Page 16 of The Missing Book (Bluestocking Book Club #3)
“ I t is time for our dance, Lady Amelia.”
Her heart quickened as she nodded, seeing the look of surprise on Lady Isobella’s face as she took Lord Broughton’s arm. Nothing was said between them as they made their way to the center of the ballroom, though Amelia’s chest tightened at the thought of being held in his arms.
Amelia had never known such astonishment at Lord Broughton’s question only an hour earlier.
To have him approach in the way that he had – with swift steps and an expression contorted with what she presumed to be anger – only to then ask her if she would like to dance with him had almost knocked her backward.
The shock had been so great, but she had somehow managed to accept his offer without truly thinking about whether or not she desired such a thing, handing him her dance card as the other bluestockings looked on.
True, he had then managed to secure a dance with Lady Rosalyn and Miss Trentworth but both of them had been secondary to his attention towards her.
She had not been quite sure what to do thereafter, feeling almost numb as she had looked down at the card and saw his name presented for her waltz.
“I must confess to being surprised that you asked me to dance with you, Lord Broughton,” she said when the silence between them became too great for her to bear. “You insist that your sister stays back from my company and yet here you are, seeking to further our acquaintance!”
Something flickered in his eyes. “I do not want to be called a coward, Lady Amelia.”
“A coward?” Her chin lifted, irritation stabbing at her. “I certainly did not call you such a thing and I never would do so.”
“I did not mean you had said it,” he answered, glancing at her and then looking away. “I will not have society think of me as weak. Yes, I have ruined my reputation when it comes to dancing after what occurred with Lady Gwendoline but I must attempt to improve it, yes?”
A small wisp of sympathy passed through her heart. “It was an accident only, Lord Broughton. You need not punish yourself over it.”
“Society will punish me with harsh judgments and the like if I do not dance again,” he gritted out, his brows furrowed. “I have already been spoken about enough.”
“You are afraid of what society will say of you?” she asked, as the music began and he bowed towards her. “Why would that be?”
Lord Broughton did not answer at first. Instead, he put one hand on her waist and then clasped the other, beginning the first steps of the dance.
Amelia moved through the steps with ease, though the way his eyes fastened to hers surprised her.
Suddenly, she forgot all about what she had asked him, forgot the question that had been left unanswered.
Looking up into his brown eyes, she saw the flecks of gold there and found her heart softening towards him.
Warmth began to seep into her frame, making her face grow hot but still, she could not look away.
Whatever was happening?
The rest of the room began to fade away, leaving only the music of the orchestra in her ears.
His hand seemed to tighten on hers as though he knew that she was held captive by his gaze and Amelia, for the very first time in her life, found herself completely lost in the moment.
She could not speak, could not even think of what to say.
Her mind was clouded and yet clear at the same time, holding only Lord Broughton in her vision.
Her heart was pounding but there was a slow-growing delight there as if something about this was the most wonderful experience of her life.
And then, it came to a crashing halt as the dance ended.
Lord Broughton released her hand and stepped back and Amelia swayed for a moment, fighting hard to regain her sense of composure.
When he frowned, she forced a smile and closed her eyes for only a moment, breaking the contact between them.
That seemed to set her to rights as she curtsied, relieved that, when she looked back at him, all that she had felt faded into nothingness.
“You dance well, Lady Amelia.” He offered his arm, as any gentleman would but Amelia hesitated. The way his eyebrows rose just a fraction told her of his surprise, though she was quick then to grasp his arm, for fear that she would insult him.
“I thank you.” Her hand settled on his arm and fire ripped up through her, making her catch her breath.
Lord Broughton looked down at her just as she glanced up at him, afraid that he had noticed her gasp and, in that single moment, her heart decided to catapult itself across her chest, leaving her mortified at her reaction to looking into his eyes.
I must not look at him, she thought, realizing too late that her fingers were now gripping tightly to his arm.
This only seems to happen whenever his eyes meet mine.
Pulling her gaze away and falling completely silent, she waited until he had brought her back to her friends before murmuring her thanks, praying that he would step away without hesitation.
Much to her relief, he answered her silent plea with a nod of thanks before making his way towards his sister, letting Amelia breathe at a normal pace once more.
“Are you quite well?”
She blinked, then nodded in answer to Lady Isobella query.
“Quite well, I assure you.” Her friend did not look in the least bit convinced but Amelia, concerned about what she had felt and how she had responded, only made her smile wider.
“I must say, I am looking forward to our excursion tomorrow. I do wonder what will be told to us about the theft of these books!”
It was enough to start another conversation, one which left Amelia able to composure herself as her friends imagined what they might learn. Her confusion lingered, however, leaving her worried as to what might happen the next time she dared to look into Lord Broughton’s eyes.
“You are very kind to come here.”
Amelia smiled back at Mr. Lackington, thinking him very genial indeed. “We are grateful to you for being willing to speak with us. Society does not always look favorably upon bluestockings.”
He grinned at her. “Ah, but my uncle, the founder of ‘The Temple of the Muses’ did not care what society’s expectations were.
When he first opened, his was the only establishment who refused to take credit!
There was a great deal of pressure upon him to change, to go along with what was expected but he never did.
And I am of the very same ilk, I can assure you.
If you are eager to assist in this matter, then I shall express nothing but gratitude to you, I assure you. ”
“That is wonderful to hear,” Amelia said, as the other bluestockings nodded along with her.
“We have formed a little club – the ‘bluestocking book club’, if you will – and though we do, at times, discuss literature and the like, we have also been eager to solve whatever mysteries are presented to us.”
“It gives us opportunity to use what we have learned, to put our minds to something that we can untangle,” Lady Isobella added. “That is why we are so grateful to you for your willingness to speak with us.”
Mr. Lackington put one hand to his heart and inclined his head just a little. “The honor is mine, truly. You might be a little surprised at this but there have been no other offers of assistance, not even from the gentlemen of renown who come to visit here very regularly!”
This did surprise Amelia a little, though she said nothing.
“Might you tell us about what happened?” Miss Trentworth asked. “Lady Amelia was present at the time but did not see all that took place.”
“I had only just arrived when the two gentlemen ran through the place and outside,” Amelia explained, as Mr. Lackington’s expression grew heavy. “Pursued by Lord Melford, though I did see that he returned some of the books.”
“Indeed, though I am very grateful to him for that,” Mr. Lackington said, quickly. “The two gentlemen in question, though I do not know their names nor their titles, took the six books from the case. Lord Melford returned three of those six books and they are now protected in a safe in my study.”
Amelia’s eyebrows lifted. “They are valuable, then?”
Mr. Lackington nodded. “Yes, they are. That is what they took, you understand. I have… that is, I had six books of great value in a case in the corner of one of the lounges, for I thought it would, most likely, catch the attention of those in the gentry. The price of them would be far too high for any of the lower classes to purchase though I did state I would be very glad for any of them to simply look at the books, should they desire it. In fact, their worth was so great that I had them under lock and key, though there was a glass center so people might see the books.”
“And if anyone wished to see the books, then…?”
In answer to Lady Rosalyn’s question, Mr. Lackington pulled out a set of keys from his pocket.
“I would open it myself and personally ensure that the book remained safe as it was studied. If anyone wished to purchase one of the books, then it would return to the case until the money exchanged hands.”
“They were very valuable, then,” Amelia murmured, realizing just how much protection the man had put in place to protect these books. “You must be very upset that they are gone.”
“I have three of them back, so I am focusing on my gratitude in that,” he answered, as Amelia smiled gently. “Lord Melford did an excellent thing in pursuing them, though the case is quite ruined now.”
Amelia glanced at her friends, seeing their eyes flash with understanding. These two gentlemen must have smashed the top of the case and then wrenched it open in order to get the books.
“There was such a commotion thereafter,” she said, as Mr. Lackington nodded. “Can you think as to why they have taken these books?”