Page 59 of The Perfect Rose

He knew how much tonight meant to her. It was her last hours before she would be thrust into a marriage alliance. So how did she look so at peace with herself? She flicked her eyes up as if she felt him watching her, and her smile widened. He hadn’t known that was even possible. His heart lurched and he took a step toward the bottom of the stairs. “Lady Rose,” he swallowed again, “you are . . .”

“A divine vision.” Lord Hanby stepped up beside Frederick. He put his arm out to escort Rose into the ballroom. “I believe I have asked for the first dance. Would you be so kind as to allow me to display the splendor of the ballroom to you?”

Lady Rose blinked fast as her smile fell from her face. She flicked her eyes to Frederick for the briefest of moments, a sadness in their depths. “Of course, Lord Hanby.”

Frederick watched Lord Hanby escort Rose past him toward the ballroom. How dare that man wipe the smile from her face? For that alone, Frederick wished he could call him out. Yet, he remained in his position at the foot of the staircase to await the other members of the house party as they made their way toward the ball. It was one of the only things Miriam had asked him to help with. So instead of rushing to the ballroom to keep Rose within his sights, he cemented his feet to the marbled floor and waited for each guest to appear. Once everyone was accounted for, Frederick was the last member to enter the ballroom. He nodded once to Miriam, and she set the musicians to playing their first song.

Couples began lining up across the room and Frederick remembered that he was to ask someone to join him. He took long strides to the edge of the room where Miss Coolidge sat, half hidden behind an enormous bouquet of flowers. “Miss Coolidge, would you join me for this set?”

Miss Coolidge smiled tentatively up at him. “Yes, thank you, Mr. Hastings.” She rose from her seat and kept her eyes downcast. She’d proven to be shy and modest, easily overlooked as she preferred to spend large amounts of time reading.

Owen stepped over to them. “Miss Coolidge, would you like to dance?”

Frederick cut in. “I believe I have already claimed that pleasure. Perhaps next set, Owen.” He winked at his friend and Owen smiled back.

“Of course I’ll dance the next set with you, Owen.” Miss Coolidge blushed as she walked past him. “Thank you for remembering me.”

Owen? She was on a first name basis with Owen Redford. If that wasn’t promising, Frederick didn’t know what was.

“I fear I just stole an exciting moment from you.” Frederick leaned closer to Miss Coolidge as they made their way to the dance floor.

“There will be plenty of opportunities to dance tonight, sir.”

“True. Yet, I still feel the need to apologize. I hold Mr. Owen Redford in high regard.”

Miss Coolidge sucked in a breath. “I am transparent.”

Frederick smiled at her. “Only in the best of ways.”

As attentive as Frederick strove to be to Miss Coolidge during their dance, he was never unaware of precisely where Lady Rose was positioned. Even without seeing her, he could feel a pulse of energy between them, making him constantly aware of her presence. With the attendees of the ball being so few, it was impossible for Frederick not to see her almost constantly.

As the dance ended, Miss Coolidge curtseyed to Frederick. “This is your chance, sir.” Her eyes flicked to Lady Rose. “Don’t let that boring man frighten you.”

Frederick blushed. “Is it that obvious?”

“Painfully so. And I believe the two of you would suit each other quite nicely.” She walked off toward Owen. She wasn’t the only one that was transparent, it seemed.

Frederick knew a chance when it was given him. He walked briskly across the room and offered his arm to Rose. “May I have the next dance?”

“I . . .” She blushed.

“She is already spoken for. You’ll need to wait another set, Hastings.” Lord Hanby stepped closer to Frederick, a poorly hidden sneer curling on his lips.

Heat rushed into Frederick’s limbs, he had a sudden desire to take the man aside and have a bout of fisticuffs, again. Instead, he clenched his jaw and turned back to Rose. “The next set, then?”

Rose’s eyes were wide, and her face was devoid of color, almost as if she were frightened. She shifted her gaze toward the back of Lord Hanby’s head and back to Frederick. “That would be wonderful, Mr. Hastings.” She sent Frederick a hesitant smile before Lord Hanby pulled her away to dance a second set.

Frederick didn’t think he would be a very good partner for this dance. It was entirely possible that he would lash out in anger upon some completely undeserving female. He searched the crowd. Samuel was dancing with his mother. That meant he might be able to find Miriam. She would understand his mood better than anyone at the moment. He found her speaking with the musicians while the next group of dancers found each other.

“Miriam, would you care to dance with your extremely handsome brother?”

She smiled at him. “Since people say we look so similar, I’d better not challenge that claim. Of course.” She turned to the musicians and finished her conversation before taking his arm. “Why are you not dancing with Lady Rose? I thought that was the plan.”

“Yes, well . . . in our plan, Lord Hanby didn’t ask her to dance for the first two sets.” Frederick’s voice came out harsh, even to his own ears. He took a calming breath. “I guess I cannot blame him for being taken in by her charms as well. But it certainly makes it more complicated.”

Miriam scoffed. “If you can’t blame him, I can. His intentions toward Lady Rose are not nearly as true as yours.”

“And how would you know that?”