Page 11 of A Lady's Propitious Match
Clara curtsied politely as Christopher bowed and shook her hand. The touch of her gloved hand was enough to have an intense sizzling feeling dancing in the pit of his stomach.
“Christopher is the friend that I was telling you about, Clara. The one who has been traveling around Europe working on his art.” Elliot turned back to Christopher. “Clara is quite the painter herself. She has a wonderful talent with water colours.”
Christopher felt himself light up. Now he became even more intrigued by this young woman standing in front of him. “You are an artist?”
“Yes,” Elliot interjected on her behalf. “And quite the talented one at that. You would be impressed, Christopher…”
Before Christopher could even think about what he was saying, he jumped at the chance to talk with someone who might actually share the same interests as him. “I would be delighted to view your works some time, Lady Clara Belmont. I am always extremely interested in the works of other people. That is what I have been exploring around Europe…”
It was only when he caught the surprise in Elliot’s eyes that he realised he might have over stepped a little. But the flattered blush that rose on Clara’s cheeks as she agreed to have him view her art work brought up intense intrigue within him instead.
“That would be lovely, Mr. Fitzhugh. I would love to hear what you think.”
They shared a smile, their eyes locked in on one another for a wonderful beat too long.
In that time, Christopher was quite sure that he could see depth in this young lady’s eyes. An understanding of him that he was not expecting anyone to ever have. How had he managed to miss this beautiful artsy woman? A woman that even without words, he could sense something like a sizzling connection burning brightly between them?
Could Elliot sense that? Was he happy about it? Or would he be furious?
Christopher parted his lips, ready to ask Clara lots of questions about her work, and her styling so he could get a true feel of her art, but before he could get any words out, the opening notes of the first dance set began.
Duty called.
Christopher had already agreed to a dance with Henrietta, and he knew that he would not be able to escape that. Not with his name on her dance card and their families watching out for them.
He excused himself regretfully, sensing his mother’s eyes upon him, and he located the lilac dress that he had felt pressed close to him not so long ago.
“There you are,” Henrietta declared excitedly. “I have been looking forward to this moment.”
“Yes. Me too.” Christopher nodded and held out his hand. “Please, let me escort you to the dance floor.”
There were many other couples doing the same thing, but Christopher truly felt like everyone was staring at him, wondering what his intentions were now that he was back in London. Was Henrietta the woman that he had his eye on? Would he want to marry her and to settle down into a comfortable, boring life in the city?
“The floral arrangements live up to their reputation,” Henrietta declared excitedly as the set began. She was obviously very practiced in dancing; she knew all of the steps well and seemed to have been taught by a very good teacher. But all that did was leave Christopher with a sense of discomfort. He was obviously out of step and out of touch. Something he did not wishto discover while he was on the dance floor. “I have been so thrilled to see the flowers. What do you think about them?”
“Erm, yes…” Christopher was not too sure what to say about the floral arrangements. He had barely even noticed them. “They are lovely.”
“I especially like the pink flowers. I think they make the ballroom look utterly lovely. I would like to have some of them in my own home…”
Christopher could not help but tune Henrietta out. He truly did not know what to say about the flowers, they were of no interest to him. Instead, he found his eyes traveling around the dance floor to locate Clara once again.
She was entwined in the arms of another lord that Christopher was sure he knew, but that he barely recognized. She looked about as interested in what he was saying as Christopher felt. If only they could be dancing with one another, talking about art and painting styles. All the things that truly fascinated him the most, and seemed to intrigue her also.
A sadness settled in Christopher’s spirit as he was overcome with an intense sense that he had missed the possibility to talk to her properly and to get to know her. If Elliot had introduced them to one another earlier in the evening, before the dance sets started, he might have really been able to get a feel of her. Perhaps they could have arranged a dance after all…
