It was a little frustrating to him that, several days later, he still had no idea of her name and title nor of who her father was, but a highwayman did not demand to know the name nor the title of the lady or gentleman they were stealing from. Why should such a fellow care? All the same, he had been a little irritated that he had not asked her, for she might well have offered him her title, had he asked for it.
“Mayhap I ought not to believe you.” Lord Bramwell sniffed, glancing at Felix, but he barely heard his friend speak. “Mayhap you tease me to distract me from the truth! It would be very like you to do such a thing.”
Felix did not answer. Instead, his attention was entirely taken up by a young lady who had, just now, walked into the room. He could hardly believe his luck. For the last several days, he had spent every day and night attending almost every soiree, afternoon tea, dinner, or ball he could manage, in the hope of seeing her again, but as yet he had been entirely unlucky. Quite why he had been driven to do such a thing, he could not say, but he had told himself that it was simply so that he could find a way to return the brooch.
And now, there she was.
The young lady was walking beside an older lady whom he recognized to be her mother. She was not deliberately coming towards them, of course, but Felix found himself smiling all the same. She appeared almost regal in her countenance, her head lifted, her shoulders back, and a graceful smile upon her lips. All in all, he found her quite breathtaking, just as he had found her on the day that he had stolen her brooch.
Lord Bramwell’svoice faded into the distance as Felix set his eyes upon the young lady. She smiled, obviously acquainted with someone near her, and he found himself smiling back as though it was he that she was greeting. Now that he had come upon the lady again, he was finally going to be able to obtain an introduction to her, to learn her name and her situation. He would have to find a way to return the brooch to her, albeit without her knowledge, but that was not important for the moment. The only thing he desired was to make her acquaintance.
“Are you certain that there is no one who had gained your particular interest?” Lord Bramwell chuckled, nudging Felix lightly. “You suddenly appear utterly transfixed, and I begin to wonder if I have not been something of a fool to have believed what you told me!”
Quickly seeing just how unguarded he had been in his manner, Felix looked around for an excuse.
“I was thinking to myself about how ridiculous Lord Jennings looks this evening.”
The answer came quickly and much to Felix’s relief, it appeared to satisfy Lord Bramwell’s questions, for he immediately looked for the fellow and then laughed aloud. Lord Jennings was nothing more than a fop, and for the moment, it was enough to distract Lord Bramwell from the truth.
“He is particularly garish this evening, I must admit!”
Lord Bramwell’s interest passed, and Felix let out a slow breath of relief as his friend continued speaking of Lord Jennings’ attire. Felix still had every intention of achieving an introduction to the young lady at some point during the evening, but for the moment he held himself back. He had to be careful and cautious or risk his friend’s gentle teasing for many days to come.
Chapter Three
“It must have been quite a terror for you.”
Elizabeth smiled rather blandly as Lady Derriford looked from her back to her mother.
“It was greatly distressing.” Lady Longford sighed and pressed one hand to her forehead. “I am still quite overcome by the experience.”
This was the fourth time that evening that her mother had spoken of the attack by the highwayman, and Elizabeth was becoming both weary of it and embarrassed by it. They had been a sennight in London so far, during which time her mother had taken to her bed and had refused to move from it. Given that Elizabeth had no one but her mother to chaperone her, she had been forced to linger in the house. Her attempts to encourage her mother from her bed had been futile and it was not until Lady Winthrop – one of her mother’s dearest friends – had come to call that Elizabeth had felt the first flicker of hope.
Lady Winthrop had only just arrived in London but, having heard the dreadful story, had quickly made her way to the house. Whatever it was that she had said to Lady Longford, it had encouraged her to rise from her bed - much to Elizabeth’s relief! She had not been able to rejoice immediately, however, for there had been much discussion about whether or not Lady Longford was quite prepared, if she had enough strength of both mind and body, to return to society.
Elizabeth had said nothing, knowing that her words would have little effect on her mother. It took many hours but, eventually, Lady Longford had decided that, yes, shewouldbe able to step back into society and thus, plans to attend this evening’s ball had been made. Lady Longford had stated various things, such as the fact that she certainly would not be able to stand for too long, but Elizabeth had made her various assurances and thus, they were now standing – or sitting - in the midst of a London ball. Elizabeth delighted in the sounds of conversation, in the colors and the music all swirling around her, and finally allowed herself to smile.
“Lady Yardley!”
Hearing her mother’s exclamation, Elizabeth turned around quickly only to be embraced by none other than Lady Yardley herself. Her heart lifted all the more as she saw that there were two of her friends present also, and she embraced each one in turn, a little surprised that tears burned in the corners of her eyes.
“It is truly so wonderful to see you all.” Blinking quickly, she pushed the moisture away, knowing that she could not let a single tear fall when she was in company, for fear that her mother would then exclaim that she was overcome with weakness again and might urge her to return home. “I am so glad to be in London again.”
“As we are glad to see you.” Miss Millington smiled gently. “You did receive my note, I hope?”
“Yes, and I was glad for it.” A letter had come from Miss Millington only two days before, stating that she was only a short distance from London, and was eagerly looking forward to seeing Elizabeth again. “I am glad that you and your family arrived safely.”
“And they were not beset by highwaymen.” Lady Yardley shook her head. “It must have been very distressing for you.”
“Indeed it was.” Elizabeth did not turn back to face her mother as she spoke, keeping her voice low. “My mother has also found it very distressing indeed.”
This was said without any further explanation, but from the nod and the small smile on Lady Yardley’s face, Elizabeth felt sure that she understood.
“Lady Yardley, I was hoping that I might speak with you.” Lady Longford waved weakly in Lady Yardley’s direction, having chosen to sit rather than stand. “As you know, we were set upon in the most dreadful fashion as we made our way to London. I have still not quite recovered from the shock and thus, I fear, I will not be able to take my daughter into London society as I had hoped.”
Elizabeth blinked. This was the first that she had heard of her mother speaking so, fearing that she now intended to return to her bed. Or was it that she simply wished to linger in this state of supposed weakness, to garner a little more sympathy from theton?
Lady Yardley did not hesitate.
