Authors: Stella White
The dancing was underway and those keen to start were out on the floor
in formation
for the well-known and well-loved quadrille. The fans held by the ladies were on a ribbon around the wrist, long skirts were held
up,
and everyone was very stately and could show off their elegance as they moved from partner to partner. Bertie and Badger stood this one out and saw their friends out on the floor. Arabella managed a smile for the boys as she moved around in the dance and Bertie saw Caroline Carstairs looking wonderful in a dark burgundy coloured outfit that
was not over embellished
but stood out as the best that London could produce.
His
eyes followed her progress around the
room,
and he felt a tingle in his lips as he thought about that kiss in the garden.
The dance ended and the man whom Bertie too to be Caroline’s second cousin escorted her from the floor to a seat beside Arabella and Bertie with Badger in tow moved over to join the party. It was a pleasure to meet the man who turned out to be a member of a club to which Bertie already subscribed. They found that they had a few friends in
common,
and the man was a pleasant companion. His eyes were very obviously drawn to
Arabella,
and that young lady was not unaware of the attention. Like his cousin, Marshall Carstairs was dressed in
great
style and showed an elegant calf in his well-tailored clothes. His hair was cut shorter on the top than
Bertie’s,
and he did not have the
sideburns,
but he was a very attractive man with a pleasant personality. He asked if he would be allowed to accompany Arabella in the next quadrille and Bertie offered to take Caroline so that Arabella could accept the invitation. The little group were happily enjoying a conversation when along to join them
came
Arielle and her cousin Bernice. Bertie inwardly groaned. He
really
did not Like Arielle
Pernicier
. He suspected she was looking to cause trouble but the two girls joined the conversation about the
dancing,
and all seemed innocuous. The next dance
began,
and Bertie offered Caroline his arm. She smiled as she accepted and he walked her into the middle of the floor to join the pattern for another quadrille. It gave him a little thrill of pleasure to feel the touch of her
hand,
and she must have felt the same because she lifted her other hand and patted his arm as she walked. They smiled at each other and took their places in the dance. Arabella and Marshall did the same and Bertie smiled across at his friend’s sister. She knew he understood. The dance was elegant, stately and everyone was able to look their best.
The couples returned to the
table,
and Bertie was sorry to see that Arielle was still there. His training did not allow him to display anything other than good
manners,
and he gave Caroline a hand as she took a seat. The group talked about the dances and Arielle asked if they had seen the new dance that she had heard about in London. “I have heard that a dance called the
Waltz
is
being enjoyed
. Have any of you seen it?” Bertie, Marshall and Caroline all nodded and told her that they had seen the
dance,
and it was proving very popular. “It uses a lot of energy.” Bertie pointed out. “You are left breathless at the end of
it,
” Marshall added that it spun around in fast circles and also left you a little dizzy. “It is very
fast
,” he finished.
“Have you taken part yourselves?” Bernice
asked,
and Marshall gave her a smile and told her that he had indeed tried the new dance. The two girls glanced at each other and Bertie knew for
certain
that they were planning trouble. Arielle said that she would love to see it and suggested that Caroline and Marshall show them how the dance went. Bertie tried to intervene to warn that the older generation would not appreciate the sight of two people dancing close
together,
but the girls brushed him aside and looked pleadingly at Marshall. Arielle went away and was presumably going to see if the orchestra could play a waltz. Bertie tried again to
top
the
experiment,
but the two visitors had no notion of the effect this would have on the spectators. Badger lent his voice as well and even
Arabella,
but it seemed that the decision was already made and Arielle returned to say that the orchestra was
ready,
and there would be an announcement. Bertie’s heart
sank,
and he appealed directly to Caroline to call off the dance. She smiled and told him that everyone here seemed eager to find out what was happening
elsewhere,
and she stood up to take the arm of her second cousin. The two of them walked out onto the floor as the music began and as Marshall swept his relative into his arms and held her against his
chest,
there was an audible gasp from the spectators around the room.
The music played the one two three one two three of the waltz that had arrived in the country from Austria and the two people on the dance floor were swept into the excitement of the moment and did not understand the silence that was greeting their performance. They whirled and twirled and smiled at each other because it was a fun thing to do and then the music came to an end and Caroline curtsied to her partner who gave a brief bow and offered his hand to take her back to her seat. It was only at that point that the two of them noticed the absolute silence that greeted their performance. They stopped and looked around. Caroline gave a nervous smile and the couple walked over to the group where Bertie, Badger and Arabella were waiting. The girls were seated and around the room a rustle of conversation broke out but in subdued voices. Someone directed the orchestra to make more
music,
and some
sort of
normality returned to the room. Bertie took a seat beside Caroline. “I think they are not ready for all of the modern things in Derbyshire.” Then he could not help himself. He said to Badger. “I knew Arielle was up to something. That girl is always trouble.” Arabella
sushed
him and looked around. Badger was nodding
though
and taking in the attitude of the guests. It was not
pleasant,
and when Caroline said that she would like a breath of fresh air, Bertie stood and offered his arm. As they passed the people sitting at the side of the ballroom, it was very pointed that each of the ladies turned away. He looked across at his aunt sitting with her friends and even she gave him
a pointed
stare and turned away. Bertie was furious. He took Caroline out onto the terrace and realise that she was shaking. As they were standing in the shade of a
wall,
he put his arms around her and held her close until she felt able to stand and recover her composure. “It is just not like
London,
” he told her. “They move very slowly here. I will see to the things I need to do and then I will return to my
town house
.” Caroline held onto his arm and said “Thank you for bringing me out here. I did not quite know how to respond.”
“Hmph.” Lord Haverbrook said sounding like the aristocrat that he undoubtedly was. “I will make it very plain to everyone concerned that the house of Haverbrook does not condone such bad manners.” That produced a smile from his companion.
“You did try to warn
us,
” she replied. “Please do not cause any trouble on my behalf. My
cousin,
like myself, is used to a more liberal society.” Bertie realised he still had an arm around her
shoulders,
and it was very pleasant. This woman had found her way under his skin and he was enjoying the sensation. “It will not be trouble. That Arielle delights in making people look
uncomfortable,
and I will make it quite clear that putting friends of mine in that position is unacceptable.” He paused. “I rather think Badger will say the same and his sister will most certainly be on the side of your second cousin.” They both laughed at this and made their way back to the ballroom. The traditional dances were filling the
floor,
and Caroline asked if he would find her cousin and tell him she would like to go home.
He left her standing beside Arabella and went in search of her cousin. When he
returned,
Caroline was
gone,
and Arabella was fuming. “These people.” She hissed and named four
well-known
women.
“Came over and deliberately snubbed Miss Carstairs. I will not be coming to any more of these balls, I think. Badger can get the carriage and take me home.”
“I’ll talk
with
you
tomorrow,
” he said and went over to his aunt. “I think it is time to take out leave, my dearest aunt.” He held out a
hand,
and Aunt Agatha had no option but to accept it.
*****
His aunt tried to talk to him about the traditions of these balls and how people should not be offended when they broke the
rules,
but he would have none of it and went off to his bed. Sleep was a long time in
coming,
and visions of Caroline were ever in his head. He had never before felt so much for anyone and had never been so annoyed on behalf of someone
else,
and it came to him that if he were to return to London that he would not see the
delicious
Miss Carstairs again. He drifted into slumber eventually wondering if he could persuade her
to return to the
city as well.
After breakfast and a few stern words with his aunt he set off for Badger’s residence and had only been with his friend for minutes when Arabella ran into the room in a most unladylike fashion. “Arabella, for heaven’s sake, calm yourself.” Badger
admonished,
but his sister shook her head, panted for breath and waved a hand in the air. “She has gone. Caroline. Driven off to London on her own in a carriage.” Both men were instantly at her side and waiting for more details. “How did she go?” Badger demanded. “Who is with her?”
“And how long ago?” Bertie added. Arabella caught her breath and said that the servants told her that she had left in her
own
carriage with just a driver about an hour ago. The two men were
horrified,
and Arabella knew as well that the risks of being held up by robbers
was
always on the roads. Even when the
large
stage coaches
were guarded
, they were still stopped and robbed. Sometimes it was just for the
valuables,
but sometimes the robbers attacked the victims as well. Bertie made a quick decision. In fact, he did not
really
think about it. It was enough to know that Caroline was in danger. He turned to Badger and was already heading for the door. “My horse is ready. I will chase after them. An hour is not long. Get some help and follow me.” With that and not waiting for agreement Bertrand Collins- Margrave ran to the stable yard, flung himself onto the still saddled stallion and galloped off along the main drive which was the quickest route to the road. It was a mad and crazy
ride,
but the horse answered the
call,
and the pair thundered along the road towards London heedless of the looks they were attracting from anyone who was out
and about
. He was an excellent horseman and a strong young man. Bertie prided himself on his
appearance,
and that included having a trim body. That body was using all of its strength to urge the horse forward. His mind was calculating that an hour in a carriage would not have made a lot of
progress,
and he thought that maybe half of that time would catch them up. He had not thought about what would happen when he found her. “Maybe she will not listen. Maybe she will send me away.” He thought as he travelled but kept on going and after some
time,
he
saw in the distance a carriage on the track ahead and then his heart sank as he realised it was
stationery,
and there were two men in front of it blocking the way. Bertie did not slow down. As he drew
near,
he saw Caroline hand out a bag from the carriage to the nearest robber who was waving a pistol in the air. The other one was waving another gun at the driver who was still sitting on the seat holding the reins.
Bertie kept on galloping towards the scene and instead of slowing he sent his mount directly at the man taking the bag. The horse saw the collision coming and slowed
involuntarily,
but it was still travelling at some speed when it knocked into the robber. Bertie jumped from the horse and let himself fly at the second robber in front of the carriage. The first one was on the ground and trying to get under the vehicle away from the horse’s hooves.
Robber number two was taken by surprise
and when he
was leaped
upon by an enraged gentleman. In
panic,
he fired the
gun,
and Bertie felt a hot pain in his
shoulder,
but it was not enough to slow him down. Bertie pulled back his arm and punched the robber directly onto the nose which spurted blood everywhere. The gun clattered to the ground. Caroline screamed as she saw the blood and thought it belonged to Bertie. The footman who had been driving had now leaped to Bertie’s aid and between
them,
they immobilised the second robber. The first one scrambled out from under the carriage and ran off as fast as his legs could carry him. Bertie let him go and found some cord to tie up the one they had caught. The penalty for highway robbery was
death,
and the man was now pleading to
be let
go,
but they took no notice.