Volume Iii Part 19 (1/2)
Tears rose in her eyes, and, turning to Mr. Bott, she said--
”I do not feel well. Will you take me to Lady Lyons?”
He obeyed in silence, so deeply offended with her for her manner, showed evident want of appreciation or his dancing, that he made no effort to persuade her to have some refreshment instead, and bowing, turned away immediately.
”Let us go home, Lady Lyons; I am so tired.”
”And have no supper! I have been longing to have something to eat. I declare, sitting on this hard bench and doing penance, makes one desperately hungry; and I am here on your account, my dear.”
”How can we go to supper without any one to take us?”
”We can go by ourselves--several people have done it already--do come.”
Just as Grace was complying with her request, she was stopped by Sir Albert Gerald, who brought a young man--a very young man--up to Grace, and introduced him.
”I am coming to claim a dance soon,” he said; ”I saw you suffering martyrdom with poor little Bott. It was very good of you to give him a dance.”
”I could not help myself,” said Grace, her spirits restored immediately by this change in her prospects of enjoyment; ”he was the only person introduced to me.”
”Bott always manages to find a new victim,” said the man introduced by Sir Albert--a Mr. Powis. ”Do you want to have supper? Oh! I see, the old lady does. Come along, Gerald; we will have supper all together,” and Lady Lyons was soon as perfectly happy as she could be while half dead from want of sleep.
CHAPTER VII.
The appearance of Sir Albert Gerald on the scene of action had a magical effect upon Grace. Every trace of fatigue vanished. She was once again bright, happy, careless, and full of enjoyment; once again the music charmed her, and once again she was glad to be there.
Supper over, Sir Albert found a more comfortable seat for Lady Lyons, and introduced her to a lady sitting there, who eyed her smart clothes with a little suspicion till the d.u.c.h.ess addressed a few kind words to her, when she discovered immediately that they had much in common.
Lady Lyons indeed was overflowing with content to find some one to talk to, after prolonged silence, in the first place; and, in the next, to discover that they had been disappointed in the same doctor, liked the same food, and had the same symptoms; this made the ball enjoyable indeed, and she did not care now how long Grace stayed.
In the meantime Grace realised her dreams; she floated round the room, though her appearance was a little marred by the peculiar position of her head and a certain stiffness in her action.
”You must trust more to me and be a little less timid,” said Mr. Powis, when he, in his turn, took her round the room; ”one can see you are out of practice.”
Grace did not tell _him_ it was quite her first ball.
She danced without stopping; she would not take it quietly; she did want this one ball to be full of happiness, and she was encouraged by the laughing compliments of young Powis, who, himself a noted athlete and in excellent condition, could have danced for hours, and, to use his own expression, ”not turn a hair.”
Grace's lips got very white, and Sir Albert more than once remonstrated with her and with her partner.
”Has Gerald got anything to do with you?” he asked, with some temper.
”What makes him interfere?”
”I am sure I don't know,” Grace answered with a ghastly smile; ”but you see I don't mind. Let us go on.”
”What a brick you are!” he said, as they once more started. Arrived at the end of the long room, there was suddenly a great commotion, and Mr.
Powis was shocked to find his ”brick” of a partner fall back in a perfectly dead faint, in the arms of some of those lookers-on always standing about in a ball-room.