Loving a Fearless Duchess: A Historical Regency Romance Book(6)

Penelope stood next to Edward. She came into the ballroom brave but had since lost confidence. One of two things happened to Penelope – either she was not asked to dance, or she was asked, but it didn’t go well. She thought back to Lord Thomas.

“I just got back to London earlier today. I’m so glad I was able to attend this evening. Are you enjoying the ball, Lady Penelope?”

She smiled at him, “Very much, Lord Thomas. Did you travel long to make it back to London?”

“Only a few hours. A few of my colleagues joined me on a hunt. We made some excellent kills. We lost time waiting for two of the deer we killed to drain. We hung them from a tree and opened them up, but they kept us waiting. Anyway,” Thomas stopped talking and went stiff.

That was the exact moment Lord Thomas noticed the scar. He had the usual reaction, Penelope mused. First, he forgot what he was saying. Second, he was staring but trying not to stare, so his eyes were jumping from her eyes to her scar. Third, he tried to recover.

She was unfazed by Lord Thomas’ discomfort. “You were saying, My Lord?”

Lord Thomas looked at her, his expression blank. “I beg your pardon?”

Penelope smiled even brighter. She thought it was unfortunate that this was her only form of entertainment tonight. ‘You have to take your entertainment where you can find it,’ she thought.

“Your hunting trip? The deer?”

Thomas looked like his brain was about to explode. His eyes rolled up to the ceiling trying to conjure the missing conversation he knew he was having. He blew out short spurts of breath and looked around the ballroom. Looking for a lifeline?

“No matter,” Penelope said brightly. “We’ll just start a new conversation. Are you enjoying the ball?”

Lord Thomas shut his eyes a moment. When he opened them, he said, “If I may ask, what happened?”

Penelope looked perplexed. “What happened?”

“Yes,” he said, in a tone he thought sensitive. “What happened?”

She did her best to look confused. “Can you be more specific, Lord Thomas? What happened to what?”

Lord Thomas had the grace to look uncomfortable. Even so, he persisted. “What happened to your face?”

Penelope grimaced. “Do you mean the scar on my face?”

Lord Thomas looked like he could finally stop being so uncomfortable. “Yes.”

Penelope gave a short laugh. “That is from an accident.”

Lord Thomas gave Penelope a look that showed her he thought she was somehow responsible for his social ineptitude.

When the dance was over, she never saw him again. Good riddance.

“What was that about?” Edward asked.

Penelope snorted, “The usual.”

*****

Henry thought Father was such a pompous ass. He waited until the ballroom was full to escort Penelope to the middle of the dance floor for their ‘special dance.’

Henry snorted. ‘Special dance’ meant all his father’s friends would say nice things to him about what a giving man he was.

At least, Penelope looked passable. Henry had thought she was going to be a complete embarrassment to him and his father.

At least she knew how to dance. His father took a big gamble bringing her out here not knowing what she would wear or how she could dance. He supposed his friends would feel sympathy for him if she were an embarrassment.

‘Time for fun,’ he thought. ‘These balls can be boring events unless spiced up.’

Henry stood next to Edward and Penelope, but they ignored him. He continued to listen to them, look over their shoulder, throw in comments, but he continued to be ignored. He was trying to decide if he should be amused or angry by this. Time would tell.

“Edward, are you going to find your manners and introduce me to the three lovely ladies here?” he said growing impatient.

Edward gave Henry a quizzical look. ‘Yes, I’m here, and yes, I’m staying, so introduce me,’ Henry thought.

Edward glanced at Penelope then back at Henry. “Come with me,” he finally said, looking down his nose at Henry.

Edward stopped in front of the three girls. “Ladies, I would like to introduce you to Lord Henry Stanton. Henry, this is Lady Kitty Pembroke, Lady Isabel Mowbray, and Lady Dinah Jennings.”

The three girls curtsied, and Henry bowed to them all. He looked at them closely. The first two looked like they might be fun, but the third one he would definitely stay away from.

“Some of you ladies are very pretty and no doubt get asked to dance often. Although I have no plans at the moment to dance, I will watch you and make a decision about who to ask later,” Henry said.

He turned and went back to stand near Penelope and Edward. Cecilia moved to stand next to him, but Henry said nothing.

***

Penelope ploughed through the next part of her evening wearily dancing and being passed over by almost every gentleman introduced to the group.

She also had to put up with Henry hovering over the group, commenting on all that happened. Every once in a while, he would give the group a reprieve and cause his disruptions elsewhere. But inevitably, he would come back.

“Mother, I don’t believe this is the proper venue for me. Maybe tea. In a parlour, perhaps? Somewhere where they can’t make such a quick escape.”

“I think you’re right. Once gentlemen know you, dancing will be more to their liking. I’ll talk with some of the more experienced mothers and get suggestions.”