Page 55 of Snowbound with the Scoundrel
The dance passed so quickly that she felt like it had scarcely begun when the music stopped.Rupert held her a second too long before clearing his throat and taking a hasty step back.Clarissa keenly felt the absence of his warm hand on her waist.
As he led her to the refreshment table, he leaned down and murmured, “You should try to waltz with Higginbotham.That would give you the best chance to converse.”
She made a bleak sound.“I don’t know how I’ll get him to ask me.I’ve scarcely made his acquaintance.”
“I’ll help you,” Rupert whispered.
Richard Garroway claimed the next dance, and Clarissa never found herself wanting for a partner—a first for England’s most notorious wallflower.
Just before the supper break, the musicians began the opening bars of another waltz.Percival Ponsonby, one of the young men who had shown a marked interest in Clarissa after learning of the dowry the Duke of Norwood had settled upon her, came hurrying over, but Rupert scooped up her arm, quick as a leopard.Percival scowled, no doubt thinking it poor form for Rupert to claim both of the evening’s waltzes, but Rupert led her to the corner where Mr.Higginbotham had been standing alone for most of the ball.
Clarissa wondered what he was going to do.Mr.Higginbotham did not seem much inclined to dance, and of course, a lady could not do the asking.
“Good evening, Higginbotham,” Rupert said cheerfully.“Have you met Miss Clarissa Weatherby?”
“Good evening, Dupree.Yes, I have had the pleasure.”Mr.Higginbotham’s words were correct, but he didn’t manage to accompany them with a smile.Clarissa could not help but wonder if it was the presence of the man who had ousted him from his parliamentary seat and sent his career into disarray that had him in a less-than-festive mood.
“Do you enjoy waltzing?”Rupert asked.
Mr.Higginbotham sighed, by all appearances wishing they would go away.“I used to.But I am not much for dancing these days.”
His unenthusiastic response did not put a dent in Rupert’s cheerfulness.“I daresay you will recall why you used to like it so well if you could but dance with such a splendid partner as Miss Weatherby.”
Mr.Higginbotham’s melancholy expression did not waver, but he was not so rude as to ignore such a pointed suggestion.“Miss Weatherby, would you do me the honor?”
They found a space on the ballroom floor and began turning together.Clarissa cast about for an opening foray.“May I ask how you know Lord and Lady Helmsley?”
“Our families are friends.I was raised in Thirsk,” he said, naming a town about ten miles away.
“Thirsk, really?”Curiosity showed on Mr.Higginbotham’s face, so she added, “I am from Boroughbridge, you see.”
“Ah.I know just where that is, of course.”
Clarissa recalled that Rosalind Baxter had been raised in Thirsk.This was surely the best opening she was going to get.“I believe Lady Helmsley’s sister lives in Thirsk, does she not?”
“She does.That is how I came to meet the earl and countess.”
Clarissa sought to make her voice nonchalant as she said, “Then you must be well acquainted with Mrs.Rosalind Baxter.”
He shrugged.“I don’t know that I would say well acquainted.She is nine years younger than me, after all.By the time she was old enough to talk, I was away at school.I am good friends with her older brothers, Joseph and Gregory, though.”
Clarissa’s mind was scrambling, trying to figure out how to turn the conversation to Oliver Baxter without being too obvious.“I have not had the pleasure of meeting Mrs.Baxter’s brothers.Do you see much of them these days?”
“I do not,” Mr.Higginbotham replied, steering her around another couple.“They still reside in Thirsk, but I haven’t been there in years.”
“Is your business based in London, then?”Clarissa asked.
He shook his head.“York.”
It was only around twenty-five miles from York to Thirsk, not even a full day’s journey.It seemed significant that he would not have traversed such a short distance to visit his old friends.
She was careful to keep her voice light as she said, “Perhaps you will stop and visit after the house party.You’ll have to pass through Thirsk on your way back to York, after all.”
A shadow fell over his face.Over his shoulder, she saw Oliver Baxter, who had partnered with Phyllis Cuthbert, go spinning by.
His jaw worked, and he took a moment to select his words.“I will not be stopping in Thirsk,” he said in a clipped voice.“There is nothing there but bad memories.”The music slowed as the last few bars were played.Stepping back, Mr.Higginbotham bowed over her hand.“Thank you for the dance, Miss Weatherby.”
Chapter24
