Page 31 of An Amiable Foe
“Miss Edgewood, trust me. You must dance this if you hope to regain your standing at the ball. Only…are your slippers tied correctly?” He looked around at the set, conscious that they would lose their place if they didn’t quickly take their position, and pulled her forward.
He felt her nod at his side. “Yes.”
With that confirmation, he led her inexorably to a place where they might be the next in the set, determined to show Miss Belford and every other person present that Miss Edgewood belonged among their society and was worthy in their eyes.
The couple in front of him, who should have closed the first set, came to a halt when the woman grunted in pain and said in an angry whisper, “Not yet dancing, and you have already stepped on my foot.”
The gentleman, in seeming mortification, led her to the sidelines, opening up for Perry to escort Marianne into the set, which he did so at once. He was eager to have this done with and restore her reputation. It might be true that she was not dressed in the height of fashion, and she might have suffered an unfortunate fall, but everyone would see she was worthy.
Marianne stood woodenly next to him while the music called his steps forward and he circled the gentleman across from him. As he danced the gentlemen’s steps before they each claimed their partners, Perry attempted to catch her regard and reassure her with his own. Her eyes were wide, her gaze fixed at some point in the distance.
At that precise moment in the music, he held out his arm, so she might take his hand and join in the steps of the dance, except she did not. She stood frozen and gave a tiny shake of her head. Heart sinking, he insisted, putting his hand out again. Marianne had grown pale. She turned on her heel and left the floor, with him standing in the middle of it.
“Miss Belford, you are able to step in now, are you not?” Raife’s quiet voice came from behind Perry before he felt Raife’s hand on his shoulder. He turned and gave way as Raife and Miss Belford took up the positions he and Miss Edgewood had vacated.
He knew he should say something to save the moment, but he could think of nothing. He was on the sidelines now and the dance had taken up again as though nothing were wrong. People hardly seemed to notice that she had run off, now that the set was complete. But he saw more than one amused pair of female eyes look at him, before hiding again behind their fans. At some point, he would have to go find Marianne, but he instead marched in the opposite direction. He was too angry he had been dragged into her humiliation. If only she had persevered with the dance!
It was not until Perry had walked around the edge of the floor and found a place in a secluded corner, where his heartbeat returned to normal, that he could admit to himself that he had been wrong. He was to blame for pulling Marianne into a dance she warned him she could not do. He hadn’t believed her. Her country dances had gone off almost without fault, and the minuet was reputedly the first dance young ladies learned. Although…in her peculiar upbringing, she hadn’t had a normal childhood, had she? How would she have learned any dance at all?
He needed to go find her.
“Miss Edgewood has had quite the unfortunate start for her entrance into society.” Neck came to take his place beside Perry, who had been on the point of seeking her out. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a more disastrous beginning, and I have seen some young ladies who have had little enough charm to recommend them.”
“It’s not charm that’s lacking,” Lorry said, as he came up on Perry’s other side, making his discomfort complete. “True, that dress of hers is a monstrosity. But if I had the dressing of her, I would turn her beauty to advantage. I’d wear her on my arm with pride.”
“She’s not a straw damsel,” Perry retorted, goaded beyond his usual circumspection in answering his friends. “She’s a lady destined to become someone’s wife, not mistress. You will not wear her on your arm in any form whatsoever.”
“Oh, come now,” Lorry protested, causing Perry to glare at him in warning. “Do not pretend she is under your protection.Youdon’t plan to marry her, and mistresses are not in your line. She’s more like a barque of frailty to tuck away than she is a wife. After all, I could hardly take her into society, now could I?”
“This is my warning, Lawrence. Stay away from her.” Perry turned abruptly, but not before seeing that Raife’s eyes had missed nothing even as he performed all the steps of the minuet without one mistake.
Lorry’s comments were offensive in the extreme, but Perry couldn’t exactly call out a man who was staying as a guest in his own home. Such a thing was not done. It was good his guests were leaving the next day. How could he have thought for a minute that Lorry was his friend? He wasn’t even entirely sure about Neck. Raife had surprised him on this trip, though. If only he could be sure he was authentic.
Perry’s mother, bless the woman, had tried to warn him about his friends, but Perry had been so grateful for their welcome into their circle he’d turned a deaf ear on her counsel. She had been right, however. Lorry was the worst, but even Neck had his moments. He would as soon provoke a duel as bet on the downfall of another and laugh at the man whose misfortune made Neck’s own purse fat. Raife had surprised him with a steadiness of character Perry had not discerned in him before this visit, but what caused him to be so constantly in Neck and Lorry’s company—he who could choose his society with a snap of his fingers?
Why am I trying so hard to impress people I don’t even like?He was done with adapting himself to fit others. After this visit, Perry would do no more than give them a civil nod in passing. However, after Lorry’s not-so-veiled threats regarding Marianne’s honor, he would do well to watch him until they had safely seen the back of him.
Where was Marianne now? He needed to apologize for having made things so much worse. Had he the least sense, he would have realized she was not ready for such a public dance where the steps were performed with everyone watching. In his eagerness to restore her reputation, he had shown himself a fool.
Perry looked around at the main hall which was now full. Servants carried in trays of food that could be eaten with the fingers and drinks that he had found to be overly sweet. The mix of noise and colors, and the heat, overwhelmed his senses, making it hard to think straight.”
“Are you, by any chance, searching for the unfortunate Miss Edgewood?”
Perry turned to find Miss Belford at his side. It did not seem from her tone or demeanor that she reveled in Marianne’s downfall, which was something. In fact, she sounded almost compassionate. In another lifetime, he would have forgotten all about Miss Edgewood—after all, she was not his charge, was she?—and he would have attempted to flirt with Miss Belford, whose situation was more promising. He didn’t.
“I am looking for Miss Edgewood, yes.”
Miss Belford inclined her head toward the door. “She left with the Vernons moments ago. I’d say you might still catch her if you try, but are you sure she will want to see anyone just now?”
Perry didn’t answer but bowed and strode toward the door. He stepped outside and saw much the same scene that he had come upon earlier, with grooms and drivers lounging about. After all, the evening was still too young for people to be calling for their carriages. Above the murmur of conversation, the noise of carriage wheels reached him from a distance. The coach was already turning from Cliff’s End toward the coast. He was too late.
The sound of hoofbeats came next, and he turned back in time to glimpse Vernon ride by. Although he was sure Vernon had seen him, the man ignored Perry and followed in the direction of the carriage.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
When Marianne fled the floor, she ran straight to Mrs. Vernon but was not required to explain herself. Mrs. Vernon had witnessed enough to take pity on her, and as it timed well with the Vernons’ own desire to return, she and the squire accompanied Marianne home right away. Robert followed on horseback, and he made sure to swing down and open the carriage door for her when they arrived, so he might remonstrate her as he led her to the castle.
“You know you should not be staying here at Brindale alone. I’ve told you time and again, and now look at what happened tonight. You allowed yourself to be persuaded to dance with a gentleman who had all eyes focused on him as the newcomer, when you would better have done to have danced a second time with me. I could have softened the blow of tonight’s unmitigated disaster. And what’s more, you’d have had a certain protection with me as your betrothed if only you would see we are well-suited. But you’ve been unforgivably obstinate.”
