Page 50 of The Duchess' Ultimatum
“He is not!” Barbara cried, pretending to be upset by the notion, even if Penelope could see how thrilled she was.
“Take a look for yourself – careful!” She was holding Barbara by the arm as they walked, and she clutched it, forcing the young woman not to turn suddenly. “Do not be so obvious about it.”
“I…” Barbara stuck her tongue out. “Yes, subtle. Like this…” She affected a yawn, stretching her arm over her head and turning back so she could glance quickly over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she did, and she was back to looking ahead. “I saw him! I… you were right. He was looking right at me!”
“I told you so.”
“What do I do? Do I… am I expected to go over and speak with him? I don’t think I want to.” Her body turned stiff, and she reached over with her spare hand, clinging onto Penelope.
“For now, you do nothing,” she said rightly. “In fact, do not approach him at all tonight.”
Barbara looed relieved… only to turn it into a frown. “But I thought… am I not supposed to…”
“He will approach you,” she said. “And if he does not, well, I have ways of making sure that won’t be a problem.”
“What do you mean? What are you… what are you planning?”
Penelope winked. “Just you wait and see. But you have to trust me, Barbara. Do you trust me?”
“I do, Penelope.”
Penelope beamed. “Good girl. Oh, this is going to be fun!”
The evening ball was in full swing, and Penelope walked through its center with Barbara clinging to her arm.
It had started thirty minutes ago, but Penelope insisted that she and Barbara be the last to arrive. They had spent those extra thirty minutes together in Barbara’s room, putting the final touches on their gowns and checking that their hair andmake-up were all in order. The purpose for tonight, as Penelope explained, was not to waste time socializing and expending effort by speaking to as many people as possible. Rather, it was to stand back and let the outfit do its work. To be seen and admired and force those who dared to come to you.
And as things looked so far, it was a plan destined to success.
Penelope was dressed in a purple gown hemmed in silver. It was tight fitting from top to bottom, with a high neckline, the crystal necklace she wore tying the ensemble together. Barbara was dressed in deep blue, her gown flowing, sleeveless and showing skin – to which Barbara had protested – she looked stunning and confident and brave.
Indeed, as they walked across the busy ballroom, Penelope could feel people watching them. Ordinarily, she was not such a fan of that, but tonight she figured it was not so bad. Really, it was just nice to see how much Barbara was enjoying herself.
“Look at you!” Evelina swept toward them, her eyes wide and sparkling as she took the two of them in. “You look… well, Penelope, you look fine. But Barbara!”
“That dress!” Margaret came in next, taking Barbara by the hands and holding her back to get a good look at her. “Stunning.”
“I wondered why all attention was pointed this way.” Next came Alexandra, a huge smile across her face as her eyes roamed over Barbara. “Now, it makes perfect sense. You look beautiful, Barbara.”
“Oh… stop it…” Barbara was blushing furiously.
“Told you so,” Penelope told her. “See what you have been missing.”
Barbara scrunched her face into a tight ball to stop herself from smiling. “I don’t like how everyone is looking at me. It feels… weird.” She started to rub her arm.
“Even young Nicholas Wood?” Evelina asked with a cocked eyebrow. “I thought you would have liked that.”
Barbara’s eyes widened even further with embarrassment.
As Penelope’s sisters took hold of Barbara, fussing over her gown, she took a step back so she could better see the ball. She did, after all, organize the entire thing herself.
There were two score of guests here this evening, all of which she had met briefly earlier today. That was not to say that she knew any of them, as she’d spent most of the day in hiding. But to look at them now, a mass of colorful gowns and smart suits, laughing faces, cheerful smiles every which way, she was pleased to say that the ball was getting off to a fine start.
The theme was spring, and the colors that adorned the walls and hung from the ceiling were made to match. Music drifted lazily over the throng of guests. Waiters walked among them with drinks and nibbles. It was as good a ball as she had been to, so far nothing to cause worry.
But the night has only just begun…
Despite her best efforts, she did as she knew she was going to and looked for her husband. And when she did, she felt a stabbing pain in her chest that she did not want to feel but was not surprised at because as was the case for most of today, he was in the company of the young redheaded woman.
