Page 52 of The Dreaming Beauty
Chapter 24
Never had a dinner partybeen so highly anticipated for Tansy, because it meant seeing Marcus again that evening. She had not seen him for nearly a week. His brother hadn’t called on her or requested her company for an art lesson, so she was hopeful that he would no longer be as attentive. Thoughts of their mother’s disapproval threatened to discourage her hopes to make a good impression, but before they could do so, an image of Marcus’s hand curling through hers inserted itself. She could hear their laughs mingling together, feel his eyes caressing her face, and before she knew it, Tansy was lost in a daydream.
She opened her closet and frowned at its offerings. Too drab, too dated, too worn. Her daydream now dissolved, she blinked away her disappointment and pulled out a dark-puce gown with puffed sleeves and a pretty flounce on the end. It was her only ball gown, and she had worn it on three different occasions. While it was noticeably shorter than an evening gown, she needed something elegant enough for a dinner party in a duke’s home. This would have to do. At least, she hoped it would.
Hours before the party, she began work on her hair, carefully curling the front. With Betsy’s limited abilities, they somehow coiled a braid on her head, but the weight of her hair seemed to want to defy her pins again.
“I am afraid it will fall halfway through the party.” Tansy’s fingers shook. She wanted to look perfect for Marcus. This was her chance to meet his mother on better footing and discern whether Marcus returned her affection, to decide whether she should change course for one she had not planned.
“More pins, miss?”
She already had dozens in her hair. “I am nearly out, and we must save some for Iris too.”
She pinched her cheeks, wishing she had cosmetics to cover the small freckles under her eyes and brighten her cheeks and lips. She could wish for jewelry too, but it would do no good to want for things she could not have. She knew from experience that wishing changed nothing.
A carriage arrived from Ashbury Court a few minutes before seven. Tansy wore Aster’s white muslin shawl and long gloves that frayed slightly on the edges. If she draped her shawl on the crooks of her elbows, the wear to the gloves was easy enough to hide.
Instead of sitting across from each other, Iris sat directly next to Tansy, the feather in her hair combing the blue-velvet ceiling. “I am too old to be nervous about such a dinner, but I declare my heart is pounding something fierce.”
“Not too long ago you were saying you were young enough to marry one of the bachelors of Ashbury Court. I would say some fierce heart-pumping is only to be expected when one is about to be in the presence of handsome gentlemen.” She said it as much to rationalize her own anxiety as much as Iris’s.
“If only that were the reason. I have a terrible feeling something bad is about to happen.”
It was usually Tansy who had the nightmares and premonitions, but the last week had been blessedly calm, with happy musings of Marcus preoccupying her mind. The absence of her nightmares was most convincing. She patted Iris’s leg in sympathy. “There is no reason to turn a case of nerves into any superstitions. All will be well, I assure you.”
Iris grumbled about a magpie she had seen earlier that day and that Tansy should not ignore anything that portended misfortune.
Thoughts of Marcus helped Tansy tune out her aunt’s negativity. Should she smile openly when he looked at her? Would he single her out after dinner? She knew better than to expect much in a public setting, but each time they were near each other, her feelings for him only increased.
Their borrowed carriage rolled up behind a row of other carriages, and Tansy held her breath. A footman aided her and Iris down, and together they made their way into Ashbury Court, where the butler directed them to the drawing room.
Small groups mingled together. Tansy saw Mrs. Bellvue and her daughter with a short, stout man who was likely Mr. Bellvue. On the opposite end of the room, Lady Melbourne had her back to Tansy as she conversed with Simon, a pretty young lady, and an older man Tansy did not know. The Farrises were in attendance too, both the parents and the son and daughter. But Marcus was nowhere to be seen.
Iris reached for Tansy’s arm. “We should greet someone.”
“His Grace?” Tansy was not sure if she dared interrupt his mother, who was speaking.
“No, the Bellvues are closest to us.”
Tansy withheld a groan and followed Iris’s lead in the direction of the Bellvues’ tight circle.
Mrs. Bellvue saw them first. “I did not know your family had been invited.”
It was not the greeting Tansy would have wished for, but she smiled just the same. Iris however, did not. “Of course we were invited. The duke and his brother are our special friends.”
“Where are the other two? Mrs. Wood and Miss White?”
Tansy hurried to answer before Iris could. “My aunt was indisposed tonight, and my other aunt stayed to care for her.”
“How sweet that they can be together,” Mrs. Bellvue said. Tansy gave her the benefit of the doubt and assumed the woman’s tone was naturally rude and she could not help but sound as she did. “Mrs. Palmer, Miss White, this is my husband, Mr. Bellvue. I do not believe either of you have met him.”
The stout man dipped his head and grunted, “A pleasure.” He was clearly not a man of many words.
Tansy took in Miss Bellvue’s dress. Her champaign-colored gown trimmed in lace was stunning, as was her simple coiffure. Her pearl necklace sat at the edge of the throat, amplifying her long and slender neck. Her eyes flitted to the duke’s, and there was no doubt that she had courtship on the agenda.
“I adore your gown, Miss Bellvue,” Tansy said.
Miss Bellvue drew her eyes away from the back of the duke’s head to meet Tansy’s. “Thank you! And yours is...” She studied Tansy’s gown, her eyes going to the short hem. Tansy’s face flushed with heat, and she pulled the shawl over the tops of her gloves once more. “Nice,” Miss Bellvue finally finished saying. She flipped open her fan and beat a breeze against her face. “I hope dinner begins soon. I am half-starved.”
