“Sorry?” Joy’s eyes widened as she saw him frown. “Whatever for? From what I saw, there was nothing that you did that was wrong.”
“I did not come to speak with you and nor did I dance with you.” The regret that tinged Lord Yarmouth’s voice had Joy’s eyebrows lifting in astonishment. Did he truly feel so much regret over not standing up with her? “I had every intention of doing so, but a situation took place which caught all of my attention and, I confess, I did not dance a good many dances thereafter.”
Mr. Brackwell cleared his throat before Joy could say anything more and both she and Lord Yarmouth looked at him quickly.
“I do wonder if you might like to sit down, Miss Bosworth?” Mr. Brackwell said, pointedly, as Lord Yarmouth let out a low exclamation and then dropped his head forward in clear embarrassment. “You have been standing for some minutes and though this conversation is an excellent one, I do wonder if you would be more comfortable sitting down?”
Joy laughed as Lord Yarmouth began to stammer an apology, squeezing his fingers gently before letting his hand go, still wondering at the closeness of their touch.
“I should like to sit, yes.”
“And let me call for a tea tray,” Lord Yarmouth said quickly, going to ring the bell. “My apologies, Miss Bosworth. I ought to have been the one to offer you such a thing and instead, I have my cousin making certain that you are comfortable rather than myself!”
“It is just as well you are here, Mr. Brackwell.” With a teasing note in her voice, Joy smiled broadly as she sat down again, making Mr. Brackwell laugh aloud. “Else I should be departing from this house in both fatigue and thirst!”
“Indeed, you would, and we could not have that.” Mr. Brackwell grinned as Lord Yarmouth sat down again, though Joy noticed the slight flush to his cheeks. “Now, I believe that you were in the middle of an apology –anotherapology, I might add – to Miss Bosworth?”
Thankfully, Lord Yarmouth laughed at this, as did Joy herself, and Mr. Brackwell sat back in his chair, arms folded but a grin still plastered on his face.
“Indeed, I was.” Clearing his throat, Lord Yarmouth gestured to Joy. “As I was saying, a situation occurred last evening which took all of my attention. It was that which kept me from greeting you, though I assure you, I had arrived intending to do so.”
Joy smiled and nodded, clasping her hands in her lap.
“Might I ask, Lord Yarmouth, if this situation had to do with your gold talisman ring?” The shock which spread across Lord Yarmouth’s face was unmistakable. His eyes rounded, his mouth fell open, and his gaze fixed on hers. “The reason I ask,” Joy continued when he said nothing, “is because last evening, I happened to come across something that danced on top of the ballroom floor.”
Lord Yarmouth closed his eyes, one hand going to rake through his hair.
“It cannot be.”
His hoarse voice made Joy smile.
“I am afraid it is, Lord Yarmouth,” she said, pulling the ring from her pocket and holding it out to him. “Last evening, I found the very thing you had lost… for thesecondtime. Your father’s gold talisman ring.”
Chapter Twelve
It was as if the air had been pulled from the room, leaving his lungs burning and his face hot. Staring at Miss Bosworth’s hand, his gold talisman ring settled in her palm, Henry could do nothing but gaze at it, hardly able to take in what it was that she held out to him.
How much had he cursed himself last evening when he had realized that his ring had fallen from his hand for the second time? He had spent most of the evening thereafter looking for it, wandering around the ballroom in search of it, though he had not asked the host to announce its loss for fear of the embarrassment it would bring. Eventually, he had given up hope, afraid now that he had lost it forever or that whoever had managed to take it from him would now keep it in their possession for the rest of their days.
And now, Miss Bosworth held it in her hand, as though she were holding out a gift to him.
“You lost your ring?”
It was Mr. Brackwell’s puzzled voice which broke through Henry’s reverie and, nodding fervently, he took it from Miss Bosworth and closed his eyes in abject relief.
“You cannot know what this means to me.” Aware of the hoarseness in his voice, Henry closed his eyes tightly, his throat working. “I shall never take this out of this house again.”
“Perhaps that would be wise.” Miss Bosworth smiled at him gently, her eyes soft. “It seems that someone is eager to take this from you.”
“Indeed it does.”
Mr. Brackwell cleared his throat, then smiled apologetically when they both looked at him.
“Forgive me for the interruption, I am just attempting to make certain that I understand. Did someone take this from you? Your father’s talisman ring?”
A little surprised that his cousin remembered the ring, Henry nodded.
“That is so. It initially was lost at a ball some days ago now, though Miss Bosworth was the one who found it for me.”
