Page 98 of Seduced by an Irresistible Lady
He kicked into his horse, sending it into a sharp run. He didn’t care if his hat flew off. The breeze was capable of temporarily providing thrill.
I need a little thrill in my life.
Luckily, for him, the hat didn’t come off. It fit tightly onto his head till he reached the specified address where the party was being held. Dr Frederick alighted and led his horse on, looking around for any steward or stable boy.
“Let’s have her, sir,” he heard someone say behind him.
Dr Frederick turned back and gave the reins to a young boy who had his hand stretched. The boy nodded and led the horse away. Dr Frederick went into the house.
The first room was long with a lot of windows. It looked like the passage, with its furniture removed to allow more people into the house. Dr Frederick walked down the passage, evading multiple bodies that threatened to hit him. He got to the door and was quick to see a flailing arm. He blocked it, looking at the erring man who in his excitement had forgotten that one needed greater composure when so many people were present in so little a space. The man whispered apologies, and Dr Frederick nodded. He went through the door into a wider room.
This is the sitting room, surely.
He imagined that it would be regarded as a bit too big when friends came to visit the owner. But now that it was to host dances, it was a bit too small. Dr Frederick could hardly find space to walk. He snuggled, shoved and eased through the crowd that filled the room till he got to the side of a window. The cool air that wafted gently through felt like water in a dry desert. Dr Frederick shook his head.
“Some of these parties are not just worth all the stress. How does one hope to dance here?”
He wasn’t completely buffed that he might not get to dance. Dr Frederick didn’t feel like dancing. He only planned to do so because it would help to occupy his mind more and give him a chance to get acquainted to another young lady.
She feels irreplaceable, but Frank must be right, no one is.
He looked out the window and saw that another carriage had arrived. It spilled its contents to release two young ladies, who looked like sisters, and a dandy-looking young man. Dr Frederick imagined how much more the room could take before the people pushed the walls down. He laughed out loud, his chest shaking with strong quakes.
What a picture, I can’t remember the last time I thought up something so silly.
Then he remembered. It wasn’t even too far away. He had been a moron to think Miss Helena would give him a nod over Lord Jeffrey. Her maid would have told her what they saw, she and Mister Frank, but still Miss Helena made no effort to get to him. Mister Frank said she was back. Dr Frederick didn’t care to find out. He shook his head. Who was he deceiving? He didn’t want to care, but his attention had been rapt when Mister Frank mentioned that she was now around, in passing, a few days ago. His heart still lurched when he heard her name.
Stop thinking about her.
He had attended the party to get his mind off her. Well, from the little ruminations of the past few minutes, he had to wish himself a lot of luck with that.
This might be one long evening.
There was music being played now. Space had miraculously been created at the centre of the room where a group of couples danced. Soon people were forming pairs and joining the dance. The atmosphere went from frenetic and noisy to rambunctious and amusing. Dr Frederick could not hold back the smile, and the chuckle, as a particularly fat man tried to do a spin and almost clattered into his partner. For a dance that was meant to be executed with a fullness of grace, the man wasn’t doing the best job.
“He is hurting his chances of getting a good mate more than a little, don’t you think?”
Dr Frederick turned sharply to his left, where the voice had come from. He heard it and knew it was her. He didn’t smile, angry that she had broken his peace when he was starting to take his mind off her. He ignored the rebellious delight that warmed him in the pit of his belly, that unthinking yearning that always wanted to see her.
“Miss Helena,” he managed to squeeze out from tightly held lips.
She must have noticed his demeanour because the smile she had first held slowly died out, leaving a calm and serious expression on her face. How she managed to still look ravishing and tempting with that look, Dr Frederick couldn’t fathom.
She wore a simple dress today. White with gold edges and the lacy ends of her pink petticoat peeking out from the cone end of her dress, but not managing to cover the dainty, white, low-heeled shoes she wore. Dr Frederick couldn’t resist the comment.
“A bit afraid of heels now, are we? I’d always thought of you as a fearless woman. It’s funny what tames a woman.”
Miss Helena smiled, a small, cold smile that Dr Frederick knew she reserved for functionality. She had never given him that sort before now.
“Oh, for my soul, if I could be even be tamed by a storey-high pair of heels. No, not in this life I couldn’t. I just feel a bit calm today, so I decided to take everything calmly, including my footwear,” Miss Helena replied.
Dr Frederick looked at her dressing again and couldn’t but agree with her. He looked out the window again.
“So when did you come back?”
“I’ve been around for a bit now, a few days removed from three weeks,” she answered.
“Blimey, you have been around a while,” Dr Frederick said, feigning ignorance.
