Page 17 of A Single Obsession

In the meantime, he dropped a word in Georgie’s ear. “Don’t encourage Templecombe to dangle after your sisters. He’s only interested in their dowry. His father has threatened to send him into the army unless he finds a rich wife, so the fellow’s desperate.”

“That is hardly loyal to your cousin, but you need not worry. Neither of my sisters is in any danger of succumbing to his charm.”

Beau sniggered. “That’s cruel—but it’s as well to be aware.”

“Thank you for your concern,” Georgiana said, giving him a penetrating look, as if trying to uncover the true motive for his warning.

Dash it. Why shouldn’t he show an interest in the welfare of her sisters?

He prolonged the conversation, asking after the rest of her family, until he saw Eliza approaching on Templecombe’s arm. To judge by the number of gentlemen moving in their direction, Beau guessed he was not the only one trying to secure a dance.

Taking advantage of the fact that Eliza was with his cousin, he stepped forward and greeted them both before they reached Georgiana, cutting out the competition.

“Miss Merry,” he said, with what he hoped was a charming smile, “will you dance the next with me?”

“I should be delighted,” she said, returning his smile somewhat timidly.

He took her arm, feeling as if he had captured a prize as he paraded her past the line of disappointed gentlemen, all casting envious looks in his direction.

They joined the set that was forming, and Beau waited in silence for Eliza to raise her eyes before addressing her. She did not so much as glance up at him.

At first he thought she was uncertain of the dance and needed to concentrate on her steps, but it soon became clear this was not the case. She was light on her feet, and he deemed it unlikely she would step on his toes. She glided through each figure with a lightness and elegance that a novice would not possess.

When she had still not looked at him after several minutes, he wondered whether he’d mistaken her pleasure in being asked to dance. Did she find him so objectionable she could not bear to look at him?

He was fast talking himself into a state of dejection when he caught his partner’s eye. Eliza blushed without him saying a word.

The truth hit him, followed swiftly by a wave of relief. She was shy. How unlike Georgie!

A memory flitted across his brain of reaching a similar conclusion when they had talked after the hunt. He remembered that on that occasion, they’d soon fallen into relaxed conversation, and applied himself to putting her at her ease.

“How do you like London, Eliza?”

“I’m happy to be here.”

“More to do in town, I guess. Such as the theatre. Are you as fond of seeing plays as Georgie?”

“No.”

Different again from her sister.

“What about music? I know you play the pianoforte. Do you enjoy concerts?”

“Not really.”

“What about the opera?” he said, naming his least favourite entertainment.

“I’ve never grasped even the basics of Italian,” she said, “and attending the opera makes me feel inadequate—as if I’m missing something. I just don’t seem able to appreciate it the way others do.”

“Unlike Charlotte.”

“Yes,” she said in a gush of feeling. “Very different from Charlotte.”

Beau gave her a conspiratorial grin. “My feelings exactly. I’m sure you’ve learned by now that Castleford’s brother Anthony is a huge fan of the opera. That is one thing we can’t agree on. How he can endure that caterwauling beats me. But you do like dancing?”

“Yes, I do. Very much. And you?”

“That depends. It’s a pleasure to dance with you, but it’s a penance to partner someone like my sister, Caroline. Just look at her. She dances as she rides—with some skill, but no energy, no feeling, and no sense of rhythm. It’s probably why she has such a dreadful seat on the back of a horse. She always makes riding appear a chore and her dancing is much the same.”