A Grand Deception (11 page)

Sherwin did not wish to be chosen. He had the irrational
thought that if he stood very still, perhaps he would not be noticed. He stared at his hand, smoothing the sleeve of his
jacket so as not to meet the gaze of either the dance master
or the Duchess.

Monsieur Gravois spun to face the dancers. "Mademoiselle?" he called out to an unfortunate female he'd selected.

The Duchess took her time to stroll down the line of
guests. Her Grace stopped when she reached ...

"My lord?" She held out her hand to Sherwin.

He knew better than to refuse.

Sherwin accepted with a curt nod and took hold of the
Duchess' proffered hand. His mouth had gone dry, and he
could not speak. And how would he move forward to follow
her? His legs felt heavy, and his knees refused to bend. He
would be unable to walk behind the hostess, much less
dance with the female Monsieur Gravois had chosen. And
was he to dance alone before all these people? He was to be
an example? This was embarrassment on a level he'd never
imagined.

"Excellent. It is good to see our new earl is brave." The
Duchess led him to the unoccupied portion of the room.
There she turned him to face his partner.

Although he could not see her clearly, Sherwin had no
doubt the lady before him was Muriel.

Her Grace the Duchess of Devonshire positioned the
two of them together in the center of the floor. "Place your
hand there, just like that-" She laid Sherwin's hand across
Muriel's shoulder and hers over his. "Yes, that's right. Monsieur Gravois, come, s'il vows plait." She waved to the dance
master to approach.

"Oui!" The delicate Frenchman appeared and joined the
couple's free hands in front of them, Sherwin's above Muriel's. "We weel begin!" He instructed what each should do
for the promenade. He then stepped closer to adjust their
position, standing side by side where their arms arched over
their heads. Monsieur barked, "Les yeux!"

Sherwin looked forward, meeting Muriel's gaze as ordered, and they gracefully stepped around each other in time
to the baton thumping on the floor. They might have been
alone in the large room, for no other sounds were heard. Not
a whisper, a cough, or a sniffle from the guests.

"They're doing this on purpose," Muriel grumbled in
clear dissatisfaction, staring straight ahead.

"For what reason?" Despite his embarrassment at being
singled out and the only couple upon the dance floor, Sherwin was rather enjoying himself at the moment.

"We are on display for their amusement." Instead of
becoming loud and animated, Muriel contained her ire,
showing not a trace of what she felt. "All they want is to see
us bicker."

"I find it difficult to believe you would allow anyone to
make sport of you." After years of correspondence, Sherwin felt he had fair knowledge of her moods.

"Droit, monsieur, za right!" Monsieur Gravois corrected
in a high, reedy tone.

Sherwin felt the dance master's baton tap his leg. Stepping to face Muriel, he brought his hand to rest at her
waist.

"And you are certain I could contrive a plan to avoid humiliation?" Muriel placed her hands upon his shoulders.

"If anyone could, it would be you." Sherwin would be the
first to admit he was not nearly as clever as she. No one
was, actually. He quite admired her for it.

"And if my solution is one not to your liking, what then?"
Muriel rotated around him, to his left.

"As well as you must know, I do not care for undue attention. I am amenable to any sensible solution." With an ear
to the dance master's instructions, Sherwin's full attention
centered on what Muriel would say next.

"Very well, if you give me a moment." She fell quiet and
relaxed somewhat in his arms during her contemplation.

Sherwin slid his hand a fraction more toward her spine to
secure his hold. He felt a bit self-conscious that he should
touch her so intimately before all these people.

"We shall call a truce." She glanced up at him hopefully.
"If we return to an amicable arrangement, there cannot be anything of interest for them to observe. We shall smile at
each other and be pleasant."

"Maintenant, we begin again!" Monsieur Gravois announced with a quick double clap of his hands.

"An excellent idea. I knew a solution could be had once
you put your mind to it. " Sherwin pasted on his best effort,
removed his left hand from her waist, and they returned to
their original position to repeat the first steps again. "In any
case, I have come to realize that I owe you an apology for
that night we first met at Almack's."

He cleared his throat before taking her left hand in his
and raising it above their heads for the pirouette. Although
he stared into her face, he could not see her features clearly,
only the green of her eyes.

Wasn't green the most beautiful color in existence? How
had he ever thought otherwise?

"I believe we may have behaved in an unreasonable manner at our first encounter." Sherwin stepped around her as
the Earth and moon rotated in the sky. "Iwas-amjust as
guilty of omission as you. I had no right to accuse you ofIn any case, I apologize for my rudeness and any embarrassment I might have caused. Perhaps I might have a chance to
explain my behavior to you at a later date."

"I accept your apology and give you mine." Muriel admitted that it was silly for them to behave as if they were
stubborn schoolchildren. They were not children anymore.

When she had first stood up with him, Muriel could not
help but flinch at his touch. The longer they moved to the music, however, the easier it had become to accept the contact.
He slid his arm around her waist and leaned close for her to
place her hands upon his shoulders. Was it wrong that standing so close, touching him, did not now annoy her in the least?

Still, Muriel did not like how exposed she felt. Nervous not because she was to dance before the other guests but
because she had the distinct impression they would all know
that she did not hate him. Not really, not anymore. She could
not stay angry with him.

Although he had apologized for his actions, it seemed to
Muriel that he did not care for her as he had previously,
before their meeting at Almack's. They had enjoyed such
an easy friendship. Their letters had always been of a pleasant nature over the years. If only they could return to that
polite correspondence they'd once had-except all written
communication had come to a halt. Muriel doubted she would
ever receive another letter from him.

As much as he might have forgiven her, his opinion of
her had clearly altered in recent days. That much was clear
by his exceptionally polite attitude toward her. Any ease
and geniality of their previous conversations, if only previously expressed in written form, were obviously not to
return.

One ought to be grateful for the civility at least.

"I accept your apology," she repeated, "and I will gladly
listen to your explanation." Muriel allowed her gaze to slide
from her dance partner to the audience observing them. She
considered how disappointed they would be not to see the
couple before them at odds. What would they think if it
were known that she actually took pleasure in dancing with
him? It was a confession she did not wish to make to anyone.
She did not even wish to admit it to herself. "Let us do what
we can to defuse our current situation, shall we?"

Returning her attention to Sherwin, Muriel did her best to
show the onlookers how delighted she was to dance with the
Earl. She smiled at him as if he were the sun in their cosmic
dance.

The guests appeared completely put out now that she and Sherwin thoroughly enjoyed, or seemed to, each other's company. As shocking as it seemed, Muriel did. She could not,
however, hazard a guess on her partner's behalf.

Soft grumbling and general discontented sounds came
from the audience.

Muriel's smile widened in earnest. There was nothing
she liked better than being right.

Almost an hour had passed, and Sherwin could not forget
the adoring expression on Muriel's face. He only wished he
could have seen it more clearly. What he could make out had
caused warmth to spread outward from his chest, filling him
with an overall blissful sense of well-being.

"I'm allowing you to visit the Egyptian Hall for an outingpray, you do not ignore Miss Holbrook for some ancient
stone sculpture." Lady Amhurst's voice broke through Sherwin's obscured vision. "I know how fond you are of antiquities."

He guessed the only way an ancient stone sculpture would
be of any interest to Miss Holbrook was if it wore a fetching
bonnet of superior quality, which was something he couldn't
quite imagine.

"There!" Lewis announced.

"Very handsome," Lady Amhurst concurred. "Especially
with that maroon paisley waistcoat."

Sherwin thought the selection a bit too funereal but said
nothing. Lifting the quizzing glass hanging from the corded
ribbon around his neck, he wished to reassure himself it
was not forgotten. He was positive there would be something at the Egyptian Hall worth a closer inspection.

Sherwin had been correct. Standing across the street from
the entrance of the Egyptian Hall some two hours later, he clearly saw that although Isis and Osiris wore Egyptian
crowns, neither sported what Miss Holbrook would consider
a fashionable bonnet.

"Are those the types of things you expect to see inside?"
Miss Holbrook held on to Sherwin's arm and stared at the
decorative doorway.

"I do believe you are correct, my dear." Sherwin felt unusually elated. "It is the Egyptian Hall after all."

The very opportunity to visit might have explained his
added delight, but it was much more than that. Sherwin
glanced around, expecting to see ... what? He thought, he
hoped, actually, he anticipated her presence-Muriel's.

From his position across the street, Sherwin spotted Muriel and Miss Susan Wilbanks, accompanied by the same
two gentlemen they'd been out with on a drive a few days
earlier. The foursome stood before the entrance, staring at
the facade looming above them.

Muriel had the most uncanny ability to appear in the
same place, at the same time, as he. He easily recalled her
expression in the Park, at the Roman ruins, and at Hatchards
Bookstore ....

He had watched her enter the bookstore, escorted by a
young man whom Sherwin did not know. What he had noticed was Muriel's flush of excitement upon sight of the tall,
endless bookshelves. She had not shown it outwardly, but
he could see her eyes sparkle with interest. The young lady
he'd brought, Lady Sophie, was clearly bored to tears when
faced with the prospect of visiting the bookstore and fussed
with her lace-ruffled sleeve.

Sherwin could not help noticing Muriel's indecision at
whether or not to purchase a copy of a book she'd discovered. The manner in which she'd wrapped it in her arms
told him of her precious find. In the end, for a reason not clear to him, she'd returned the book to its place on the
shelf.

After she'd left, and when he was certain he would not
be seen, Sherwin immediately retrieved the book to see
the title, Cursus Publicus: Roads of the Roman Empire, and
summarily purchased it. He treasured not only the information lying inside but now understood the real value the book
held ... she had touched the very same binding.

"Are you quite certain this is where you wish to visit?"
Miss Holbrook's reservations were palpable.

Sherwin glanced at the lady on his arm. Perhaps it was
best they not enter. To be seen so close to Muriel so soon
after the Devonshire party that afternoon might cause more
unwanted talk.

"Am I correct in assuming the Egyptian Hall does not
hold any interest for you?" Sherwin offered her a smile and
patted her gloved hand. "That's all right. I'm quite sure an
ice at Gunther's is more to your taste."

This would be exactly the type of place she might find him
frequenting. Muriel gazed around at the gathering crowd
standing before the Egyptian Hall after she had looked her
fill at the statues, ankhs, and various other creatures adorning the great entrance. He seemed to have the ability to turn
up at the same place as she at the exact same time as she. If it
were not for her notion that Sherwin might be near, Muriel
might have enjoyed attending the museum for its own merits.

"Fascinating! This is simply astounding, do you not think,
Lady Muriel?" Mr. Ambrose stared up at the towering Osiris
and Isis and sounded quite sincere.

"Yes, indeed, sir, this is certainly an unequaled sight to
behold," Muriel replied. She'd gazed the length of both sides
of the street and did not see a sign of the Earl.

"You may find some of their lectures of interest, Lady
Muriel. If you should think you would like to attend, pray,
allow me to accompany you."

"Thank you. It is most kind of you to offer." Muriel might
like to attend, but she felt certain her father would frown
upon the very idea. Not that he had any objections to Mr.
Ambrose, but he might fear that his youngest would slip back
into her bookish ways. Muriel had not abandoned them; they
were merely hidden. "I shall give the thought some consideration. Shall we proceed inside, sir?"