Chapter Seven

James closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath. For the first time in many a year, he had not desire at all to set foot into this ballroom. He did not want to be surrounded by society, did not want to have to stand and converse or to dance. His entire life had changed in an instant… and it was all his own fault.

"Come now, you cannot simply stand here at the door." Lord Radford grasped James' arm and half pulled, half dragged him through the open doors, held there by the footmen. "It is not as though anything has changed."

James wrenched his arm away from Lord Radford, his anger burning sharply. "Of course something has changed! You cannot have been so quick to forget what took place at Lord Mayhew's card game!" Stepping back into the shadows, he folded his arms and scowled. "I have lost everything."

Lord Radford lifted an eyebrow. "Why? Simply because you are engaged?"

"Yes, because I am engaged!" James threw up his hands. "I am no longer the single gentleman that I so delighted in. I am not able to do just as I please, I am not able to behave as I wish. My regard now must be for one young lady and one young lady alone. Do you think that I am at all delighted by this? That I am happy with all that has taken place?"

"No, I do not think that at all," came the reply, "though I must say that I am surprised you are taking it so seriously."

A frown pulled at James' brows. "I am engaged ," he said, heavily emphasising the word as though his friend did not understand. "I must take that with every seriousness."

Lord Radford tilted his head. "Why?"

Confusion lifted James' eyebrows. "Why should I take my engagement seriously? Because it leads to marriage, because it means that I must have this lady as my wife… as much as I do not wish it."

"But that does not mean that you have to give up all that you enjoy," Lord Radford told him. "There is many a gentleman who continues to be just as much a rake as he ever was, even after he has become engaged – if not wed!"

James considered this for a few moments, finding himself a little surprised at the suggestion. Then came the confusion as to why he had not even thought about such a thing before. Of course he could continue on as he was! There was no reason for him to become sullen and disinclined towards any sort of company, was there? He could just do as he pleased, albeit with his engagement looped around his neck.

"There now, that is better!" Lord Radford chuckled, slapping James on the shoulder. "Yes, you will make the announcement this evening and yes, there will be much surprise and confusion but you can make it very clear to those around you – your friends and to any ladies you wish – that nothing will change. That is what you must do this evening, do you understand?"

James nodded slowly, aware of a slight weight of guilt going to rest on his heart, though he quickly tried to push it away. "Your suggestion does make a great deal of sense," he said slowly, still thinking it through. "Though I may be troubled with the company of the young lady in question. After all, if the announcement is to be made, then I will have to stand beside her and mayhap, together take the congratulations from those around us."

"Leave that to me," Lord Radford told him. "I will make certain that you are separated, though it will not look as though you are."

Chuckling, James grinned and took a glass of whisky from a passing footman. "Capital," he beamed, shaking Lord Radford's hand firmly. "What an excellent friend you are, Lord Radford."

"But of course." With a smile, Lord Radford swept into a mock bow only for his smile to fade. "Ah, here she comes, my friend. Excuse me, won't you?" Without another word, he melted away into the grasping arms of the other ladies and gentlemen at the ball, leaving James alone as he made to greet the young lady he was to marry.

Turning, he forced a smile as he bowed. "Good evening, Lord and Lady Hampshire," he said, lifting his head to look into the eyes of Lady Newton. "And good evening to you, Lady Newton."

Martha did not even attempt a curtsy. Instead, she simply folded her arms over her chest and looked back at him, her face pale and her green eyes steady. James frowned, wondering at the slight redness at her eyes. Had she been crying? He paused for a moment, considering, only to shrug such a thought away. Why should he give even a moment to wondering about the young lady's present state of mind? Whether or not she was glad to marry him, that was what would take place. Crying about it – or complaining about it, as he had done – would do neither of them any good.

"I do not approve of this engagement, Lord Granton." Lady Hampshire stepped forward, the sharp edge of her tongue again sending daggers towards him. "I think that you are a rogue; a scoundrel who is entirely unworthy of my daughter."

James' jaw tightened but he merely inclined his head again, choosing to say nothing. The truth was, he considered, as he looked to Lord Hampshire – who quickly looked away – he was entirely unworthy of any innocent young lady given all that he had done and all that he was. The problem for James was that he simply did not care.

"Might I present my daughter, Lord Granton?" Lord Hampshire finally spoke up after clearing his throat, gesturing to the young lady beside him. "I believe you require a proper introduction, yes?" He put one hand to his daughter's back, encouraging her to step closer. "The Marquess of Granton, my dear." His tone was gentle though Lady Newton did not so much as lift her gaze to James. "Lord Granton, might I present my youngest daughter, Lady Martha Newton."

"A pleasure." James did not mean those words at all but it was required, he supposed. He again dropped into a bow but Martha did not even twitch. She stood, stony-faced, her head turned a little away from him and kept her arms folded across her chest.

"The announcement should be made soon, I think." Not even attempting to force his daughter to curtsy or even greet James, Lord Hampshire looked towards him, a questioning look in his eyes. "What say you? Are you quite prepared?"

James jutted his jaw forward. "If I must do it, then I shall."

"You shall have to do it with more enthusiasm than that!" Lady Hampshire exclaimed, her eyes now shards of glass. "I will not have my daughter shamed. There is already a great burden upon her shoulders given the sort of gentleman she is marrying, but I will not have her bearing any more weight. I do hope I make myself clear there, Lord Granton?"

Lady Newton put one hand on her mother's arm. For a moment, James thought that she was about to tell her that all was well, that she did not need to be so concerned but, after a moment, the young lady merely smiled rather sadly and whispered a ‘thank you'. Evidently, neither she nor her mother thought well of this engagement, though clearly Lady Newton herself had no choice as to whether she was wed or not. That had all been arranged by her father and, just as he was, she was now tied into it despite her own lack of inclination towards it.

Heaving a sigh, James spread out his hands. "I suppose it could be done within a few minutes? We should probably promenade around the ballroom first, Lady Newton. It will mean that every eye will be on us and the engagement announcement can then be made."

Lady Newton shook her head. "I do not – "

"A capital idea!" Lord Hampshire ushered his daughter forward, practically forcing her to take steps towards James. "Now, your mother and I will walk a few steps behind you both for the sake of propriety."

"And you must smile, my dear," Lady Hampshire continued, looking with sad, sympathetic eyes at her daughter. "I know that this is very difficult for you but it must be done. Society will talk a great deal about this already and we do not want to add to their fodder by making it obvious that you have no inclination towards each other."

Gritting his teeth, James turned and offered his arm to Martha. This was not the sort of gentleman he was! This was not at all the sort of thing he did at balls such as this. He was normally seeing which young ladies he might pursue, which of them he could chase after and which he might be able to pull into his arms for a few minutes; enjoying the flirtation, the giggles from the young ladies and the pleasure their nearness brought him.

This, however, was entirely new to him and he did not much like the sensation. When Martha set her hand to his arm, James flinched and looked away, not wanting to gaze into her eyes and certainly having no interest in conversing with her. With a clearing of his throat, he stepped forward and, with Martha by his side, began to make his way around the ballroom.

He thought that she might make an attempt to speak with him, might find something that she wished to say, but as the seconds ticked by and she remained silent, James quickly realised that their walk together would be without a single word shared between them. For some reason, that unsettled him a little but he pushed away the urge to find something to say to her. If she was not about to make any sort of effort to speak, then neither would he.

"I should tell you that I am most displeased with this situation, Lord Granton."

James frowned, a little surprised that she had decided to speak rather than linger in silence as he had expected. "I beg your pardon?"

"I have heard about how you came to find yourself engaged to me," Martha continued, turning her head to look up at him, her green eyes flashing though there was still a hint of redness around them. "I do not like being given away as a betting prize, Lord Granton. Unfortunately, I do not have any choice in the matter so therefore, this marriage must go ahead."

"Then I am surprised that you think to complain to me about it, given that I am clearly just as disinclined as you. I think it would be best if you returned to the silence that you were so inclined to before. That suited me a good deal better than this."

She stopped then, wrenching her hand away from his arm, her eyes a little wider than before. Red poured into her cheeks but she did not look away, showing a little more tenacity than James had expected. "How dare you speak to me in such a way? Do you not understand that I am just as frustrated, as upset as you? Can you not show even the smallest respect?"

"Respect is not something that I give much consideration to, regardless of who it is," he answered, aware that he was not doing anything to improve himself upon her but finding that he did not care. "I am afraid that this is who I am, Lady Newton, and whether you wish it or not, I have no interest in improving myself for either you or for anyone else in the ton. "

She blinked, then shook her head, looking away from him. "I think you are the most obnoxious, rude, ill-mannered gentleman that I have ever had opportunity to meet."

"And yet, regardless of your opinion of me, I am to be your husband," he told her, his stomach writhing with a sudden uncertainty as the truth hit him, hard. He was going to be wed to this young lady, he was going to find himself as her husband and she as his wife. Could there really be any sort of contentment between two people who so clearly disliked each other? "I can see no way of escape, so therefore, I think we must simply acknowledge our disinclination towards each other and continue on regardless. Now," he continued, turning to offer her his arm again. "Shall we?"

Martha's throat bobbed and for a moment, James found himself admiring the column of her neck, the gentle colour in her cheeks, only to then turn his head away sharply as he realised what he was doing. When her hand went to his arm again, James jumped visibly, only to scowl and begin to stride forward, pulling Martha along with him. The last thing he needed was to find anything about his betrothed that was in any way admirable, for what would become of him then?

"Yes, yes, we are engaged." James looked first to Lady Guthrie and then to her daughter, Lady Annette, who was blinking furiously while, at the same time, trying to smile. "It has come as a surprise, I know, but one cannot help one's heart!" He laughed lightly, while inwardly feeling a great and heavy darkness wash over him. Lady Annette had been in his arms before, on more than one occasion, though he had never stolen anything more than a simple kiss from her. What would she do now that he was engaged? Would she be unwilling to step back in towards him, even if he made it clear that his engagement meant nothing to him? Trying to take in Lady Guthrie's expressions of congratulations, he looked to his right and then to his left in the hope of securing Lord Radford's company. He had said that he would do his best to separate James from Lady Newton so that James could then go on to make sure that the ladies he had been interested in before were aware of his intention to continue on as he had been, but there did not seem to be any sign of him.

"I shall permit you to speak with Lady Lamberton, shall I?" Lady Guthrie laughed and then set her hand to James' arm. "I can see that she is eager to approach you both. My congratulations again."

James smiled and inclined his head, not so much as glancing at Lady Newton. Instead, he looked to Lady Lamberton, knowing that she would be coming to him with questions rather than congratulations. The widowed Lady Lamberton had been one of his favourites of late and no doubt, she would be afraid that their connection would now cease due to his engagement. James wanted very much to ensure that she was not caught by that apprehension for much longer.

"There you are! I have been hoping to catch you both so I might offer you my congratulations!" Seemingly out of nowhere, Lord Radford stepped towards them both, directly into Lady Lamberton's way. "Might you introduce me, Granton?"

James quickly did so, offering his friend a small nod of thanks. Lord Radford quickly began to engage Lady Newton in conversation, turning her away from James and leaving him easily able to converse with Lady Lamberton.

"Lord Granton." The lady inclined her head though her smile was a little lacklustre. "I heard the news."

"I am sure that you did," James said, offering her his arm and stepping away from Lord Radford and Lady Newton just as quickly as he could. "Walk with me, will you? A turn about the room, perhaps? That way, I will be able to explain everything."

Lady Lamberton turned her blue eyes to his and James let out a slow breath of contentment, revelling in her beauty. "You mean to say that we will not necessarily have to end our connection?"

"Indeed not!" James exclaimed, glad when she took his arm. "Come now, Lady Lamberton, I could never step away from you!" Chuckling when she blushed hot, James continued on his way around the ballroom, glad to be relieved of Lady Newton's company. "In fact, I should hope that not a single thing should change between us, Lady Lamberton." He lifted his chin, a sudden determination filling him. "I have absolutely no intention of letting it."