“Most certainly,” she answered.
Her partner for this dance came up and bowed and offered his hand. “I have this waltz, Miss, I believe.”
“You do, Mr. McDonough,” she said rising and taking his arm.
They headed to the dance floor, and Jenny caught sight of Thomas following her with his eyes. He smiled when he saw her looking at him, and she felt a shiver down her spine and goosebumps on her arms. Just his smile was all that triggered this reaction and she found herself blushing.
“Miss Barnett, it is a pleasure to meet you,” the young man said. He was very thin, blond and had a pleasant smile. He towered over her, and she felt a little awkward dancing with him at first but eased into the dance after a few moments.
By this time, Jenny could see that Thomas was dancing with another young lady. She was fair, much shorter than him, and it looked like he was dancing with a child. But she also noticed that he kept looking over at her from across the dance floor. This unnerved her, and she was losing her concentration in the dance and made several wrong turns and stumbled lightly, but not enough for her partner to notice.
After the dance was over, she returned to her table, but both Helena and George were off to dance with their next partners.
“I believe this is one of my dances, Miss Jenny,” Thomas said as he came over.
She checked her card. “It is, Your Grace, and I would be honored to dance with you.”
He led her to the floor, and they stood looking at each other before the next dance began.
“How is your sister, Claudia doing with her injury? Healing well, I hope?” Thomas asked, taking Jenny’s hand in preparation for the dance.
Jenny felt the strength of his hand—warm and firm. She expected a thrill to run through her, but instead, she felt comforted—as though wrapped in a blanket on a cold night. But his smile, and his penetrating eyes did send a charge through her body. And she needed to look away, as she was beginning to feel faint.
“Are you alright, Miss Jenny?” he asked as she had not answered his question to her.
“I think I am a little affected by the heat of the room and the exertion of the dancing. But I am fine.”
“Excellent.”
The music began, and they started to dance.
“And to answer your question, Claudia is mending nicely. She is hobbling around on her crutches as though she was born with them.”
Thomas laughed and squeezed her hand. “I am indeed happy to hear that.”
“She is doing so well we expect her back in the bakery ahead of schedule.” Jenny found she was babbling in order to cover her nervousness over dancing with his Grace. It was as when she dreamed she was flying. It was effortless, exhilarating, and such a delight. She could hardly take her eyes away from his handsome face. But his eyes seemed to bore into her, and she had to look away from the deeply intimate stare.
“Miss Jenny,” he said softly, “it was such a lovely moment meeting you that day in the rain. And you have often been on my mind ever since.”
Jenny did not know how to respond to that. She thought it would be presumptive to tell him how she felt about him, even though she longed to.
“And I was so grateful for your help and kindness to me.” She shyly added, “And you can see I am wearing the dress you gave me. I never thought I would be able to wear it for such a fine occasion.”
The movement of the dance separated them for a moment but, when they reunited, Thomas said, “And I can assure you, you look absolutely lovely in it. I remember the lady to whom the dress belonged and—believe me—you endow it with far greater grace than she.”
The dance seemed to end far too quickly and, as Thomas escorted her back to the table, Willoughby announced. “My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen dinner will be served shortly. If you would please make your way to the dining room and find your places, we shall start serving shortly.”
Thomas looked as though he wanted to say something more to Jenny, but duty called, and he was needed as host, and he went over to join his Grandmamma.
George and Helena stood, preparing to leave the ballroom. Helena said to Jenny, “Come with us. I have no idea if Thomas remembered to make a place for you at the table, but we will make certain you find one. There are always a few folks who do not show up, and we can seat you at one of their places if need be. No one will mind.”
Jenny picked up her reticule and the three of them headed for the grand dining room. A set of double doors at the other end of the ballroom was opened to allow the guests to file in to find their places at the long table set with hundreds of candles, exuberant arrangements of flowers, and beautifully set place settings.
George found his and Helena’s places right away, but there was no place setting for Jenny near them. Helena went with Jenny around the table looking for her place—or a free space. There was no place card with her name, so Helena said, “Just wait until everyone is seated and then find an empty place.” She gave Jenny a sympathetic look. “Will you be alright?”
Jenny said shyly, “I believe so.”
Helena left her and went to join George at their places.
