my darling girl.”
Ginny nodded when she would have preferred to throw herself into his arms and beg him to stay, to dance every dance with her. What use did she have for any other man in the room but he? Besides, there was Lady Derby with whom to be reckoned. She, no doubt, would have something unpleasant to say as soon as Ginny was no longer safe in his arms.
As it was, she hadn’t even that long to wait.
“Why, this must be the country mouse to whom you have given your heart!” Lady Derby quipped the moment the music had ceased. She was still clasped in the arms of her dancing partner, whose goggle-eyed look implied he was as discommoded by her pronouncement as if he were the intended target of her malice.
“Er, pardon me, Lady Derby,” the man murmured, and he jerked his hands from her as if from a scorching fire. “I will just see about a glass of, of, of..
And then he was gone, vanishing through the crowd of dancers turned statues. Very attentive statues, Ginny could not help but notice.
She stole a glance at Anthony from the corner of her eye. She could see he was angry and waited with bated breath to see which version of himself would make an appearance: the polite yet sometimes cruel Sir Anthony-of-the-mask she once knew, or the true-speaking man behind the mask she had come to love.
“Lady Derby, might I have the pleasure of introducing Miss Delacourt, lately of Bedfordshire, and my affianced bride?”
Ginny heard Grandaunt Regina’s gasp of disapproval above the instant chatter that rose like the crackle of fire in a field of stubble. It seemed she was as anxious to keep the engagement a secret as was her son, the duke. The thought gave Ginny no comfort. Meanwhile, the glares of disapprobation from many a mother intent on one day seeing her daughter as Duchess of Marcross were unsettling in the extreme.
“Anthony,” she said in as small a voice as possible, “I think we should leave.”
“I wouldn’t hear of it!” cried Lady Derby, who, it would seem, was as sharp in her hearing as in her observations. “Why, it would behoove you to stay and enjoy yourself. I daresay we might even persuade one or two gentlemen to stand up with you for a dance while you glean from present company just how things are done in London. No doubt your time shut up in the country has not availed you of the ways of Society.”
Ginny opened her mouth to give vent to the blistering reply on her tongue, but Lady Derby had so accurately fingered each of Ginny’s doubts, her lungs were frozen in anxious fear. It was just as well. If she had spoken, she would certainly have made matters far worse. As it was, the thought of Lady Derby and Anthony’s mother chatting about this disastrous turn of events over tea and biscuits made her long for the power to sink through the floor.
Anthony gave her a look of puzzled concern before stepping forward and putting out an arm as if to shield her from the company at large. “It’s a pity, Lady Derby, that your late husband’s country seat is in Derbyshire. Why, that’s as near to Wales as could be-a practical wilderness! You have no doubt forgotten our ways here in town. I believe it has always been considered beyond the pale to insult a lady, whether the insult is delivered by a lady or not”
Grandaunt’s gasp was much louder this time. Ginny thought perhaps she had gasped, as well, but couldn’t be sure, as all sound was swallowed up in the roar of stampeding guests making a horrified dash for the refreshment parlor. Only Lady Derby seemed utterly unaffected by Anthony’s defense. Her smile was pleasant, her alabaster skin as unblemished by emotion as ever, her stance perfectly poised and gracious. In short, she behaved exactly as a duchess should behave in the face of hideous scandal. Ginny thought she had never felt more naive, ignorant, nor decidedly unlike a duchess than she did at that moment.
When Anthony took her tenderly by the arm to be fussed over by
Ginny nodded when she would have preferred to throw herself into his arms and beg him to stay, to dance every dance with her. What use did she have for any other man in the room but he? Besides, there was Lady Derby with whom to be reckoned. She, no doubt, would have something unpleasant to say as soon as Ginny was no longer safe in his arms.
As it was, she hadn’t even that long to wait.
“Why, this must be the country mouse to whom you have given your heart!” Lady Derby quipped the moment the music had ceased. She was still clasped in the arms of her dancing partner, whose goggle-eyed look implied he was as discommoded by her pronouncement as if he were the intended target of her malice.
“Er, pardon me, Lady Derby,” the man murmured, and he jerked his hands from her as if from a scorching fire. “I will just see about a glass of, of, of..
And then he was gone, vanishing through the crowd of dancers turned statues. Very attentive statues, Ginny could not help but notice.
She stole a glance at Anthony from the corner of her eye. She could see he was angry and waited with bated breath to see which version of himself would make an appearance: the polite yet sometimes cruel Sir Anthony-of-the-mask she once knew, or the true-speaking man behind the mask she had come to love.
“Lady Derby, might I have the pleasure of introducing Miss Delacourt, lately of Bedfordshire, and my affianced bride?”
Ginny heard Grandaunt Regina’s gasp of disapproval above the instant chatter that rose like the crackle of fire in a field of stubble. It seemed she was as anxious to keep the engagement a secret as was her son, the duke. The thought gave Ginny no comfort. Meanwhile, the glares of disapprobation from many a mother intent on one day seeing her daughter as Duchess of Marcross were unsettling in the extreme.
“Anthony,” she said in as small a voice as possible, “I think we should leave.”
“I wouldn’t hear of it!” cried Lady Derby, who, it would seem, was as sharp in her hearing as in her observations. “Why, it would behoove you to stay and enjoy yourself. I daresay we might even persuade one or two gentlemen to stand up with you for a dance while you glean from present company just how things are done in London. No doubt your time shut up in the country has not availed you of the ways of Society.”
Ginny opened her mouth to give vent to the blistering reply on her tongue, but Lady Derby had so accurately fingered each of Ginny’s doubts, her lungs were frozen in anxious fear. It was just as well. If she had spoken, she would certainly have made matters far worse. As it was, the thought of Lady Derby and Anthony’s mother chatting about this disastrous turn of events over tea and biscuits made her long for the power to sink through the floor.
Anthony gave her a look of puzzled concern before stepping forward and putting out an arm as if to shield her from the company at large. “It’s a pity, Lady Derby, that your late husband’s country seat is in Derbyshire. Why, that’s as near to Wales as could be-a practical wilderness! You have no doubt forgotten our ways here in town. I believe it has always been considered beyond the pale to insult a lady, whether the insult is delivered by a lady or not”
Grandaunt’s gasp was much louder this time. Ginny thought perhaps she had gasped, as well, but couldn’t be sure, as all sound was swallowed up in the roar of stampeding guests making a horrified dash for the refreshment parlor. Only Lady Derby seemed utterly unaffected by Anthony’s defense. Her smile was pleasant, her alabaster skin as unblemished by emotion as ever, her stance perfectly poised and gracious. In short, she behaved exactly as a duchess should behave in the face of hideous scandal. Ginny thought she had never felt more naive, ignorant, nor decidedly unlike a duchess than she did at that moment.
When Anthony took her tenderly by the arm to be fussed over by
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