Page 82 of A Treacherous Treasure

“I do hope your wife is in good health, Mr. . . .”

“Ludlow,” Mrs. Westbrook whispered close to her ear.

“Mr. Ludlow.” Of course. Now she remembered.

“I am not married. Arthur and I were schoolfellows. Would you do me the honor of standing up with me for the next dance?”

“Of course.” Perhaps Rebecca should have been embarrassed at forgetting the man’s name and forgetting that he was unmarried, but he asked her to dance so quickly that she didn’t think he was offended.

Feeling quite strange at dancing with one of Arthur’s friends, she stood up with him as they announced the next dance. There was something about his manner, as well as the way he walked so close to her, that made her even more uncomfortable.

“I have heard that Arthur was murdered by treasure seekers,” he said at a lull in the dance. “That must have been a shock to you.”

“Yes, it was.” Surely he wouldn’t want to talk about that while they danced. She cast about in her mind for something to say but her thoughts seemed sluggish.

“And finding a treasure trove buried in your woods. That must also have been surprising. I wonder that Arthur never mentioned it.”

“Apparently even the family members who had heard of it did not believe it existed. But this is a dance. You will hardly want to talk of the thing that caused two murders.”

“It is a very interesting development, you must admit, Mrs. Heywood. You shot and killed an intruder, I also heard.”

“Truly, I do not wish to speak of it tonight. This is a ball.”Not an inquisition, she nearly added. But she was trying to be polite.

“Of course. Forgive me. But I’m sure you must be getting a great deal of questions about it.”

“No, Mr. Ludlow. Yours are the first.”

Thankfully, the dance ended at that moment. She gave him a little bow and hurried away, not even waiting for him to walk her back to her chair.

Before she could seat herself, Gilbert Heywood appeared at her elbow.

“May I have this dance?” He was smiling and holding out his hand.

Without thinking, Rebecca took it and let him lead her to the dance floor.

This is my last dance,she vowed. The next person who asked her, she would tell them she did not intend to dance any more. She could say that she did not wish to re-injure her ankle, which was true.

She did her best to enjoy the dance with Gilbert Heywood, though he made two missteps during the course of the dance. And the way he was staring at her reminded her of a cat that the grooms used to keep around the stable for catching mice. She’d once watched it stalk a field rat, and Gilbert’s face inexplicably reminded her of that feline’s predatory stare.

On the way back to her chair, she said, “I do not intend to dance any more tonight.”

“Oh?” For a moment he looked confused, but then a smile spread over his face. “I understand.”

What did he mean?

“I have some hosting duties to attend to, but I shall come to you later.” He winked and hurried away.

Rebecca couldn’t fathom why Gilbert Heywood would wink at her. Did he have something in his eye? It certainly seemed as if he was insinuating something that he assumed she understood. But she had no wish for him to “come to her later.”

Thomas was standing next to Caroline a few feet away, staring at her. He bent and whispered something in his sister’s ear.

Rebecca sat beside Mrs. Westbrook, thankful that women were so much less complicated and difficult to understand than men.

Caroline came toward Rebecca. Her eyes were big and her manner was quite animated and she sat down on her other side and whispered in her ear, “My brother wishes to speak to you on the terrace overlooking the garden.” Her eyes and smile were bigger than Rebecca had ever seen them. When Rebecca did not reply, she whispered, “I think he means to propose marriage.”

Rebecca’s heart beat a strange tattoo in her chest. Could it be? But why would he not simply wait until they were back at home? There were plenty of opportunities to declare himself there, every day if he wished. No, he must wish to speak with her about something else.

“I will walk with you to the door,” Caroline said in a tone of excitement, “but we should probably wait a moment, so no one will notice we are following him.”