“Trying to escape your admirers?” She smirked.
He winked. “Just so.”
Within a couple of hours, Diana had danced most numbers and was growing quite overheated. She would love a stroll in the garden, but the only one she trusted was Hunt. However, the only time she saw him was when he was dancing with a young lady. True to his word, it appeared he spent his time between dances in the card room.
Lady Eunice walked up to Diana and viewed her with concern. “Oh, heavens, Lady Diana, you look quite spent. Perhaps you will join me for a walk to the ladies retiring room. A maid there will give us a cool cloth, and we can remove our shoes and rest for a while.”
Diana checked her dance card. She had two open dances and it would be a good time to take a break. “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea.”
The two of them linked arms and headed upstairs to the room set aside for the ladies. Lady Eunice was quite chatty as they ascended the stairs. Unusually so.
Several women rested on lounges with lavender scented cloths on their heads. Diana and Eunice found two next to each other and were immediately approached by a maid. She helped them remove their shoes, brought them cups of cool water and cloths for their foreheads.
“This feels wonderful.” Diana sighed and closed her eyes. She drifted off to a peaceful place thinking about her upcoming waltz with Hunt. Why did the man plague her so? For years, she’d been comfortable in his presence and never thought of him as any more than a friend.
When had that changed? Now she couldn’t seem to be within a few feet of him without her traitorous heart doing stupid things and her stomach swarming with butterflies. She removed her cloth and turned her head to look at Eunice.
Her spot was empty.
Diana frowned and leaned up on one elbow and looked around the room but didn’t see her anywhere. Strange. About ten minutes had passed since they’d arrived, but if Eunice had felt refreshed enough to leave, Diana was sure the woman would have let her know.
She shrugged and laid back down. Maybe something came up that required her presence and she had to hurry away.
She returned to her thoughts about Hunt. Suddenly her ruminations were stopped cold when she thought about the possible reason Eunice had left without telling her. A bit panicked, Diana whipped the cloth off her head and sat up to put on her shoes. She waved the maid over. “Did Lady Eunice say where she was going, or leave a message for me?”
“No, my lady.” The maid quickly knelt to help Diana with her shoes.
“Thank you,” Diana called over her shoulder as she left the room and hurried down the stairs. She thought of all the remarks Eunice had made during the party about Hunt and quickened her footsteps.
She searched the ballroom and the card room. No Hunt and no Eunice. This was not good.
So many couples had been caught together in libraries that Diana decided that was the best place to look. She stopped a footman to ask where the library was located.
Following his directions, she arrived, took a deep breath, and scolded herself for being foolish.
Until she opened the door.
* * *
Hunt stared at the note in his hand. He’d just been dealt a winning hand and was reluctant to leave the game. But the note from Diana specifically asked him to meet her in the library immediately.
He sighed and threw his cards down. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I have been summoned.” He pushed back his chair and found a footman to direct him.
If Diana was in some sort of trouble again, he would be hard pressed not to throttle her. But he could think of no other reason why she would ask to see him immediately.
The library was down a long corridor from the ballroom. The farther he walked from the ballroom, the quieter it became. With a touch of apprehension, he reached the latch and opened the door.
“Diana?” He walked farther into the room and closed the door, lest anyone walk by and see the two of them alone together. “Diana?”
He turned as a rustle of skirts sounded behind him. “Lady Eunice? Is Lady Diana with you?”
Lady Eunice sauntered up to him, and all his senses went on alert. “Where is Lady Diana?”
Lady Eunice shrugged. “Upstairs in the ladies retiring room.”
Feeling foolish since his brain seemed to have shut down, he held out the note. “I received this note to meet her here.”
Lady Eunice grew closer until she placed her palms on his chest. “I sent the note.” She whispered as if sharing a great secret.