Page 34 of Indecent Desires of a Proper Lady
“Bartley Manor is always so lovely when they have balls. Is it not, My Dear?” Lady Diana Winston spoke quietly to her husband as they walked up the steps arm in arm. Philip and Edward walked behind them.
“So it is, My Dear. I quite agree. I am glad we have a social outing to busy ourselves with this evening. Am I not quite right, Sons? We have been far too idle of late.”
“Edward, more than anyone, of course,” Philip said with a laugh. Edward elbowed him, and their mother turned around.
“Really, Philip, I do not know why you wish to trouble me with your jokes.”
Philip couldn’t help but keep laughing at his mother’s horrified expression. He was happy, and he knew that he would be even happier when he saw Margaret’s face again. As they entered, he spotted Leonard and Juliet at the door greeting guests.
Leonard looked the perfect image of a Duke with his bright-white cravat and long blue coat. Juliet was lovely and beaming in cream beside him, a white feather in her hair and long white gloves to match.
“Earl! And Lady Winston. What a pleasure to have you join us,” Leonard bowed his greetings, and Juliet curtsied to them both.
“You are most welcome,” she said. “It is lovely to see you again after so long a time.”
“You are radiant, Your Grace,” Edward said as he kissed Juliet’s hand and bowed his greeting to Leonard. Philip tried to keep from rolling his eyes.
“Lord Winston. What an honor,” Juliet said with polite equanimity.
“Philip!” Leonard said, openly pleased to see his friend.
“Leonard, Juliet. The Manor looks astonishing. What work you have done.” Philip grinned at them both. “Has Charles returned for the ball?”
“No, but he has written to me to say that all is well.”
“Me as well. That is good to hear.” He moved along and Juliet placed a hand on Philip’s arm.
“Philip, do enjoy yourself this evening.” He bowed politely, and surprised at the strange gesture, he smiled.
“Yes, do enjoy yourself, Brother.” Edward opened his arms to the crowded room and lowered his voice. “Look at the plethora of pretty girls there are here for our taste.” He grabbed a glass of champagne in his gloved hand.
Philip chuckled. “You are right. There are many pretty girls here this evening, and before, I might have been tempted to ask any of them to dance or even to walk in the gardens with me. But I fear there is one woman who has taken my heart.”
“Ah, yes. The Lady Whitfield. We wait with bated breath for her appearance. Why does she delay and make us yearn for her to come?”
Philip laughed at his brother’s often dramatic turn of phrase. “Perhaps she has other important business and wishes most heartily to keep out of the company of you. Besides, you do have quite the reputation.”
Edward chuckled and took a large sip. “As did you once, Brother, but you have fallen victim to the age-old problem. It is like a disease. When I marry, it shall have to only be for money and a title, for my heart is as hard as can be.”
Philip clamped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I doubt that very much, Brother. But we shall see.” He turned to take in the room’s splendor. The ballroom at Bartley Manor had been entirely transformed. He remembered the way it had scared him as a child, so open and empty, with furniture covered in white sheets.
It had felt at the time like a ghost room. That image stayed with him even as he grew, and even though he had been there for balls many times, the state of the transformation still amazed him. Crystal chandeliers hung high above the room in the vaulted ceiling, their candlelight cast pleasant refracted shadows throughout the walls and over the wooden floor.
Dancing couples moved in lines in the center of the room while the orchestra played against the back wall. Tables lined every spare area, filled with food and drink of all kinds. Both gentlemen and ladies watched and gossiped over their champagne flutes, eyeing one another with interest and suspicion. The ballroom could be a dangerous place, or it could be the place of one’s rebirth, Philip thought.
Couples clapped as one song ended, and new couples flowed into the space, taking their position for the string of the violins to begin again. As they did, Philip recognized the song. It was slow and sorrowful. It was the type of song to dance with one’s lover, and the couples moved in elegant lines, their hands gentle and perfect.
He knew the song well, for it was the first song he had heard at Margaret’s coming-out party a few years before. It had been then, when he was first struck by the womanliness of his friend’s sister. He suddenly felt like she had stepped into his world, and now, after all this time, she still clung to his heart.
As if she had known and wished to torment him with her beauty, Philip lifted his eyes to the staircase, and he watched Margaret Whitfield descend in all her dark-haired loveliness. Her dress was a pale pink, and it brought out the color in her cheeks and the redness of her lips. Philip was so frozen to the spot, that it made Edward’s eyes also turn up to see what had so mesmerized his brother.
He grinned. “Philip Winston, you have chosen well for yourself. I have not seen the girl in years. Why she is an Aphrodite! Perhaps I should go and ask for the first dance.”
Philip slapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder and clenched tightly. “You will do no such thing, Edward,” he said in a serious tone, and Edward chuckled at his brother’s back as Philip made his way to meet her at the base of the staircase.
He could hear whispers around him as everyone took in Margaret’s form. He was sure the whispers were about Charles and her open regard as well as his open rejection, but when he got closer, he saw that Margaret had made a rather wonderful transformation. Her dark hair had been cut short, and now it was simply curled, with flowers in her hair.
He was shocked. He had never seen a young woman with her hair so short, and certainly not one who was the sister of a Duke. He smiled, knowing that the ton would have much to feed on for many weeks, but as he watched her descend, like a floating cloud, he thought she was more beautiful than ever.
