Page 43 of The Viscount in her Bedroom
“Oh dear,” Louisa said.
“His nose bled,” Georgie continued grimly. “There were spatters of blood on his white waistcoat. I can still see it when I close my eyes.”
“What did he do?” Louisa asked.
“The bastard walked away,” Simon said in a low voice. “I saw it all.”
“He sounds like a fool.” Louisa spoke dismissively. “What man would treat a young girl that way? He probably deserved a good bloodying. He shouldn’t have left you standing there.”
“He needed to clean himself,” Georgie said weakly.
“But he didn’t return.” Simon cocked his head toward his sister. “And you refused to dance after that.”
“That night only you asked me!”
“Other men did at later events.”
“Brave ones. I would have tripped them, too.”
“It sounds to me like you just need practice,” Louisa said. “Mrs. Calbert will play a quadrille, and you and I will begin.”
“Will you be the man, Louisa?” Georgie asked.
Simon relaxed at the returning sound of laughter beneath her words.
“I make a very good man,” Louisa said.
He almost snorted at that one. “There would be a lot of padding and binding involved to make you look even remotely like a man.”
“I think that was a compliment!” Georgie cried.
“Nonsense,” Louisa said.
He liked the practicality in her tone.
“He’s just trying to make excuses for why I won’t be able to dance like one,” Louisa continued. “There are a lot of steps in the quadrille, and I’m sure I will be able to recreate the man’s part.”
But it was harder than it seemed. Georgie guided Simon over to the piano, where he listened to Mrs. Calbert keep up a running commentary on the dancing while she played.
In the middle of the dance, Louisa would curtsy when she was supposed to bow, step on Georgie’s feet when she moved during the lady’s steps.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Calbert said, ending the song on a discordant note. “They’ve both fallen to their knees.”
The laughter went on so long that Simon thought their stomachs would be aching. It was good to hear Georgie enjoying herself.
“So much for my playing the part of a man,” Louisa said shakily. “Later we’ll just keep doing the women’s steps ourselves, side by side. But for now, while we have a man available, I suggest we waltz.”
Simon tensed as neither of the other two women answered. She was actually challenging him. Was he going to sit here and not try? Georgie needed him, and the least he could do was partner her.
He rose to his feet and took a deep breath. “I know a dare when I hear one.”
For a moment, Louisa said nothing, and he realized he’d rendered her speechless.
“You did waltz well, my lord,” she finally said. “I saw you once at a ball.”
“You noticed Simon in a crush of people?” Georgie asked.
He frowned at how amazed she sounded. Women often used to notice him, he wanted to say. But it wasn’t exactly appropriate to confide that to his eighteen-year-old sister.
