Page 17 of A Sinful Viscount's Mistletoe Affair
Isabella paused before responding. Everyone knew that if a gentleman asked to dance with you more than once at a ball, it meant they were serious about courting you. The duke had not asked her again, but she suspected that he might before the end of the evening. And somehow, even though she did not particularly want to dance with him again, she wished she could tell Felicity he had asked.
“I enjoyed it very much,” she replied instead, swerving the question about whether he had asked her again.
Daphne raised an eyebrow. “I must say, Isabella, that when I looked over and saw you with him, I did not think you were enjoying yourself very much.”
Isabella huffed. If Felicity had not been there with them, she would have been more honest with Daphne, but she did not want to reveal everything in front of her cousin. “He was telling me all about some trouble he is having with one of his business ventures,” she said. “I was trying hard to concentrate on the details. It is not a world I am very familiar with, after all.”
“Oh, but that does sound very interesting!” Felicity replied with what Isabella thought was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. It made her want to scream. Of course, she would have preferred to be talking with Lord Ashcroft about the marvels of Italy if she had had the chance!
“I think you and the duke are very well suited,” Felicity continued. “You have been brought up to be a fine society lady, of course.” Isabella noted that note of envy in her voice again. “I think you would make the perfect duchess, and I am sure the duke would agree with me.”
Isabella did not know what to say. It was true that her upbringing had been largely focused on this very outcome, with a focus on dancing lessons and embroidery and all those other accomplishments expected of young ladies.
But her parents had also ensured that her tutors provided her with a wider education – literature, art, classics, history, and the study of music beyond a repertoire of pieces on the pianoforte suitable for demonstrating one’s skill at parties. She was grateful for this broad education, but she knew it had left her wanting more from life than was expected of young ladies in her position. And perhaps this yearning was only destined to make her unhappy?
She looked across the room to where the Duke of Harbridge was standing, champagne in hand, talking to her mother and father. Perhaps they were already planning her marriage?
She shook her head – she knew her parents well enough to know they would not embark on such plans without conversing with her first. But the duke was clearly positioning himself as a suitor, and she was not sure how she could escape the situation, when clearly it was what everyone else wanted to happen.
She glanced at Felicity and tried to shift her own feelings towards her cousin. Felicity was only saying out loud what everyone else in the room was probably thinking. Perhaps she was not being fair on her. She knew in her heart that she was feeling dissatisfied with the evening so far because Lord Ashcroft had not yet asked her to dance, and that, of course, was not Felicity’s fault.
“I am glad you enjoyed your dance with Lord Ashcroft,” Isabella said at last, determined to behave more graciously towards Felicity. She then turned to Daphne. “And I see you are glowing since your dance with Mr Sterling. Do tell us more!”
Daphne launched into an enthusiastic breakdown of her dance with Mr Sterling, and Isabella listened, smiling and nodding. She was happy for her friend, of course, but she could not help feeling a pang of longing that the evening was not turning out so well for her.
***
“Well, it seems as if you are almost on the brink of falling in love with her, Adrian!” Sebastian said, grinning. “I do not think I have ever seen you so enamoured with a young lady before and after just one dance too!”
Adrian smiled and took a sip of champagne. “Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. But honestly I can say for sure that I have never had such a pleasant time in my life as when dancing with Lady Daphne.”
“And I am sure it helps that her father is a duke and very wealthy, no doubt …” Sebastian said, raising an eyebrow.
Adrian glared at him. “The thought did not cross my mind for a moment,” he insisted. “I do not believe that these things should be in the front of one’s mind when talking with young ladies.”
Sebastian shrugged. “It is the way of the world, though, Adrian. There is no point in denying it. Your fortune is not large; it would greatly benefit you to marry a young lady with a large dowry. It would be immensely helpful for you to further your business interests if you had a little more capital at your fingertips.”
Adrian paused for a moment before responding. “You are right, of course,” he replied. “It would be helpful for me to marry a young lady from a rich family. But I swear to you that I did not think about that when dancing with her.
I was thinking about how incredibly beautiful she is, and funny, and clever. And as soon as the dance ended, all I could think about was how much I wanted to dance with her again. But of course, I can’t look too keen either … What do you think, Sebastian? Should I ask her again?”
Sebastian, a little distracted, looked over his friend’s shoulder to where Lord Evermere was standing, talking to an older man who Sebastian thought was Lord Harrow, Miss Felicity’s father. “I – oh, I do not know, Adrian. If you really like her, perhaps you should just be upfront about it?
But then we are going to be here for a few days, so there will be plenty of opportunity for you to spend more time with her and get to know her properly. Perhaps it is better not to rush things?”
Adrian nodded. “You are right, of course. Thank goodness I have you here to provide me with such good advice!”
Sebastian laughed. “I think it’s rather a poor show if you are relying on me for romantic advice, my friend! But I will do my best.”
Adrian’s eyes wandered to the other side of the room, where Lady Daphne was standing chatting with her friends. “You know, I will not ask her to dance again, but there is no harm in talking to her, is there?”
Sebastian shook his head. “I suppose not.”
“Well, then,” Adrian said, a note of determination in his voice. “Do you think I should take her a drink? Do you think she would prefer lemonade or champagne?”
Sebastian laughed again. “I have not the slightest idea of Lady Daphne’s preferences in that area, Adrian! Why don’t you go and ask her?”
Adrian grinned. “You are right, as always. I shall do just that.” He turned and crossed the room towards where the young ladies were standing.
