wonder whether he
referred to her stay in London or on Earth.
For a minute they stepped slowly and carefully to the
melody. When the instrument stopped, they stopped as
well, and Marian held her breath as Sidley merely stood
and smiled at her. In that brief pause she was conscious
of a small audience, but, just as Sidley had claimed, she
did not care. As she held his gaze she knew her heart
kept pace with the vanished tune. When the flutist resumed, the music did not continue but began again, and
Sidley dutifully positioned himself to lead her through a
repeat of the initial steps. But beyond those first moves, as the music advanced to a more intricate passage, he
tried to pivot on his bad leg at a turn, and stumbled.
“Curses …” he muttered, gritting his teeth in obvious pain.
“You have done very well.”
His bright gaze was sharp. “You speak to me as though
I were twelve.”
“I speak to you,” she said evenly, “as though you have
been injured-and are recovering.”
Something in his gaze then, something more than his
customary consideration, held her very still. Marian
was scarcely aware of the few people near them.
“I wish,” she continued impulsively, “I wish you were
not ill. I wish-”
“You mustn’t wish for too much, Miss Ware,” he said
simply. “I tend to be superstitious.”
But he was looking at her so openly that Marian could
only be impatient with the suddenly distracting eruption
of noise from the ballroom. And then Lord Benjamin
stood highlighted against the brilliantly lantern-lit doorway.
“Sidley!” he urged. “Do come. It’s Vaughn!”
“Clarses,” Sidley muttered again, brushing past Benjamin. Inside all was heat, light, chatter, and companyeverything, in fact, that Sidley had gratefully escaped
out-of-doors. Miss Ware would have deserted him….
Yet as he glanced back over his shoulder, he spotted her
several steps behind him. She was holding his cane,
which she had thoughtfully retrieved. He paused long
enough to allow her to draw even with him, and he gave
her the briefest of smiles as she proffered the cane.
Though he did not need it for walking, he thought it
might serve admirably to brain Vaughn.
“Where is he?” he hissed to Benny, even as their urgency forced the ballroom crowd to give way to them.
Benny nodded toward the hall. “I’d just finished
speakin’ with Formsby,” Benny relayed in a low voice, “when I noticed Knox talking to Vaughn outside the
supper room. Both of ‘em looked steamed, though in
different ways, of course, since Vaughn never looks
much of anythin’. But then Vaughn made for the hall. I
could tell he meant to leave, Sidley, not to cause a
scene. Only Knox had to rush after ‘im, and I came for
you-”
“Well judged, Benny,” Sidley murmured just as he
entered the hall to confront a red-faced Griffin Knox
blocking the door to the Viscount Vaughn.
“I say you shall not leave here without such a promise!” Knox fumed.
“You need no promise, Knox,” Vaughn said tightly.
“You imagine-”
“Ah! There you are, Vaughn! Good fellow!” Sidley
called, forcing an obliviously cheerful smile. “I know
we were to depart ten minutes ago-”
“You should never have come at all,” Knox snapped.
“And now you’d best stay out of this, Sidley.”
Sidley’s grin lost a bit of its expansiveness. “The last
person to order me so, Mr. Knox,” he said pleasantly,
“was a general.”
“And what did he say?” Knox sneered. “Polish my
boots?”
Sidley leaned heavily on his cane to keep himself from
swinging it. “I may misremember,” he said easily. “It has
been some time, after all. But I believe we were before
Orthez, and he wished me to trounce Marshal Soult.”
He spoke carelessly, but in that happy company the comment shocked. And all recognized the battle, just
months before, in which Wellington himself had been
injured.
In the subsequent silence, Knox’s
referred to her stay in London or on Earth.
For a minute they stepped slowly and carefully to the
melody. When the instrument stopped, they stopped as
well, and Marian held her breath as Sidley merely stood
and smiled at her. In that brief pause she was conscious
of a small audience, but, just as Sidley had claimed, she
did not care. As she held his gaze she knew her heart
kept pace with the vanished tune. When the flutist resumed, the music did not continue but began again, and
Sidley dutifully positioned himself to lead her through a
repeat of the initial steps. But beyond those first moves, as the music advanced to a more intricate passage, he
tried to pivot on his bad leg at a turn, and stumbled.
“Curses …” he muttered, gritting his teeth in obvious pain.
“You have done very well.”
His bright gaze was sharp. “You speak to me as though
I were twelve.”
“I speak to you,” she said evenly, “as though you have
been injured-and are recovering.”
Something in his gaze then, something more than his
customary consideration, held her very still. Marian
was scarcely aware of the few people near them.
“I wish,” she continued impulsively, “I wish you were
not ill. I wish-”
“You mustn’t wish for too much, Miss Ware,” he said
simply. “I tend to be superstitious.”
But he was looking at her so openly that Marian could
only be impatient with the suddenly distracting eruption
of noise from the ballroom. And then Lord Benjamin
stood highlighted against the brilliantly lantern-lit doorway.
“Sidley!” he urged. “Do come. It’s Vaughn!”
“Clarses,” Sidley muttered again, brushing past Benjamin. Inside all was heat, light, chatter, and companyeverything, in fact, that Sidley had gratefully escaped
out-of-doors. Miss Ware would have deserted him….
Yet as he glanced back over his shoulder, he spotted her
several steps behind him. She was holding his cane,
which she had thoughtfully retrieved. He paused long
enough to allow her to draw even with him, and he gave
her the briefest of smiles as she proffered the cane.
Though he did not need it for walking, he thought it
might serve admirably to brain Vaughn.
“Where is he?” he hissed to Benny, even as their urgency forced the ballroom crowd to give way to them.
Benny nodded toward the hall. “I’d just finished
speakin’ with Formsby,” Benny relayed in a low voice, “when I noticed Knox talking to Vaughn outside the
supper room. Both of ‘em looked steamed, though in
different ways, of course, since Vaughn never looks
much of anythin’. But then Vaughn made for the hall. I
could tell he meant to leave, Sidley, not to cause a
scene. Only Knox had to rush after ‘im, and I came for
you-”
“Well judged, Benny,” Sidley murmured just as he
entered the hall to confront a red-faced Griffin Knox
blocking the door to the Viscount Vaughn.
“I say you shall not leave here without such a promise!” Knox fumed.
“You need no promise, Knox,” Vaughn said tightly.
“You imagine-”
“Ah! There you are, Vaughn! Good fellow!” Sidley
called, forcing an obliviously cheerful smile. “I know
we were to depart ten minutes ago-”
“You should never have come at all,” Knox snapped.
“And now you’d best stay out of this, Sidley.”
Sidley’s grin lost a bit of its expansiveness. “The last
person to order me so, Mr. Knox,” he said pleasantly,
“was a general.”
“And what did he say?” Knox sneered. “Polish my
boots?”
Sidley leaned heavily on his cane to keep himself from
swinging it. “I may misremember,” he said easily. “It has
been some time, after all. But I believe we were before
Orthez, and he wished me to trounce Marshal Soult.”
He spoke carelessly, but in that happy company the comment shocked. And all recognized the battle, just
months before, in which Wellington himself had been
injured.
In the subsequent silence, Knox’s
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