to take responsibility, but he knew that what Alistair was teasing about would come true – it would be the end of the life of carefree joys he had known.
Still, it wasn’t that he was reluctant to shoulder responsibility. It was that shouldering the weight of the estate in the shadow of his father’s greatness was a monumental task. He couldn’t help but think of all the ways his father had pointed out his failures as a young man, and how those failures would doubtless increase one-hundred-fold after the departure of the current earl.
“It was my mistake,” Alistair said, reading his expression, “to begin the first ball of the season by speaking with you of death and responsibility.”
Horatio forced a smile. “You are not over the line, my friend. You of all people ought to be able to ask me about the parts of my life that are more difficult to discuss. Still, I wouldn’t be distressed in the least if we allowed the subject of my inheritance to slip from priority at present.”
Alistair smiled. “And can I guess what the dashing Lord Vincent would like to replace the subject with?” He waved across the room at a group of elegant young ladies gathered near an arrangement of indoor ferns. “A gentler topic, perhaps?”
Horatio raised his eyebrow. “Lead the way, my friend.”
Chapter 3
Juliana closed her eyes and let the music from the ballroom wash over her. It was full and golden, warm like sunlight. She had chosen a secluded place to sit at the edge of the ballroom, which was ringed round with marble archways and small seats with cushions within them.
These archways were the perfect size for a large plant or a little person but were otherwise quite decorative. Juliana sat down after the first few dances passed without a single fellow having the courage to ask the scarred girl for a turn about the floor, observing the beautiful movements on the dance floor from the safety of her alcove.
Penelope was whirling about on the arm of some officer from the regiment, her black hair shining like onyx; her laughter carrying across the room whenever she was nearest Juliana’s hidden place. Juliana couldn’t help wondering, as she waited there at the side of the floor, why it was that she even came to these events. Her father insisted on them because he believed, along with the rest of London society, that the best way to establish one’s daughters as marriageable young women was to show them off in a social setting. This was a reasonable enough plan, Juliana thought wryly, if you had daughters who had a chance at making a good impression.
For her, however, it felt like an exercise in humiliation to be sitting near the other wallflowers and matrons, to time and again hear the beginning strains of a melody and see that no one would ask her to dance, to spend all day preparing to look beautiful for an event where no one would notice her except to see her ugliest attribute.
The music on the floor ended, and Penelope skipped back to where Juliana was sitting. Juliana could see that her sister’s cheeks were pink with exercise and excitement, and she couldn’t help smiling.
“Is your Lord Tindley here tonight?” she asked.
Penelope shook her head. “No, but he sent word via a mutual friend that he regrets his absence excessively.”
Juliana raised her eyebrow. “Excessively? Well, a girl can hope for no more.”
Penelope blushed again at the teasing. “Are you not going to dance, Juliana? If you stay hidden back here, no one will see you.”
That would be the goal. Juliana did not intend to say anything that would take that smile and excitement from her sister’s eyes. She shrugged as though she was simply bored and weary. “The dance floor is already full of people,” she said lightly. “I don’t know that I wish to add my own self to that adventure at present. In fact, I was feeling rather light-headed. I think I’m going to go catch a little fresh air and then I’ll be back. Keep pace with your partners in my absence, and when I return, we can find a spot of punch for refreshment.”
Penelope seemed willing enough to believe her sister’s story and skipped away at last as Juliana turned towards one of the hallways nearby. It was well-lit and nearly as full of revellers as the ballroom had been, although these were all lost in sparkling conversations. As she walked past, she