Page 26 of A Lady's Passion Knows No Distance
“I’m glad I could have been of a good service to you,” he said. “I’ve been out to sea for well over a year and haven’t had much practice. I can easily agree you have been by far my favourite dance partner of all time.”
Caroline laughed, thinking that he was praising her too much. “I’m sorry for laughing, but it is hard for me to believe that I dance that well.”
“Never apologizing for laughing. You have a beautiful laugh that anyone could easily grow to love.”
Caroline looked at him once more, thinking this was the most interesting man she’d ever met. He was quick to compliment her and didn’t seem afraid to do so. She was curious about his business and why he had been sailing.
“What took you out to sea for so long?” she asked.
“I joined the Royal Navy a while back, wanting to create a better name for myself than what I had been born with. Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined what would happen during my journeys. There were more pirate ships than I thought possible and our days seemed to be spent facing one battle at sea after another and another.”
Caroline listened to him talk, thinking that was the most dreadful thing she’d ever heard. She couldn’t imagine what that must have been like or what type of man it took to endure such days.
“Did you gain what you were hoping for by joining the Navy?” she asked.
“I did, sure enough,” he admitted with a smirk.
“Then I suppose I could guess rather easily at your name,” Caroline said as she leaned in close to him. “You must be Sir Roberts, the man everyone is talking about.”
The masked man smiled at her as he nodded his head. “I suppose it is too hard to hide my identity these days. A simple description of my past few years, and everyone seems to already know who I am,” Sir Roberts explained. “I went chasing after a way to improve myself in society and ended up being knighted.”
“You must be very proud of your accomplishments,” Caroline mused.
“I am grateful what the King did for me, yet, all this fame and fortune has come at a price. I served alongside many great men who are not with me today,” Sir Roberts admitted. “I wish to honour them in my own way one day.”
“And how do you suppose you’ll do that?” Caroline wondered.
“Well, I suppose I should marry and have a litter of children. I shall name them all after the sailors I do truly miss,” Sir Roberts said, causing Caroline to laugh.
“And what would you do if you were to sire all girls?”
“I’m afraid then that my daughters will become rather cross with me once they are old enough to realize their names are rather masculine in nature.” His statement only made Caroline laugh more, and when her mirth had subsided, she realized she hadn’t laughed this much in a very long time. Though her dear friend Gwendolen was always quick to say something funny, Sir Roberts’ wit was far superior.
“So, is that why you have come to the ball tonight? To find yourself a wife so you may have these children and honour your fellow sailors?” Caroline asked.
“It was part of my design, yes. But there is only one particular person that I am interested in at this time,” he explained. Caroline quieted upon hearing this, knowing that the person couldn’t possibly be her. After all, she was no engaged. And before this moment, Lord Canton had done well to steer any gentlemen interested in her far away.
“Then it seems I should leave you so you can find this woman,” Caroline said in a shy voice as she rose and went to leave.
“How do you know it’s not you that I’ve designed to meet?” Sir Roberts said, causing her to pause in her retreat. She turned and watched as he stood, coming close to her. Her breath caught in her lungs and for a moment she wondered if she could fall in love with a man like this.
“I suppose since you have already revealed your identity, that I should do so as well,” Caroline said in a clam voice. At least, she was trying to remain calm. “My name is Miss Caroline Goldman. I’m the daughter of Lord Goldman and have been recently engaged to Lord Canton.”
“That much I did read in the papers,” he said with a shrug.
“So, you already knew who I was?” Caroline asked, surprised. She’d never met this man before in her life and wondered why he was so drawn to her.
“I would never forget the sound of your voice,” he said.
“But when have we…” Caroline was speaking when her name rang out in the gardens. She heard Gwendolen calling after her and wondered if the dinner had begun. She turned from Sir Roberts, hoping to spot Gwendolen and assure her that she was well. And just when she was certain she could find her way to her friend, she turned quickly to finish her question to Sir Roberts only discover he had disappeared. Stunned, she looked for him quickly before Gwendolen found her.
“Dear Lord, Caroline! I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Gwendolen said upon finding her, sounding quite out of breath. “Dinner has begun, and I wanted to make sure you were well and got something to eat.”
“Forgive me, Gwendolen. I was out enjoying the gardens. My word, you’ll never believe who I have met,” Caroline said with a bright smile. When Gwendolen didn’t say a word, she explained, “I have discovered Sir Roberts!” Gwendolen looked at her, completely stunned.
“Was it the man you were dancing with earlier?” she asked, leading Caroline back towards the dance hall through the maze of the garden.
“It was. We were talking together, and when he described his past years of sailing, I just knew it had to be him. Oh, Caroline. I wish you could meet him. He’s the most charming man and by far the most interesting person I’ve met in a long time,” Caroline rambled, causing Gwendolen to giggle beside her.
