Page 27 of Tempting the Earl
Philip nodded and lost himself in thought once more, even as he skilfully led his mother in the dance. But then after a moment’s hesitation, he asked her, “Mama, what is nobility to you?” Lady Clara was surprised by the question and at first wasn’t sure what he was getting at until he asked her a follow-up question, “Do you think Father was wrong to place such emphasis on good blood?”
The light dawned in Lady Clara’s mind, but she contained her excitement and tried to answer his question diplomatically. “I do not think your father was wrong, Philip, I just think you may have misinterpreted things he said. However, this is a rather large topic, and I do believe this song is coming to an end. Let’s debate the matter some other time, shall we?” Philip smiled warmly at his mother as he took her into the last turn of the dance. There was a polite murmur of admiration from the crowd before the orchestra struck up the next number and other couples took to the floor.
“I guess I need to do my duty by the other young ladies here, eh, Mama?” Philip laughed as he bowed over his mother’s hand before turning to Lady Julia and inviting her to have the next dance with him. Julia blushed and accepted happily.
Emily was delighted when Lord Fitzgerald appeared at her elbow and gallantly requested her hand for the next dance. He said he would do his duty before getting lost in the cards. He had accompanied this statement with a broad wink, which brought forth a gurgle of laughter from Emily. He turned out to be a graceful partner, and they enjoyed their dance together before he went off to play some cards after it came to an end. She was having a grand time and was thrilled to see that all the guests were enjoying themselves as well.
All the young ladies were dazzling in their pastel colours. The mothers looked on in their deeper hued gowns as their offspring paired up then changed partners as each successive dance went by. It was becoming obvious to everyone that Lord Sutherland was seriously courting Miss Waddell when he stood glowering from the sidelines whenever she accepted an invitation to dance with any other gentleman. It was clear too that Jane was enjoying every minute of the attention she was receiving.
Emily's own joy was made complete when later in the evening Philip bowed over her hand and requested that she dance the waltz with him. She hesitated before accepting, afraid he would be able to discern her feelings during the intimacy of the dance. She could tell that he had misinterpreted her silence as nerves over perhaps not knowing the steps. He had begun to apologize when she smiled cheerfully, took his hand and accepted the invitation. They danced beautifully together. Many of the other guests stopped and watched as they glided gracefully around the ballroom floor as though dancing upon a cloud. The music and the crowd faded away. They lost themselves in the beautiful moment.
Watching them, Lady Maude thought her head would explode from rage! That Philip should seem to enjoy the company of this commoner more than he did hers! Despite her shame a few days prior and her realization that she had stepped over the line, she had expected Philip to let it go and continue paying court to her. Watching him enjoy his dance with Emily made her realize he had never seemed that content in her own company. She felt impotent and flounced from the dance floor refusing to watch such a spectacle.
Lady Clara, on the other hand, felt her joy was complete. Philip couldn’t still be professing feelings for Lady Maude if he was so obviously enjoying the evening apart from her, she reasoned. The music drew to a close and the dancers drifted from the dance floor. Philip escorted Emily over to his mother and went in search of drinks for both women. Lady Clara complimented Emily on her graceful dancing.
“Where did you learn the waltz, my dear? You perform it beautifully. You must have had an excellent teacher.”
Emily blushed to her roots as she realized herfaux pas. She grasped for an answer; she had come to love the countess dearly and couldn’t bear to tell her more lies. But she dared not reveal her secrets now, least of all in a crowded ballroom. So she told the truth with a quiver in her voice. “My father taught me. And yes, he was a wonderful dancer. He and my mama loved to dance together at every opportunity. They taught me everything they knew.”
Lady Clara didn’t pursue the topic any further, realizing that it would cause the tears shimmering on Emily’s lashes to tumble down and cause a scene. She just patted Emily’s hand and said, “Well they did an excellent job of teaching you, my dear. It was pure pleasure watching you dancing with Philip. Ah, there he is with some punch for us. Thank you, Philip, that’s kind of you.”
Emily drifted away to mingle with the guests. She kept an eye out for any ladies without a partner and ensured a gentleman was introduced quickly. She was determined there would be no wallflowers at this party. It delighted her to see all the ladies, even the quiet plain ones, were enjoying the evening.
In her meandering Emily came upon Lady Thorpe, who appeared lost in thought. She stopped to engage the lady in conversation. "Are you well, Lady Thorpe? Could I get you a glass of something from the refreshment table?"
"Oh Miss Spencer, you are so sweet. No thank you, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how much fun Lord Thorpe is having and missing my children. I feel so very torn. My husband has had such a grand time here at Rosemount that he really wants to go up to London for the Season this year. We have not been since we had our first child."
Emily pondered the subject briefly. Obviously having neither husband nor children gave her very little experience in this particular subject, but being Emily she felt the need to help.
"Do you really hate London that much?" she queried gently.
"Oh no, some of my best memories are of the times we spent in London both as a girl with my family and then during my courtship and marriage with Lord Thorpe."
"So why couldn't you go now? Could you not take the children with you, even for a few weeks if not the entire season?"
Lady Thorpe smiled brilliantly at Emily. "You are a smart girl, aren't you? I never really thought of that possibility." She laughed at her own silliness. "I was just so caught up in missing the children and enjoying Thorpe's amusement that I couldn't see past it to a solution. Of course, the thought of being cooped up in a carriage for three days with the little ones is enough to turn even the fondest mother into a lunatic," laughed the mother humorously.
"That is why you need two carriages," concluded Emily drolly.
Lady Thorpe was so pleased with the solution to what she had considered a huge problem. She linked arms with Miss Spencer and they proceeded to the refreshment table for glasses of punch while discussing all the sights to be seen in London and what the children might enjoy while there as well. Emily had not yet been to London herself, but she had heard so much about it as well as often reading the London papers, so she could add a few details to the conversation.
The rest of the night flew by as the revelry continued. Emily’s hand was bespoken for nearly every dance. She was pleasantly surprised to be receiving such gallant attention from the gentlemen despite her lowly position in Society and she was determined to wring every drop of enjoyment from the evening. It was clear to Emily the young gentlemen were going out of their way to be pleasant to her even if they weren’t likely to truly court her. She was relieved to know they considered her to be the perfect companion. She had made everyone comfortable throughout their stay and while most of them were not in a financial position to be able to form an attachment with a penniless girl, they wanted to show her a good time at the ball. Emily was passed from gentleman to gentleman with each tune the orchestra struck. She glided around the dance floor with ceaseless energy and still found the time to check on the food and punch supplies. She delighted the footmen by joining them in a country-dance out in the hallway after she had checked how they were doing. Everything was a success.
Emily stood just behind the earl and his mother as they waved off the last of the guests not staying for the night. The houseguests had all been bade a goodnight and were being tucked into their beds by their maids and valets when Emily, Philip, and Clara sat down in the library to toast themselves and the success of their event. There was a moment of comfortable silence as they all gave thought to how the evening had gone.
Philip interrupted the ladies’ private thoughts by saying, “Mama, I must apologize for begging you to throw this party, but I must also compliment you on how well you carried it off. You made excellent choices on the guest list and the entire week has been an unequivocal success despite the few bumps encountered along the way. I did not realize what difficulties I was asking you to undertake and I am impressed with how you managed so well. Thank you for doing this for me. It did not have the result I had expected, but that is apparently a good thing.” His smile indicated he wasn’t all that broken up about the outcome even if he was embarrassed about the process.
Lady Clara was delighted by what he was saying, but modestly replied, “I couldn’t have done it without Emily.”
Emily realized the mother and son could use a few minutes of privacy to discuss the matter of the earl's potential marriage prospects further, so she excused herself after suppressing a huge yawn. Philip and Clara laughed and bade her goodnight. Emily left the room and went to confirm that the front door was locked. She had not quite closed the door to the library and as she passed by on her way to the stairs, when she felt her entire world turn upside down.
~~~~
In the days following as she looked back on that moment, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t cried out from the pain as she overheard his lordship speaking.
“So I’ll be off to visit Ridley again tomorrow. We need to get this matter cleared up about his missing cousin. Lady Emmaline needs to be found before she reaches her majority.” Emily felt shock ripple through her at the mention of Ridley. To her ears, Philip sounded positively cheerful about the prospect. Fear and anger warred within her. Somehow it struck her that he and Edwin must be friends. She had never heard Philip speak so cheerily of another. And for it to be Edwin, of all people, made Emily want to empty her stomach in the nearest plant pot. Fear twisted in her belly along with her grief. He knew time was the essence.
She managed not to so disgrace herself but the buzzing in Emily’s ears blocked out whatever else Philip might’ve said, and she wrapped her tattered composure around herself like a shield as she ascended the grand staircase on the way to her chamber. She realized she had been right not to lay bare her soul to him when he had been questioning her about her background. Her rage came up into her nostrils as she contemplated what a fool she had been. She had so wanted to confide in the scoundrel. She was shocked and heart sore that someone she had come to care about so deeply was in league with that cretin, Edwin.
