The Last Waltz: Hearts are at stake in the game of love... (Dorothy Mack Regency Romances) by Dorothy Mack

Author:Dorothy Mack [Mack, Dorothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2019-11-19T05:00:00+00:00

The next few days sped by for Adrienne, who was experiencing for the first time an exciting taste of the social whirl that constituted the daily life of the upper class. Since the dinner party, visitors had begun to leave cards at the big house in Rue Ducale. Lady Staveley called one morning with her daughters and kindly brought the earl’s relatives up to date on the on-dits floating around Brussels that spring. Dominic tried to satisfy his ladies’ curiosity as to Lord Wellington’s social appearances, but it was from the Staveley girls that they learned that Lady Frances Webster, whose name had once been scandalously coupled with that of the notorious Lord Byron, was being pronounced Wellington’s latest flirt. Another of Lord Byron’s former conquests, Lady Caroline Lamb, was seen everywhere about the town in her revealing dampened muslins which through repetition had ceased to have the same shock value. Adrienne grew big-eyed while Miss Staveley and Miss Eleanor revealed the inner workings of society as observed from the discreet distance permitted by their watchful mama.

Lieutenant Markham dropped in almost every day to pay his respects. Once he abandoned his line of extravagant compliments, the young officer proved to be a reasonably conversable individual, and he and Adrienne quickly got upon terms of easy friendship. Adrienne and Miss Beckworth appreciated that his good nature extended to Luc and Jean-Paul, who was permitted to rest on the day-bed in the small saloon for a period each day. The whole family was gradually widening its social circle.

Miss Beckworth and Adrienne called on Miss Forrester, who had left her card one morning while the ladies had been out shopping. As luck would have it, the general also chanced to be at home for tea that afternoon. Though his manners were polished, it was readily apparent to Adrienne that he was more than a little taken with Miss Beckworth’s quiet charm and ready wit and had every intention of remaining by her side, however many people came to call. This left Adrienne and the general’s daughter to entertain each other.

Sarah Forrester was a young woman whom it was easy to overlook in a crowd. She was of moderate height and slightly plump figure, and there was nothing especially eye-catching about her gentle features or mid-brown colouring. Her principal asset was a pair of large hazel eyes that reflected both her quiet nature and her good understanding. Adrienne had liked her at their first meeting and fully expected that future meetings would only confirm her first impressions. In the course of becoming acquainted, Miss Forrester revealed that she had acted as her father’s hostess since her mother’s death four years previously. She had accompanied the army to Spain to try to maintain a home whenever possible, and she made light of the dangers and hardships such a course entailed, the fact that her father had needed her making all other considerations irrelevant. In reply to Adrienne’s interested questions, she had described her life in

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