Page 11 of Scars of a Passionate Revenge
Alice turned away, her mind racing as she tried to work out what to say. At that moment, she saw across the room two gentlemen who seemed to be approaching them. It was the mysterious dark-haired man from the garden, accompanied by another man who was not quite so tall, with fair hair. He was smiling pleasantly as they approached.
Alice felt her heart rate beginning to increase. They were going to be introduced! She would find out his name, at last. Then she looked sideways at Dorothea, whose eyes now were also fixed on the pair as they approached, and she realized that she would have to try her best to remain composed.
If Dorothea suspected that anything odd had happened, then she would not leave things be until she knew every single detail, and Alice did not think she could face an interrogation, let alone the risk of their garden encounter being revealed. Young ladies had been ruined for less and she did not think she could bear the shame.
She pushed her shoulders back, stood up straight and tried to slow her breathing, to act normally. It was a perfectly natural thing, for a gentleman to request to be introduced to a young lady at a ball. Nothing untoward was happening at all. But somehow, she felt that this was to be a significant moment in her life.
She glanced quickly at Clara, who was standing to her right, and the two exchanged nervous smiles. This may be a significant moment for both of them, in fact.
The fair-haired gentleman spoke first when the group were all standing close enough together for conversation to take place. “Lady Danneville,” he said, then bowed. “What a pleasure it is to see you. And what a shame that the baron could not join us this evening.”
“My Lord, it is a pleasure to see you too,” Dorothea replied with a smile. Alice knew without even looking that the smile would not reach her eyes, but her stepmother of course knew exactly how to perform such introductions. “Lord Grant, I do not know if you have met my stepdaughter, Miss Alice Dunberry? And this is her friend, Lady Clara Arnold.”
Alice and Clara both dropped into curtseys as their names were mentioned. Alice tried to keep her eyes down, and look demure, but as she rose again, she could not help but look at the other gentleman, and she saw that his grey eyes were fixed upon her too.
Lord Grant gestured to his friend. “And I would like to present my dear friend Mr. Benedict Fletcher, who is just returned from travelling abroad.”
“How interesting!” Dorothea said in a rather shrill tone. “We would be thrilled to hear more of your adventures, Mr. Fletcher, wouldn’t we, girls?” She turned to Alice and Clara and seemed to be desperately trying to communicate something to them both with her eyes, although Alice could not for the life of her work out what.
Instead, Alice turned her attention towards Benedict. “I would be delighted to hear more about it, Sir,” she said, holding his gaze. She understood that he would not be divulging their previous meeting in the presence of others and was grateful for his discretion.
He smiled. “Miss Dunberry, I wonder if you would like to join me for the next dance, if you are not already engaged.”
Alice’s heart leapt in her chest, and she took a slow breath to try and calm herself. She did not want to appear too eager, but there was no doubt in her mind that she would accept.
Not quickly enough for Dorothea, though, it seemed, who elbowed her sharply in the ribs and glared at her.
“Of course she would like to dance with you, Sir!” Dorothea exclaimed, pushing her forward a little.
Mortified, Alice felt herself blushing furiously. “I would be delighted,” she said, looking up at Benedict’s handsome face and hoping that he realized that she was on the verge of accepting, before her stepmother had behaved in such an embarrassing way.
“I am glad to hear it,” he replied, and she thought she could see a hint of amusement in his eyes as he offered her his arm.
She took it and just before he led her towards the dance floor, he heard Lord Grant speak again.
“Lady Clara, if you are not already engaged for this dance, would you like to join me?”
Alice heard Clara’s slightly breathless reply in the affirmative and allowed herself a secret smile. She was pleased that her friend would be able to enjoy the dance too, and with a viscount into the bargain! It would be the highlight of her evening.
She glanced back at her stepmother as they crossed the room, and saw that she did not look pleased, although Alice was not sure why. Her stepmother was always telling her that she should be more agreeable to dancing with gentlemen at balls, and here she was doing just that. But Dorothea’s face was like thunder.
Alice pushed all thoughts of Dorothea from her mind, though, as they walked onto the dance floor and took their places. The music began, and she felt its rhythm pulsating through her whole body. She looked up at Benedict, who smiled at her, and then took her in his arms to begin the dance.
The dance was a traditional country dance, and they made their way through the first set of the dance, then paused at the end, allowing the other couples the chance to do the same.
“It is very busy in the ballroom, is it not,” Benedict remarked as they watched the dance progress.
She turned to look at him. “Indeed. It is rather hot and stifling, but I expect that the earl and his wife are pleased to have such a good turn out.”
Benedict nodded. “As my friend mentioned, I have been away for a while, but I gather that the Riversdale ball is quite the main event of the Season.”
“Yes, that is right,” Alice replied. “Everyone wants to be here, to be seen.” She smiled up at him. Even though their conversation now was much more superficial, and there was no mention of what they had talked of before, she felt comfortable with him in a way that she never had before with a gentleman in a ballroom.
Benedict looked out at the other couples on the dance floor. “My friend Cecil is not much of a dancer, you know. It is rather unusual for him to dance with a young lady who he has never met before. He usually prefers the safety of dancing with his cousins.”
Alice followed his gaze to see Clara smiling brightly at her partner as they made their way down the dance. She could tell that her friend was enjoying herself. “Clara loves to dance.”
It was their turn to dance again, and as they moved together, she felt the strength in Benedict’s arms as he held her close and moved through the dance. She tried not to think about the scandalous places her imagination had taken her when they were outside together in the garden. As they danced, his hair kept flopping forward onto his forehead and she felt a sudden sense of familiarity about him, as if she had met him before.
