Passion's Tide (42 page)

“You look lovely tonight dear,” her
U
ncle Alfred told her, and Dom
inic grinned; one very similar to Olivia’s mischievous smile, Amber noted
.

He winked at her. “Wearing that dress, you won’t have
any
trouble finding a suitor.”

“You better keep those Whitmore boys in check then,” his father warned him.

Dominic’s smile vanished
.
“If Rafe or Caleb so much as think about dancing with her, I will—” Luckily Olivia and her aunt joined them then, cutting off Dominic’s threats, and t
hey all piled into the carriage that would take them to the Whitmore’s house
.

The ride was a short one, which was a blessing to Amber
.
As overwhelmed as she already was, she fervently believed that to listen to more of her cousin’s excited chatter would
frighten her from ever leaving the carriage
.
She was trying to remember all she had learned from her governess so many years ago, and with each name Olivia mentioned she found it harder to recall the steps of a quadrille, or which spoon to use to eat sou
p
.
She knew
this was not a formal dinner party and so knowing which
spoon to use was not important, but it was comforting to run through her etiquette lessons in her head anyway
.

Olivia’s voice interrupted her mental exercise to inform her that they had arrived. Amber was helped down from the carriage and hurried insi
de a magnificent house before she could catch her breath, and as she looked around, she found it hard to
.
The entry hall she was standing in was grander than anything she had seen befo
re, with polished marbled floors leading to a large staircase, high v
aulted ceilings, and huge framed portraits on every wall
.
Before she could look at the paintings, however, Olivia whisked her into the ballroom
.
This room was even larger than the first
, and filled with what appeared to be every member of the
ton
.

Amber had been to balls back in Boston, but
none could
compare to the size and splendor of the Whitmores
’
.
A dozen chandeliers hung from the ceiling, each one containing several ti
ers of candles that illuminated the room
.
A stage had been erected at one end of the room for the orchestra, and an entire wall was devoted to tables piled high with food and drink
.
On the opposite wall, glass doors were propped open to allow guests to w
ander onto the balcony for fresh air
.
All about her, men and women danced and laughed, dressed in their finest
.
Amber watched with amusement as a woman
wearing a monstrous gown covered in ruffles and bows and a wig that was at least a foot tall, struggled to
remain
upright
.
As the woman was jostled by the crowd she lost her balance and grabbed the arm of a gentleman beside her, nearly toppling them both to the floor
.
Amber hid her laugh behind her gloved hand.

She was pleased to find her apprehension waning as, despite her reserve about fi
nding a husband, she began to enjoy herself
.
Logan’s face again appeared in her mind, but she
pushed it aside
.
“Come on,” Olivia said, dragging her further into the room
.
“We need to stand where
everyone can see us, and where we can see everyone,” her voice dropping to whisper as she
smiled
wickedly
.
“Over there is Lord Birchmore
.
His wife recently died without producing an heir, so
M
other says he’s already begun to look for a new one
.
Wife, that is, not heir
.
And standing by the window with the glass of champagne is Lord Bedford
.
His father is ill and
he’s next in line for the Baron of Warwick, and I’ve heard his mother is pressuring him to find a young wife.”

“And who is the man striding towards us?” Amber ask
ed in a rush, eyeing the attractive gentleman walking through the crowd.

“Richard Cobham,” Olivia whispered from behind her fan.

“Title?”

“Now Amber, I never
thought of
you as a snob,” chided Dominic from behind them, offering them
each
a glass of champagne
.
“But if you must know, young Cobham is the Viscount of Kent.” Nothing more could be passed between the cousins then, because the man had reached them.

“Olivia, my dear, it is a pleasure to see you again as always
.
Dominic,” he acknowledged with a nod
.
Then his gaze transferred to Amber
.
“And who is this vision before me?”

Dom rolled his eyes but made the introductions
.
Amber smiled as Cobham made her promise to save the next dance for him, and watc
hed as he walked away
.
She was then bombarded with introductions, as Cobham’s approach apparently opened the door for curious, gossiping women and interested, eligible men to investigate the new arrival
.
Within minutes her head was swimming, trying to re
member names and wh
ich dance had been promised to whom.

She drank the champagne that was handed to her, ate the food that was brought to her, and danced with the gentlemen who offered for her. Less than an hour later her feet hurt from dancing in her new slippers, and she felt her smile was frozen on her face
.
She was still enjoying herself, but was beginning to tire of all the attention
.
As late in the season as it was she had not anticipated that her arrival would be of much interest, but as Cobha
m told her as t
hey were dancing, her presence was extremely refreshing.

“I had begun to fear that my coming to London was again in vain, but I hope you don’t mind me saying, dear Amber, that your being here has changed my outlook entirely.” Taken back by his confession and uncertain how to respond, she just smiled at him
.
As the dance ended she excused herself and wandered back to Olivia, who was talking to Georgina and an
attractive
older woman with curly blonde hair
.
As she appr
oached, the woman turned to her and smiled.

“I believe it is to you I owe my thanks,” she said pleasantly.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You are Olivia’s secret cousin, are you not?”

Before Amber could reply, her aunt approached and laid a gloved hand on the blond woman’s arm
.
“Penelope, what a wonderful soiree
.
Allow me to introduce my niece, Amber Townsend
.
Amber, this is Countess Whitmore, our host
ess
for this evening.”

“If it weren’t for you, my dear girl, my party would not be such a
great
success,” exclaimed the countess, opening her arms and gesturing
towards
the guests
.
“Lady Dawson is positively seething over
there
by the refreshments,” she added with a wink.

“Every year,
M
other and Lady Dawson attempt to outdo each other by throwing the biggest, most extravagant parties,” Georgina chimed in.

The countess sighed
.
“I’m afraid to say we thought she had us beat this season
.
Just last month she held a Grecian
-
themed ball, and had her gardeners recreate the hanging gardens of Ba
bylon!”

“But the gardens were in ancient Mesopotamia…” Amber said in confusion.

Her aunt laughed
.
“We know that, but most guests decided to overlook her geographical ignorance and enjoy themselves anyway
.
There were fountains, statues, even men dressed in
togas serving wine and grapes.”

Olivia snickered
.
“
T
he best part of the evening was when Lord Dawson got drunk and stumbled, ripping the toga clear off this one server!  You could see his—”

“That’s quite enough, Olivia,” interjected her mothe
r as she took the countess’ arm and led her towards the balcony,
sending
the girls a warning glance over her shoulder
.
Olivia and Georgina erupted into giggles as soon as they were out of earshot.

“You really should have seen it, Amber, it wa
s…educational, to say the least,” Olivia said
, laughing
.

“Educational?” Georgina shuddered
.
“I found it revolting
.
If they all look like that then I have no desire to ever marry and find out for myself.”

“Let
’
s save the anatomy lessons for a later date,” Amber suggested, glancing around her to make sure nobody could hear their conversation.

“She’s right,” Georgina said, her giggles coming to a halt as she pulled the two girls closer
.
“Who has heard any delicious gossip?”

As Olivia ju
mped in with some scandalous news she had overheard, Amber’s mind began to wander
.
She gazed about the room, half listening to her cousin
,
and watching the people move about the crowded party
.
The noise
was almost cacophonous
.
The orchestra was taking a break an
d it seemed that most guests were doing what
they
were: gossiping
.

Amber took a step away from the two girls and fanned herself as she absorbed the sights and sounds of the party
.
Just then,
out of the corner of her eye,
she saw a tall man with brown hair
,
and dropped her fan in surprise
.
She quickly bent to pick it up, but when she straightened the man was gone
.

“Did you see someone you know?” asked Georgina from behind her
.
Amber paused, and then shook her head, turning
back to her cousin
.

“As I was saying, the man was thought to be dead!”

“And you’re certain this mysterious corpse is walking among us tonight?” Georgie asked, unconvinced.

Olivia was growing impatient
.
“Look, I don’t know who it is
.
All I heard was
that a maid nearly fainted when she saw him floating down the corridor.”

“Well if he was floating, then I believe you,” mocked Georgie, sharing a smile with Amber
.
At that moment, the orchestra took up their instruments and resumed playing
.
The crowds d
ispersed as people returned to the center of the room to dance, and Amber was approached by Glenn Middleton.

“I believe you promised this dance to me, Miss Amber,” said the young Baron, taking her hand and leading
her onto the dance floor
.

“You look a l
ittle pale, are you feeling well?” he asked a moment later as he guided her through her turns.

“I am a little lightheaded
.
All this champagne and spinning is making me dizzy.”

“Shall I fetch you a glass of wat
er?”

“If you don’t mind.” After assuring her of his prompt return
and
suggesting she
find a quiet place to rest, he hurried off, leaving her by herself on the dance floor
.
As she pushed her way towards the edge of the room she felt a twinge of guilt
.
Middleton seemed a nice enough
character; perhaps she shouldn’t have lied to him about feeling ill.

T
he cool breeze on her face as she snuck outside was reward enough for her dishonesty, so she slipped past the few people on the balc
ony and descended the steps into the garden
.
Her
head didn’t hurt
.
She was just overwhelmed and tired of pretending
she
felt
fine, when inside she still ached.