Nicholas chuckled at his sister’s theatrics. “I know you are only saying that so I become curious and beg you to tell me. Always wanting the upper hand, despite being the youngest.”
“You know me so well.” Deborah smiled. “You seem happy, though. I take that the dance with the brunette lady went well?”
A satisfied grin spread across his features. “Her name was Kathy, and I would say that things went well. However, she did step on my feet a couple of times while we danced together.”
Deborah muffled her laughter. “The horror. I suppose that is reason enough for you to never see her again.”
“You know me so well,” Nicholas repeated her words back to her.
“Have you had any luck finding someone to dance with tonight?”
Deborah showed him her empty dance card. “Have a look.”
Nicholas took the card from her hands and chuckled, shaking his head. “Am I really surprised? Both of us avoid any prospects of love as if it were the plague.”
“It might as well be.” Deborah nodded. “But enough of this cynicism. I am hoping one of our siblings has some good news to tell us tonight.”
“Peter?” Nicholas’s eyes widened. “Is he still pursuing the Duke’s sister?”
“They are quite into each other,” Deborah remarked. “I had to witness the two of them making eyes at each other, and it was as endearing as it was despicable.”
Nicholas chuckled loudly. “I regret that I missed out on such a sight.”
“Believe me, you do not.”
The band started to play music once again, and it was almost time for the next dance.
“Forgive me for being so abrupt, but I must take my leave again,” Nicholas said, tipping his proverbial hat towards his sister. “The dance is about to begin.”
“Do you have another woman waiting for you?”
“Of course.” Nicholas grinned. “Out of the three of us, I like to think that I possess the most talent when it comes to dancing, and it would be a shame if that were to go to waste. We are at a ball, after all.”
Deborah laughed. Speaking to Nicholas always lightened her mood. Even though he was well into his twenties now, he had not let go of his childlike spirit that made him take great joy in everyday life. He believed in living in the moment and didn’t let anything drag him down. It was something that had been passed onto him by their grandmother, who had been quite the heartbreaker in her youth.
Deborah stared at her empty dance card and remembered Peter’s advice from earlier.
Looking around, she could see that she had caught the eye of some men. One of them was bold enough to walk over and strike up a conversion.
“My Lady,” he said and introduced himself as the Baron of Mainfield. “It baffles me greatly that a woman as beautiful as yourself is here all by herself,” he continued, trying desperately to flirt with her despite the complete lack of interest painted on her face. “Shall we dance together and solve this issue at once?”
She shook her head. “I am not sure if I can,” she replied, thinking of any excuse she could come up with to get rid of him.
“Surely you do not want to be the kind of woman who goes unpicked when the music starts playing,” the baron pointed out, acting as though he had done her a huge favor by asking her to dance.
Deborah let out an exasperated sigh. It was precisely men like this that made her dread these balls. They felt as if they were a gift to God’s earth just based on their status alone and that women were just waiting around to get noticed by them.
“I am comfortable being here by myself.” She faked a smile. “Thank you very much for asking.”
He looked at her with a confused expression.
It was unheard of for a woman to reject a man for a dance unless she was already engaged. It would ruin a woman’s chances of securing a suitable match. But Deborah was uninterested in marriage altogether and didn’t mind sabotaging her chances.
“I am not sure if that attitude is going to assist you in finding a partner for yourself,” he scoffed. “You must wise up. Your youth isn’t going to stay with you forever.”
Deborah felt that the gentleman was being quite rude to her and didn’t want to spend another moment in his entitled company. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Peter entering the ballroom.
“I must go, My Lord,” she excused herself hastily. “It seems that my brother requires my assistance immediately.”
