Courting Miss Hughes

Chapter 7

Whatever may have been their reason of absence, he was wise enough not inquire. As Mrs. Briggsby was unlikely source of any intelligent information. Moreover, it would have given her yet another chance to carry on her mundane conversation, which would have been absolutely unbearable.

As the carriage pulled through the entrance of Pankhurst manor, he was grateful to have finally arrived. His escape from this particular carriage was finally in sight.

Half an hour had passed since he had first entered the ball room and yet there was no sign of Lord Cecil.All he had received so far was an unsigned note from a servant asking his presence in the grand library at quarter past ten. He supposed this could be from him, but without a signature it was hard to tell.

As he continued to survey the ballroom, his earlier intrigue about absences of Miss Hughes and Eloise was answered with a surprise. He saw them make their way towards their company through the crowd.

Miss Hughes, the way she looked tonight, mustn't have intentions of hiding in corners or staying at home. She might have been impervious to her own charm, but everyone else in the room certainly noticed her captivating presence as she walked through the ballroom.

The way she glowed in her white silk dress beneath the shimmering lights of chandeliers and candlelights in the ballroom, was simply mesmerizing, even if he didn't wish to admit it.

The expression on her aunt's face matched the shock in his mind upon seeing her. Mrs. Briggsby however displayed more displeasure at her sight than him, which gave him a rather diabolical idea of asking her for dance. This would surely needle her aunt, the revenge he wished to silently seek after her assault on his eardrums drums earlier. And if nothing more, it would give him a chance to interact with this enigma of a woman.

"Would you oblige me for the fourth dance, Miss Hughes?" His question was met with widened ocean blue eyes, that could put sapphires to shame. She might be tempted to refuse him, but etiquette required that she accept his offer, which she did with a nod. Surely she wouldn't dare to argue with him the way she did this morning.

Soon the hostess, lady Pankhurst came over and began making introductions and he witnessed several gentlemen put down their names on Miss Hughes' dance card.

While the room remained in the awe of her beauty, the contrast of her appearance from this morning wasn't lost on him. Her long cascading hair was tamed into curls and pinned up in a coiffure. A tight corset or perhaps a stay that boosted her plump breast onto a display, had replaced her large loose shirt. The circumference of her dress's skirt entirely hid the shape of her legs, unlike the trousers she wore this morning. Her bare hands were now gloved in silk, he remembered their touch from when he had assisted her this morning. And her face, that was plastered with a polite smile at all times now, only if they knew how smooth it was to touch and how her brows furrowed when she was angry. And those little freckles on her face and the back of her neck, he is wondered if they ran wild and free all over her body, much like her free spirit. Picture of her naked body with freckles formed in his mind and he had to walk to the opposite side of the room, to prevent his thoughts from turning lustful and scandalous. No, such a thing would be most improper, no matter how tempting it was.

After two hours, when he returned to the ballroom after his meeting with lord Cecil, he found her in the arms of his best friend, Ryland Kenmore. They were dancing the 4th set, a dance that she had promised him. Since his meeting with lord Cecil had gone longer than expected, he was late in escorting her to the dance floor. Thankfully, he had briefed Kenmore about this meeting prior to its occurrence, and like a good friend he was, he had stepped in his stead.