Heiress Without a Cause

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

A week later, Madeleine sat on the edge of Rothwell House's grand ballroom, watching the growing crush. It had been nearly half a decade since the house had been opened on this scale. Everyone who received a coveted invitation would attend - it vied to be the premier event of the month, if not the season.

The ballroom had been kept in perfect condition despite its disuse, and its beauty was unparalleled tonight. The reds and golds of the Rothwell coat of arms glowed in the light of thousands of candles, and the gilded edges of trim around the room were like little lines of fire. The orchestra hid in its own balcony overlooking the dancers, cleverly screened off so that the music seemed to float out over the crowd from a mystical source.

The ball was fit for a princess - or two princesses. Kate and Maria had delayed their debuts, but their added maturity suited them. Rather than attempting to look different from each other, they chose to highlight their striking similarities. Their blonde hair was piled high, matching diamond drops hung from their ears, and elegantly spangled white ball gowns grazed their delicate slippers. The sashes wrapped around their waists were the only way to tell them apart; Kate's sash was a dramatic dark blue, while Maria wore a more romantic rose. The sashes accentuated their figures, and the men enjoyed the effect - the girls hadn't lacked for partners since standing up with Ferguson and Alex for the first dance.

"Shouldn't you be dancing?" Prudence asked as they both watched the crowd.

They sat together, as usual. Madeleine had danced the second dance with Ferguson, and several more dances with a variety of partners, but she was thankful for the lull in her dance card. "Do you know, I used to ache to dance? And yet I've no desire to be out there anymore."

"You would if Ferguson were partnering you," Prudence teased.

That was true. She was saving her supper dance for him, but they had separated for the past hour so he could play the gracious host. A few mamas had thrown their daughters at him, no doubt hoping he would realize his terrible mistake in becoming affianced to Madeleine, and for once he was too genial to refuse the blatant attempts to solicit his dances.

"The duke does seem less dangerous, though, don't you think?" her friend continued, watching him lead a particularly foolish ninnyhammer through the steps of a cotillion. "If he had been partnered with that poor girl two months ago, he would have teased her into such a state of distress that she would have been in the retiring room the rest of the night."

"You aren't saying I've tamed him, are you?"

"Tame a man like the duke of Rothwell?" Prudence said, laughing. "Never. If anything, he's tamed you, now that you aren't longing to do something scandalous."

She whispered the last bit - not that anyone around them would have believed Madeleine capable of bad behavior anyway. To the other chaperones and matrons, Madeleine was still a paragon of virtue, even if she had snagged the most illustrious catch of the season without even seeming to try.

Still, Madeleine pretended to take offense. "As though I could ever be as scandalous as the duke. What kind of lady do you take me for?"

Prudence grinned, but her smile turned sad as she watched the next pair of dancers move down the line. "I will miss you, you know, whether you're scandalous or not."

"I'm not leaving London for the ends of the earth," Madeleine said. "If anything, Rothwell House is closer to your mother's than Salford House is. And I will be desolate if you and Amelia abandon me. Imagine if my only recourse is to form one of those dreary ladies' circles a duchess is supposed to create."

"You're right, of course," Prudence said brightly, but Madeleine saw a shadow in her eyes. "But I may not be in London next year. Mother says we may not come to town next season, since 'it's clear Prudence will not be making a match, so no sense in wasting the money.'"