“I beg your pardon,” Lord Kensington insisted. “I invited you over here to meet these ladies as a courtesy, Lord Oxbridge. Lady Esther and I were about to dance.”
Much to Esther’s consternation, Lord Kensington now pushed past Lord Oxbridge and took her arm.
“This is my home,” Lord Oxbridge said. “You’re here as my guest, Lord Kensington.”
“Don’t think I don’t appreciate that,” Lord Kensington said. “Why don’t you dance with Lady Esther’s companion? She needs a partner.”
As if they didn’t even know her name, when I specifically introduced her!
Really, these two gentlemen were maddening. And if they thought Esther was going to dance with either one of them, they were very much mistaken.
She pulled her arm free of Lord Kensington’s grasp and stepped back. “Eugenia,” she said, “Isn't that your mother summoning us?”
“Where?” Eugenia asked. She looked a bit distraught, and Esther couldn’t blame her, after the rudeness these two had exhibited. “I don’t see Mother anywhere.”
“Yes, it’s definitely her,” Esther said firmly. She took Eugenia’s arm. “My aunt wants us, gentlemen. I’m sorry, but we must go. Perhaps we’ll find one another later. It was lovely meeting you!”
Before they could protest again, she hurried away, pulling Eugenia with her. The side door of the ballroom stood open, leading out to the gardens, and Esther hurried through and out into the hedges.
“Where are we going?” Eugenia sounded out of breath. “I don’t see Mother anywhere, Esther.”
“No,” Esther said. “I didn’t see her, either. But I just had to get us away from those two gentlemen. They were awful, weren’t they?”
“Did you think so?” Eugenia asked.
“Eugenia! The way they were talking about you, as if you weren’t eventhere!”
“One of them was offering to dance with me,” Eugenia said.
“No, he wasn’t,” Esther said. “He would have been lucky to dance with you, by the way. But he was acting like he was doing you some kind of favor.” She shook her head. “I’m not going to waste a dance on either of them.”
“But you were just saying you thought you might enjoy dancing,” Eugenia protested. “I don’t want you to miss your chance because of me.”
“It’s not because of you,” Esther said. “It’s because those two are so unpleasant that I can’t stand the thought of spending another moment in their company. I wish them luck findinganyoneto dance with. They’re appalling.”
Eugenia smiled. “You’re too kind for your own good, Esther,” she said. “I know you’re hoping to find a match for yourself this Season. You can’t run away from every gentleman who approaches you because he isn’t kind enough tome.”
“We'll see,” Esther said. “Anyway, Lord Kensington was just a viscount. That’s pretty far from what my parents have in mind for me.”
“And Lord Oxbridge? What of him?”
“We’ll see," Esther said again. “There are plenty of gentlemen to meet before I make my decision. If Lord Oxbridge is the most advantageous match I can find for myself, perhaps I will have to return to him and apologize for my behavior. But if that day should come, maybe this experience will have taught him that he’ll get farther by being kind to me and my friends than by taking liberties.”
“I wish I was as clever as you,” Eugenia said admiringly. “You seem to know exactly what you’re doing.”
“I wish I did,” Esther admitted. The truth was that she was very concerned that she might be damaging her prospects.
But I have all Season. And Mother and Father aren’t here to scold me if I make a mistake. I’ll just have to find my own way through any problems I create for myself.
There was something reassuring about that. Something liberating. Esther was sure that it would all work out in the end. After all, they weresurroundedby eligible gentlemen, and it was only the first event of the Season. There was plenty of time to set herself on a productive course.
She couldn't help thinking about what Amelia would say. Her lady’s maid would smile knowingly and ask, “Do you really want to consider marriage to a man whose company you couldn’t abide for more than a few moments?”
And of course Esther would have to say no. No, she didn’t want to marry Lord Oxbridge. The idea was repugnant.
She would do it, though. If he turned out to be her best option, of course she would do it. She was committed to the idea of doing her duty to her family, even if it was deeply unpleasant.
And what about the Duke of Hallowbinder? Is he not your best option?
