An Infamous Army (Alastair-Audley Tetralogy 4)

‘But, my friend, you are fantastic! You will next be making me an offer!’

He nodded. She saw the twinkle in his eye and responded to it. ‘Let us sit down. I don’t care to dance any more. Who are you?’

He compelled her to continue dancing the length of the room, and then led her off the floor to the entrance doors, and through them into the first antechamber.

‘My name is Charles Audley; my army rank lieutenant-colonel; my regimental rank, major. What else shall I tell you?’

She interrupted him. ‘Audley . . . Oh, I have it! You are Worth’s brother. Why did the Prince present you to me?’

‘Because I asked him to. That was my only strategy.’

She sat down upon a couch against the wall, and with a movement of her hand invited him to take his place beside her. He did so, and after a moment she said with her odd, boyish curtness: ‘I think I never saw you before tonight, did I?’

‘Never. I have been employed in the Peninsula, and later in Paris and Vienna. But I have a little the advantage of you. You, I daresay, had never heard of me before, but I had heard of you.’

‘That’s horrid!’ she said quickly.

‘Why?’

‘Oh! People never say nice things about me. What have you been told?’

‘That you were beautiful.’

‘And?’

‘And disastrous.’

‘I don’t mind that, but should not you take care?’

‘You are forgetting that I am a soldier, and therefore inured to risks.’

She laughed. ‘You’ve a confoundedly ready tongue! Come, take me back into the ballroom: my reputation won’t stand all this sitting about in antechambers, I can tell you.’

He rose at once, but said: ‘I wonder why you chose to tell me that?’

She too was on her feet; she had to look up to meet his eyes, but only a little. ‘You don’t like it, do you?’

‘No. I don’t.’

‘Nevertheless, it is the truth. I play fair, you see.’

He looked at her for a moment, half smiling, then raised his head, and held up a finger. ‘Listen! Do you know that waltz they are playing? It has been the rage in Vienna. Will you dance with me again?’

A shade of admiration came into her eyes; she said appreciatively: ‘The deuce take it! I believe—yes, I believe that was a snub! But you must not snub me!’

He turned towards her, and took both hands in a strong clasp. ‘Don’t speak ill of yourself, and I won’t. There!’ He raised her hands one after another to his lips, and lightly kissed them. ‘My dance, I think, Lady Barbara?’

They went back into the ballroom; the Colonel’s arm encircled that supple waist; a gloved hand lay light as a feather on his shoulder; Barbara murmured: ‘You waltz charmingly, Colonel.’

‘So do you, Lady Barbara.’

She stole a mischievous glance up at his face. ‘That was to be expected. It is still thought a trifle fast in England, you know.’

From a little distance, Georgiana Lennox, circling round very dashingly with Lord Hay, caught sight of them, and promptly exclaimed: ‘Oh, how infamous!’

‘Where? Who?’ demanded Hay.

‘Over there, stupid! Don’t you see? Bab Childe has seized on one of the nicest men in Brussels! Of all the wretched pieces of work! I do think she might be content with her odious Lavisse, and not steal Charles Audley as well!’