‘Enjoying the dance?’ he asked me with a cheerful smile.
‘Why yes, of course,’ I replied with an even more cheerfuller smile.
Curse you! May the furies of hell hound you to pandemonium and back!
‘Me too. What a wonderful ball.’
‘Oh yes. So wonderful.’
And gouging out your eyes would be great! Yes, they should definitely gouge out your eyes, pickle them and eat them for breakfast!
I would have dearly loved to grab the bugger by the collar and see how he liked being 'steered' himself, but my aunt was watching. So I smiled until my face hurt and only contrived to step on my partner’s feet now and again. Finally I had discovered an advantage of hoop skirts: nobody could see what my heels were doing. Not even my aunt.
I danced with partner after partner. Most of them were actually quite good dancers, and those who were, went away with their feet still intact and an annoyingly good opinion of yours truly. In passing, I heard somebody say: ‘… and that Lilly Linton… such a nice, quiet, charming girl. Always smiling so brightly, it really lights up the evening. And so very…’
Mercifully, I was swept away by my partner then, so I didn’t have to hear any more of my false accomplishments. Nevertheless, I knew that my aunt had been right. If I just said, ‘Yes, Sir, of course, Sir,’ to every question asked and smiled prettily, gentlemen who before would have been running in the opposite direction at the sight of me were suddenly delighted with this blasted charming new Lilly. It made me want find an umbrella stand in which to vomit.
All this play-acting took considerable concentration. Not enough, though, to make me forget about the special guest to whom Wilkins had promised to introduce us tonight. Continuously, my eyes scanned the ballroom for any sign of Mr Rikkard Ambrose. They never found any. My anxiety grew with every minute.
What’s the matter? Why isn’t he here? Or… maybe he is here! Maybe he is watching me, gazing coldly at my dress, my fan and any other articles that screamed ‘female!’, getting more determined to get rid of the girl in his office with every passing minute!
From the moment the idea first entered my mind, I felt an itch on the back of my head as though he was standing behind me, his cold gaze drilling into the back of my head - which of course was a load of cobblers because I was dancing the quadrille, ergo twirling continuously around the room, seeing everything.
Blast! He can’t be here! And he certainly can’t be watching me from behind if I’m always pirouetting!
Still, I fretted through three dances over Mr Rikkard bloody Ambrose! Only when I caught sight of Wilkins and Ella dancing a few paces away did I remember that I had other worries tonight as well. Remorse shot through me. For the moment, I had completely forgotten about protecting my little sister from Wilkins' overdone attentions.
Well, if I wasn’t going to saw a hole in the ballroom floor through which Wilkins could be disposed of, I couldn’t do anything while they were dancing. Afterwards, I swore to myself, I would become the most steadfast buffer in the history of womankind.
But my kind sisterly plans were cruelly dashed. By the time the dance had finished and I had manage to disentangle myself from my partner and rush to my sister’s side, the evil flower-presenter was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where’s Sir Philip?’ I asked.
‘I don't know.’ Closing her eyes, Ella sighed and leaned against my shoulder. I let her. I had originally come to serve as a sisterly buffer, but I might just as well be of use as a support column. ‘Somebody told him something, and he excused himself. Honestly, I don't care. I only care that he’s gone for the moment. Oh Lill!’
Her eyes fluttered open again, and I saw moisture glinting in there as she looked up at me imploringly. ‘What should I do? What in God’s name should I do?’
I was about to answer her (and a very clever answer it would have been!) when Sir Philip appeared out of the multitude around us, an eager smile on his face. I noticed that the sunflower he had brought along for Ella was sticking out of his buttonhole, rather clashing with his green and red waistcoat.
‘My dear Miss Ella… oh, Miss Lilian, you’re here, too? How wonderful! Where’s the rest of your family? Ah, there!’
He waved them over eagerly, and they came, interested to see what he was so excited about. I was starting to have an idea and felt a dark pit of dread opening up in my stomach.
‘What’s the matter, Sir Philip?’ Maria asked, breathless - maybe a bit more breathless than absolutely necessary. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘On the contrary, my dear, something is right.’ He beamed at all of us. ‘Remember that I told you of this special guest who would be here tonight?’