Page 24 of The Uncompromising Marquess
Joseph cleared his throat, looking again to Emily who only shrugged her shoulders lightly, looking quite lost as to what to do. “Is there a piece that you know well, Lady Florence? Well enough to play?”
Her eyes closed. “There are one or two pieces that I could play, but it would not be at the high standard expected for such occasions.”
“Might I ask what they are?”
With a sigh, she looked at him. “The only ones I could play that would be in any way suitable for a gathering such as thiswould be a carol or two, and even then, I have no promise of success.”
“Which ones do you know best?” Joseph asked, an idea coming upon him, an idea that he would have thought most preposterous, were it not for the fact that his heart eagerly yearned to save Lady Florence from this predicament. “Might you know ‘Adeste Fideles’?”
She blinked, then nodded.
“My Latin is tolerable enough,” he said, as her eyes rounded in understanding of what he was offering her. “If you wish, I can sing, and you can play. Emily here can sit with you and assist with the piano playing, if that would be acceptable. Mayhap our host has the music for that particular piece.” He sniffed. “I would be surprised if he did not, in fact. It would be wise for such music to be set out for a gathering such as this.”
There came no response from either Lady Florence or his sister, not for some minutes. Joseph looked from one to the other, taking in their astonished expressions and wondering at it.
“You… ” Emily was the first to speak, turning her head away and then looking back at him, askance. “You wouldsing?”
Joseph nodded. “I am not the most excellent of singers, but I am able to sing a carol or two. Do you not recall how we used to sing carols at Christmas time with mother and father?”
His sister began to blink very rapidly indeed, a soft smile touching the edge of her lips. “Yes, brother. I do recall, but that was many years ago, and I did not think that you would ever do such a thing in public.”
“I am more than willing to do so if it would save you from any sort of embarrassment,” Joseph told Lady Florence, who still had not said a word. “I shall do my very best, I assure you.”
Lady Florence held his gaze, then squeezed her eyes closed, her breath catching in her quiet sob. When her eyes opened,there was moisture on her lashes, but she did not let any tears fall to her cheeks. Instead, she began to smile, one hand pressed to her heart. “Lord Applegate, if this is another attempt to lessen any lingering guilt over what you should have said to my mother, I assure you that it is not needed.”
Joseph smiled ruefully. “It is not, Lady Florence.”
“Then why would you do such a thing for me?” she asked, her voice rasping. “The last time we were in company together, you did a very kind thing for me indeed, and then I ruined it by acting so very foolishly. I should not have run from you as I did; I have been so embarrassed by my own actions, and yet now, here you are offering to do somethingmore.” Spreading out her hands, she held his gaze. “Why?”
No immediate answer came. A good many thoughts pressed into Joseph’s mind, but he could not find anything to say. It was not as if he could tell her that his heart suddenly desired to do this, that he could not bear to see her so upset! These thoughts and feelings were so very new to him that he was not quite sure what to make of them and most certainly could not express that to her!
“I – I suppose that I have seen your struggle,” Joseph said, slowly, trying to find something to say that would make sense to both her and to his sister. “Recall that I overheard your mother speaking to Lord Sutherland and saw your difficulty there. Now, it seems, your mother has promised something to these gentlemen – roguish gentlemen, no doubt – and to Lady Abernyte also. It would not be right of me to ignore your plight, Lady Florence. That is not what a good gentleman ought to do, and I am determined to be the very best sort of fellow I can.”
The sweetness of her smile made his breath catch. The way it shone light into her expression, making her blue eyes spin with flecks of silver.
“You are most kind,” she breathed, relief in every part of her expression and in her frame. “Lord Applegate, I do not know how to thank you. I feared that I would faint, such was my distress, but you have saved me from certain humiliation.”
“And I shall sit with you.” Emily smiled first at Lady Florence, then beamed up at Joseph, her pride in him more than apparent. “How very good of you, brother. It has been a long time since I have heard you sing. I confess that I am looking forward to hearing your strong voice again.”
With a chuckle, Joseph lifted his shoulders. “It may go quite dreadfully,” he said, a little anxiety kicking in his stomach. “But then the attention shall be solely upon me, and that, Lady Florence, can only be a good thing for you.”
“Indeed,” she answered, still sounding a little breathless. “You areverygood, Lord Applegate, and I am very grateful indeed.”
“Veníte adoremus,veníte adoremus, veníte adoremus Dóminum.” The last few words of the carol left his lips and, as Joseph turned his head, he saw Lady Florence close her eyes in what he presumed was nothing short of relief. Her hands lingered on the keys, the lingering notes filling the room as Joseph looked back at the attentive crowd of guests.
“Wonderful!” Their host began to applaud and the other guests joined in, with Joseph nodding to them all, then holding out one hand towards Lady Florence as she rose to her feet. Joseph did not miss how she reached out for Emily, taking Emily’s arm at once so that she could be led from the pianoforte. With relief filling him, Joseph made his way from the front of thedrawing room and walked directly back to his seat near the back of the room.
“I was going to find something to criticize you about, Lord Applegate, but that performance was quite perfect.”
Joseph glanced at the gentleman beside him. “I am thankful for your consideration, Lord Chester.”
“We have not talked often this Season, have we?” Lord Chester tilted his head as another young lady rose to her feet, ready to entertain them all. “I thought we might be of an encouragement to each other as we each sought out a bride, but alas, it seems to me that you are already quite settled upon your young lady! You have not asked her to court you yet, have you? I am due to ask Lord Wickton if I might court his sister, Lady Prudence, but I have not done so as yet. Truth be told, I am a little anxious about it all!”
A little confused, Joseph frowned. “There is no young lady of importance in my life as yet, Lord Chester.”
“No?” Lord Chester looked at him quizzically. “I would have thought that Lady Florence was someone of note.”
“Oh?”
