Lord Voxley, however, did not seem in the least bit perturbed.
“Third Season, Miss Hemmingway?” he exclaimed, turning toward Carolyn again and ignoring Lady Hamilton’s gaze. “Then I am all the more astonished and sorry that I have not been introduced to you before. Were I permitted, I should dance with you thrice this evening, to make up for what has clearly been an oversight on my part.” He lifted one eyebrow and nudged Lord Hamilton, Carolyn’s brother. “Although I should also rail at your brother for not insisting that I was introduced earlier,” he said, with a grin.
“Indeed you should,” Carolyn agreed, knowing full well that Lord Voxley was not someone she would give even a moment of consideration to but finding his company and conversation rather enjoyable nonetheless. In her prior two Seasons, she had found plenty of gentlemen to converse with, but none had been as bright nor as spirited as Lord Voxley appeared to be. She was already looking forward to dancing with him.
“Then I shall,” Lord Voxley replied, his broad grin and twinkling green eyes now bestowed fully on her. “But not in your presence, Miss Hemmingway, for to do so would be exceedingly rude indeed.” He bowed, first to her and then to her mother. “I look forward to our dance later in the evening, Miss Hemmingway.”
“As do I,” she replied, allowing her gaze to linger on him as he turned away and moved through the crowd.
Lady Hamilton’s fingers tightened on Carolyn’s arm, hard.
“You cannot consider Lord Voxley!” she exclaimed, in a rather loud whisper. “You know very well the sort of gentleman he is!”
Carolyn lifted her chin and looked straight at her mother. “But Mama, I am to dance with Lord Voxley,” she said, allowing a tone of confusion to fill her voice. “Even though I am fully aware of his reputation, is it not that those about me will take notice of whom he is dancing with? And might that then not lead to further introductions?” She arched one eyebrow, seeing her mother deflate slowly.
“I will not bring shame on the family,” Carolyn continued, a little more harshly. “You need not have any fear in that regard, Mama.”
Lady Hamilton slowly let go of her daughter’s arm. “I suppose that must suffice,” she murmured, darkly. “But you will return to me the moment you finish dancing with Lord Voxley. Do you understand?”
Carolyn sniffed, turned her head away and set her shoulders. “Of course I understand, Mama,” she said, tartly. “And you know very well that I am always inclined to do precisely what you say.”
Dancing with Lord Voxley was just as wonderful as she expected. However, the second dance with him was a little less than pleasant.
“And then we go this way, do we not?!”
Carolyn winced as Lord Voxley grasped her hands much too tight and began to haul her the wrong way down the dance floor. He was clearly in high spirits but, if she surmised correctly, had also drunk a little too much and was now quite definitely in his cups.
“And then why do we not go around and about?” Lord Voxley said, laughing, as he held her hands and dragged her towards the waiting crowd, stopping dead when he saw someone else that he decided was of much greater importance than she. Bowing much too low, he toppled forward, and Carolyn could only step back in horror, her face crimson with embarrassment as she watched him. To return to the set now with Lord Voxley as her partner would be more than a little foolish, but to remain standing here would only draw her more unwanted attention.
I promise I will not bring shame to the family name.
The words she had promised her mother swam before her eyes and she shut them tight in an attempt to remove those words from her mind. This was not her doing, of course, but no doubt her mother would decide, quite definitely, that there was something Carolyn had done wrong.
“Might I cut in?”
Carolyn opened her eyes to see a gentleman standing to her left, his hand extended and a kindness in his eyes that she could not pull away from.
“We should return to the set,” the gentleman said, as though this had been the way of things since the start of the evening. “If you will, my lady.” He offered her his hand, and without a flicker of hesitation, Carolyn took it, hearing the gentle brogue of his voice and finding herself quite delighted by it. He led her back to the set, found their space and assumed his position without any expression of worry, anxiety or embarrassment on his face. In fact, he looked quite contented, smiling at her gently as they continued the dance with him as her partner. It was quite astonishing, really, but Carolyn was not about to question the gentleman. In fact, she prayed silently that the rest of the ton would be much too busy watching Lord Voxley’s foolishness rather than to look at her.
The gentleman in question—for she did not know his name given that they had not been introduced, completed the rest of the dance quite well indeed. He never once put a foot in the wrong place, did not nudge her or stand on her toes, but rather moved with a lithe grace that seemed at odds with his large frame. He was not rotund, she considered, but rather quite broad and stocky in appearance, being just about the same height as she. There was a kindness about his expression that had not faded yet, and she saw the same warmth and sympathy in his hazel eyes when he bowed to her as she had seen when he had first come to her rescue. Curtsying, Carolyn did not take her eyes from him, taking in the cut of his very fine clothing, the shock of thick, dark hair that was swept to one side, and the firm set of his jaw. There was no hint of cruelty about him and yet she felt as though he was a man with a firm character and keen determination.
And he is quite unconventional, she thought to herself, as he offered her his arm to escort her from the floor, given that we are not introduced but that he has still come to my aid. Many gentlemen would have ignored my plight completely. In fact, all but he did!
“I must know your name,” she said, as he led her from the floor, although not in the direction of her mother given that he had very little idea as to who she might be. “You saved me from a very embarrassing predicament.”
“Not at all,” he answered, with a quick smile. “Lord Voxley is inclined towards such displays and you are not the first young lady he has left in such a fix.” That smile remained as he looked into her face. “We are not properly introduced of course, so I hope you will forgive me for that.”
“I do, without hesitation!” she exclaimed, clutching his arm a little tighter. “After what you have done, I can only express my thanks.” A quick darting glance around the room told her that very few people were watching her, although Lady Hamilton was quickly making her way towards them. Carolyn knew she only had a few moments. “It seems that most of the ton were taken with Lord Voxley’s behavior rather than watching me, so I am truly grateful to you for that. As will my mother be, Lady Hamilton.”
The gentleman cleared his throat and let go of her arm, turning slightly so that he might incline his head. “Do beg my forgiveness from your mother also, if you please,” he said, already beginning to turn away. “Good evening, my lady.”
“But what is your name?” she asked, putting out one ha
nd to touch his arm, astonished at her own forwardness. “I must know it. You can surely grant me that!”
The gentleman cleared his throat, a tight smile on his lips and a rather distant expression on his eyes. “I am Baron Franks,” he said, already turning away from her. “Good evening, my lady.”
“Miss Hemmingway,” she called after him, feeling rather foolish when he did not turn around, did not look at her and did not even throw a quick glance in her direction. Heat climbed into her face as she caught one or two looks being sent her way, aware that she had overstepped just a little.