was more muttering in the room, and a hurried apology from John.
Her husband spoke again. ‘If any are curious on the matter of how I came to be married so quickly after my recent financial misfortunes, and to one so wealthy as my wife, let me clarify the situation, that you may explain it to them. It was a chance meeting of kindred souls. The decision on both our parts was very sudden, and on my part, it had very little to do with the size of her inheritance. I consider myself most fortunate to have found so intelligent and understanding a woman, and must regret that circumstances imply an ulterior motive. Would anyone else care to comment on it?’
There were hurried denials from his friends.
‘I thought not. Furthermore, I do not expect to hear more on the subject of my wife’s family. Her brother is in trade, and our backgrounds are most different. But I wished the woman I married to be worthy of the title, and with sufficient character to bring pride to my name. I am more than happy with my choice. Would that you are all as lucky as I have been.’
Nervous silence followed, and someone cleared his throat.
Then, when tension had reached a near-unbearable point, she heard the sound of shuffling cards, and her husband drawled, ‘Another hand, gentleman?’
She could feel the tension release, as the men rushed to offer assent.
She leaned her back to the wall, and let the plaster support her as the room began to spin. The Duke of Bellston found her ‘singular’. Whatever did that mean? If another had said it, she’d have thought it was faint praise, and that the speaker had been too kind to say ‘odd’.
But from Adam’s lips? It had sounded like ‘rare’. As though she was something to be sought for and kept safe.
She could not help the ridiculous glow she felt at the knowledge. The most important man in the room thought she did credit to his name. And there had been no false note when he had said he was happy.
She walked slowly down the short hall, toward the ballroom. At the doorway, the butler came to her with a question about the wine, and she answered absently, but with confidence. She could not help smiling, as she went back to her guests, and even managed to stand up for another dance when her husband’s brother offered.
The evening was drawing to a close, the crowd already thinning, and it did not really matter if the guests liked her or not. They were leaving soon, and she would be alone with a man who, she smiled to herself, thought she was ‘singular’. She looked up to see her husband returning to the main room to seek her out. He took her hand to lead her to the floor for a final dance, but paused, with his head tipped to the side, staring at her.
‘Your Grace?’ she responded, and smiled back at him.
He shook his head. ‘Something is different. What has occurred?’
‘I do not know what you mean.’
‘You have changed.’
She glanced down at her gown, spreading the skirt with her hand, and shrugged back at him. ‘I assure you, I am no different than when we left our rooms earlier today.’
He smiled. ‘Perhaps I should have chosen my words more carefully. You are transfigured. I was gone from the room for a short time, and I return to find I’ve missed a metamorphosis.’
She laughed then, and looked away, remembering his words from earlier. And she could feel the heat in her cheeks as she answered, ‘Is this transfiguration a good thing? For not all of them are, you know.’
‘I hope so. For you are looking most … well … hmm … I assume you had a pleasant evening.’
‘Well enough. But better, now that it is over.’ She saw Lord Timothy, staring significantly at her, from across the room. ‘If you will excuse me. I think your friend wishes to speak to me.’
‘Very well.’
Adam watched her back as she walked away from him and toward the stairs. There was definitely something different about her. A sway in her hips, perhaps? Or a toss of her head as she turned. And her colouring was better. Where she had been deathly pale at the beginning of the evening, to the extent that he feared she might faint in his arms, now there were roses in her cheeks, and a sparkle in her eye. She was smiling as she walked away from him, and he heard her laugh in response to something that Tim had said to her.
The whole impression was most fetching, if a bit disconcerting. As he looked at her, he found himself comparing her with the few ladies remaining in the room. He found the others wanting. She would never be known as a great beauty, but she was certainly handsome. Tonight, she was displaying a strength of character and a confidence that had been lacking in the early days of their marriage. She glanced back at him from her spot beside Tim, and her smile was spontaneous and infectious.
And he had got the distinct impression, when she’d greeted him just now, that she had been flirting with him.
He scanned what was left of the crowd to see if any had noticed, or if there might be some explanation for the change in behaviour. His eye caught his brother, and he signalled him with a nod of his head.
Will crossed the room to his side, smiling and relaxed. It appeared he had also enjoyed the party. ‘The evening went well.’
‘That is good to know.’ Adam indicated his retreating wife with an inclination of his head. ‘Penelope did well, I think.’
Will smiled after her. ‘So it seems. She is looking most fine this evening.’
Adam nodded agreement. ‘What put such colour in her cheeks, I wonder? I spent much of the evening in the card room, and too little time with her.’ That his absence might have contributed to her good mood was more than a little irritating.
‘Perhaps it was the dancing. I had opportunity to stand up with her on several occasions. She is most adept for one who spends so much time amongst her books. And an intelligent conversationalist, once she overcomes her shyness. It was why I was so opposed to your match. You are a gad, not much for sitting home of an evening, while she would like nothing better. It is not the recipe for a happy union, when two partners are so dissimilar.’
‘As you know, with your vast experience as a married man.’
His brother ignored the gibe. ‘But I rescind my former feelings on the subject. She seems to be warming to her job as hostess. And once she began to open up to me, I found her views on scholarship to be most refreshing.’
‘She opened up to you.’
‘Yes. As the evening wore on, she was most chatty. We had several opportunities to speak, as we danced.’
‘Oh.’ He remembered seeing her, clasping his brother’s hand, and the look she had given him, as though she wished him to see. Did she mean to make him jealous? She had succeeded.
Will continued. ‘It is good that you plan to allow her to continue with her work. She is correct: her views have value. I most look forward to reading her translation when she completes it.’
Adam searched his heart for a desire to read Homer, in any form, and found it wanting. He could still remember the sting of the ruler on the back of his hand, for all the times he had neglected his studies to go riding, or attempted them, only to miss a conjugation.
