Page 63 of The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins

But we did not wait half the night, and soon we were pressed in with the rest of the crowd who were being greeted one by one by the hostess. Then we were in the ballroom, where the musicians were already playing a lively dance tune.

All the faces around me were unfamiliar. I searched, hoping to see someone I knew.

“I shall be sitting here,” Mrs. Drake said, heading to a chair against the wall, beside one of her friends. “Take every opportunity to dance,” she said, “and check in with me after each one.”

Hattie leaned close to me and whispered, “I shouldn’t be here. Everyone looks so elegant.”

Her face had gone pale, and her eyes were watery.

“No, Hattie. You have every right to be here. You are my guest, and you are safe, do you understand?”

She barely nodded, and I could see that her hands were trembling.

Three gentlemen approached, and I recognized Mr. Merritt.

We greeted each other. I introduced Mr. Merritt to Hattie, and then he introduced his two friends, Mr. Honeycutt and Mr. Treadwell. Mr. Honeycutt asked Millicent to dance, while Mr. Treadwell engaged Hattie in conversation. However, I could see from Mr. Treadwell’s frozen expression and raised eyebrows that he was put off by Hattie’s nervous manner. A moment later, he was excusing himself and asking the young lady standing just behind Hattie to dance, who politely declined.

I said quietly to Mr. Merritt, “Would you mind terribly asking Miss Jacobs to dance? She is nervous, and—”

“Of course.” He immediately stepped forward and held his hand out to Hattie. “Miss Jacobs, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

Hattie placed her trembling hand on Mr. Merritt’s arm and let him lead her to the dance floor.

I quickly excused myself from Mr. Treadwell before he could ask me to dance. I wasn’t certain I could be civil to a man who had slighted my friend.

“Oh.” I bumped right into Lord Brookhaven. “Forgive me.”

“The fault was mine,” he said.

“I wasn’t looking where I was going, and—”

“Will you dance with me?” He held out his arm.

I laid my hand upon it, and we took our places beside Hattie and Mr. Merritt.

How I’d looked forward to dancing with Lord Brookhaven again, to make up for the last time when I’d been offended by his warning me about Mr. Welton.

His handsome face was serious as he gazed at me, bringing to mind pleasant memories from my time at Lowndesbury House.

The dance steps frequently had us spinning away from each other and switching partners for short periods, and I took the opportunity to glance at Hattie.

Her face looked frozen, but her shoulders had slowly loosened, and I even saw her smile at Mr. Merritt, who seemed to be doing a wonderful job putting her at ease.God bless Mr. Merritt.

When the dance brought us together again, Lord Brookhaven asked, “Is this young lady your friend from school?”

“Yes.”

“I would be pleased if you would introduce me.”

“Of course.” I gave him a smile and wondered if there were any other earl in all of England who would ask to be introduced to a poor orphaned schoolteacher. But from my estimation, she was as good a person as anyone with a title, whether in this ballroom or outside of it.

It was not a common opinion, I was aware.

The dance ended, and Lord Brookhaven asked, “How are Joshua and Sarah?”

“Well, I thank you. They are good children, and I quite adorethem. They make me think of Samuel and Annabelle. I was thinking of visiting them later this week, if that is all right.”

“Yes, of course it is. They would be pleased to see you. You should bring Joshua and Sarah, if you like.” His blue eyes met mine as we stopped near Mrs. Drake.