Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
‘What?’
‘I said, laugh. Laugh like you are having the most wonderful time with me, and I assure you, eligible bachelors are sure to be most interested.’
‘They will?’
‘They will, Esther, if you would only smile and reveal what you have shown me. Smart and pretty? Oh, what a triumph!’
Her lips twitch, and I silently will her to break the stoic Esther Hamsley that everyone has come to know and judge.
‘Go on,’ I whisper. ‘And be careful not to crack your face.’
And with that, she bursts into fits of laughter, and the sweet sound fills the room, lighting up the space along with her face, and I am most gratified by the sight and sound, as well as the attention it has captured from every corner of the ballroom. I nod to myself, satisfied with a good day’s work, and when I am tapped on the shoulder, I grin down at Esther, whose eyes have widened further. ‘I believe we have our first candidate for the affections of Esther Hamsley,’ I say, breaking away and facing whomever it may be trying to move in on my dancing partner.
‘Can I help you?’ I ask the young man, who I guess is not far off my age, perhaps a smidgeon older, with jet black hair and the darkest of eyes. Quite a handsome fellow, I must say.
‘If I may,’ he motions to Esther, whose cheeks, and it’s quite adorable, are getting pinker by the second.
I appear to consider his request for a few moments, torn, as though I am perturbed to be having my dance cut short. ‘I believe that is the lady’s decision.’ I turn to Esther and tilt my head, looking most anxious for her answer.
She clears her throat, blinks a few times, straightens her shoulders, and looks at the young man. ‘Ummm … yes … I would be delighted.’ She flashes her newfound smile once again. ‘I suppose.’
‘Oh, fiddlesticks,’ I mutter, holding out my hand to my challenger. ‘You won fair and square, my friend. Enjoy, she is quite a vision and most enchanting.’
He nods, I move away, happy with myself, ready to find some more champagne and have a quiet, stern word with myself, for not only has Esther Hamsley observed me behaving oddly around Taya Winters, but so has Clara, and both of her brothers have warned me away, so I am obviously failing in my endeavours to act in a non-peculiar way.
I help myself to champagne and sip as I watch many couples circle the floor, the sight a dizzying swish of colours and smiles. ‘You are such a social climber,’ Clara remarks, breaking away from Mama, who is engrossed in conversation with Lady Blythe and Lady Tillsbury, and joining me on the edge of the dancing area. ‘I mean, Esther Hamsley?’ She helps herself to some champagne and I swiftly remove it.
‘She is rather sweet, if you must know.’
‘I hardly recognise you these days.’
‘I hardly recognise myself,’ I muse, feeling eyes on me, but refraining from looking to confirm whose they are, for she will certainly place me under her spell again and I must keep my wits about me. I must.
Damn it.
To know she is there and not steal the opportunity to admire her? Impossible.
My eyes drift to my left, and, God save my soul, I’m flung into an abyss of pleasurable reminiscences: our skin when it has touched, our lips when they met, our tongues when they have swirled.
‘Frank!’
I jump out of my skin and find Clara glaring at me. ‘I will never forgive you,’ she says with a strong voice. ‘Ever, do you hear me?’
‘I think I need a drink.’
Clara’s nose wrinkles as she scowls. ‘You have one.’
‘I do?’ I look down at my hand. ‘Oh, I do.’ I think I must need some sense to go with my drink. ‘Stay with Mama,’ I order, leaving Clara to go in search of that sense, thinking, if I am lucky, I might find it outside with a shot of fresh air. I finish my champagne and collect two more, walking with pace and focus towards the exit. I pass Lizzy Fallow, whose eyes follow my path from where she stands at the side of her decrepit husband, and then Lady Dare who is having a conversation with Mr Fitzgerald but watching me leave.
I make it outside and take a moment to inhale the cool, fresh air, taking some much needed deep breaths, feeling as if I have broken free of the danger zone and can breathe easy again. I drink one of my glasses and throw it in a nearby bush, then wander down the middle of the lawn, where trees line the sides, every blade of grass is equal in length, and the moonlight bounces off the statue at the very end. The sound of the party is now distant, and I am, for the first time this evening, relaxed, now I have left temptation behind.