Page 24 of The Missing Book (Bluestocking Book Club #3)
“ Y ou dance very well, Lady Amelia.” Leopold’s heart betrayed him as he looked down into Lady Amelia’s smiling face and felt it fill with all manner of emotion. “Thank you for dancing with me.”
“But of course.” The lady took his arm even before he had offered it, making his smile bloom.
Ever since he had apologized – even before he had done so, in fact, things had begun to improve between them.
As much as he did not want to admit it, not even to himself, there was an eagerness within him that could not seem to be satisfied, an eagerness to be with her more and more, to know her better, and to improve their connection as much as he could.
“Might you wish for a turn about the room?” he asked, glancing around and choosing not to look into her face for fear that she would be frowning, unwilling to accept his invitation. “Is your father present?”
Lady Amelia waved a hand. “He will not mind. Ever since the ton began to speak well of me and my forthright words towards Lord Trafalgar, he has become a good deal easier in his manner. He will be concerned for me, of course, but if he knows I am dancing then he will be quite contented to watch from afar.” She smiled up at him as Leopold caught her eye, relief pooling in his core.
“My father too has decided that I am permitted to be a bluestocking without any further complaint from him. So now, it is only my brother who disapproves!”
Leopold chuckled. “Mayhap I could talk to him and convince him of the merits of his sister being a bluestocking,” he said, as Lady Amelia laughed. “I have changed my mind, have I not? I am sure I could be convincing enough.”
“Mayhap you could,” came the soft reply as she leaned into him just a little. “My brother is very stubborn, however.”
“A little like his sister, then?”
This made Lady Amelia throw back her head and laugh aloud, leaving Leopold to grin, feeling as though their connection was growing stronger with every moment.
There was such a great change between them, was there not?
He could only imagine what might be waiting for them, should he continue to pursue this.
And I do want to pursue it.
“Oh, there you are!”
A sudden interruption by Lady Anna brought an end to the conversation and Leopold tried to hide his irritation, telling himself that there was no need for him to feel such a way when his sister only sought out conversation.
Besides, was he not meant to be chaperoning her this evening, along with Melford?
“I thought you were with your brother,” he said, offering his sister his other arm. “Melford is dancing, mayhap?”
“ I was dancing,” she said, throwing a smile at him and then to Lady Amelia. “But when I was brought back from the dance, I could not see Melford anywhere! You shall have to berate him, Broughton, for being a dreadful chaperone.”
This, despite Leopold’s lingering frustration, made him laugh. “I shall do so, of course,” he said, as Anna chuckled. “The very moment I see him, I shall do so.”
“Good.”
They walked together for a few minutes longer in comfortable conversation and with Leopold feeling more and more joyous with every passing moment, only for Anna’s hand to tighten on his arm. “There is Lady Gwendoline, look. Is that Melford speaking with her?”
“Yes, I think so.” Leopold made to step closer, only to frown. “Wait, no it is not. I thought it was, for they do look similar but I think – ”
He was stopped by Anna’s sudden gasp, her eyes flaring wide as she stared at Lady Gwendoline. Lady Amelia spoke before Leopold could, her voice filled with concern.
“Whatever is the matter? Are you quite well?” She took her hand from his arm and came to stand in front of Anna, though she did not completely block the view of Lady Gwendoline.
“It cannot be,” Anna breathed, her face quite pale but her eyes fixed on Lady Gwendoline. “I am sure… though mayhap I am wrong.” She closed her eyes and then set her other hand on Leopold’s arm, concerning him all the more. “It could not be, for then that would mean – ”
Understanding flew into Lady Amelia’s eyes. “You know the gentleman she is speaking with.”
Anna nodded as Leopold looked back at the fellow, uncertain as to how Anna could know him when he did not.
“You know him from the Temple?” Lady Amelia asked gently as Leopold’s breath hitched, astonished when Anna nodded. How had Lady Amelia been able to decipher such a thing?
“It was one of the gentlemen who took the books,” she whispered, her eyes squeezing closed and then opening again. “I thought I was wrong but now… now I think that I must be right.”
“Took the books?” Leopold repeated as Lady Amelia darted a glance over her shoulder. “You mean the ones that stole them?”
Anna nodded, her fingers digging into Leopold’s arm. “Why would she be talking with him?”
A sudden fire roared to life in his chest. “I must demand to know where those books are,” he said, making to step forward. “I will ask him at this very moment!”
“Pray, do not.” Lady Amelia stepped in front of him, catching him off guard so that he was forced to step to the side, though she put out her hand to his arm, stabilizing him.
Her gaze was steady, her hand still lingering there.
“I do not mean to tell you what to do but if you go to him now, then all he will do is ignore your request and turn away. It is not as though he will simply admit to you that yes, he stole the books!”
Leopold gritted his teeth, seeing her good sense but feeling the desperate urge to do something to help. “Then what can we do?”
“Lady Anna?” Lady Amelia turned her attention to her.
“You know Lady Gwendoline best of all. She is your friend. If you can go to her, once this conversation is at an end, and ask, in a light-hearted manner who the gentleman was, do you think she would tell you?” There was a firmness about her tone and even Leopold felt his spirits steadied by it.
He looked at his sister, seeing her hesitate in the way she bit her lip.
“I – I am not sure if I can hide my emotions.”
“I think that you can,” Lady Amelia said, with a small smile. “Set aside your worry and your concern for the moment and go to speak to her. This is the only way we will be able to discover the truth about that gentleman.”
Anna closed her eyes and then nodded, turning her head to glance up at Leopold. “You will wait for me?”
“I will stay here, with Lady Amelia,” he promised. “But with our backs turned, mayhap, so they do not think that we are watching them. The last thing we want is to make them at all suspicious.”
“A good thought, Lord Broughton.” With a brief smile, Lady Amelia came to stand at his arm, keeping her back towards Lady Gwendoline and the gentleman who spoke with her.
Leopold’s heart quickened but he set that aside for the moment, telling himself to concentrate solely on Anna and all she was doing rather than on his own confusing feelings towards Lady Amelia.
“He is leaving,” he heard Anna breathe. “I will go now. Wait for me.”
“You will do very well, I am sure,” Leopold managed to say, just as his sister stepped away.
A knot of concern tied itself in his stomach as he let out a long, slow breath and waited for her to return, telling himself he certainly could not look over his shoulder at the two ladies speaking together no matter how much he wished it.
“You are anxious for her.” Lady Amelia’s hazel eyes were a little darker than before, as though, in Anna making her way to Lady Gwendoline, she had found herself suddenly afraid. “I do not know what that might mean but I am afraid.”
“Afraid that Lady Gwendoline is involved?”
Lady Amelia held his gaze for a long moment before, finally, she nodded.
“ If it is that she is involved, then we do no good in hiding that from my sister,” he said, slowly. “As much as I want to protect her, I cannot hold back the truth.”
With a nod, Lady Amelia bit the edge of her lip. “If only I could see a little of what was being said. I would be able to tell whether Lady Anna and Lady Gwendoline are speaking amiably together or not.”
“Could you stand in front of me?” Leopold gestured to the space. “If you stand there and peek over my shoulder, might you be able to see? It would also make it appear as though you and I are in conversation. Standing side by side like this might appear a little strange.”
She obliged him in an instant, coming around to stand beside him though her eyes went over his shoulder. Leopold could not help but breathe her in, his skin tingling as her breath brushed across his cheek.
“They are talking,” she said, softly. “Anna is smiling as is Lady Gwendoline. I think all is going rather well.”
“You are hopeful she will be able to find out the identity of the gentleman?”
“I am sure she will,” Lady Amelia answered, her eyes turning to his and fixing on them for a long moment, as though she had been somewhat distracted by him and now could look nowhere else.
Leopold’s breath caught, tightening his chest as he realized just how little distance there was now between them.
The ballroom was already a crush but at this moment, there was so little between them, Leopold could easily slip one hand around her waist and no one would notice.
The desire to do so, to be nearer to her in a physical way was so great, it burned through him like an agonizing pain, making his teeth grit tightly together as he fought against it.
“Lord Broughton, I think… ” Lady Amelia’s voice was so very soft, he strained to hear it, shifting only an inch or so closer to her. “I think there might be something more than just the mystery of these stolen books surrounding us at present.”
Leopold’s heart slammed into his chest. “I beg your pardon?”
The light in her eyes quickly dimmed. “That is to say, if you do not think that – ”
“No, no, that is not what I meant.” Berating himself, Leopold reached out and caught her hand in his for only a moment. “It was astonishment only.”