Page 11 of The Reclusive Earl's Scandal
“I have asked several ladies to dance, but it seems I am just a moment too late.” He shrugged. “What can one do, I suppose?”
“One can invite a duke’s daughter to be his first dance of the evening,” she suggested lightly, hoping her father’s rank would garner her more encouragement with the men.
“Then you must know it will be my honour, Lady Rebecca,” he said.
They hurried to the dance floor, eager to have their set. Rebecca danced with Lord Simon, and then Lord Trenby, and then Lord Jonathan. There was Lord Smithdown, and another man whose names she forgot. She charmed them easily, as she knew she could.
Heavens, I promised myself I would not return home until my feet ached from dancing. Would you care to indulge in my promise to myself?
The lights are glimmering brightly tonight, do you not think? Although, we may see them better from the dance floor.
I could not help but notice you had not yet danced. Perhaps you will allow me to change that?
Her suggestions were strategically placed, and Rebecca used every charm and wits she hadin order to garner attention. Even when more eyes slid to her, whispers of perhaps shewasone of the eligible ladies to fight for, made her beam with pride on herself. All the while, her eyes strayed to Edward who remained on the outskirts of the dance floor.
There was always an element of restlessness to him. He kept moving his hands, fidgeting with his tailcoat, adjusting his lapels, tapping the knuckles of his other hand. She had never seen a lord appear so out of place in a ballroom. So many of them reveled in the attention, enjoying how they were sought after by the debutantes and other women hopeful for another Season. Yet Edward seemed a far cry from them, and it was as though he knew it, too.
“Lady Rebecca, do forgive me for pointing it out, but you seem quite distracted.”
Rebecca tore her focus from Edward,Lord Thornshire, she corrected herself, as would be proper, and refocused back on Lord… Heavens, she had forgotten his name. Perhaps Lord Matthew, or Mason, or something similar.
“Not at all,” she answered sweetly. “I was merely thinking about your—your business venture you mentioned. I think it is quite a wonderful thing, expanding the transportation concept to other countries that do not yet have it.”
“Indeed,” he said, looking smug. She knew how to make a man feel such things, as though he was on the cusp of the world. “Everybody shall know the Danby name.”
Danby…Danby—ah, Lord Mason Danby, the son of a marquess. A very wealthy marquess who kept on funding his son’s business ventures, according to local gossip. Rebecca had worked out that if she praised him for something his father likely largely disapproved of then he would be more willing to see her again.
“I have no doubt at all,” she said. “And with my father, the Duke of Bancroft, I am certain he would endorse such ventures. He has often said he wished for safer transport to be widely known.”
“Is that so?” The lord raised his brows. “Perhaps there should be some sort of partnership. Danby and Bancroft, a wonderful duo, no?”
It was a double entree, and Rebecca forced herself to blush, to giggle, to play the game she was annoyingly good at. It was like donning a costume that suited her well. She simply knew how to play the part. She didn’t entirely like possessing the charm she had inherited from her father, according to the stories her mother had told her, or playing this particular ballroom game, but she couldn’t deny her talent for it.
Yet she couldn’t help but hope that her attempts looked flattering and natural instead of a desperate girl’s need to save her family.
Nobody knows, she assured herself.Nobody will know.
But how long for?
Soon, her dance with Lord Mason ended, and he bowed to her. She curtsied, hoping for some sort of comment about him coming to call upon her the following day. His eyes glinted with excitement, but he said nothing. Perhaps that was fine; some men preferred to provide a surprise, anyway. Except a surprise wasn’t something Rebecca could handle right now. She needed certainty; she neededplans.
Another moment passed between them of her waiting and Lord Mason saying nothing before she curtsied again.
Her eyes were already scanning for another man to approach, trying not to glance at Edward, who was now speaking with a group of men, one of whom was Lord Thomas. Rebecca’s eyes met Edward’s, but she quickly averted them. Instead of another lord, she made her way over to where Mary had just finished dancing with a young heir to a barony. She was far too good for him, but Rebecca knew that Mary worried she was not good enough to strive for the more eligible lords.
Catherine’s smirk was already in place when Rebecca approached them.
“Well, well,” Catherine drawled, mischief in her eyes. “Look who has returned from the depths of charming her way through the whole ballroom.”
Rebecca laughed, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. “Not thewholeballroom,” she insisted.
“Just those worthy of your attention,” her friend jested. “Did any of them catch your eye?”
Rebecca just sighed and turned to lean back against the wall her friends stood at. Mary watched her
in anticipation, hope shining in her eyes. “If I was not being picky then perhaps. However,…”However, it is hard to consider a husband that I know I will not love.How unfair it was to go from planning her love match with Harry Maudley to now having to accept that her match would be one of convenience only for the man’s wealth.
“However?” Mary prompted.
