Emily

Chapter Four

By the time Emily could drag Cassandra away from her daughter, the ball had already begun. There weren't too many guests, however, and both Nate and Kit were present to welcome them so it wasn't too rude that Cassandra wasn't present right from the beginning, especially as Nate was the official host.

Emily surveyed the decorations from where she stood with Cassie at the top of the grand marble staircase into the ballroom. The room was gorgeous, with silvery white and pale pink flowers forming the centrepieces, silver accents all around and, only adding to the general splendour of everything, sheer lace drapes against the windows which allowed the moonlight to filter into the room, adding to the romance of the evening.

"I knew the lace drapes were the perfect choice!" Cassandra whispered triumphantly into Emily's ear, making her chuckle softly as they waited to be announced. Finally, they were presented with their dance cards and the announcer said, "Lady Cassandra Weston, Countess of Hawthorne and the Lady Emily Carter."

Emily could feel the disbelieving eyes on her as she descended the stairs directly behind Cassandra, who was practically gliding. She hadn't advertised the fact that she had returned to England, and it was a well-known fact that she was not exactly welcome. She wished suddenly that she had Cassandra's obliviousness as she struggled to not make eye contact with anyone in the ballroom and instead walked as steadily as she could, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

Once they'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Kit stood ready and waiting to escort Cassandra, while Nate was kind enough to offer Emily his arm. They exchanged a smile that, for some reason, sent Emily's heart all aflutter.

"You look very nice tonight." He complimented softly, as she settled her hand in the crook of his arm, making her smile again.

"As do you." Emily said truthfully, squeezing his arm. He was dressed to the nines in his coat and tails, and his black jacket fit snugly across his broad shoulders, while his blond hair was just as dishevelled as always, making him seem more relaxed. It fell across his forehead in little swathes of slight curls, softening the roughness of his features. It made him all the more handsome, and drew attention to his eyes, making them seem more the colour of dark honey than that of chocolate. His dimples were still her favourite of his physical characteristics, though.

"I must greet the guests. Would you mind terribly keeping me company?" He requested, steering her in a direction that left them close to the entryway, perfectly poised to see and be seen by those who entered.

"Of course not." Emily said instantly, swallowing the nervous lump that had formed in her throat. She hadn't seen any of these people in years and hadn't ever wanted to see them again. But, she felt that she couldn't refuse Nate, for reasons she did not know and could not comprehend at all. She used to be so good at saying no, yet now she found herself agreeing to nearly everything.

Nevertheless, she allowed Nate to guide her to where Kit and Cassandra were standing, looking as natural and adoring as they always did. The two of them were quite obvious with how much they loved one another, and they were the envy of the ton, while still being society's darlings. No one could ever even consider thinking ill of those two. Even Emily could find nearly nothing to tease them about, apart from being as in love as they were, which didn't make for very good material.

"The one thing I hate the most about hosting balls," Cassandra muttered to Emily from the corner of her mouth as she smiled falsely at a nearby Duke who both of them knew for a fact was a lecherous old coot. "Is the fact that we have to remain until the very end, which will be well after 2 o'clock, I am sure."

"Do not remind me." Emily complained with a small pout, righting her expression as the next set of guests appeared at the top of the staircase and were announced.