Page 46 of The Midnight Secret

‘Hmm. I think Mr Baird-Hamilton’s toes might say otherwise,’ she laughed, raking her hair back with her fingers to try to cool down a little.

‘Codswallop. You were flawless, Miss Gillies. It was like dancing with a fairy.’

‘Now I know you’re lying!’ she laughed, glancing over and finding Sholto still in conversation with his dance partner as he walked her back to her friends. She admired him from afar; he was always so proper and handsome, as unaware of the admiring looks that followed him as she was aware of the craned necks and wide eyes that greeted her entrance into every new room.

She looked back again to find Baird-Hamilton watching her, and she smiled. ‘Thank you for looking after me out there.’

‘Not at all. I’ve found there are few places more treacherous in the world than a Highland ball – sharpened elbows, rapier wit, heaving bosoms to take a man’s eye out.’

She laughed again and he smiled, seeming pleased to have amused her.

‘Well, it certainly looked from here like you were both enjoying yourselves,’ Bitsy said archly from her perch on the tall stool. She was still sitting out most of the energetic dances on account of her ‘terrible foot injury’ at Dupplin, and her coolness towards Effie had dropped several degrees more since she had started seeing Eddie Rushton. He was due toreturn to California early in the new year, and as the day grew ever closer, Bitsy’s mood was souring. It seemed no mention had been made of her going out to America to visit him. ‘The two of you were beaming at one another.’

Effie flushed at the intimation, but Baird-Hamilton was unruffled.

‘I suppose we were. I rather sense Miss Gillies and I are birds of a feather,’ he replied, looking over at Effie for back-up. ‘She’s not afraid to take an evening by the scruff of the neck and shake every last bit of fun from it. If only there were more of our ilk, instead of so much mannered artifice.’ It was a clear rebuke.

‘Oh, Arch, there you are. Tell me, are you going to Monaco next month?’ Peony butted in as she joined them all. Her dance card had been filled up within moments of arriving and she’d scarcely stopped for breath. She looked ravishing in dusky pink taffeta.

‘Undecided. You?’

‘Mm, I think so,’ she sighed, eyes narrowed as if in intense concentration. ‘I need some sun. Don’t you remember how I loathe being cold?’ She pinned him with what seemed to be a pointed stare.

Effie looked between them, confused.

‘I do...But if you’ll excuse me, I’d better find my next partner.’ He bowed slightly, removing himself from the group without further ado.

Effie watched him go, wishing she could dance with him again. He seemed like the only straight shooter here, and it had been a relief to throw off the rules for a few minutes and justbe.

‘Hmm. Well, he seemed particularly pleased to make your acquaintance again,’ Bitsy muttered.

‘Did he?’ Effie asked, sensing subtext. ‘I thought he was just being polite.’

‘Oh, don’t fall for that,’ Bitsy drawled. ‘Our Archie has quite the reputation as a lady-killer. There’s not a woman in here he hasn’t had one way or another...Be very careful with him.’

Effie’s mouth opened in surprise at the suggestion that he might be interested in her and, worse, that she might reciprocate. Flirtation and seduction might be part of their social language here, but she had no interest in learning it. ‘I’m engaged!ObviouslyI’m not interested!’

‘Ah, but that won’t stop him,’ Bitsy said dismissively. ‘Old B-H relishes a challenge!’

Gladly approached the table and sweetly, wordlessly, handed her a glass of lemonade. She hadn’t even had to ask. ‘So what’s going on?’ he asked into the stiff silence.

‘Just Effie catching certain eyes,’ Bitsy said devilishly.

‘I’mnotcatching anyone’s eyes,’ Effie defended herself. She didn’t want gossip to start. ‘I love Sholto.’

‘I’m very glad to hear it,’ Sholto himself said, suddenly appearing at her shoulder. ‘...Was it ever in doubt?’

‘We’re just teasing her,’ Peony sighed, bored with the conversation. ‘She just danced with B-H, so you know the drill...’

A small, disgruntled sound came from Sholto’s throat but he passed no comment on the matter. ‘What I want to know is, when amIdancing with you?’ He pulled out her dance card and checked it, looking back at her with an aghast expression. ‘...You didn’t leave me a single dance?’

‘I didn’t get a chance! Besides, you should have been quicker off the mark,’ she shrugged. ‘You’re the one who knows how this goes, not me.’

‘I’m a damned fool,’ he drawled, his eyes dancing.

It was true she had been particularly popular this evening.The Skye Balls were held over two nights at the Gathering Hall in Portree, and this was the second. Last night she had mainly danced with the men in Sholto’s closest friendship circle, but tonight that had opened up, and she didn’t even recognize most of the names on her card: the Rt Hon Charles Arbuthnott, Mungo MacMillan, Viscount Lisle...What she did recognize was the look in their eyes as they twirled and spun her. Everyone wanted to experience for themselves the allure she must surely possess to have attracted a man of the calibre of Sholto Crichton-Stuart.

He turned her away from the others and reached down to kiss her cheek lightly. ‘At least I get to take you home,’ he whispered in her ear, making her shiver.

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