the man. His tall, confident demeanor and arrogant stride drew the eyes of just about every woman in the room. Young girls with hope in their eyes, widows and bored matrons with blatant carnal invitations.
He was dressed in all black except for his cravat and silver waistcoat. His light brown hair had been slicked back, but curls were already dropping onto his forehead. But more compelling were his deep brown eyes riveted on her as he made his way across the floor.
“Isn’t he wonderful,” Lady Eunice sighed.
She tried to hide a smile as Hunt jostled his way through the group of men surrounding her and Eunice. He looked like a warrior battling for his lady.
He bowed. “Good evening, ladies. You both look lovely.” He reached for Diana’s dance card and wrote his name. She snuck a peek. A waltz. Could she handle being that close to him for twenty or so minutes?
Lady Eunice immediately dangled her card in front of him and Hunt signed her dance card as well.
They were immediately joined by numerous young ladies fidgeting with their dance cards until Hunt added his name to all. Lady Townsend, a young newly widowed countess, edged between him and one of the debutantes and leaned her impressive breast against his arm, glancing up at him in a way that made Diana quite annoyed.
The contingent of adoring debutantes remained planted firmly in their spots until various gentlemen claimed them for the first dance.
As Mr. Temple claimed Diana, Hunt leaned in, close to her ear. “I will be in the card room.”
“Trying to escape your admirers?” She smirked.
He winked. “Just so.”
Within a couple of hours, Diana had danced most numbers and was growing quite overheated. She would love a stroll in the garden, but the only one she trusted was Hunt. However, the only time she saw him was when he was dancing with a young lady. True to his word, it appeared he spent his time between dances in the card room.
Lady Eunice walked up to Diana and viewed her with concern. “Oh, heavens, Lady Diana, you look quite spent. Perhaps you will join me for a walk to the ladies retiring room. A maid there will give us a cool cloth, and we can remove our shoes and rest for a while.”
Diana checked her dance card. She had two open dances and it would be a good time to take a break. “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea.”
The two of them linked arms and headed upstairs to the room set aside for the ladies. Lady Eunice was quite chatty as they ascended the stairs. Unusually so.
Several women rested on lounges with lavender scented cloths on their heads. Diana and Eunice found two next to each other and were immediately approached by a maid. She helped them remove their shoes, brought them cups of cool water and cloths for their foreheads.
“This feels wonderful.” Diana sighed and closed her eyes. She drifted off to a peaceful place thinking about her upcoming waltz with Hunt. Why did the man plague her so? For years, she’d been comfortable in his presence and never thought of him as any more than a friend.
When had that changed? Now she couldn’t seem to be within a few feet of him without her traitorous heart doing stupid things and her stomach swarming with butterflies. She removed her cloth and turned her head to look at Eunice.
Her spot was empty.
Diana frowned and leaned up on one elbow and looked around the room but didn’t see her anywhere. Strange. About ten minutes had passed since they’d arrived, but if Eunice had felt refreshed enough to leave, Diana was sure the woman would have let her know.
She shrugged and laid back down. Maybe something came up that required her presence and she had to hurry away.
She returned to her thoughts about Hunt. Suddenly her ruminations were stopped cold when she thought about the possible reason Eunice had left without telling her. A bit panicked, Diana whipped the cloth off her head and sat up to put on her shoes. She waved the maid over. “Did Lady Eunice say where she was going, or leave a message for me?”
“No, my lady.” The maid quickly knelt to help Diana with her shoes.
“Thank you,” Diana called over her shoulder as she left the room and hurried down the stairs. She thought of all the remarks Eunice had made during the party about Hunt and quickened her footsteps.
She searched the ballroom and the card