James inclined his head to the two masked guests. Neville returned the gesture, whilst M
aribeth sank into a deep curts
y.
Ob
viously in no mood for
chit-chat, having greeted the unexpected guests thus, James wasted no time in making his impatience at being kept waiting quite clear.
‘
Let us make our way inside,
’
he instructed authoritatively.
‘
There is quite a crowd gath
ering already and I am in no
mood for yet more interrogation regarding Lovell and Madeleine. I would suggest you fix your mask, Lady El
eanor, before we enter the ball
room.
’
Good lord, thought Eleanor
,
as she clipped the jewelled mask to her hair with the help of Maribeth, one could never tell what sort of mood this man was going to be in. He had been so tender with her that morning and now
, a few hours later, here he was bos
sing her around again.
It occurred to her t
hat he was so vexatingly unpredictable
,
that perhaps she should just let Felicity marry him and be done with it. Upon entering the ballroom
,
however
,
and setting eyes on Felicity and her mother, both dressed in
unflattering Tudor costume
, she knew that she could not. Ja
mes had stopped to talk
to an acquaintance just as they approached the Carmichaels and it was therefore Eleanor and her two cousins who reached the pair first.
‘
Oh, Eleanor,
’
exclaimed Lady Carmichael, obviously, by her flushed face,
in a high state of excitement.
‘
H
ow are you, my dear, after that
dreadful
business?
’
‘
Oh, quite well, I can assure you, Lady Carmichael,
’
replied Eleanor blithely.
‘
Y
ou must give me
all
the details,
’
instructed Lady Carmichael.
‘
Felicity and I did pay a visit to Lady Ormiston
,
but unfortunately both you and James were
absent
and
it was rather difficult to glean
any information from the
poor woman
. We did
, though
,
have the honour of seeing Viscount Grayson there. What a pity he
is unable to attend this
evening.
’
‘
Indeed it is
. A
great pity,
’
agreed Eleanor
archly
.
‘
Now
, please do allow me to introduce my cousins, Maribeth and Neville.
’
‘
Oh,
’
said Lady Carmichael, casting the pair a cursory glance.
‘
Pleased to make you
r acquaintance, I’m sure. I
t is always a pleasure to meet anyone
connected with
the Ormiston family, is it not, Felicity dear?
’
‘
Indeed it is, M
ama,
’
agreed Felicity, inclining her head to the two guests.
‘
Oh,
’
squealed Lady Carm
ichael as James joined them
.
‘
And here
he is
at last
. G
oodness, James,
’
she gushed, grabbing hold of his hand and squeezing it
so tightly that James
grimace
d
.
‘
How dread
fully thrill
ing it all is.
I can scarcely wait for twelve o’clock.
In fact
I
am positively bursting with excitement.
’
James flashed her a dampening look and pulled his hand roughly from hers.
‘
May I suggest you curb your exc
itement, mad
am. I hardly think the unmasking worthy of so much eager anticipation
.
’
‘
Oh, you know it is not the unmasking to which I am referring, silly,
’
giggled Lady Carmichael,
awardin
g him a playful tap on the arm with her closed fan.
James fixed Felicity with a menacing glare.
‘
I can think of nothing else that is planned to occur this evening, madam, which could possibly cause you so much excitement.
’
‘
Oh
,
you are amusing, James,
’
twittered the older woman, now whipping open her fan and fluttering furiously.
‘
I
s he not amusement itself, Felicity?
’
‘
Indeed, he is
M
ama,
’
agreed Felicity, with a demure smile.
As Lady Carmichael then
launched into a futile
attempt
to glean
the latest details of the Lovell/Madeleine saga from James, Eleanor suddenly felt extremely nervous.
In marked contrast to Felicity, she noticed, who appeared calmness personifi
ed. Incredible, given that
tonight
was
to be the culmination of all the girl’s
weeks of planning and plotting. What if
, though
, Eleanor’s own plan, designed to counter Felicity’s, failed to work? What if Felicity announced, as she so obviously planned to, that she and James were betrothed, right here in front of the entire
ton
? If James then reneged on his word, and Felicity was indeed with child, then it was likely to cause the biggest scandal since Caroline Lamb and Lord Byron
;
and James would
b
e forced to leave the country.
At that thought, a
n icy
shiver
shot down her spine. If James left the country she might
never see him again.
Well, she resolved, there
was only one way to make sure that didn’t happen
. She had to make sure her plan did work.
Despite its exalted venue and
hoards of opulently clad, esteemed guests,
the ball
held little interest for Eleanor.
M
asks and the costumes
apart
, it differed little from the other tedious engagements she had been forced to endure during her stay in London. The only redeeming feature
was
that Viscount Grayson had been unable t
o attend
.
Eleanor
wandered
disconsolately into the supper-
room
,
where there was yet another disgusting display of indulgence and greed – the tables groaning under the weight of the food and the floor no doubt groaning under the weight of some of the grotesque guests indulging in it. Her heart froze for a second as
she caught sight of the
Duchess of Swinton, stunning in a white chiffon toga, her hair dressed in the Roman fashion and adorned with white pearls.
There was no sign of the d
uke.
Eleanor watched as the duchess, s
tanding by one of the floor-to-cei
ling win
dows, set down her plate and mad
e to leave the room – at the
same moment James chose
to enter it. The two of them exchanged a look that spoke volumes; a look that speared Eleanor
’s
heart like a cold blade of steel and left her in no doubt at all that James Prestonville was still in love with the Duchess of Swinton.
Eleanor spent the remainder of the interminable evening wishing she were somewh
ere else - anywhere else
. In no mood for
dancing or
socializ
ing, she
wander
ed
aimlessly around the house and g
ardens. As the midnight hour approached,
however, she
managed to
pull herself together. Just because James loved another woman, did not mean she could walk away and leave him to the mercy of
Felicity Carmichael. She
loved him too much for that - even if her feelings were not reciprocated. She had never been in love before and due to th
is
immense
pain, she
vowed
never
to allow the wretched thing to creep up on her again. For now
,
she needed to be strong – for James.
At one minute before midnight, Felicity Carmichael
appeared
decidedly pleased with herself – almost as pleased as her mother who
sported a
smile as wide as the Thames and shift
ed
nervously from foot to foot as she gazed proudly a
t her daughter. James
was nowhere to be seen and Eleanor noticed Felicity’s eyes anxiously darting around the room in an attempt
, she assumed,
to locate him.
The packed ballroom
began counting down the seconds in time to the chimes.
‘
Ten – nine – eight-
’
‘
Oh, excuse me, Miss Carmichael,
’
apologiz
ed a gentleman
dressed in the Spanish fashion, who had bumped into Felicity.
Felicity shot
him a reprimanding glare
.
‘
I take it you don’t recognize
me,
miss,
’
said the man.
‘
Indeed, I do not, sir
.
I have never set eyes on you before this evening,
’
she sn
ap
ped, her eyes still darting arou
nd the room
.
As the crowd counted down
‘
-two – one – hurrah!
’
and everyone whi
pp
ed off their masks, so
,
too
,
did the young man standing in front of Felicity.
‘
Oh, but you have, Miss Carmichael
,
’
he replied with a bow.
Felicity Carmichael
’s porcine
eyes
grew wide
.
‘
You
,
’
she hissed venomously.
‘
What in
hell
’s name
are
you
doing here?
’
‘
Felicity, dear. Language,
’
chided Lady Carmichael who was standing alongside her daughter.
‘
Now
,
where on earth is James, pumpkin
?
You really should be-
‘
Be quiet, M
other!
’
Shock washed over Lady Carmichael’s face. She opened her mouth to reply, but
detecti
ng the hatred flashing in her daughter’s eyes, obviously thought better o
f it and swiftly closed it again
.
Felicity
,
meanwhile, turned her attention back to the man in front of her.
‘
I told you to keep away from me,
’
she snarled.
‘
And I paid you
very
well to do so.
’
Horace nodded
.
‘
Aye you did that, miss.
But you can have it back
- e
very last cursed penny of it.
’
Aware of the enquiring glances being cast their way, Lad
y Carmichael attempted a wavering smile,
whilst
, in a lowered voice, muttered
to
her daughter,
‘
Felicity, what on earth is this man talk-
?
’
‘
Be quiet!
’
barke
d Felicity, paying no heed to her increasing audience.
‘
This man was just leaving.
’