Standing in the doorway for a moment, he spotted his mother in a seemingly animated conversation with the Viscountess Burford and her daughter. Over in another direction stood a few of the gentlemen Walter was acquainted with.
As soon as he took a step in the latter direction, he caught his mother looking at him and motioning for him to join them. With a sigh, he changed course to go to her instead.
He knew what she was about. She would no doubt find an excuse to take the viscountess aside to leave him alone with the young lady. And, if what had happened earlier was any indication, neither of the other two ladies would have any complaint.
Miss Rutherford smiled broadly as Walter came to stand next to his mother, who said, “My dear, where have you been? You have missed the last two dances.”
Walter caught the underlying rebuke, but simply smiled at Clarissa. “My apologies, ladies. I was occupied elsewhere, but I am at your service now,” he said with a slight bow.
Just then, the orchestra played the first chords of a bold and somewhat scandalous waltz. “Perfect!” Sylvia exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. “Walter, you must pay for your absence by dancing with the lovely Miss Rutherford.”
Walter had no desire to dance that particular waltz with anyone, but to decline would have been impolite. Therefore, he did as his mother expected without hesitation.
“Miss Rutherford, may I have the pleasure of this dance with you?” He held out his hand for her to take if she chose.
“The pleasure would be mine,” was her reply as she took the offered hand with a smile.
She was fairly beaming as he led her out onto the dance floor. However, he barely noticed it, as his attention was instantly captured by the sight of Georgiana standing next to Mr. Rowley at the edge of the ballroom.
Soon, his dance partner claimed his attention with a question. “Have you been invited to the soiree at Elwood Manor the dowager duchess is holding tomorrow?”
“I do not know,” he replied as he focused his full attention back on her. “I am so newly arrived from France, I have not even heard of it until now.”
Miss Rutherford had seemed put out at that but quickly smiled again. “Well, I hope I shall see you again at whatever event you attend next, my lord. After all, you cannot let the whole season go by and only attend one ball.”
Walter felt the traces of a genuine smile forming on his face at the way she made it sound as though attending only one event would be a terrible tragedy. The waltz began, and he struck the proper starting pose, at the same time considering what his mother had said about settling down with the lady.
“Yes, indeed. I look forward to our next encounter, I assure you,” he told her. She really was quite pleasant company.
Although he knew he could never feel love for another woman as he did for Georgiana, perhaps he could bring himself to move on and court Miss Rutherford.
If only he could forget for just a moment that, at the edge of the ballroom, Georgiana stood with Ambrose Rowley! But the knowledge seemed determined to obliterate almost all other thought and remain lodged at the forefront of his mind.
***
“Where did you go?” Ambrose asked Georgiana just outside the ballroom.
“Oh, I merely went to the parlor to fix my hem. See?” she told him, as she turned to let him see the part of her hem that had come undone was now secure. She was pleased he looked at that instead of at her face, since she still felt rattled from seeing Walter again.
“I was worried that … never mind. It looks much better now. I can’t even tell anything was wrong with it.”
Georgiana gave him a look. “I guarantee any of the women here would have noticed it.”
“Then, what if I stand right … here,” he said, as he moved to block all sight of the offending hemline. “And here is your drink.”
“Thank you,” she told him, accepting gladly the glass of champagne he offered. They sipped the bubbly liquid in silence for a few moments.
Just then, the music struck up a waltz. “It seems you have completed your repairs just in time for this dance. You know, it is possible, should we decide to dance, that your hem will be too much in motion for anyone to see it properly,” he said.
“Perhaps,” she replied as she considered the offer.
“So … may I have the honor of sharing the next dance with you?”
Georgianna opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment she caught a glimpse of Walter leading Clarissa Rutherford onto the dance floor. Her eyes watered at the memory of all the dances she had shared with him.
Ambrose followed her line of sight, easily able to tell where she was looking. “Hey,” he said as he moved in front of her. He took her drink from her and set both of their glasses aside. “Don’t pay any attention to him, or to anything he does or says.”
“I know, but…”
“No. He has clearly moved on … with someone else. He just upped and left without explanation, and now he is clearly interested in Miss Rutherford.”
Seeing Georgiana was tearing up in earnest, he moderated his tone into a soothing one. “We both know Miss Rutherford’s parents want her to make a good match, and she wouldn’t be dancing a second time with any man unless her parents approved. Both facts which he is also doubtless aware of.”
Georgiana could refute nothing of what Ambrose had said, but something still bothered her. “If he was after a good match, then why not me?” she whispered.
“My aunt and uncle have adopted me in every way, and will no doubt settle a larger sum on me when I get married than Clarissa’s parents can afford to settle on her. As my uncle is an earl, his rank is also higher than that of viscount. So, it cannot possibly be because she is a better match-”
“Alright, alright. Calm down,” he said, taking her hands in his own. “I don’t know what he can see in her or why they seem to be interested in each other if it is not that. It is my fault. I shouldn’t have mentioned him at all.”
Since that had seemed to help, he continued, “I think the best thing you can do now is to try to look forward instead of back. Think of it like … like a horse. Where the horse looks, the rest of it follows, right?”
Georgiana felt her lips twitch slightly and took a moment to dab her handkerchief at her eyes as her breathing grew steady again. “Did you just … did you just compare me to a horse?”
“Um…”
She took pity on how uncertain Ambrose looked and laid a hand on his arm. “About your earlier question … I would love to dance.”
That allowed him to relax, and he led her to the edge of the dance floor. Since the waltz had already started, they had to wait for an opening and remained at the edge of the dancers for a few moments.