Regency: Mischief & Marriage: Secret Heiress / Bartered Bride

‘Exactly. Just as you should look, Eliza. You deserve something nice and I am happy to be in a position to give it to you.’ Lady Sarah smiled at her. ‘I am very pleased with madame’s work. You must thank her when she comes again.’

‘Are you sure it is not too good for a companion?’

Lady Sarah hesitated, then, ‘You have become my friend, Eliza… almost like a daughter to me. We have not known each other long, but already I am so fond of you. I want you to be happy while you stay with me.’

‘I am happy. I feel so fortunate to have been chosen by you, ma’am. I would never wish to do anything to distress you.’

‘I am sure you will not.’ Lady Sarah nodded, a hint of tears in her eyes. She knew that she might have gone too far, but she was enjoying treating Eliza, as she would her lost daughter when she found her. ‘We must go down. We do not wish to keep the horses standing. This evening is your first assembly. You will not wish to miss a moment—and of course you must dance as much as you please. It will give me great pleasure to watch and to know that you are enjoying yourself.’

‘You are so kind to me.’

Eliza made sure that her employer had all she needed, following her down the stairs and out to the waiting carriage. It was strange how close she felt to Lady Sarah, almost as though she had known her all her life.

Eliza was a little overwhelmed by the noise and press of people mingling in the huge assembly rooms. She thought that all Bath society must have gathered for the occasion, their costly jewels glittering in the light from the heavy chandeliers. However, once they had passed into a room where chairs and sofas had been grouped they found friends.

‘Come and sit beside me,’ Lady Julia invited. ‘Kate has been on the fidget since we arrived. Now you may leave us to ourselves and join the other young people.’

‘Are you comfortable, ma’am?’ Eliza asked, looking at her employer. ‘Is there anything I may fetch you before I go with Kate?’

‘Lord Melcher is arranging some champagne—’ Lady Julia broke off as two gentlemen approached, one tall and dark, the other slightly broader in the shoulder with fair hair and a little moustache. ‘Lord Smythe… Mr Thatcher, good evening. You know my daughter Kate, of course—may I introduce you to Miss Eliza Bancroft. She is visiting with my great friend Lady Sarah.’

‘Ma’am, Miss Henderson, Miss Bancroft.’ Lord Smythe bowed to Kate. ‘May I have the honour of this next dance?’

‘Only if Mr Thatcher intends to dance with my friend Miss Bancroft,’ Kate said with a wicked smile. ‘Afterwards, you may both change partners.’

‘Kate, you need not…’ Eliza blushed, but the fair-haired gentleman bowed to her and smiled.

‘Miss Henderson need not have prompted me, Miss Bancroft. I shall be greatly honoured if you will grant me the favour of this dance—and another, if I may have your card for a moment?’

‘Oh…’ Eliza hesitated and then handed him the little card she wore on a ribbon about her wrist. He wrote his name in a space later that evening and then offered his arm. ‘Thank you, Mr Thatcher. It is so kind of you.’

‘My pleasure, I assure you.’

She took his arm, feeling an immediate liking for a man who was clearly one of Kate’s intimate friends.

‘Is this your first visit to Bath, Miss Bancroft?’

‘Yes. I have been living quietly in the country. My mother was ill for some months before she died—but Lady Sarah is so good to me.’

‘I do not know the lady well, but Lady Julia and Miss Henderson are good friends—and neighbours in the country. Father’s estate is in Hampshire.’

‘We lived in Norfolk.’

Drawn into what was a lively country dance, Eliza was swept along by the music and enjoyed herself too much to be self-conscious or shy. She had never been given formal dancing lessons, but dances like this had been a part of the celebrations at the earl’s home each Christmas. As the vicar’s daughter she had been invited and knew how to perform most of the dances creditably.

The next set of dances was slower and more elegant. Eliza watched for a few moments, confident that she knew the steps. When Lord Smythe asked her to dance she felt able to give him her hand.

After the first few dances, Kate and Eliza were reunited, and a steady stream of young and sometimes older gentlemen made their way to the girls to be introduced by one of the ladies or gentlemen present and to request a dance.

In consequence, both girls soon found their cards filled, except for those they had saved in advance. Eliza had kept two free just in case Lord Seaton should arrive later in the evening. He did not appear in the first hour or so and she sat one of them out, taking the chance for some refreshment with Lady Sarah.

It must have been nearly ten o’clock when she saw him coming towards her. Her heart leaped with excitement, because he was so very handsome in his immaculate evening dress and his smile seemed just for her.

‘Did you think I had forgotten my promise, Miss Bancroft?’ Daniel asked. ‘I hope you have kept a dance for me—or have I lost it to another because of my tardy arrival?’

‘I did keep the next dance, sir—should you wish it.’

‘I most certainly do and I must beg your forgiveness for being so late. I was delayed by some important business.’ He laughed as her brows arched. ‘No, I assure you. It was a card game with friends and I won—quite fairly.’

‘I would never suspect you of anything less,’ she replied, a smile in her eyes.

Daniel inclined his head, taking her hand to draw her forwards into the throng of dancers. ‘This is a waltz. You have no objection, Miss Bancroft?’

‘I have danced a waltz only twice, Lord Seaton. You must forgive me if I am not entirely proficient.’

‘Just allow me to lead you. You need not fear, Miss Bancroft. You are in good hands.’

Eliza trembled inwardly as he put his hand at the small of her back, but her calm smile remained intact. As soon as they began to dance she lost all sense of nerves and the sensation was like floating to music. With no one else had Eliza experienced this glorious feeling of lightness and a sense of being far away from the crowd. It was as if she were alone with Lord Seaton and there was no one else in the world. Had she closed her eyes she could have believed she was dancing in the moonlight; there was no one but the man whose arms held her, making her heart beat with slow sure strokes. A little sigh of pleasure left her lips.

‘You approve,’ Lord Seaton’s teasing voice broke the spell. ‘I am better at dancing than some other things, perhaps?’

‘You must know you are an excellent dancer, sir.’

‘It is a pleasure to dance with you, Miss Bancroft. You are like thistledown in my arms. I could wish our dance might last for ever.’

His words so exactly mirrored her own thoughts that she felt a blaze of pure happiness. It was like being in heaven… the most wonderful feeling she had ever known.

When the music ended, Eliza felt a sharp pain of loss as he let her go and stood back. She wanted to be back in his arms, out in the moonlight. She wanted… She made an effort to control her emotions as he escorted her to her friends. This was so foolish! It was just a dance, even though it had seemed so much more.

Lady Sarah was talking to a gentleman Eliza had never met before. She felt Lord Seaton’s fingers tighten on her arm and sensed tension in him. Glancing at his face, she noticed the pulse flicking at his temple.

‘Ah, there you are, my dearest,’ Lady Sarah said. ‘I should like to introduce you to the Marquis of Cheadle, Eliza. As I am sure you recall, it was he who sent his carriage to Norwich to collect you.’

‘Yes, of course, and I am extremely grateful, sir,’ Eliza said, her keen gaze taking in a man in his late thirties or early forties perhaps, attractive, elegantly dressed with eyes of a greenish-brown that some called hazel. ‘It was a most comfortable journey due to your generosity.’

‘I am glad to hear it, Miss Bancroft, though my coachman tells me you had an unpleasant incident on the last stage of the journey?’

‘Oh…’ Eliza resisted the temptation to look at Lord Seaton. ‘It was really nothing very much, my lord.’

‘Nothing, you say?’ The marquis’s eyes narrowed. ‘Not quite what I expected to hear, Miss Bancroft. But perhaps we should discuss this at another time? If I may call in the morning, I should like to hear your side of the affair.’ He inclined his head and then looked at her companion. ‘Seaton, good evening.’

‘Cheadle. Where are you staying? I must call on you soon.’

‘Yes, I have a debt to settle. At your convenience, Seaton. We have a house in Queen’s Square.’

‘Perhaps the day after tomorrow?’

‘If you wish.’