“I saw you looking at her while the two of you danced.”
“I was not looking at her! I happen to find her insufferable.” Blast, another i word. It seemed he couldn’t stop. “Besides which, in case you’ve forgotten, I’m promised to another!”
“Hush!” Mother glanced around and dropped her voice. “Our guests might overhear.”
He hushed, since it was time to lift and and twirl her, anyway, which made it difficult for him to speak.
But she went right on ahead. “If you think a mere promise can prevent one from appreciating beauty or charm when one sees it, then you’ve much to learn about marriage. I have been a content wife for twenty-five years, yet still I’m not immune to the charms of other men.” Mother glided through the lifts without missing a beat, her frank gaze never leaving her son’s face. “If contentment is enough, my dear boy, choose the woman who will always remain by your side. But if it’s happiness you seek, choose the one who will always recapture your attention.”
It was lucky they’d just finished their last twirl, or Joseph might have dropped her in his astonishment. Never in his life had he heard his mother speak this way. Evidently she fit their family motto better than he’d thought. Question Convention, indeed.
When the music changed, she detained him with a hand on his arm. “I like Lady Chrystabel. She’s a pretty thing, and she makes me laugh. We haven’t had a lot of laughter in this house since your sisters left.” Joseph had three sisters who had all married well, thanks to the generous dowries his father had provided. He wondered if they really knew their mother. “I used to think you and your father were much alike, Joseph. But now I see you’ve got more of me than I realized.” And with a wink, she danced off.
Joseph performed the next galliard in a daze. He couldn’t even begin working out the meaning of her advice. His mother had winked at him.
Finding himself partnered with Lady Arabel, he scrambled to recover his wits. He cast about for a neutral topic of conversation. “Are you looking forward to living in Wales, Lady Arabel?”
“I’m trying to view it as an adventure.” She danced in a jaunty, light-footed way that matched her cheerful nature. “I just wish I knew some Welsh.”
“My father knows Welsh.” He felt absurdly relieved to engage in simple, polite chitchat. “Father knows lots of languages, actually.”
“Are languages his pastime?” Lady Arabel asked, as though she were really curious.
Joseph chuckled, remembering the discussion at supper. “I would say so. Shall I ask him if he might teach you a few words of Welsh?”
She squealed when he lifted her and twirled. “Oh, that would be marvelous!”
Marvelous words from a marvelous girl. For the first time this evening, he felt normal and like himself. Lady Arabel made him smile, while her sister made him…feel hot.
On a cold, snowy evening, Chrystabel Trevor had made him feel hot.
It was a peculiar feeling he’d never experienced before, and he didn’t like it one bit, he decided while performing the next set of galliard steps. It wasn’t comfortable at all.
He was paired again with Creath when Watkins appeared in the great room’s main doorway and cleared his throat. “My lord?” he called out over the music.
From across the ballroom, Joseph could see that the man’s forehead glistened with sweat.
Father held up a hand, and the musicians paused. “What is it?”
“Sir Leonard is approaching!”
SIX
CHRYSTABEL WATCHED Creath head for the far door at a run, dodging the jumble of pushed-aside furniture as she went.
“Keep dancing!” Lord Trentingham commanded. “Lady Arabel, take Creath’s place.”
Chrystabel obeyed, and so did everyone else. Arabel stepped in as Joseph’s partner. Lord Trentingham was dancing with his wife, and Chrystabel was paired with Matthew. She couldn’t imagine what was happening, but she kept dancing, sensing it was best not to ask.
When the set finished, Lady Trentingham signaled the musicians to skip the galliard and play them through the turns once again. Chrystabel was still circling with her brother when Watkins returned and ushered a stranger into the room.
Tall with a raw-boned build and blunt blond hair, the man was in his middle years. Though his clean-shaven features seethed with anger, his blue eyes were colder than hoarfrost. “What,” he bellowed, “is the meaning of this?”
The dancers halted as the music died away. Exchanging a frightened look with her sister, Chrystabel was grateful to see Joseph placing himself between Arabel and the stranger.
“I could have you all arrested for dancing!” the man roared into the sudden silence. Then, appearing to get himself somewhat under control, he lowered his voice to a menacing growl. “And don’t think I won’t if I find out she’s here.”
Lord Trentingham furrowed his brow. “Are you searching for someone, your worship?”
Your worship? Evidently the wilderness did have Justices of the Peace—and this vile man was one of them. No wonder Tremayne folk were reluctant to break the law. Chrystabel wouldn’t want to get on this brute’s bad side, either.
“You know who I’m searching for.” The justice’s lips twisted in a sneer—an oft-used expression, judging from the deep lines around his mouth. “My dearest cousin and betrothed, Mistress Creath Moore.”
“Good heavens, is the girl missing?” Lady Trentingham made a convincing concerned neighbor. “How long has she been gone?”
“A night and a day.” The justice advanced several threatening paces toward her. “But I’ve an inkling you already knew that, my lady.”
The earl put a protective arm around his wife. “We haven’t seen the girl, Sir Leonard,” he said in a tone of warning.
Chrystabel was surprised when the taller man stopped in his tracks. Then she remembered Lord Trentingham was a peer, while the justice was apparently a mere knight or baronet. He might have the advantage in malice and government authority, but the earl was a powerful man, and by no means
