Page 37 of A Marriage is Arranged

Afterwards, Louise never knew how she managed to appear natural for the rest of that dreadful Ball. She was besieged by curious ladies and chivalrous gentlemen but told the same tale of the accident in the garden. One good outcome was that her dance card filled rapidly with sympathetic partners so when the Earl came to claim the last waltz, she was able to deny him. Before supper she had been jealously keeping it for him, but she was now glad to allow the poet to lead her to the floor. He stayed glued to her side whenever she wasn’t dancing, determined to protect his nymph from more attacks by tree branches or anything else. By degrees her eyes returned to normal, and though her gown was still soiled around the knees, she looked much as she had at the beginning of the evening. If her conversation was a little more brittle and her smile a little less frequent, no one noticed it.

By any standard, the Ball was a huge success. The white soup was served at two in the morning and most of the guests were still there to enjoy it. The young people had taken full advantage of the freedom of the candle-lit garden; the married women had found congenial dancing partners other than their spouses; the older women had gossiped all evening, minutely observing the two former groups through their lorgnettes and prophesying no good outcome; and the gentlemen had enjoyed billiards and cards accompanied by the product of his lordship’s excellent cellars .

The Dowager had had a wonderful evening with old friends in her former home, enjoying all of its benefits and none of its responsibilities. Mrs. Grey had not sat out a dance, and had had more than one gentleman tell her she must no longer hide away her beauty in the countryside. She was forming plans of asking her son-in-law to find a house for her (just a small one, of course) in the capital. It was only for the host and hostess that the Ball had been a disaster.

The Earl’s evening had been ruined less by Diane than by seeing his wife in the arms of another man. He didn’t know why this should irritate him so much, but as the night wore on his scowl deepened. For Louise, the evening had destroyed her whole happiness. With their shared jokes and conversation of the past two weeks, her initial purely physical attraction to the Earl had blossomed into real love. And she had thought, especially after the night before, that he might be beginning to love her too. Then this! To see him looking into the eyes of another woman and to know he had been intimate with her all along, simply broke her heart. How foolish she was! To think any man could love her: ugly, uninteresting, dull Louise Grey.

When all the guests had gone, she mechanically thanked Lisle and the footmen, then went down to the kitchens to do the same to Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Bootle, and the rest of the staff. It was due to them, she said, that the Ball had been a triumph.

The Dowager had left earlier in the evening, and Mrs. Grey had already climbed the stairs to her bedchamber. Louise didn’t know where her husband was. He had been there by her side to bow and thank the guests as they left, but then he had disappeared. She had bid Denis Youngbrough goodnight, and not knowing of the liaison between him and Diane Courtland, had wondered why he looked so disconsolate. But as far as she knew, Diane was still there. She could only assume Gareth was somewhere with her.

Tears came to her eyes as she slowly went upstairs. Rose was waiting for her, full of the sights of the Ball, but Louise cut her off, saying she was tired, her eyes hurt and she just wanted to get into bed.

“What a shame you soiled your gown when you fell in the garden m’lady,” said Rose, holding it up.

“It doesn’t matter. I shall never wear it again,” Louise replied. “Just throw it away.”

Rose opened her eyes wide. “Throw it away? Oh, I couldn’t, not for fifty pounds, m’lady.”

She folded the maligned garment carefully and put it aside.

“If you don’t throw it away, I shall,” said Louise fiercely. “I never want to see it again. Now just take off this stupid tiara, brush my hair and leave me alone.”

She had never spoken to the girl like this before, and Rose was taken aback. But, she reasoned as she quietly did as she was told, perhaps milady was increasing already. That would explain it. She picked up the gown and quickly left.

Louise tied on her nightcap, climbed into bed and was about to put out the candle when there was a brief knock at the communicating door and the Earl walked in.

“Oh, er, you’re already in bed.” He looked uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other. “I… er, look, Louise, I’ve been wanting to talk to you all day, but you’ve been so busy and then your mother arrived, and then… well, I tried to see you but you were asleep. But you must be tired now, and no wonder, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Louise could see he was out of sorts and clearly needed some word of encouragement. But her husband was the last person she wanted to talk to, so she said nothing.

He hesitated a moment, then said, “Well, good night. I hope you sleep well. You deserve it. The Ball was a huge success. Thank you.”

She still didn’t say a word. He turned and left.