The music, lively, the hall full of laughter and conversation, floated out onto the street. Victoria stepped down from the vehicle and adjusted her gown as she waited for her mama. Albert and Josh stood nearby, both of them watching the guests outside scrutinize their every move.
"Come, Mama," Victoria said, taking her arm and walking up the short path to the doors. Albert nodded and spoke to several people, introducing them to the duke and his family before they stepped inside the hall.
It was a large building indeed. Albert was not wrong about that. An orchestra sat on an upstairs balcony, gifting the room with music without taking up the ballroom floor space. The room was a mixture of people of all social statuses. A servant announced them to the room, and several families started toward them, one being Miss Eberhardt. Unfortunately, the one woman whom Josh seemed almost desperate to meet again, Lady Sophie, was nowhere to be seen.
The introductions, the conversation took several minutes. Still, it felt like hours by the time they had located themselves halfway into the room, watching the dancers be carefree on the floor, enjoying their night of revelry.
"You see, Lord Melvin, it is not so very bad to be sociable. You are enjoying yourself, are you not?"
He stood beside her, clapping his hands in time with the music. "I find it most charming, and even more so since I have you by my side," he teased. "Will you dance a set with me?"
Victoria smiled, seeing no harm in one set. She took his hand, not caring how forward the action may appear. Albert was her friend, and she would hold his hand if she so wished. "I would love to dance. I did not think you would ask me."
Without warning, he dragged her into the throng of revelers to take part. They laughed, twirled, twisted, danced, and waltzed through several sets. The room was cloudy with smoke, sweat, and a multitude of perfumes.
Victoria was pleased she had worn a gown of less-conspicuous means. Had she worn one of her gowns from the season just past, they would have looked untouchable and unapproachable. As it were, several guests did not come up to speak to them, even to wish them well, but certainly, the local gentry seemed delighted that they were not so high in the instep that they would forgo such an event.
This was good for Albert too. He needed to learn how to interact with others, even after she returned home to Dunsleigh. "You must ask several young ladies to dance tonight. I insist, or I shall think that all my lessons were in vain."
He shook his head, looking less than pleased to be asked to do such a thing. "What would you say if I said I only wished to dance with you, my lady? Would you deny me?"
She could no sooner deny him than she could deny herself a sweetmeat—her favorite dessert. "No, I shall not deny you, but please, Albert. Do this for yourself if not for me. You must practice. And the people here care for you. You will not be denied a willing dance partner. I'm sure of it."
He spun her into a turn during a minuet, coming to stand at her back. His breath whispered against her ear, and she fought not to lean back in his arms, revel in his closeness.
"Whom should I choose that would please, my lady? If you so wish, I shall dance with whomever you like."
Victoria glanced about the room as best as she could. Several young ladies were watching them, and she could see the admiration, the small amount of jealousy in their gazes at the marquess, their local lord dancing with a woman who was not one of them.
"What about Miss Thompson, whom I was introduced to earlier this evening? She seemed lovely and not at all unfriendly to anyone, not even those who are less fortunate than the heiress." The young woman's father had made a fortune in coal, and as dirty as such an industry was, money still rose just as well in society as a title.
"I shall ask her to dance next if it pleases you. Now, will you please enjoy what is left of our time? Or will I need to ask you for a second set this evening?"
To dance with Lord Melvin was an honor, but she knew she could not monopolize his time. He was here for one reason and one reason only. To meet suitable, eligible young ladies to fill the role of Marchioness Melvin. The notion left a sour taste in her mouth, but at the end of the dance, she fixed a smile on her lips and watched as Lord Melvin led Miss Thompson out onto the floor for a waltz.
She was a tall woman, similar in height to Victoria. But where she was fair-haired, Miss Thomson was as dark as night. Her long, dark eyelashes fanned out over bright, almond-shaped eyes.
The woman was striking, and Lord Melvin seemed to be engaging her in lively conversation that they were both enjoying.
"Are you going to let him waltz off into the sunset with another young woman? Are you not the least bit envious, sister?" Josh prodded her, watching his friend as well. "I thought when you fled from the pianoforte the other evening that you disliked seeing Lord Melvin in the arms of another."
Victoria sighed, schooling her features to one of pride instead of the unease she felt bubbling up in her soul. "Lord Melvin wishes to marry, and I do not. It would be wrong of me to keep him from his desires when we are only friends."
"Friends, you say?" her brother said, rubbing his chin in thought. "The man is in love with you, and you're only friends?"
The word love twirled around in her mind. Lord Melvin was not in love with her.
