“Nor do I.” So saying, Lord Knoxbridge sat back down in his chair, letting out a sigh. “Might it then be at Lord and Lady Chamberlain’s townhouse? On their ballroom floor?”
Henry closed his eyes and let out a low groan. If his talisman ring was on the ballroom floor, then the chances of finding it again were very slim indeed.
“Mayhap one of the servants will have found it,” Lord Mallory said, sitting back down. “One of them will hand it back to Lord Chamberlain and then return it to you, I am sure.”
“In which case, I should take myself back to the ball at once,” Henry muttered, raking one hand through his hair again as his eyes continued to search the floor for any sign of the ring. “Do excuse me.”
“I can come with you if you like?” Lord Falconer began to come after him, but Henry shook his head.
“Thank you, but there is no need. Pray that I find it, however!”
Lord Falconer nodded, and Henry walked out quickly, his own heart desperately hoping that the talisman ring would soon be found.
“I do apologize,Lord Yarmouth, but I have not heard of it nor seen anyone with it.” Lord Chamberlain put a hand on Henry’s shoulder for a brief moment. “But if any of the servants see it, you can be assured that we will return it to you at once.”
Henry nodded.
“I thank you.” His stomach dropped, his shoulders heavy and his eyes downcast. “It was a desperate hope to think that it might have been found.”
“But sometimes desperate hopes are fulfilled as this one might soon be,” Lord Chamberlain told him, smiling encouragingly. “Pray, do not give up hope.”
“Lord Yarmouth?”
Turning his head, Henry looked into the face of a young lady. With her red curls and sharp green eyes, he recognized her, though he could not quite remember her name. Excusing himself, he turned away from Lord Chamberlain and made his way a little closer to the lady.
“Yes?”
“I believe this is yours.”
Henry’s eyes fell to what she held in her hand, only for his breath to hitch, tightening in his chest as he took in his father’s talisman ring. Staring at it for a few seconds as if to make certain that it was truly there, he reached out and grasped it, holding it between thumb and forefinger before replacing it on his hand.
“I believe that, at this juncture, it is customary to thank the person who has found your ring.”
Lifting his head, Henry caught the glint in the young lady’s eye, the way her lips flattened, and felt himself a little embarrassed.
“Of course. Forgive me, I am truly grateful for you delivering this back to me. I have been very worried about its whereabouts ever since I realized it was missing, and to see you standing here and holding it was… well, it quite took my breath away!” Smiling, he looked down at his hand again. “It is astonishing to see it sitting so as though it had never gone missing. You cannot know how grateful I am to you for finding it.”
“I would have thought that, with such an item meaning so much to you personally – as well as it being worth rather a lot – you would have taken a good deal more care of it.”
Henry blinked, unused to being spoken to so.
“I - I did take care of it.”
“Not enough,” came the reply. “Perhaps it would be wiser to leave it at home the next time you are to dance. Clearly, it slipped from your finger when you danced with some young lady.”
In an instant, the situation which had brought the two of them together in the first instance came racing back to Henry’s mind and he snatched in a breath, his eyes flaring wide.
“Wedanced together, did we not?” Was it just his eyes deceiving him or did her shoulders slump a little? Heat billowed in his face, and he looked away, realizing now that he had made it quite apparent that until this moment, he had not remembered who she was. “Might I ask for your name? I do not think I recall it.”
“You did not ask for it.” With a toss of her head, the red-haired young lady’s eyes sharpened, cutting into Henry. “You were much too busy using me to hide from someone else.”
“Which you aided me in very well indeed.” A little uncertain as to what to say, which might make the young lady appear morecontented than she was at present, Henry cleared his throat gruffly. “I… I was very appreciative of your help.”
“I am certain that you were. You avoided the young lady you were attempting to hide from, though you ought to have been truthful with her also.”
A slight curl tugged at Henry’s lip.
“Yes, you have said such a thing to me once already.”
