Elizabeth sat forward, leaning toward Rose. “There’s a ball coming up. I am going to take you as my guest. Then you will have an opportunity to dance with Richard!”
Rose was taken aback. She raised her eyebrows. “How can that happen? What about the children?”
“I will find someone to care for them for the night. We won’t tell Richard until after the ball. We won’t go until after Richard leaves.”
“He may refuse to dance with me.” Rose was nearly petrified. Suppose he was angry about the whole thing and dismissed her? Last night, he seemed determined not to do such a thing but what if she pushed past her boundaries?
“It’s a masquerade ball. Night after tomorrow. You will be wearing a mask. He won’t even know it’s you!”
“Until I speak to him. I can’t just be silent the whole time.”
“Dance with him for a few minutes before you say anything.”
“I don’t know, Liz. Is this overstepping my boundaries?”
Elizabeth shook her head, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand. “Nonsense! I think it would be a wonderful surprise for him. He is comfortable with you. You must take advantage of that if you want to get any further with him. I think it would be wonderful if he fell in love with you!”
Rose’s heart began to thump in her chest. The thought of Richard falling in love with her was almost more exciting than she could bear.
“It’s settled.” Elizabeth sat back. “I will bring you an outfit tomorrow, I have several you will fit into. We are about the same size, aren’t we? I’ll have Becky take it in if not.”
“Are you sure about this, Liz?”
“Absolutely sure!”
Rose pulled in a deep breath and held it for a moment. She wondered if she would be able to dance with Richard without falling all over her own feet.
Richard dressed for the ball slowly, without much enthusiasm. It seemed strange to him that Elizabeth was not going with him. He pulled on his clean white shirt and began to button it. She hadn’t been on his back about dancing with as many of the Ladies as possible, either. In fact, she had completely stopped badgering him. He had no idea how to feel about that. He couldn’t imagine she had changed his mind about his situation or no longer cared. That simply wasn’t feasible. She had been pushing him for two Seasons relentlessly.
He picked up his jacket while reaching into his pocket for his watch. He flipped it open to see he had twenty minutes if he wanted to be on time. He sighed. Another boring night watching other people dance. At least, he would hear some good songs while he was there.
He would go to keep up appearances. He would smile and laugh. His place in society would be maintained.
He chuckled at his thoughts as he went out the door. It was too bad Rose was not one of the Ladies. Their conversation two nights ago had made him see her differently. He nodded at his driver and got in the carriage thinking about Rose. He had noticed many things over the last two days, things she had done or said that he hadn’t paid much attention to before. She was wonderful with his children, treating them as if they were her own. She was a good-looking woman, too, something he berated himself for never noticing before. He had stopped himself from saying something to that effect several times over the last two days.
He thought about her as he looked out of the carriage window, wondering what she would be doing tonight. If he had invited her, would she have come along? Probably not. She was not the kind of woman who would feel comfortable in an atmosphere like that. He wouldn’t want to subject her to feeling inadequate when, in fact, she was more than adequate.
He wished status didn’t mean so much to society. He wouldn’t allow Rose to feel less than another woman, simply because she didn’t have a title. She was a worthy woman.
By the time he got to the ballroom, he had made a solid case for Rose in his own mind. He would begin to talk to her more. He wanted to get to know her better.
He immediately got a drink and sat down at a table in the corner. If he wasn’t spotted by too many, he stood less of a chance having to do anything he didn’t want to do. He kept his eyes open for Elizabeth. She was coming late, and he wanted to talk to her about Rose. He knew they spent a lot of time together, and he valued her opinion. He also knew she would gladly give it.
He looked around at all of the masked people, Lords and Ladies that he knew but didn’t know and wondered how he would spot Elizabeth. Had he told her what his mask looked like? He couldn’t remember. He sighed. Maybe he would recognize her by the way she walked.
He focused on several women, wondering if she was Elizabeth each time. He nearly jumped out of his seat when a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up at the woman who had touched him, hoping it was his sister.
“Richard.” He was relieved to hear Elizabeth’s voice.
“How did you know?” He asked.