Page 180 of Snowbound Surrender
“Your sister is waiting for you also,” he said quietly.
She glanced at the girl and then back to him. “Will you be staying at court for Christmas, Your Grace?”
Maxim nodded. “I shall be a Czar by Christmas, just you wait and see. Officially, I mean. Royally recognised.”
Anne smiled and curtsied low, saying, “Well, in that case, I will see you at the ball tonight.”
CHAPTER 3
The first yawnwas easy to stifle, the second almost managed to escape, but the third forced Anne to raise her hand. Not a single person at Prinny’s ball noticed – but then, they were all engaged in meaningless conversations without her.
It was a challenge, not allowing her boredom to show, but then no one was particularly interested in whether she was entertained or not, and she did not think anyone would blame her for feeling so tired of it all.
A pair of elderly gentlemen walked past her, inclining their heads, and she returned the curtsy, using the movement downwards to hide another yawn.
The same old people going round and round the room, ensuring they could be seen and at the same time, look at everyone else.
It was just like the first time her father had brought her here, when she had been presented. A decade ago, now. It was a challenge to remember a time when she was not out in society, it was so long ago – and yet while outside these four walls, the world has made progress, things have changed, fashions altered, St. James was exactly the same.
Anne’s gaze moved around the room. Yes, the same dances that were popular ten, almost twenty years ago. A quadrille, perhaps the most boring dance that was ever conceived. The food was the same, no new recipes or exciting spices there.
Even the fashions were the same! Everyone knew Prinny liked his ladies in a slightly older style, and so to please him, everyone kept their oldest gown and brought it out whenever they returned to town.
Anne smiled sadly. It was a time bubble, a moment of history stuck in amber, and it was all in the aid of making one man feel special.
What was worse, the conversation was the same recycled nonsense.
Sir Thomas nudged her. “You are supposed to be enjoying yourself.”
“How?” Anne whispered. “I am so excessively bored!”
“Now then, really,” her father chided under his breath, his smile never disappearing. “How many people are desperate to be here, at St. James’ Court, and at Christmas!”
Anne looked at her father closely, and for the first time, realised that he was really quite an old man. His whiskers were grey, his hair thinning on top, and a slight stoop appearing in his shoulders.
He had become an old man, and she had not even noticed.
“I would be more than happy to exchange places with them,” she whispered instead, “so I can return home, to Romney, and enjoy a quiet Christmas at home.”
Sir Thomas sighed as he shook his head. “I hope little Meredith will not be so troublesome when she is grown.”
The thought of Meredith at her first ball made Anne smile, finally. “She is nothing like me, thank goodness. Now, I am going to sit over here and – ”
“You will do no such thing,” her father said firmly. “You promised me you would take part in this ball, Annika.”
Anne hesitated. She had promised, but she had made that promise when she had thought Maxim – the Czar, she must not be so informal this evening – would be here. Not that she had expected anything more than a pleasant greeting, she reminded herself hastily. He was so entertaining to speak to. She felt truly alive, young even, when conversing with him.
Maxim would have relieved her boredom, making the ball almost tolerable, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She had considered asking a footman where he was, but she had been forward enough in public for one day. She had been wild enough to even ask who he was in the first place.
“It is not down to me whether I dance or not,” she reminded her father quietly. “I have to wait to be asked, and if that does not occur…”
“You could make yourself a little presentable,” he replied, a touch of distress in his voice. “Really, Anne, you put so little effort into your appearance these days.”
Anne took a deep breath, giving herself time to control her impulse to speak harshly to a gentleman who only wished her to be happy, albeit in a very specific way. She would not be getting married anytime soon, and the sooner he learned to accept that, the happier her father would be.
She always was impulsive. That side of her nature had landed her in trouble before, but even after rescuing herself from it – or being rescued – she could not help but be impulsive.
