Page 55 of Lady Dramatic
What conclusion had he come to about Lord Charles?
“Papa, I am a grown lady. Do not you think I should know what has caused you to think badly of Lord Charles?”
“I do not,” the duke said. “I know how to stop trouble in its tracks and that’s what I am doing.”
It was all very mysterious. However, she ought not fret over it. After all, she did not have an interest in Lord Charles. Her interest was all in for Lord Thorpe. Really, she had at times found Lord Charles a bit off-putting. If her father thought Lord Charles should be avoided…
“But Papa,” Serenity said, “what am I to do if he wishes to dance with me? He is Lord Thorpe’s brother. Will I not offend Lord Thorpe if I outright refuse his brother?”
“There will be no dancing this evening. Lady Darlington has her own ideas about a masque. We will all mill around and vote on costumes and eat from the sideboards and the occasional little trays that are brought round.”
“Oh yes, I had forgotten. But if I refuse to dance with Lord Charles at some other place, will I not have to sit out?”
“If Lord Charles finds the opportunity to attempt to dance with you, feel free to refuse on my account. Do not sit out, we do not give a toss for theton’smore stupid rules. Lord Thorpe will not give a toss for his brother’s feelings. In fact, I suspect he’ll be flattered.”
“I cannot imagine having such a hateful relationship with my sisters.”
The duke snorted. “That’s because there is no property to inherit. If there were, you’d all be clawing each other’s eyes out.”
“We certainly would not!”
“Or something like it,” the duke said, laughing. “Anyway, I know from my own experience that a second son feels badly used. Your uncle spent most of our childhood looking very injured. Hard to be around, really—he was always staring at me as if I ought to apologize for landing on the sheets first.”
The carriage had rolled to a stop. They were here. Now that theywerehere, Serenity did feel the littlest bit foolish to be dressed as a bee. She supposed other ladies would come as queens or otherwise looking lovely. Even a milkmaid would be far more charming.
“Papa,” she said, “I suddenly feel that I look ridiculous.”
“Nonsense,” the duke said. “One of the benefits of being a duke’s daughter is one never has to consider anybody else’s opinion.”
Her father often said so. It was just hard to believe it was true. She very much cared what Lord Thorpe would think. Perhaps she ought to have dressed in a costume that made her look pretty.
But then, she could not forsake the bees. Because she was a first-rate idiot!
*
Roland had beenlet down by the weather in the morning. It had been raining hard and not even the most hopeful imagination could claim it a misting. As the hour of eleven had approached, he’d looked out the window and willed the rain to stop but it ignored his wishes entirely.
He spent the rest of the day attempting to read and thinking ahead to the masque that was to be this night.
Though he only wore a simple domino and black half mask, he always did feel a bit ridiculous at these masques. He’d not even attended last year and only heard later that Lady Patience,Lady Serenity’s sister, had collapsed on the floor and had been taken home.
He never did hear what had ailed the lady.
This year, though, he had come. He’d asked Lady Serenity if she would attend last night and she’d said she would. So of course, he would come. He’d even arrived on the early side.
He milled round Lady Darlington’s ballroom, greeting people he knew and ever keeping an eye out for Lady Serenity. Rather than the lady he sought, he saw his brother enter the ballroom. Charles wore what he could only guess was a costume of Richard the Lionheart—gold crown, burgundy velvet, ermine-lined cloak, and a dark blue tunic with a large white holy cross leaving not much doubt. Roland supposed Charles meant to say something by it, as he always did.
Perhaps it was the idea that Richard the Lionheart was not a firstborn son and yet had succeeded to the throne, just as Charles ought to have succeeded to the dukedom. Or maybe it was a comment on Charles’ perceived bravery and daring being very like that king.
He looked away, as he did not much care what Charles was trying to say.
As always at Lady Darlington’s masque, the evening would consist of food and drink being brought round on trays and sideboards lining the room to fill in any gaps. The orchestra would play music, but softly and there would be no organized dancing. Though, he’d heard that Lady Underwood and Lord Welscott had daringly waltzed a few years ago. Perhaps not unsurprisingly, neitherLordUnderwood norLadyWelscott had been enthusiastic to hear of it.
The food served at the masque would be in very small portions that did not require a knife and fork, mostly consisting of thin sliced ham with cream cheese rolled into a small packet, or the same small packet made with beef and horseradish cream,tiny puff pastries, squares of hard cheeses, boiled and chilled prawns stuffed with herbed butter, toast points topped with dill and Scottish salmon, rolls, and miniature cakes. It was an exceedingly odd menu, but he supposed a hostess must be hard-pressed to come up with items that could be passed round on trays. In any case, the wines and champagnes that came round were always first rate.
Tables were scattered throughout the ballroom and the end of the room was lined with the voting booths, each manned by a footman. At some point in the evening, everyone was to cast their votes on the costumes present—most elaborate, most original, most beautiful, most historically accurate, most like the person who wore it, and et cetera.
He cast his eyes back to the doors, and then he saw her. Lady Serenity. Her costume was not at all what he’d expected. He had supposed she’d do what most ladies did. They took the opportunity to stand in a particular alluring attitude. They might be queenly, or a coquettish maid, or an alluring sultana. The costumes were all meant to complement the lady’s looks in ways that ordinary dress could not.
