Chapter Six

December 7

Ashford, Kent, England

K icking himself for being a fool once again, Julius stood at the edge of the Kastner's ballroom floor gazing across it at Lady Augusta endeavoring once more to avoid making eye contact with him. In truth, he couldn't blame her. Who would wish to gaze at the gentleman who had deviled you the entire Little Season with proposals you did not wish to hear? He'd badly miscalculated Lady Augusta's depth of affection for Mr. Burton—or her decision not to become a countess—so much so he wouldn't take no for an answer to his proposal—all five times.

It was as though he'd lost at chess using the King's Gambit with Lady Augusta, then instead of trying other strategies, he'd decided that if he kept making the same mistake over and over, eventually she'd grow tired and simply give up and concede the game. Needless to say that had not happened. And yet, he'd not been able to stop himself from proposing.

If only Francis had shown sense and locked him up in his room at home. Or dragged him off to America until he came to his senses. Things might have been salvageable between him and Lady Augusta then.

"You have met my older daughter, Miss St. Claire, have you not, Lord Boxted?" Smiling cheerfully, Mrs. St. Claire broke in on Julius's thoughts, having just joined him as he stood alone before the orchestra began to tune up.

"We have not been formally introduced, no, ma'am." Julius forced himself to refocus his attention or try to, at least, for the sake of Miss St. Claire. No need to appear rude even if he were the stupidest man in all of England.

"Dear Charlotte has been so looking forward to her come out in the Spring." Mrs. St. Claire looked up at him eagerly.

With an internal sigh, he smiled pleasantly. He must get used to the matchmaking mamas he'd encounter in the spring. Not only would the ton be twittering about his eligible status, but news of the family's marriage wager would bring them out in droves. Another thing he could have avoided if he'd been able to get Lady Augusta to agree to marry him. "I am certain she will be a diamond of the first water, Mrs. St. Claire."

The lady in question was indeed quite as pretty as the proverbial English rose. Her cheeks were a soft-pink color, one associated with delicate flowers, her skin then blending into a creamy ivory. Her eyes were the color of the blue willow china pattern his mother used for tea sometimes. The lady's blond hair was dressed simply in a braid coiled around her head and enclosed with a circlet of gold filigree and pearls. The classic bow of her pink lips was utterly perfect.

However, other than an admiration for the ideal of English womanhood, Miss St. Claire moved Julius not at all. When one had been thinking of nothing save the raven-haired ringlets of a statuesque lady who had the mien and manner of a goddess, one did not instantaneously change his tune and seek a less robust one. At least Julius didn't. Still, that did not mean he could not be polite and ask the young lady to dance.

Affecting a warm smile, Julius turned to his companion and asked, "Would you please introduce me to your eldest daughter, Mrs. St. Claire?"

The woman's eyebrows shot straight up. "Of course, my lord." She hastily motioned to the young lady who hurried over to them. "Charlotte, may I present Lord Boxted, who has especially asked for an introduction to you." Her smile widened to rival a crocodile's. "This is my daughter, my lord, Miss St. Claire."

"How do you do, Miss St. Claire." Julius bowed to the young lady, who smiled shyly back at him.

"I am very well, my lord. I am delighted to make your acquaintance." The lady did look delighted. "My mother told me your family and mine were friends when we were last in England."

"Yes, my grandmother reminded me of the connection last evening." His grandmother had summoned him to her chamber at home as soon as the invitation to the house party arrived and informed him of the long friendship between their families and charged him specifically to be cordial to the St. Claires—to all the St. Claires. Yet another matchmaking mamma, or grandmother in this case, he suspected.

"I remember playing with your cousins when I was young. Iphigenia was my bosom friend." Miss St. Claire grinned at the memory.

"My sisters are a bit younger than Iphigenia, Cassandra, and Phaedra, but I am certain you would enjoy their company as well."

Miss St. Claire's eyes glowed with a soft light, giving Julius the impression she was a very agreeable young lady. Rather a pity he preferred more spirited ones. "I'm certain I will enjoy making their acquaintance now that we are back in England."

"If you are not engaged for the next dance, Miss St. Claire, I would be delighted to claim it."

"Thank you, my lord." The lady's smile widened. "It is not taken—except now it is, by you." She giggled, a charming sound, to be sure, but a little of it would be sufficient.

"I wonder if it will be a waltz? I love a waltz." Julius glanced over at the orchestra, hoping they would strike up the music soon. He couldn't help but remember the waltzes he and Lady Augusta had danced at all the entertainments during the Season. He sighed. One must move on.

Almost reflectively he glanced over the dance floor to the spot where Lady Augusta stood—and met with that lady's indignant glare.

Julius's first reaction was to glance around to make sure he was the correct recipient of the lady's anger. But he was the only person in the vicinity, save Mrs. St. Claire and her daughter. And with that realization, Julius's spirits rose for the first time in weeks. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was a chance she hadn't quite decided against him after all.

A triumphant smile touched his lips, and he offered his arm to his partner. "I believe the orchestra is about to begin. Shall we take the floor, Miss St. Claire?"

"With pleasure, my lord."

"I fear we are not going to get our waltz, Miss St. Claire, but I daresay a reel will give us as much pleasure."

"I suspect it will, my lord." She squeezed his hand and leaned against his arm.

Julius couldn't resist shooting a glance toward Lady Augusta and was rewarded with a return gaze through narrowed eyes that was likely meant to singe his eyebrows off. Chuckling to himself, Julius patted his partner's hand.

The chessboard had just been reset. Time to implement a new strategy.

*

The Scottish reel had scarcely finished before Julius whisked Miss St. Clair back to her mother and scanned the dance floor to locate Lady Augusta. She'd not been in the group of eight with Julius and his partner, which was a good thing. They both might have been too self-conscious dancing together but with different partners.

He spied her standing with Fritz Kastner and a young lady he'd seen earlier out in the woods gathering greenery. With studied nonchalance, he strolled over to them, taking care that Lady Augusta didn't see him approaching. The plan was to surprise her with his presence, then assure her he was not about to propose again.

"What are you doing?" His cousin Tom Weston grabbed his arm and towed him over to a corner of the room.

"Let me go." He shrugged his arm out of Tom's grasp. "I was about to ask Lady Augusta to dance."

"Are you sure that's all you were about to ask her?" His cousin gave him a sour look.

"It was. I have no intention of asking her to marry me tonight." What he might do later on was none of Tom's business.

"I had strict instructions from Francis not to let you within ten feet of Lady Augusta." Tom crossed his arms over his chest, looking like Julius would have to tunnel through him.

"For God's sake, I am not going to ask her for anything save a dance." Julius had had enough. "Let me by, cousin, or I swear I will chuck you out on the verandah."

"No, thank you. I just came in from an altercation with Yule out there. It's damned cold outside." Tom shook his head. "All right, but I'm following you over to Lady Augusta and if you so much as look like you're about to go down on one knee, I'm hauling you outside."

"Done." Julius side-stepped around Tom and continued toward Lady Augusta, his cousin at his heels. They reached the lady, who had been talking to Fritz and his companion, and so fortunately had not noted their approach.

"Good evening, Lady Augusta, Fritz." Julius looked enquiringly at Fritz. "Who is this lovely lady?"

"Agatha," he said, addressing the short, dark-haired lady in the deep lavender gown, "this is my friend Lord Boxted. He's Yule's cousin. This is my sister, Miss Kastner. She's the youngest, and the last of my sisters to become engaged. This house party is in honor of her betrothal to Baron von Lippe."

"Felicitations to you, Miss Kastner." Julius bowed, careful to keep his attention on the lady. A look at either Lady Augusta or his cousin would be disastrous. "My very best wishes for your happiness."

"Thank you, Lord Boxted." Miss Kastner dipped a curtsey but gave her brother a speaking look.

"Mine as well, Miss Kastner." Tom mumbled absently, looking at Julius like a cat sitting in front of a mouse hole about to pounce.

"If you will excuse me, Lady Augusta and gentlemen, I must take Agatha to her next partner. The dancing is about to begin again." With a hasty bow, Fritz shepherded his sister to the far side of the ballroom.

Julius turned immediately to Lady Augusta, who looked as though she wished to flee with her host. "Lady Augusta, as the orchestra is about to strike up, I wondered if you would do me the honor of dancing the next with me?"

Both Lady Augusta and his cousin turned to him, their mouths slightly open.

Biting back a laugh, Julius waited, gazing at the lady evenly. He'd wager he had a fifty-fifty chance of her agreeing.

"You wish only for a dance, my lord?" She stared directly into his face, that familiar puckered look on her lips.

"That is all, my lady." Julius looked at her evenly and held his breath.

"If you are certain that is all, then yes, I would be happy to dance the next with you." The smile she gave him then was genuine and lit up her face as nothing else had for a long time.

"I believe my work is done here." Tom grinned at Julius and slapped him on the back. "Don't go getting into trouble, cousin. My lady." He bowed, then made a beeline for the doorway, likely gone in search of a libation.

If the orchestra hadn't been tuning up, Julius would have gone with him. A drink to steady his nerves would be appreciated right now. He offered his arm. "Shall we take the dance floor, Lady Augusta. I do believe we may be in for a treat."

"What do you mean?"

"I believe they are going to play a waltz." Julius led her onto the floor, then assumed the position, with one of his hands grasping hers, the other one firmly resting on her back and waist. It was the sole reason he loved dancing this with Lady Augusta, being able to touch her so intimately, almost holding her in his arms.

The music began—a popular waltz by Strauss—and Julius swept her away, twirling them effortlessly around the dance floor. Dancing had always come effortlessly to him, the rhythm of the music with its mathematical precision creating an instantaneous connection between his mind and the rest of his body. He scarcely had to think of anything at all, except in this instance, his partner's beautiful face.

Lady Augusta wore an expression of calm reserve to begin with, likely because she still expected him to attempt another proposal. Nothing could have been further from his mind, and about halfway through the dance, her face and body relaxed and she began to enjoy the dance as she had the many times they'd partnered at balls during the Season. So now it was time for him to speak. "Thank you for forgiving me, my lady."

"Forgiving you for what, Lord Boxted?" A wary look crept into her face.

"For annoying you so dreadfully this past autumn with my unwarranted and unwelcome spate of proposals." He dipped and whirled them around, positioning them farther from the orchestra so it would be easier to talk.

"How do you know I've forgiven you?" A look of pique flared in her eyes.

"You are dancing with me, my lady. And now speaking to me, which you have not done for some time." He grinned down at her. "I take that as forgiveness, whether it was meant as such or not."

Her lips puckered, and she glanced away. "You vexed me almost beyond patience, Lord Boxted. A sensible gentleman would have taken my reply of ‘No, thank you,' as a definitive answer after the third time it had been rendered."

"I suppose I am not to be considered sensible then, Lady Augusta. At least not where you are concerned."

She shot him a wary look and her body tensed in his arms.

"I have, however, seen the error of my ways and promise to importune you no further with my unwelcome declarations." He gazed into the deep blue eyes, hopelessly ensnared by them. "I would instead beg that you allow us to remain friends."

"Friends?" Her brows furrowed in that delightfully charming way of hers. "How do you mean?"

"The way we were this past summer. I quite enjoyed the entertainments we attended and always looked forward to meeting you at them. I thought you did so as well." He chuckled. "Do you recall Lady Lavendon's theatre party at the Lyceum?"

Lady Augusta nodded, laughing. "The poor lady thought we were going to see a comedy."

"Apparently, she was not a fan of Mr. Dickens's works or she would have known A Tale of Two Cities was anything but comedic." They had actually laughed through parts of the tragic work because the lady kept loudly bemoaning the fact that she'd been misinformed about the subject of the play each time the plot took a tragic turn. "Will you be in Town for the Christmas pantomimes? If so, perhaps over the holidays I can persuade my mother to get up a party. There will certainly be no tragedy in The Adventures of Mother Goose or Robinson Crusoe or The Harlequin Friday ."

Biting her lip, Lady Augusta shook her head. "I am not certain what plans my family has for the holidays. Nothing has been fixed as we are waiting for…" She paused, as if wanting to choose her words carefully. "We are unsure if we will have a guest this year. Once that is settled, I will know more." She peered into his face, a softness in her eyes. "But thank you for thinking of such a pleasant excursion. That is kind of you, my lord."

The prospective guest must be Burton, curse him, apparently not yet returned from America. Well, Julius wasn't about to let the absent suitor have it all his way. "Then allow me to beg you to come sleighing with me tomorrow morning. I do not believe there is any fixed activity for the guests, so I am certain Fritz can arrange it for us."

"That does sound lovely, my lord." Lady Augusta sounded excited by the prospect. "I do love the cold, crisp air. And the snow always makes the landscape look like a fairyland."

The last strains of the waltz faded and reluctantly Julius released his partner and bowed. "Splendid. May I escort you to your mother? Then I will search out Fritz and make all the arrangements."

"Very well, Lord Boxted." She took his arm before he could offer it, an action that sent a thrill through him. "Thank you so much for the lovely waltz." She smiled up at him. "I must admit, you have always been my favorite partner for a dance. I am never afraid you will put a foot wrong on the dance floor."

"Just on every other floor." Julius gave the words a rueful tone.

She laughed and tossed her head. "Hopefully, that is no longer true."

They arrived at Lady Tilney, who looked shocked to see her daughter on Julius's arm.

"Good evening, my lord. I did not know Lady Augusta was…dancing with you." She smiled warmly at him. "I would not have worried had I known."

Another ally perhaps. God knew he needed every one. "Good evening, my lady. So good to see you again. Lady Augusta has agreed to go sleighing with me tomorrow, so I must go arrange it with our host, if you will excuse me." He relinquished Lady Augusta's arm, reluctantly but with the hope of more to come on the morrow. "I will meet you in the foyer after breakfast then, my lady."

"I will be there, my lord." She sounded happy, which filled his heart with joy for the first time in weeks. He would get little sleep tonight anticipating tomorrow's outing with her.

"Good evening, ladies." Julius bowed and hurried away before he said something that would destroy the fragile truce he'd managed to create. So he could live to fight another day.