Murder at the Mayfair Hotel (Cleopatra Fox Mysteries #1)- C.J. Archer Page 0,93

people here,” I said to Flossy over the music.

“It’s a success, Cleo! Father is so pleased, and Mother too. Look, there they are. They asked me to bring you to them when I found you.”

Somewhat reluctantly, I approached my uncle and aunt. I was suddenly too aware of everything about my person. They would think I showed too much décolletage for a woman in mourning. Or they wouldn’t like that I wore Flossy’s dress. And what if they knew the headpiece had been bought at their expense?

But their welcoming smiles banished my reservations.

“You look lovely, my dear,” said Aunt Lilian as she kissed my cheek.

Uncle Ronald kissed my other cheek. “Your mother would be immensely proud,” he said quietly.

I drew in some deep breaths to banish the tears welling in my eyes. Harmony had given me strict instructions not to cry or the coal and beeswax mixture on my lashes would run.

My aunt whisked me away to introduce me to several of her friends, dragging a reluctant Flossy along with us. Meeting so many people in a short space of time proved to be confusing, but it gave me an opportunity to find Mr. Hookly. I spotted him talking to a group of gentleman near the clock. I wondered if one of them was the banking friend of Lord Addlington’s.

“Mother, I was in the middle of a conversation,” Flossy whined when Aunt Lilian moved us along to speak to friends she’d just spotted. “Can we not stay in one place longer than five minutes?”

“Cleo must meet everyone, and as you can see, there are quite a lot of people here.” Aunt Lilian beamed at a lady with two young women of almost identical appearance on either side of her.

Flossy was soon rescued by a gentleman who asked her to dance while I chatted to the young women. When others joined us, I searched for Mr. Hookly again. I couldn’t find him.

I did, however, glimpse Mr. Armitage standing in the shadowy exit to the service area. He was watching me. When he realized I’d seen him, he quickly looked away.

He would know which fellow was the banker. I gave my excuses and headed towards him, only to be waylaid by Floyd and two of his friends.

“Dearest cousin!” Floyd clasped my gloved hand and kissed it. “Meet my closest companions, Jonathon and Arthur. We met at Oxford.”

“And he’s been leading us astray ever since,” said the blond-haired, blue-eyed Jonathon, bowing over my hand. Of the three of them, he was the most handsome. A small scar on his cheek added interest to a face that could have otherwise been considered delicate.

Arthur looked positively ragged beside him, although I suspected he’d spent quite some time trying to conjure the right amount of raggedness for tonight. His dark hair fell across his forehead, but did not quite hide the receding hairline.

Uncle Ronald joined us and shook the hands of both men. He was then pressed with questions by Floyd about the actresses and opera singer.

“Hopefully they’ll arrive soon,” his father said with a worried glance towards the door. He turned back to Floyd’s friends with a smile. “You know what these ladies are like. They love to make a spectacular entrance. But never mind them when there’s a beautiful jewel right in front of you.” He gave me a light push towards Jonathon before going on his way.

Jonathon’s eyes shone as he smiled at me. “What actresses?” he said.

I laughed softly.

“The ones who’re supposed to be coming tonight,” Arthur said. “Idiot,” he added in a mutter.” He bowed to me. “I’d be delighted if you’d dance with me, Miss Fox.”

He swept me onto the dance floor for a quadrille. He would have been quite a good dancer if his gaze didn’t constantly drop to my décolletage.

Jonathon intercepted us before I could dance a second dance with Arthur, and we enjoyed a pleasant waltz while we chatted amiably. He was a good conversationalist and dancer, and I enjoyed my time with him. So much so that I forgot to look for Mr. Hookly.

I danced twice more with Jonathon during the night. My dance card became quite full, something for which I blamed my uncle, aunt and cousins. Every time I saw them they were pointing me out to someone new. Indeed, I gathered so much interest that it became too obvious what was going on. Everyone must think I was an heiress. Aunt Lilian had inherited a fortune, after all, and my mother had been