Mr. Malcolm's List Read online

  “I feel likewise. However, I must admit to yet another motive in seeking you out.”

  Mr. Ossory paused and seemed loath to continue.

  “Yes?” Selina prompted him.

  “I came to town to meet you because it is my belief that my aunt desired us to make a match.”

  Selina’s could feel her heart begin to beat uncomfortably fast. “What,” she paused to clear her throat, then continued a little more calmly, “what gave you that impression?”

  “Her letter to me before her death. In it she wrote: ‘It is my desire that you and Selina make a match.’”

  “Oh. I see. Then it appears you interpreted her meaning correctly.”

  Selina found herself too shy to meet Mr. Ossory’s gaze. There was an awkward silence between them until Selina peeked over at Mr. Ossory, who was at that moment looking at her. Their eyes met and suddenly Selina found herself giggling. Mr. Ossory began laughing as well.

  “Yes, her words were rather plain. Unless of course she was speaking of cribbage. She could have meant that we should engage in a cribbage match.”

  Selina struggled to regain her composure. “Or chess! Could she not have meant that we should have a chess match?”

  Mr. Ossory shook his head solemnly. “I am afraid not. My aunt knew me to be a very poor chess player.”

  They were still laughing, while managing to offer suggestions for various matches such as “Cricket” and “Vignt-et-un,” when they were interrupted by the approach of Mr. Malcolm. Mr. Malcolm found himself in the unenviable position of having to repeat his greeting twice before his friends noticed his presence.

  “Good day, Henry, Miss Dalton,” he said a second time, walking his horse beside the slowly moving curricle.

  They finally looked up and Mr. Ossory brought his team to a halt. “Malcolm!” Mr. Ossory said, his open countenance radiating good humor. “How nice to see you.”

  “Good day, Mr. Malcolm,” Selina said pleasantly.

  “It appears I have interrupted a humorous discussion.”

  “Oh, it was nothing of consequence. We were just discussing a letter Mr. Ossory received from his aunt,” Selina told Malcolm. Malcolm, never having met Mrs. Ossory, had no comment to make on that subject. The three fell into an uncomfortable silence.

  “I wondered if you were to attend Lady Hartley’s ball this evening,” Malcolm finally said.

  “I believe I am,” Selina said.

  “Excellent. Perhaps you can save me the first waltz and the supper dance.”

  “I would be pleased to.”

  Selina, realizing that they were excluding Mr. Ossory from the conversation, turned to speak to him. “And you, Mr. Ossory, do you attend Lady Hartley’s ball this evening?”

  “Unfortunately, no. I am unacquainted with Lady Hartley.”

  Mr. Malcolm could barely suppress a triumphant grin. He was very pleased to be getting Selina away from his so-called friend for the evening. Then he chanced to look at Selina, who was staring at him with a beseeching expression on her lovely face.

  “Perhaps I could arrange something,” he heard himself say, and was rewarded by a bright smile from Selina. He was less pleased by the grin on Henry’s face, although he managed a polite response to Henry’s effusive expression of thanks.

  “I shall see you both this evening,” Malcolm said, and rode away.

  Selina and Mr. Ossory resumed their drive, but for some reason Selina was unable to find the same contentment in Mr. Ossory’s presence that she had experienced just moments earlier.

  Selina went to her chamber upon her return from her drive, thankful to have escaped a meeting with Julia. She wanted to rest before her long evening. Her one experience attending a ball thus far taught her she should expect to be out until the early hours of the morning.

  She pulled back the curtains that surrounded her bed to find Julia laying there, fully clothed and sound asleep.

  “Julia,” Selina said.

  There was no response.

  “Julia,” Selina said a little louder, reaching out and gently shaking her.

  “What?” Julia said, blinking. “Oh,” she said, and yawned. “I was waiting for you to return from your drive. Apparently I fell asleep.”

  “Apparently you did,” Selina said.

  Julia sat up, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. “Well, how was it?”

  “It was quite pleasant.”

  “I am sure it was,” Julia said. “Mr. Ossory seems like a pleasant young man.”

  “He is,” Selina agreed, crossing her arms over her chest. She wondered what new Machiavellian scheme was circulating under Julia’s pretty curls.

  “He is not interested in you, is he?”

  “Interested in me?” Selina asked.

  “Romantically, I mean.”

  “Of course not.”

  Julia sighed in relief.

  “He is only interested in marrying me because his aunt thought it would be a good idea,” Selina said.

  “What? He cannot marry you! This will destroy all my plans. How will Malcolm fall in love with you if you become engaged to someone else?”

  “That would make it difficult,” Selina agreed.

  “You are enjoying this!” Julia said accusingly.

  “Oh, Julia, don’t worry. I have no intention of becoming engaged to Mr. Ossory.” Julia relaxed and began to smile. “Right away,” Selina added.

  “So you do plan on becoming engaged to him eventually?”

  Selina grew serious. “I am not sure. I like Mr. Ossory, don’t you?”

  Julia became quite interested in examining her nails. “I already said I found him pleasant,” she said.

  “He is extremely pleasant. And his aunt wanted us to make a match. I don’t know,” Selina said. “Everything is so complicated.”

  “It is complicated,” Julia said. “And it is all Malcolm’s fault.”

  Selina rolled her eyes at Julia’s propensity for finding fault with Malcolm but she could not disagree. Life would not be half so complicated were it not for Mr. Malcolm.

  Five

  Selina heard a knock on her door just as she was putting the finishing touches on her toilette. Before she had a chance to say anything the door opened and Julia rushed into the room.

  Julia was dressed for the ball in an aquamarine colored ball gown with a translucent silver overdress. Diamonds glittered around her neck and at her ears. Selina thought she looked like a princess from a fairy tale.

  “Julia, you look beautiful,” Selina told her.

  Julia looked pleased at the compliment. “Thank you. You look very nice as well, but I thought you may want to borrow these for the evening,” she said, gesturing to the box in her hand. She opened it, displaying a ruby necklace and earrings.

  “They are magnificent,” Selina said. “But I could not borrow something so valuable.”

  “Nonsense,” Julia said, removing the necklace from the box and putting it around Selina’s neck. “Your neck looks quite bare without it.”

  Selina had to admit this was true. She had been quite shocked when she first came to town and realized it was the fashion to wear ball gowns with a much lower neckline than she was accustomed to. She loved her bronze ball gown, but there was no denying that the necklace succeeded in covering a great deal of exposed flesh.

  “Well, if you are sure,” Selina said, looking at her reflection in the mirror with pleasure. She hardly recognized herself. Julia’s maid had arranged her hair in a braided coronet at the top of her head with a few tendrils escaping to lie against the nape of her neck. The bronze dress seemed to bring out the fire of her hair and skin, and the ruby necklace added to the richness of her ensemble.

  “Thank you, Julia,” she said. Every now and again her spoiled school friend surprised her with a sweet gesture.

  “’Tis nothing,” Julia replied. “We cannot have Malcolm finding fault with your appearance.”

  “No, of course not,” Selina said, and sighed. br />
  Selina was surprised at how pleased she was to see Cassie that evening. He was escorting them to Lady Hartley’s ball, and she had not seen him since he escorted them to her first ball, two evenings ago. She felt like she could relax in his undemanding presence.

  Until he stepped on her foot while helping her from the carriage.

  Selina cried out in pain while Cassie apologized profusely, Julia castigated him for being a clumsy dolt, and Mrs. Thistlewaite fluttered about helplessly, saying “Oh, my.”

  “It is fine,” Selina hissed through clenched teeth, realizing their party was attracting attention from the other guests. “If I could just have your arm, Cassie.”

  Selina walked as gracefully as she could to the receiving line, trying to put all of her weight on her uninjured foot. As they waited their turn to greet their hostess she was thankful that her long dress hid the fact she was only standing on one foot.

  Once they were through the receiving line she sank gratefully into a chair on the edge of the ball room. She and Julia were immediately besieged by gentlemen begging them for the first dance, a quadrille. Selina was in a quandary. If she refused any of the gentlemen she would be unable to dance the rest of the evening, but she felt that she had to rest her foot before the next dance with Mr. Malcolm.

  Cassie came to her rescue. “Miss Dalton has promised to sit out this dance with me,” he told the other gentlemen.

  “Thank you, Cassie,” she whispered, gently wiggling her foot back and forth. She had to be able to dance with Mr. Malcolm; she’d looked forward to it all afternoon. She thought if she just rested her foot through the first set she would be able to manage the waltz.

  Mr. Malcolm approached her as the quadrille was ending and her stomach gave a queer little flip when she saw him. “This is my dance, I believe,” he said.

  “Yes, it is,” she said, rising from her seat and placing her hand on his arm.

  “May I say how beautiful you look this evening, Miss Dalton,” he said, as he led her to the dance floor.

  “Yes, you may,” Selina said, smiling mischievously at him.

  Mr. Malcolm looked surprised at first but then he smiled back. “You are looking extraordinarily beautiful this evening,” he said. “There is not a lovelier woman in the room.”

  “Thank you,” Selina said, blushing. “But I was only joking.”

  “I know you were, but I was not,” he said, and kissed the back of her hand before placing it on his shoulder.

  The music started and Malcolm swept her into the movements of the dance. For the first few minutes Selina forgot about her injured foot so caught up was she in the sensation of having Malcolm’s arms around her and his face only inches from her own. But the more they danced the more her foot began to throb until she began to hop lightly whenever the steps of the dance required her to put weight on her injured foot.

  “Is something the matter?” Malcolm asked her, obviously wondering what had happened to the graceful woman he’d been dancing with only moments before. Selina realized she could not continue bobbing up and down like a bird, and thought perhaps if she allowed Malcolm to carry more of her weight she would be in less pain. So the hand that had been resting lightly on his shoulder began clutching him tightly, and the few inches between their chests disappeared as Selina began clinging to Malcolm like a limpet.

  Malcolm felt like someone might who had been having a wonderful dream that had turned suddenly into a nightmare. One moment he was enjoying a romantic waltz with the most beautiful lady in the room, and the next he found himself intercepting shocked glances from members of the ton while whirling the same woman around in a position that would be more acceptable in a boudoir than a ball room. Something had to be done, and quickly, so Malcolm half-danced, half-dragged Selina through the nearest doorway. They found themselves in a small, dark room, and Malcolm released Selina immediately.

  “I don’t quite understand. Is something the matter?” he asked her again.

  “I’m so sorry, Malcolm,” Selina said, taking a step toward him. This proved to be a mistake, as she had stepped forward on her poor, abused foot, which refused to hold her a moment longer. She started to fall, and with a startled cry she reached out and grabbed Malcolm.

  Malcolm once again found himself with Selina thrust against his chest but this time he didn’t stop to ask why. There was one shaft of light from the half-opened door that lit Selina as she stood encircled in his arms. She was looking up at him, her eyes shining like jewels, her lips just inches away from his. She was breathing rapidly, her body warm against his, her décolleté evening gown displaying her exquisite charms to his fascinated gaze. He leaned closer, intent on closing the space between their lips, when he heard her say, “My foot.”

  “What?” he said, drawing back a little.

  Selina looked a little dazed. “Cassie stepped on my foot.”

  “Cassie stepped on your foot,” he repeated, and could not believe this was the sort of conversation he was engaged in while holding a beautiful woman in his arms.

  “But I was so looking forward to our waltz, that I thought if I skipped the quadrille I would be all right.”

  “I see,” Malcolm said, and smiled.

  “You do?”

  “I do, indeed.” They stood there, smiling at each other, Selina still propped against Malcolm’s chest. “How does your foot feel now?” he asked her, his head beginning to again lower towards hers.

  “I don’t feel a thing,” she said, before any further speech was made impossible when Malcolm covered her mouth with his own.

  Malcolm’s lips had just brushed Selina’s when the door to the room was thrown open. They sprang guiltily apart, although Malcolm remembered to support Selina with his arm. They both stood there, blinking as their eyes tried to adjust to the sudden light, and Malcolm recognized Julia standing there before the door was just as suddenly closed.

  “Was that Miss Dalton and Mr. Malcolm?” Malcolm heard a gentleman’s voice ask.

  “No, of course not. That was Lord and Lady Athingamabotmy,” Julia said.

  “Pardon?”

  “It does not matter who it was, they obviously wished for privacy.”

  “I thought you said Miss Dalton was in that room,” the gentleman said, whose voice Malcolm was beginning to recognize as belonging to Henry Ossory. “She promised me the next dance.”

  The voices started to fade as the couple walked away and Malcolm attempted to pull Selina back into the circle of his arms. “Sir,” she protested. “I think we should return to the ballroom.”

  “That woman has wretched timing,” Malcolm told Selina.

  Selina smiled tremulously. “The worst,” she agreed.

  “Are you sure you want to return to the ballroom?” Malcolm asked, encouraged by that smile. He was acutely aware of his own desires, and they had nothing at all to do with returning to the ballroom.

  “It would be the proper thing to do,” Selina said.

  “That it would, Lady Athingamabotmy,” Malcolm said, assisting Selina to the door. He was probably holding her a little closer than was strictly necessary but Selina did not complain. He paused in the doorway and Selina looked up at him. She was leaning against him, her arm under his, and he bent down to say in a lowered voice, “Propriety can be the very devil sometimes.”

  A very improper tingle formed in Selina’s stomach at his intimate tone and she was forced to concur.

  Malcolm led Selina to a chair then left her to fetch some punch. While he was gone she was approached by Julia and Mr. Ossory.

  “Good evening, Miss Dalton. You are looking quite splendid this evening,” Mr. Ossory told Selina.

  “Thank you, Mr. Ossory.”

  “I have come to claim my dance with you.”

  Before Selina could reply, Julia intervened. “She has hurt her foot and is not dancing this evening.”

  “But she just danced with Mr. Malcolm,” Mr. Ossory protested.

  “Exactly. That is how she hurt
her foot,” Julia lied.

  “Then I shall sit this one out with her,” Mr. Ossory said to Julia, his pleasant smile beginning to look a little strained.

  Julia saw Malcolm approaching them with a glass of punch in his hand, and turning to Mr. Ossory, said in a loud voice, “Why, thank you, Mr. Ossory, I would love to dance with you.”

  “What? But, I didn’t—”

  “Sir, there is no need to insist. I already told you I would be pleased to dance with you,” Julia said, as Malcolm handed Selina her drink. Julia dragged a bewildered Mr. Ossory, still protesting, onto the dance floor.

  Mr. Malcolm looked at Selina and smiled. “Perhaps her timing is not so wretched after all,” he said.

  Six

  Julia announced over breakfast the next morning her intention to have a dinner party.

  “Well, my dear, I am not sure my poor nerves could stand it. A dinner party, you say?” Mrs. Thistlewaite said.

  “It is all right, Mama. Selina and I will arrange everything. All you have to do is attend.”

  “Well, if you’re sure, child. Who is it that you wanted to invite?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Julia said, with a quick glance at Selina. “Probably just Cassie, and his friend Mr. Malcolm, and his friend Mr. Ossory.”

  “A dinner party only for single gentlemen? Perhaps you should invite some ladies as well.”

  “But that would make our numbers uneven. What do you think, Selina?” Julia asked her friend, who had been silent during the conversation between Julia and her mother.

  She did not immediately respond, so Julia said again, “Selina.”

  Selina looked over at Julia. “I beg your pardon, I was not attending. What is it you asked?”

  “Who do you think we should invite to the dinner party we are having?”

  “I am sure whatever you think is fine,” Selina said absently.

  “Why are you so distracted?” Julia asked her.

  “It is this letter from my parents,” Selina said, holding it up for Julia to see. “They have asked me to call on my cousin’s widow.” Selina wrinkled her nose. “I have only met her once and hoped never to repeat the experience.”