A Minor Inconvenience by Sarah Granger
Author:Sarah Granger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2014-01-14T05:00:00+00:00
When the Fanshawe party was admitted to Spencer House, Hugh’s heart sank at what awaited him: the flights of stairs ascending from the stair hall were of a length entirely in keeping with the size of the place. Doubly thankful now for Theo’s earlier attentions to his leg, Hugh took a deep breath and began his laborious ascent.
Fortunately his mother was far too taken with the grandeur of the house to find a problem with his slow pace. She seemed indeed to find it a boon, for it gave her plenty of time to enjoy the detailing of the trompe l’oeil balustrade to which Hugh was gripping so tightly, as well as the great Venetian lantern suspended from the vaulted ceiling, with its statuettes of naked men which, at another time, Hugh might have enjoyed. And Sophia kept an easy flow of conversation going which also managed to distract her. By the time they reached the receiving line, Hugh’s bad leg was trembling slightly from the effort, but that didn’t matter for there would be, according to Theo, many more hours to go before he had to descend the same stairs.
The ballroom was everything his mama’s heart could have desired, and more. The grand coffered ceiling boasted a series of shallow domes and bronzed medallions shown off in the brilliant light from the many chandeliers, while extravagant displays of fresh flowers filled the air with their perfume. He left his mama—who knew better than to show too clearly her very great pleasure—with Sophia, while he began to make a circuit of the room, just in case Theo had arrived before them. Or Emily, of course. Unfortunately, his mama’s eagerness meant they had arrived quite early, so Hugh ended up engaged in any number of empty conversations while he waited for Theo.
They had been there perhaps an hour before Theo was announced. Hugh looked up from where he was trapped in conversation with the Dowager Countess of Royston—he did not know if he possessed particularly bad luck or if she made a point of seizing upon him—and as he saw Theo, his breath caught in his throat.
He was used to seeing him in his Rifles uniform, which suited him as Hugh thought nothing else could. But tonight he had shed his military self and was unmistakably here as son of the Earl of Badbury. His choice of clothing was not exceptional—he had the silk waistcoat, long-tailed coat, satin knee breeches and silk stockings modelled by almost every other gentleman in the room—but he was set unmistakably apart by the way they made him look. The beautifully fitted clothes left no doubt that beneath the quiet elegance there was a very male, very strong and wonderful body. He was causing many more heads than just Hugh’s to turn.
Hugh suddenly realised he was staring and returned his attention to the Dowager. Thankfully she seemed not to have noticed that she had ever lost his attention, for she was still talking of her son.
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