toss walked to the pianoforte.
Daria held her breath as he played. She didn’t dare even look in Laurence’s direction. Everyone else appeared undeniably impressed. Toss, as he always did when playing, looked entirely at peace.
Oh, please don’t let him suffer for this.But she suspected he would. Her darling, caring, compassionate Toss would most certainly be made to suffer for it.
As the performance came to a close, the room erupted in enthusiastic applause. Toss quickly stood and bowed to Mother and Father in acknowledgment of their supposed roles as host and hostess, then stepped away from the pianoforte.
Father was on his feet in an instant, facing the crowd with a broad grin of triumph. “We have refreshments in the drawing room. We invite you to remain and mingle for as long as you wish. Please, enjoy yourselves, and thank you all for being here this evening.”
The guests began to move about, some wandering from the music room in the direction of the drawing room, others hovering near the chairs they’d been occupying.
Daria trusted the staff to have seen to the food. Mother and Father had gone in that direction, and she knew they would tell her if anything was amiss, though she did not believe anything would be. As the music room began to truly empty, Daria caught sight of Laurence dragging his brother down the corridor and into an empty sitting room.
Daria carefully and quietly followed. She reached the door in time to hear a raised voice on the other side.
“I was very specific, Thomas. ‘Within reason,’ I said, and revealing yourself to be a talentless child as you did tonight is not within reason.”
Daria stepped inside, head held high. “I would ask you, Mr. Comstock, to keep your voice to a civil level and conduct yourself as is expected at a Society gathering. I assure you, while the guests cannot understand the words you are speaking, they are well aware of the fact that someone is being shockingly uncouth. You are welcome to behave in this manner in your own home, but not in ours.”
“This is a family matter, Miss Mullins, between my brother and me,” Laurence said with palpable dignity.
Though she was quaking inside, she held herself firmly, knowing Toss deserved to have someone stand up for him. “You would contradict a lady in her own home?” she asked quietly, with enough warning to put the arrogant man on his guard.
“I certainly hadn’t intended that.” Laurence sputtered a little. “I was simply defending my family’s reputation.”
“From my position at the end of your brother’s performance, I could hear the comments being made. And unless you intend to step into the drawing room and contradict the taste and discernment of Lord and Lady Lampton, Lord and Lady Aldric Benick, the Duke and Duchess of Kielder, Lord and Lady Techney, Mr. and Mrs. Fortier, and Mr. Layton, whose taste is considered absolutely impeccable, I suggest you stop telling such falsehoods under my roof.” How she hoped he could not detect her shaking knees. “If you found that performance embarrassing, one must questionyourtaste, nottheirs. I will allow you thirty seconds to decide whether or not you mean to behave appropriately in the home of a gentleman and leave off misrepresenting your brother’s talents or if you intend for me to return to the drawing room and let everyone know Mr. Laurence Comstock loudly calls into question the intelligence and judgment of anyone who found his brother’s performance indicative of anything other than—what were the words you used?—‘a talentless child’?”
Daria had not interacted with Laurence Comstock more than twice in her life, but she suspected the look of shocked uncertainty on his face was new.
Return fire.She reminded herself of the Huntresses’ third battle strategy and pressed on. “Fifteen seconds remaining,” she said calmly.
“I shall keep my opinions to myself.” Laurence spoke through tight teeth.
“Excellent.” She turned enough to motion to the open door.
Laurence offered her a very abbreviated bow as he stepped from the room.
Daria had often thought, observing Charlie, Scott, and Newton as they watched their wives, that she would love for a gentleman to look at her with the same tender pride and adoration she saw on their faces. As Toss followed his brother’s path through the door, he looked at her in just that way.
If not for the fact that the house was overrun with guests and her parents were scrutinizing her every move, Daria would have thrown her arms around him and thanked him for his earlier rescue and for the risk that had been and told him how much she hoped his brother decided to treat him with greater kindness. As it was, all she could do was dip the quickest curtsy and, in response to his mouthed “thank you,” silently offer a “thankyou” in return before she slipped from the room to see to the remainder of the evening.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The musicale reached its conclusion,and the guests had dispersed, but Toss remained, along with Colm, Fennel, and Duke. Tobias was assisting his sister in the tasks she was seeing to whilst the servants were clearing the music room and drawing room of the remnants of the gathering.
Toss likely could have left some time earlier, but he was hoping for a moment with Daria. Her fierce defense of him that evening had been remarkable, and she deserved to know that. He wanted to tell her how wonderful the evening was and how highly the other guests had spoken of it. Mostly, he just wanted to see her smile again and to spend time with her without all the others around. That seemed less and less likely to happen.
