The ball at Clyvedon is beautiful. Daphne and the duke look happy, but they do not look so happy together. In fact, I notice fairly quickly that they fail to dance with one another, fail to talk to one another and only steal awkward glances that make even myself as an outsider feel a little on edge. But no one seems to have noticed and so I do not say a word.
"Has Benedict left you all alone?" Colin wanders over and stands by the side of me, passing me a glass of champagne that he picks from a nearby table. "Well what a fool he is, because now I shall have to dance with you."
"Oh dear, it seems you shall have to." I nod, finishing the glass quickly and handing it back to him. I take his hand and he moves with me to the dance floor, which I do not mind so much as I find it seems to make me feel slightly queasy. "I hope lady whistledown shall not see this as a sign that I have changed my mind on which Bridgerton brother I should like best."
"Perhaps you shall change your mind. We should have been a lovely couple too, do you not think?" He grins and spins me around on the dance floor. "It should have proved better to me than Marina, hm?"
"I believe anything shall have proved better to you than Marina, Col. But I should not have wanted to marry you anyway, you are not what I would have looked for in a husband. You are simply too sweet, I should have felt so awful to ruin you." I laugh a little and dance across from him, his hands tightly on my waist. "I should think there are many women in the ton who should very much like to be the wife of Mr Colin Bridgerton."
"And shall you direct me to any of them?"
I have to resist glancing to my own sister who stands alone in her yellow dress as he asks me this question. It is not up to me to explain the way she feels and I am unsure how happy she would be with me if I did so anyway. And so I shake my head and smile as the song ends, which allows me to sneak away from him and to find my own husband. I do watch as Penelope and colin talk though, perhaps she will finally tell him of how she feels. That should be a nice ending to this season. "Benedict, do you think that anyone shall notice if I have another glass of champagne?"
"Hm. I do not at all, I shall go and get us two more. Perhaps a few more. Even at gretna green, I have not quite seen alcohol take it's full effect on you... I should like to witness that indeed!" He takes my hand and strokes my knuckles, guiding me to the table where the drinks are set out. "Take this one and this one and drink them quickly."
"Quickly?"
"Yes, yes. Like this." He turns so that his back is to the dance floor as though that shall avoid anyone seeing what he is doing. He puts it to his mouth, tipping his head back shortly and grinning, finishing the drink in mere seconds. I giggle a little as he does the next one, and another, and then another. "Your turn."
"I am sure I shall spill it!" I laugh and take the first one, drinking it slower than him, shaking my head as it once again makes me feel slightly queasy. So, I hand him the other two and he drinks the remainder. "I feel slightly unwell at the taste of it..."
"Do you wish to return home?"
"No, not at all! I wish to see you with the full effect of the alcohol... So... Well, and now what do we do?"
"We sneak into the home and we attempt to find a room where we shall be alone!" He strokes up and down my back, gripping two more drinks and leading me up the stairs, one hand is gentle as it is guiding my waist and the other somehow grapples both champagne flutes. That is when we come face to face with the duke, who stands tall even across from Benedict. I do see why Daphne has fallen for him so easily, he is a very attractive man. He is the classic trope of tall, dark and handsome, but it does not take me a second to move my eyes from him to my husband. "Ah! Your grace. My wife is feeling slightly queasy and we should like-"
"A place to lie down, perhaps?" The Duke raises an eyebrow. I have heard he is a rake and so I am sure he understands exactly what Benedict attempts to excuse. Although, I do genuinely feel quite queasy, but it is beginning to settle now. "There are many bedrooms upstairs. I should think you might prefer the one on the left as you move past the bathing room."
"How very generous, your grace." I nod a little, tugging at my husbands arms as I follow the instructions. "This home is very grand, Benedict, do you not think?"
"Very grand. It is house, though. It does not at all feel like a home. When we move to Aubrey hall, that shall be a home. We shall make it all our own and we shall have paintings and children all over the place. Does that sound agreeable to you?" He clicks the door shut, letting out a small sigh as his lips press to my neck.
"As many children as there are paintings?"
"That should be quite doable, if we try our very best. We shall begin straight away, we simply do not have any time to waste." His fingers are careful as they trace along the neckline of my dress and I shiver at his touch. He leans down, picking up the material at the bottom of my dress and bringing it with him as he rises, his hands on my bare thighs. They move higher, and I push my face against his shoulder to refrain from making too much noise. It is still not our home or the studio and we are still in company, anyone could wander anywhere throughout the house and even though it is not so scandalous any longer, it is still not ideal for my dignity. He insists on making this incredibly difficult for me, as I grip harder onto his shoulders in an attempt to quieten myself. "I love you, Peaches."
"And I love you, Benedict."