Page 10 of The Earl's Error
Gritting his teeth, Theodore took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself inwardly. “This is not a matter that concerns you, Aunt.”
“Oh, but it does! Especially when it concerns my sister! You must know how much she adored those jewels! Besides which, they remind her of your father and –”
Theodore cut through the space between them with one hand, his palm flat out. “Enough, Aunt.” The situation was much too raw for him to be speaking with any sense of calmness, telling him that he had to bring the conversation to a close before it went on any further. “My father gave my mother a good many jewels and she was only permitted to wear the family heirlooms on very specific occasions. I will not hear any further manipulations, for I will not be moved on the matter. I will take those jewels back the moment the ball comes to an end and that will be the end of it!”
He turned away from his now red cheeked aunt, only for two young ladies to come directly into his path.
“Lord Albury, good evening.” The first one smiled, as the second one bobbed a curtsy. “I do hope you are enjoying your ball. We certainly are, I can assure you!”
Theodore silently demanded he smile as two young ladies beamed up at him. “Yes, I am. I thank you. Though,” he continued, making up an excuse which, he prayed, would not be found out, “I must now go to dance. Pardon my hasty absence.”
The two young ladies glanced at each other with similar looks of disappointment in their eyes but they could do nothing other than nod and smile. Relieved, Theodore moved away from them and his aunt as quickly as he could, making his way to the back of the ballroom though, in a short while, hewould,in fact, need to go and dance with a Miss Henderson, if he recalled correctly. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, his arms folded. The initial shock of his mother wearing the heirlooms he had stated were not to be taken had begun to wear off, replaced instead with cold and furious anger, now fueled by his aunt’s remarks. Quite what he was to do, Theodore was not yet certain but he absolutely did not want to have his mother near to him any longer. Something had to be done.
“I did hear that there has been news of a mercenary who made his way from – oh!”
Theodore’s eyes opened, a little confused as to whether or not he had heard those words correctly. It was very strange indeed for a young lady to be speaking of such things, so he quickly accepted that he had not heard her correctly. “Do not let me interrupt your conversation, please.”
The two ladies glanced at each other, though Theodore instantly recognized one. He pushed himself to stand straight, a growing heat in his neck reaching up to his face as he bowed towards Miss Trentworth. The first time he had been introduced to her had been the most embarrassing of visits, for he had sunk into a silence when he realized the precise reason for his mother’s insistence that they call. “Miss Trentworth,” he said, praying that she did not mention his visit. “Good evening.”
“Good evening,” she answered, bobbing a curtsy. “You are acquainted with Lady Amelia, I think.”
I must be, given that she was invited.“Yes, of course.” Bowing towards the lady that he did not recall in the slightest, Theodore tried to smile. “I hope that you are enjoying the evening.”
“We are.” There was a glance shared between the ladies as Miss Trentworth spoke, as though she did not want to tell him the entirety of the truth. “It is a magnificent evening.” A slight head tilt told him of her curiosity. “Though it is a little surprising to see the host of the evening standing so far from the crowd!”
Theodore bit back his first response, wanting to tell her that his standing here was none of her business but recognizing that, to do so would be very rude indeed. “I am a little fatigued.”
“I can imagine!” the other young lady said, offering him a smile that spoke of understanding and sympathy, pulling back some of Theodore’s frustration. “I have never hosted a ball before but it must be exhausting.”
“Though your efforts will be well rewarded, given that everyone in thetonwill be speaking not only of the success of this evening but also of the elegance and refinement present.” Miss Trentworth spread out her hands. “Your mother’s jewels, for example, are being spoken of already! They are truly magnificent, Lord Albury.”
This set Theodore’s teeth on edge. He did not mean to but he glowered hard at Miss Trentworth, as though she had said something wrong and watched as the light faded from her eyes. “The jewels you speak of are my family’s heirlooms,” he said, tightly. “My mother was not to display them this evening but she chose to do so regardless.”
Miss Trentworth blinked, then smiled though it did not send light into her expression. “I can see why she would have chosento do so. They are beautiful and indeed, I do not think that I have ever seen anything like them before!”
“Indeed, it is little wonder that she wanted to show them to society,” Lady Amelia added, though there was a flicker of confusion in her eyes, no doubt wondering as to his strange reaction. “I quite understand.”
“As do I.”
Theodore grimaced and looked away, finding very little to say to this. When he shot a look back toward the two ladies, he saw them looking at each other, both a little wide-eyed and wondering at his strange reaction.I am behaving poorly.Taking in a deep breath, he set his shoulders back and tried to shake off his displeasure. “Might you have your dance cards available to me, ladies? I should be glad to dance with you both, though I have only three dances remaining.”
Lady Amelia shook her head. “Alas, I have my dance card quite filled already, Lord Albury, though I am grateful to you for your consideration.”
This, much to Theodore’s surprise, had Miss Trentworth sending a somewhat dark look towards her friend, though he did not understand why. When she turned her attention to him again, however, there was a sunny smile placed on her expression as though nothing was wrong. “How very kind, Lord Albury,” she said, handing him her dance card. “I have some dances remaining though if they do not suit, then I quite understand.”
“The cotillion.” Quickly writing his name down, he thrust the dance card back at her. “Now you must excuse me, for I am to dance and I do not want to miss the polka. Good evening.”
Aware that he had been somewhat abrupt in his departure, Theodore strode away from the ladies, his face growing hot. It had been the mention of his mother’s jewels which had quite ruined the conversation for him and he knew he had behavedpoorly thereafter. Mayhap he had made things a little better by asking the ladies to dance, but all the same, he had not done particularly well. Sighing inwardly, Theodore lifted his chin and determinedly pushed on. He would have to do his utmost to make a good impression on the others from society for the rest of the evening, or else things would become all the worse for him what with whispers and rumors about his behavior. He could only hope that Miss Trentworth and Lady Amelia were not inclined towards gossiping, else the damage had already been done.
And it was all, Theodore considered, his mother’s fault.
5
“How was your dance with Lord Albury?”
Joceline snorted as her friend grinned at her. “My dear Eugenia, you know very well that he was not at all in good spirits last evening!”
“I know.” Miss Sherwood giggled. “But I must tell you that it was Lady Amelia who told me that you were dancing with him. That is why I ask you, for we both watched you very carefully but I did not have the opportunity to speak with you thereafter.”
