The Duke of Rowland couldn’t have possibly dreaded this night any more than he already did - that was until the guests started to arrive. With every greeting and introduction standing in the foyer, he was growing more and more dissatisfied with the whole silly plan that his uncle had concocted.
On the contrary, Mr. James Vaughan was very proud of himself as he watched lady after lady enter the house. He was sure that tonight his nephew would feel that quick and temporary rush of love. It would be enough, and Mr. Vaughan would finally be able to rest easy, knowing he had done right by his brother and sister-in-law and preserved the dukedom.
“Lady Hendrickson, Miss Elisabeth Hendrickson, and Miss Mary Hendrickson,” the footman announced as the three ladies walked up to greet their host.
Rowland was a little surprised to see that their cousin, Lady Louisa, was not accompanying them this night. He rather thought it had much to do with the conversation they had shared. Strangely enough, he was disappointed by her absence.
“Good evening, Lady Hendrickson, Miss Hendrickson,
Miss Mary,” he greeted each one in turn. “Is Lady Louisa not here with you tonight?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“Unfortunately, she was not feeling well enough to come,” Lady Hendrickson replied, not at all happy that the first words out of the Duke’s mouth inquired about Lady Louisa.
Rowland had to forcibly stop himself from opening his mouth in shock when Miss Elisabeth stood before him, and he set eyes on her for the first time. He had seen his fair share of overdone women this night, but surely Miss Elisabeth had surpassed them all.
“You look very lovely tonight, Miss Hendrickson,” he said in as steady a voice as he could possibly muster.
He waited till the trio had moved out of hearing range before leaning over to his uncle.
“Perhaps it was a right thing to pass on Miss Elisabeth,” Mr. Vaughan said before Rowland even got a word out.
“I swear I thought I was looking at a painting of Queen Elisabeth dressed as a giant bird,” Mr. Vaughan added as his eyes followed the trio of ladies while they entered the rest of the throngs of people.
Once, a man far too close to her turned and got a face full of feathers. It was a struggle for both the Duke and his uncle not to laugh.
Lady Louisa was feeling rather shaken and still hadn’t quite caught her breath from the rush of everything. After Lady Hendrickson left the house, Lady Louisa immediately ran up the stairs with tears of frustration stinging her eyes.
She was sure that the few months living with her aunt had far surpassed any teasing and taunting she had received as a child. For a few moments, she had entertained the idea of just staying home.
It was after all what Lady Hendrickson intended with her little stunt. It was also what she was expecting. Lady Hendrickson was hoping Lady Louisa to be spineless and stay home. She would not do so this time.
For once, Lady Louisa would not wait for her brother to come to her rescue and stand up for her. She was going to stand on her own two feet for herself.
Perhaps it was because Colton was so far away and she no longer had the luxury of knowing he would come to her aid. Perhaps it was because, after all these weeks of visiting the village on her own and making use of herself by treating the ill and injured, she had gained more courage. More than likely, she had finally been pushed too far by her aunt.
Lady Louisa no longer cared if her appearance at tonight's ball would upset her aunt. She would not even consider the ramifications it might have for any future relationships between her family and her aunt’s family. She was tired of being used by Lady Hendrickson and then discarded as if she didn’t matter.
With strong determination, she rushed to Miss Mary’s room. Seeing the commotion, Bess was already there, getting another evening gown prepared. It was dark forest-green with matching ruffles along the hems. Under the silk along the neckline and flowing from the sleeves, was delicate cream lace.
“It’s not Miss Mary’s. It’s Miss Elisabeth’s actually. I snuck it out of her room when I saw what Lady Hendrickson did to you. Just horrible. This will look beautiful on you. It will match perfectly with the gold and bring warmth to your skin. Now hurry, let's get you changed.”
Lady Louisa didn’t say a single word, only took the maid’s hand and squeezed it tight in gratitude. It was an exquisitely made dress, though they both agreed to remove several silk ribbon bows that were found at every hem and cross-section of the dress. Miss Elisabeth did tend to do things on the gaudy side of things.
With her new dress on, and a cloak to protect her from the night air during the cart ride, Lady Louisa descended the stairs for the second time. She found the butler seated in the cart which was already hitched with a horse and ready to go.
“I fear I will arrive so late that I will make a spectacle of myself,” she said to the butler as they started their way towards Bassen Park.
“Oh, I dare say you will be a spectacle tonight, your ladyship. I don’t think it will have anything to do with the time, however,” he said, giving her a fatherly wink.
Lady Louisa received no comfort by his words. She would have rather not made a spectacle of herself in any way. She certainly did look like an entirely different person in Miss Elisabeth ’s dress, with her hair done so beautifully by Bess.
He pulled up to the front of Bassen Park where the door was already shut. Nothing but silence seemed to permeate the night air. The glow of the house was the sole light. No longer were guests filtering in.
She took a deep breath, Mr. Johnson wished her luck, and she gingerly exited the seat next to him on the wooden cart.
Lady Louisa walked slowly up the stone steps, wondering if it was wise to arrive so late. Before she had a chance to change her mind, however, the doors opened for her. At least she took solace in the fact that a butler was still present to welcome the last few straggling guests.
“Good evening, Ma’am.”
She nodded politely to his bow and entered the room. With the opening of doors had come a burst of light and the sound of rapid speech from all sorts of people. She found the foyer empty, and the butler motioned with his hand for her to continue forward.
Lady Louisa timidly made her way towards the noise permeating the large double doors in front of her. Through the noise, she could still keenly hear the sound of her silken dress rustling as she walked.
She finally entered the largest room, crowded with guests. It was an elegant dance hall worthy to rival the one at Wintercrest Manor. Off the main dance hall were several more doors that opened into side rooms.
Each one seemed to be just as filled as the dance hall. Lady Louisa had a hard time even fathoming the number of people in this house. She guessed there had to be at least a thousand between all the offshoots of rooms and steady crowds moving in and out.
Immediately, her unannounced entrance brought stares from those just next to the door. Lady Louisa quickly looked down, embarrassed. She wondered if she should find her aunt and cousins. She was sure her aunt was not expecting her to actually come and may, in fact, once gain resolve to a horrid act like the one earlier. It might be best for her to keep her presence a secret from them.
She walked close to the wall and observed the party goers as she proceeded from one end of the hall to the other. She had rather hoped to get a glimpse of Miss Mary. She felt no fear in letting her youngest cousin be aware of her presence.
It had seemed that, just before Lady Louisa’s arrival, the first dances had begun. Still, only a few couples could be found on the dance floor, with most still choosing to socialize instead of dancing. Lady Louisa instantly spotted the Colonel dancing with Miss Mary.
Lady Louisa stood for a few moments and watched as they looked deeply into each other’s eyes and made their way together and apart in time to the music. She couldn’t help but feel the excitement that her little cousin must have been feeling while dancing with the man she cared so deeply for.
Lady Louisa was so lost in enjoying the magic before her, that she completely forgot she was supposed to be avoiding her aunt and other cousin. After a few moments of watching Miss Mary, her eyes were drawn to the large ostrich feathers floating along the side of the wall in her direction.
It wasn’t hard to spot the elaborately dressed Miss Elisabeth, and the sight of her animated Lady Louisa. She pushed back against the wall, fearing that Miss Elisabeth might recognize her or, worse, her own dress.
With her back against the wall, she sidestepped until her hands brushed over a doorknob behind her. She turned it and thankfully found it to be unlocked. Not caring what or who might be on the other side, she pushed the door open and as quickly as possible slid into the room.