Chapter Eight

“Caroline, there you are!” Elizabeth flew herself to Caroline’s side, pulling her closer with one tug of her arm. Caroline had hardly made it through the front door before her mother came rushing towards her.

Louisa had wisely taken a step away before she got caught in the crosshairs. “Lady York,” she greeted politely, wearing that tiny smile that hid the amusement shining in her eyes. “Did you rest well?”

“Oh, yes, I most certainly did,” Elizabeth told her. “Though I am a little surprised by the lack of servants. It took a while for someone to assist me in getting ready this morning.”

Caroline tensed, an apology on her mother’s behalf ripe on her tongue. But Louisa beat her to it.

“Is that so?” her best friend mused. “Perhaps I should put an advertisement in the papers for a few more ladies maids.”

Elizabeth nodded, clearly not picking up on Louisa’s slightly sarcastic tone. “Yes, I think that would be a splendid idea.”

“I shall get right on that then. Though,” Louisa slouched her shoulders in mock disappointment, “it would be rather difficult to tell them that I will no longer be needing them once you are gone. It would make little sense for me to keep them, you see, seeing that only Caroline and I reside here.”

Elizabeth blinked. She looked at Caroline, but Caroline was too busy trying to fight her laughter to pay her any mind. “Oh,” she answered at last. “Well, I do see how that could be a bit difficult.”

Louisa was adept at underlying remarks behind a polite smile and it was no more obvious than it was now. Obvious to Caroline at least. Elizabeth clearly didn’t know what to make of what she’d just said.

“It is quite the conundrum, yes,” Louisa said, widening her smile. “Now, if you would excuse me, I will be in the gardens.”

“Oh, let us join you,” Caroline spoke up quickly. She didn’t want Louisa to go. She wasn’t equipped to handle her mother alone right now .

“Certainly,” Louisa chirped. “I’ll ask the gardener to fetch an extra pair of gloves and trowels.”

Elizabeth’s eyes went wide. “You mean, you plan on actually gardening?” she gasped.

Louisa gave her an innocent look and Caroline was crossed between groaning and laughing. Louisa knew what she was doing. “Why, yes. It is a marvellous way of spending my afternoons. Though, it is rather sunny today, so I do recommend that you wear your bonnet.”

Elizabeth squeezed Caroline’s arm a little tighter. “We will have tea in the drawing room instead, thank you.”

Louisa shrugged, eyes sparkling. “If you wish, my lady. I shall have the gardener bring the extra tools just in case you change your mind.”

She turned and left, Caroline and Elizabeth staring after her. Another time, Caroline would have marveled at how adept Louisa was at turning around judgment aimed at her, capable of leaving the other party either utterly confused or put out. But right now, she felt slightly betrayed that Louisa left her to deal with her mother instead.

“She is rather odd, that one,” Elizabeth commented once Louisa was out of earshot. “I had wondered why she’d never married, considering what a lovely girl she is, but I suppose no gentleman would marry a girl so willing to get her hands dirty.”

Caroline sighed, heading in the direction of the drawing room. She might as well get this over with. “She is not getting her hands dirty. She wears gloves and a bonnet.”

“She is still playing around in the dirt!”

“She is gardening ,” Caroline corrected. “It is her passion and there is nothing wrong with that. It far beats having no interest in life.”

Elizabeth fell silent, saying nothing until they were seated next to each other in the drawing room and had already rung for tea.

At last, she asked, “Are you saying that I have no interest in life?”

Caroline resisted the urge to sigh. “No, Mother,” she said, even though that was what she’d been insinuating. But now that Elizabeth had asked the question, she felt a little bad for thinking like that in the first place.

Elizabeth thinned her lips. “Well, she is still a lovely girl. I suppose she may still be able to find a husband if she tries. Perhaps at Lady Maria’s upcoming ball.”

There it was.

“I was not aware that Lady Maria was having a ball,” Caroline pushed through gritted teeth. She didn’t know how her body could tense any more than it already had.

“Did I not tell you?” Elizabeth asked in exaggerated surprise. “I believe her invitation is somewhere around here.” Caroline tried not to roll her eyes as her mother made a show of looking for this invitation. She gave up on her one-woman show in seconds and said, “Not to worry, though, because I have already accepted the invitation on all our behalves for this evening.”

“This evening?” Caroline gasped. “Mother, why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“I did not think it pertinent,” Elizabeth explained.

Caroline curled her nails into her palms. “Of course it is! That is far too short of a notice.”

“Oh, heavens, Caroline, you act as if you have something better to do this evening.”

She most certainly did. She’d already planned on having a long night poring over her novel until the wick of her candle gave up on her. Caroline was bursting with inspiration after her time at the orphanage and would have gone straight up to her bedchamber if her mother hadn’t stopped her at the front door.

If she spent her time dallying at these silly balls, then when would she ever get the time to write? The deadline was looming dreadfully close as it was. At this rate, she wasn’t going to make it.

“Mother, I do not think—”

“Now, don’t tell me you won’t be able to make it,” Elizabeth cut in. “I have already promised Lady Maria and Lord James Sotheby.”

Caroline’s heart sank. “Who is Lord James Sotheby?”

“He is that lovely gentleman I have been telling you about.” Elizabeth paused, frowning. “Or have I not gotten the chance to tell you about him yet? In any case, he is a smart and handsome gentleman who is eager to meet you.”

“Mother, you are acting without informing me again,” Caroline said wearily.

“I am your mother, Caroline,” Elizabeth told her. “I know what is best for you.”

Caroline was thankfully saved from having to respond when the maids entered with the tea service. ELizabeth scrutinized them as they set everything out and departed, but Caroline couldn’t find the strength to care about her mother’s natural propensity to judge others. She was still reeling from the information she’d just gleaned from her meddling mother.

Not only was she expected to be in attendance at a ball this afternoon, but Elizabeth had already matched her with a gentleman. She was bound to be hounded by Elizabeth all night if she did not entertain that gentleman to her liking. The thought sent a shudder down Caroline’s spine.

Elizabeth began spooning sugar into her tea. “As I was saying, Caroline, Lord James is the second—”

Caroline stood suddenly. She didn’t dare look down at her mother, pressing her hands against her thighs to keep them from curling into fists. It took all the strength in her body to keep the anger and frustration from her tone as she said, “Pardon me, Mother, but I am quite tired after the morning I had. I think I may take a nap.”

“Right now?” Elizabeth sounded disappointed. “But we have only just begun talking. Oh, well I suppose you should rest up now. You will need all the energy you can muster for this evening.”

Caroline couldn’t conjure a proper response without showing her irritation, so she simply nodded stiffly and made for the door. She didn’t release her pent-up breath until she was heading up the staircase, stomping her foot into the wood with each step.

She’d spent most of her life with her mother and yet Elizabeth was still capable of shocking her into her anger. At this point, Caroline should have expected it. But she wouldn’t let it eat her up. Not this time .

Right now, the only thing she wanted to do was write until her hands cramped and ink adorned every inch of her palm.

***

The smell of pine and cinnamon hit Caroline’s nose the moment she stepped into Lady Maria’s ballroom. She would have stopped to appreciate it had it not been for the fact that nearly everyone standing nearby was now looking at her.

Or rather, them, since they did not make a common sight. Caroline, the widow who had returned to London but had not been seen at any ton event since her wedding to the late Viscount of Winterbourne. Louisa, the spinster who boldly enjoyed her marriage-less lifestyle. And Lady York, the ambitious baroness.

For a moment, they entered to a small hush, eyes falling on them. And then the whispering began.

“I did not miss this in the slightest,” Louisa murmured in Caroline’s ear. “Are we so riveting that we must be the subject of everyone’s conversations?”

Caroline tried not to heave a sigh. She’d been dreading attending from the moment Elizabeth told her about it and it was even worse than she’d imagined.

Granted, the ballroom was beautifully decorated, marigolds and warm candlelights casting an ethereal glow across the expansive room. The quartet played a low, simple tune as the guests who had already arrived mingled with one another, a hum of chatter hanging in the air. Caroline watched as gentlemen wrote their names on the dance cards of smiling ladies in anticipation for when the dancing commenced and she prayed that she would not have to endure such a thing. She had nothing against dancing, but she’d been against attending from the very beginning, so she was not looking forward to anything this evening may entail.

There was only one silver-lining. “Thank you for coming with me, Louisa,” she whispered back to her. “I know you hate these things far more than I do.”

“It is not the balls that I hate,” Louisa corrected. “It’s the people. They are dreadfully scandalous, you know. I can hardly breathe without wondering if I am doing something that may land me in tomorrow’s scandal sheet.”

Caroline laughed, shaking her head. Louisa often underestimated how naturally graceful and ladylike she was. Coupled with the fact that she wore a lovely gold gown that brought out the color of her eyes, she was bound to be approached by a number of gentlemen hoping to turn her from a spinster into a wife.

She didn’t bother saying so, though. She didn’t want to risk Louisa turning around and heading back home.

“What are you two whispering about?” Elizabeth asked, poking her head closer to them. “I hope you are not conspiring to leave at the earliest opportunity.”

“What a marvellous idea, Lady York,” Louisa drawled. “It shall certainly be considered.”

“I didn’t mean to suggest it!” Elizabeth protested but Louisa pretended to be too focused on something across the room.

“I spy the refreshments stand. Would you ladies like a glass of lemonade?”

Caroline hid her smile as Louisa walked off without waiting for anyone’s response. Elizabeth huffed.

“That girl. If only she would listen to me.”

Caroline watched as a gentleman approached Louisa, attempting to strike up a conversation, the moment she arrived at the table. “I do not think she is need of your assistance, Mother,” Caroline commented.

Elizabeth looked over at the table. “Hm. I suppose not.”

Louisa smiled at the gentleman, turned and found Caroline’s eyes from across the room, then put a hand to her neck as if choking herself, moving it away before the gentleman could see. Caroline laughed.

“Or perhaps she does,” Elizabeth murmured, shaking her head. “Anyway, I think I spy Lord Sotheby over by that corner. We should go and introduce ourselves.”

“I think Louisa needs me to—”

“Louisa is doing quite fine on her own,” Elizabeth interjected, seizing Caroline’s arm and pulling her along .

Caroline steeled herself. It felt like her debut year all over again. Being paraded around ballrooms by her mother as she sniffed out eligible bachelors. The fact that Elizabeth had chosen an aged yet wealthy lord who had already been married twice before felt like a betrayal and that feeling was coming over her all over again.

“Lord Sotheby?” Elizabeth called.

The man turned. He was indeed handsome, but in a rather understated manner. The sort of gentleman who was pleasing to look at, but one would have had no reason to look at him at all. He had brown eyes, a smooth, clean-shaven jaw, with brown hair styled away from his face. When he smiled, Caroline thought that he looked rather nice but there was a remarkable lack of spark.

“Ah, Lady York,” he greeted. “It is splendid to see you again.”

“Likewise, my lord,” Elizabeth returned with a broad smile. She put a hand on the small of Caroline’s back to guide her closer to him. “Please meet my daughter, Lady Winterbourne. I was telling you about her the day we met in the park.”

Lord Sotheby turned his attention to Caroline, wearing a polite smile. “It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Lady Winterbourne. Lady York has told me much about you.”

Caroline could only imagine the things her mother had said about her, but she knew better than to ask that question right now. Instead, she sank into a curtsy, “The pleasure is mine, my lord.”

She’d barely straightened before he reached for her gloved hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. Caroline resisted the urge to snatch her hand away. Lord Sotheby lowered her hand as a light blush touched his cheeks.

“May I say that you look absolutely beautiful this evening, my lady?” he said softly. “It would be my utmost pleasure to have your first dance.”

“She would love to!” Elizabeth interjected before Caroline had a chance to respond. “Show him your dance card, Caroline.”

“Mother, please,” Caroline sighed.

“Forgive me, forgive me. I shall give you two your privacy. I think I see Lady Yasmin close by. ”

She wiggled her eyebrows at Caroline as she ushered by and Caroline had to keep herself from groaning aloud.

“I’m sorry about her,” Caroline felt the need to say. “She can be a bit overbearing at times.”

Lord Sotheby shook his head. “Believe me, I understand as well. My mother was very much like yours when she was alive.”

“Oh. My condolences, my lord.”

“It was many years past,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “But I am grateful. I would give anything to have my mother’s watchful presence and concerned attentions once more.”

Guilt pinched her at that. She looked over at her mother who was trying—and failing—to pay attention to what Lady Yasmin was telling her, paying more attention to Caroline and Lord Sotheby instead.

“I did not mean to make you feel bad, my lady,” Lord Sotheby spoke again.

“Oh, you needn’t worry,” she quickly told him. “I know you had the best intentions.”

Silence fell over them. Lord Sotheby clasped his hands behind him, rocking slightly on his heels. Caroline racked her brain for anything to say so that she could escape.

“Your dance card…” he started again.

“Yes, right.” Caroline quickly handed it to him. He flashed her smile as he began writing his name, bending over her wrist as he did so.

Caroline let her eyes drift away, trying to quell that pinch of annoyance at the fact that she would not be able to escape the dance floor.

And then her eyes came to rest on a familiar figure.

Honestly, she didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed him before. She’d outlined his likeness in stark detail in her novel—from the broad cut of his shoulders to the head of thick, dark auburn hair to the dominating aura he gave off. He stood amongst a few older gentlemen who appeared to be having an intense debate about a matter, but he didn’t seem to care to give his input. With his arms crossed, his lips set in a hard line, and his eyes sweeping the ballroom, he was the picture of command.

Then their eyes met .

Caroline was tempted to look away. From the way her heart skipped a beat and that sudden spark of heat in the pit of her stomach, she shouldn’t chance looking at him any longer. But she held his gaze, the noise around her dulling to a buzz because all she could focus on was him.

It lasted only a few moments, even though it felt like a lifetime. The moment Lord Sotheby straightened and blocked her view of the earl, Caroline came rushing back to herself.

“My lady?” He frowned, worry in his eyes. “Are you all right?”

No , she wanted to say. She was flustered and off-balanced and she needed to ground herself again.

“I’m fine,” she managed to say, flashing him a smile that lasted only a second. “If you would excuse me, my lord. I think my friend is looking for me.”

She didn’t give him a chance to say anything. And because she knew that her mother was watching, Caroline went in the opposite direction of Elizabeth, heading instead to Louisa who had found a secluded spot near the terrace doors.

“Caroline, thank God you’re here,” Louisa greeted, handing her that glass of lemonade she’d been holding on to. “I was afraid that I would be approached again if I stood here alone for too long.”

“I feel bad saying this, Louisa, but I do not think my presence is going to act as a deterrent to any interested gentleman.”

“Perhaps not on its own,” Louisa agreed. “But coupled with my no-nonsense scowl, my plan just might work.”

She sipped her lemonade and it took her only a few moments of silence to notice that something was up.

“What’s wrong?” she asked Caroline.

Caroline saw no reason in lying to her, especially since she’d mentioned her unusual encounter with the Ice Earl the day after it happened. “Lord Colenhurst is here,” she told her. “Our eyes met. Briefly.”

Louisa followed Caroline’s eyes and raised her brows when she spotted the earl. “My. He is handsome. Why are we surprised that he’s here? ”

“Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be, since there is no reason he wouldn’t be issued an invitation. Do you think he remembers me?”

“From the way he’s staring at you right now, I am willing to guess that he does.”

Caroline’s heart did that thing again—tripping over itself then pounding against her ribcage with no warning. “He’s looking at me?” she asked, wondering if she sounded as nonchalant as she was trying to be.

Louisa gave her a curious, slightly amused look. “Rather intently.”

“Hm.” Caroline did everything in her power not to look back.

Suddenly, the music changed. The quartet began a livelier tune and guests began to couple together as they made their way to the middle of the ballroom.

“There is a gentleman coming your way, Caroline,” Louisa warned her. “And it is not the handsome Ice Earl.”

Caroline didn’t have to guess who that person was. Lord Sotheby appeared a second later, wearing a shy smile with his hand outstretched, palm up.

“Shall we?” he asked.

Caroline pasted a smile onto her face and nodded. The dance would not last forever, she told herself as she allowed him to lead her to the center of the ballroom amongst the other dancers. They would dance, she would thank him, and hopefully he would get the hint that she no longer wanted to interact with him.

And perhaps, during the course of this evening, a certain icy gentleman would approach her, rather than watching her from a distance.