'Oh, Taylor, it's so terribly brave of you to come here tonight.'
Alison smacked Jennifer on the shoulder with the edge of her fan. 'For God's sake, Jennifer, we said we wouldn't bring up her humiliation.'
'Now you've done it,' Constance snapped. 'Shame on you for being so thoughtless. Taylor, is your heart breaking?'
'No. I really…'
She wasn't given time to say more. 'Rumor has it that Jane's carrying his child,' Jennifer whispered.
'The two were carrying on all the while he was courting you.'
'Did you really need to bring that up?' Alison asked.
'She has a right to know,' Jennifer argued.
'We didn't know,' Constance interjected. 'We would have told you, Taylor. We never would have let you marry such a scoundrel.'
'I really don't want to talk…'
Once again Taylor was interrupted before she could finish her thought. 'He's here, you know,' Jennifer informed the group. 'I saw Jane grab hold of his arm the minute Taylor walked in. She hasn't let go of him yet. William Merritt should be hung for his sins.'
'I really don't want to talk about him,' Taylor said.
'No, of course you don't,' Alison agreed. 'Mark my words, darling. The time will come when you'll realize how fortunate you were to be jilted.'
'We shall stand by your side for the rest of the evening,' Constance pledged. 'If anyone tries to say anything thoughtless, I shall personally give him or her a setdown. You have my word, Taylor.'
'Thank you,' Taylor replied. 'But I'm not so thin-skinned. You don't need to worry anyone's going to hurt my feelings. I can take care of myself.'
'Yes, of course you can,' Alison told her in a pitying tone of voice.
'Do you still have feelings for him?' Jennifer wanted to know.
'No. As a matter of fact I…'
'But of course she has feelings for him. She hates him,' Constance decreed.
'No, I don't…' Taylor began again.
'Love and hate go hand in hand,' Jennifer explained. 'I believe she should hate all men in general and William Merritt in particular.'
'I don't believe hating anyone will solve…'
'But of course you must hate him,' Constance argued.
Taylor decided it was high time she gained control of the conversation and turned the topic. 'I've written long letters to all of you with important news,' she blurted out before she could be interrupted again.
'Whatever for?' Alison asked.
'News? What news?' Constance demanded.
Taylor shook her head. 'You'll have to wait until tomorrow. You'll receive your letters by late afternoon.'
'Tell us your news now,' Jennifer insisted.
'You're being very mysterious,' Constance remarked.
'I don't mean to be mysterious,' Taylor replied. 'Sometimes it's easier to write down what I want to say rather than…'
'Spill it out, Taylor,' Alison demanded.
'You cannot leave us hanging like this,' Constance interjected.
'Are you going away?' Jennifer asked. She turned to Constance. 'People always write letters when they're going away.'
Taylor was sorry she'd mentioned the letters. 'It's a surprise,' she insisted.
'Now you've got to tell us,' Alison said. 'You aren't leaving this ballroom until you do. I won't be able to sleep until I've heard this mysterious news.'
Taylor shook her head. The look on Alison's face told her she wasn't going to let the matter drop. Constance inadvertently came to Taylor's rescue. She spotted Lady Catherine on the dance floor, recognized the sapphire necklace around her neck, and immediately demanded to know why she was wearing Taylor's jewelry.
Taylor took her time explaining her reasons for giving the jewels away.
Lucas watched her from across the ballroom. He was penned in by a crowd of men who took turns plying him with questions about life in America. He was amused by some of their obvious prejudices, irritated by others. The Englishmen all seemed to be fascinated by the Indians. Had Lucas killed many?
He patiently answered the less offensive questions but kept looking at his timepiece every other minute. He didn't particularly care if he was being rude or not. When midnight arrived, he was leaving. Lucas rechecked the time, noted he only had a few more minutes left, and then went back to answering the men. He was in the middle of explaining that his ranch was surrounded by mountains and that the Sioux and the Crow allowed him and his brothers to share their land when he spotted the son-of-a-bitch heir to the family fortune shrug off his wife's hand and head for Taylor. His new bride chased after him.
Taylor spotted him, too. She looked ready to bolt. Lucas watched her bend to lift the hem of her skirt, then suddenly let go and straighten up again. She had obviously decided not to run after all.
No one was going to know the panic she was feeling, not even her dearest friends. Taylor made that vow and smiled until her face felt brittle. The humiliation. She knew that was what everyone was calling the cancellation of her wedding. They all expected her to act humiliated, she supposed. Well, by God, they were going to be disappointed.
Alison was going on and on about something or other, but Taylor wasn't paying any attention. She didn't want to injure her friend's feelings, however, and so she pretended great interest. She nodded whenever Alison paused for air and kept right on smiling. Taylor could only hope she was telling an amusing story and not a tragic one.
They were getting closer. William was weaving his way around the couples on the dance floor. Jane was in hot pursuit of her husband.
Taylor might have been able to control her panic if she hadn't seen the expression on her cousin's face. Jane looked livid. When she was in a cheerful mood, she was a little malicious, but when she was angry… it was simply too chilling to think about.
Taylor thought she was going to be sick. Oh, Lord, she simply couldn't do it. Her noble intention to stand firm hadn't lasted more than a minute or two. She really was going to run. She had neither the strength nor the inclination to be civil to her cousin. Cousins, she silently corrected. Her ex-fiance was related by marriage to her now.
Oh, yes, she was going to be sick all right.
Lucas saw the panic in her eyes, stopped his explanation about the Indians in midsentence, and pushed his way through the throng of men surrounding him. Both Morris and Hampton followed him as he headed across the ballroom.
'Taylor, what in heaven's name are you doing?' Alison demanded in an appalled tone of voice.
'She's taking great gulps of air,' Constance said. She frowned over her own observation and leaned closer to Taylor in an attempt to understand her mysterious behavior.
'But why is she breathing like that?' Jennifer asked.
Taylor tried to calm herself. 'I believe I should leave now,' she began.
'You only just got here,' Jennifer argued.
'Yes, but I really think I…'
'Dear heavens, he's coming over here.'
Alison made the comment in a fluster and immediately set about straightening the sleeves of her gown.
Constance peeked around Alison, let out a gasp, and then turned back to Taylor. 'Oh, wait until you meet him,' she whispered. 'Even though Mama has declared he's a sinfully bad man, I must admit he has the most adorable drawl.'
'How would you know?' Jennifer asked.
'I heard him talking to Hampton,' Constance explained.
'You were eavesdropping,' Jennifer accused.
