CHAPTER 14
The following Wednesday, Kenneth entered a venue he’d promised never to go to—Almack’s. The grand space, filled with the lively chatter of the ton, the rustle of elegant gowns, and the strains of the minuet, filled him with dread.
While many young gentlemen and ladies attended the weekly balls at Almack’s, Kenneth had been there only twice. Both times under duress.
This was the first time he’d not only attended voluntarily, but he’d done so with a hint of eagerness.
While he and Joanna’s last meeting had been rather unfortunate, their parting had filled him with a sense of hope and a soaring positivity. This did not go unnoticed by Leonard, who stood beside him and grinned.
“You are in high ropes for a man who claims not to be in love.”
Kenneth turned to him, debating if he should continue to deny a fact that was becoming increasingly more obvious even to himself or let it go.
He decided to simply shrug it off. “I am looking forward to being seen with Joanna so that it might serve as a deterrent for others.” He nodded his chin toward a gaggle of ladies who had been staring at him and Leonard for some time from behind their large, feathered fans.
“Is that all?” Leonard asked. “For if you wish to attract less attention, perhaps you ought to have dressed less like a dandy.”
“I am no dandy!” Kenneth huffed.
Although, it was true. He was in his finest evening attire. He’d found he wanted to look handsome for Joanna because she always took great care to look her best when they were together.
Still, would he have admitted that to her? No. Indeed, the last two days had been difficult for Kenneth. He’d gone from daydreaming about Joanna and what might be to reminding himself that love led nowhere good.
Marriage was a trap for fools, and he would never be a fool. Besides, hadn’t they agreed to never fall in love? So, even if he felt things he ought not to feel, she certainly wouldn’t. Would she?
Determined to distract himself from his thoughts, he looked at Leonard. “Enough about me. What about you? Are you not going to dance?”
Leonard pursed his lips. “Changing the subject, I see. I will dance, do not fret. My mother is here, anyway. She will never leave me alone if I don’t.” He narrowed his eyes then, and Kenneth braced himself for the inevitable question. “What about your mother? Have you seen her since the argument you had?”
Kenneth sighed, his gaze momentarily fixed on the swirl of dancers. “She’s refused to speak to me since that dreadful dinner. I can’t say I blame her entirely, I shouldn’t have spoken to her the way I did.”
Leonard raised an eyebrow. “Why did you get so upset? I know your mother can be vexing, but I never knew the two of you to have so severe a falling out.”
Kenneth hesitated, his brow furrowing. “I could not stand the way she was acting. As if she and my father were a happy couple, when they could not stand each other.”
Leonard nodded knowingly. “A common affliction among the ton, presenting a facade of bliss when the reality is far from it. Your outburst was likely a long time coming.”
Before Kenneth could retort, the room seemed to shift. The lively melodies of the minuet took on a different meaning as Joanna entered the ballroom with her sisters. Kenneth’s heartquickened at the sight of her, and he couldn’t help but smile. He had hoped he wouldn’t feel this way, yet here he was.
“Would you excuse me?” he said without looking away from her.
“Go on, then, goosecap,” Leonard replied teasingly.
Ignoring his friend, Kenneth approached Joanna, who floated across the ballroom with her sisters. When he glanced back, he saw Leonard watching him, a knowing smirk on his face.
Joanna’s eyes met Kenneth’s as he reached her side, and a warm smile spread across her lips. “Good evening, Your Grace,” she greeted at once. “You remember my sisters, Lady Sally and Lady Rosemary?”
The two young women curtsied, though, from the corner of his eye, Kenneth saw Rosy grin to herself. Sally, however, eyed him a little more suspiciously when she rose.
He had to ask Joanna about her older sister, for he suspected she knew the true nature of their connection.
“It is a pleasure to meet you both again, My Ladies,” he said.
Rosy instantly beamed. “The pleasure is ours, Your Grace. I thought our father might have scared you away.”
“I am not that easily scared, Lady Rosemary,” he replied, and Joanna’s smile brightened at that.
“That is certainly a good quality in a future husband,” Sally commented, and this time, there was no mistaking it. She knew something was up.
