Page 53 of Portrait of a Lady
Her lips trembled as she smiled, warmth flooding her in a heady rush. “Yes, Patience...yes, he does.”
Chapter 12
“The Hon. Mr. R made quite a stir with his piece at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition yesterday afternoon. By dinnertime, all of London was ablaze with speculation, as everyone wondered who the mysterious subject ofPortrait of a Ladymight be. To our complete and utter delight, a grand reveal was accomplished during the ball at the home of the Marquis and Marchioness of C. And the identity of the lady came as a surprise even to me …”
-The London Gossip,26April 1819
The expected crush at his sister’s ball turned out to be far larger than anticipated, filling the ballroom of her Grosvenor Square townhouse from wall to wall. As Melanie stood beside him wafting a painted fan before her face, Hugh surveyed the crowd with shaking, sweating palms.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen so many of them on time for a soirée before,” Melanie remarked. “It would seem you’ve created quite a stir.”
That, he had. The idea had been his, but Melanie had told him how to go about executing it for maximum effect. She had insisted that no woman could resist such a bold declaration of love. He hadn’t told her the whole truth of how he’d come to fall in love with Evelyn, but he had divulged that she was angry with him and he had to win her back. His sister, who had never shied away from a challenge, had been all too happy to offer her ballroom as the setting for Hugh’s potential betrothal.
If it happened, anyway. There was always the chance that Evelyn decided not to come, embarrassing him soundly before all their peers.
“What if she doesn’t show?”
Melanie swatted him with her fan. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course she’ll show!”
“She hates crowds and she loathes being the center of attention even more,” he groaned. “God, what have I done?”
“A very wonderful, romantic gesture,” Melanie assured him with one hand on his arm. “Stop worrying. She will be here. If I have to tell the orchestra to refrain from beginning the dancing until she arrives, I will.”
He took a deep breath, searching for more of the bolstering confidence he’d had during the opening of the Exhibition. The event had been surreal, the very manifestation of his greatest dreams. Having Evelyn there and seeing her reaction to the painting, knowing she’d wanted to be there for him regardless of what had happened between them had given him hope that all was not lost.
But, that hope began to fizzle the longer he stood here, waiting for Evelyn to appear.
Melanie thrust a champagne flute in his hand. “Drink this and breathe. She’ll be here, I just know it. I have guests to greet. Will you be all right on your own?”
“He’ll be fine. We’re here now.”
Hugh glanced up at the sound of a third voice and found himself surrounded by the other courtesans, who had turned out in resplendent dress for the occasion. They all wore black evening suits and white linen just like him, though Dominick sported a gigantic ruby tiepin within the froth of his cravat, while David wore a royal blue damask waistcoat.
“You didn’t think we’d leave you to be humiliated before the entiretonalone, did you?” David quipped, resting a hand on his shoulder.
“I almost wish you had,” Hugh grumbled before taking half his champagne in one swallow.
“Don’t agitate him,” Benedict snapped, before turning to Hugh with a teasing smirk. “However, I must inform you that we have a carriage waiting in the wings in the event of a crushing letdown. We are here to rescue you should you find the need to make a swift exit.”
“We are here tocongratulateyou on your forthcoming engagement,” Aubrey stated, casting Benedict and David withering glares. “Unlike these idiots, I have complete faith in your plan.”
“Good, because I don’t,” Hugh muttered before finishing off his champagne. “Who the devil decided to make champagne glasses so bloody small? A few sips and it’s all gone.”
“I’ll get you another,” Dominick said, prizing the flute from his grasp. “I can see you’re going to need it.”
“If you manage to pull this off, I will be quite impressed,” David said, scanning the room with indolent eyes. “You’d be the first of the courtesans to get hitched.”
“Have you forgotten about Ed?” Aubrey asked.
“We don’t mention Ed,” Benedict growled. “Ever.”
“How can you be angry with Edward and not Hugh?” David pointed out. “Both fell in love with their keepers and decided to marry them.”
“Hugh was always very clear about leaving us once he’d gotten his start as an artist,” Benedict argued, crossing his arms over his chest. “I already knew we would lose him once this day came, but Edward is simply an idiot who lost his head in the line of duty.”
“One could argue that Hugh has lost his head, too, as we are all now standing around at a society ball waiting for a woman to show up for a waltz,” Dominick said as he returned with Hugh’s champagne as well as a glass for himself.
“When this is over, we’ll have to go do something especially debauched,” David said. “Cards and drinks?”
