Kittie remained silent as she and Richard made their way to the ball. Although she would have loved to have argued with him about it, she knew that it would only get her into more trouble and that was one thing she couldn’t afford just now.
The last ball she had attended, while Richard was gone, had been as dull as ever. Kittie had tried to be polite, but she did not interact very much with others and she didn’t mind keeping close to Jane for the sake of companionship and standing there just to tell gentlemen that Jane was a grand woman. It seemed to help, encouraging them all in Jane’s direction.
But now, she was with Richard. He would insist that she mingle, demand that she make herself presentable to any man who showed an interest.
“And I insist that you remain in the ballroom the entire time. No wandering. You may not follow Jane to play any card games in another room. You may not find a dark little corner or a library,” he said.
Richard had already searched Kittie’s purse to ensure that she did not have a book with her. She had assured him she did not bring one, but he didn’t seem to believe her and looked through it anyway. Now, however, knowing she didn’t have a book with her, he was clearly worried that she would find one at the estate they were going to.
Kittie didn’t want to argue with Richard, but she also didn’t want to relent entirely. He was demanding that she stay in the ballroom, but that sounded frightfully dull. She would have much preferred to wander the grounds of the estate and enjoy her night as opposed to catering to whatever her brother demanded of her.
“Katherine? Did you hear me?” he asked.
She nodded but said nothing and he shook his head in frustration.
“Do not pout when we are attending a grand ball. It is most unbecoming,” he said, pointing out yet another of her many flaws.
Kittie straightened her back and pasted a smile on her face as they went inside and searched the ballroom.
Kittie saw Jane across the way and immediately departed from Richard’s side in order to see her cousin. It had been such a long time since the two had seen one another, not since the last ball.
“Did you meet Lady Bell’s son?” Kittie asked.
“I did. He is…oh, Kittie, he is lovely! He has a charming sort of bashfulness that I am unaccustomed to. Oh, and you remember how you disliked Lord Glenn because you thought him a flirt? Well, Lord Bell is nothing of the sort. He is terribly sweet and gentle. I really do like him very much and I am certain that you shall, indeed. I hope that you get to meet him here, this evening. He is planning to attend with his mother, and you will like her as well,” Jane said, appearing extremely excited.
“I am glad to hear that, Jane. I look forward to meeting him,” Kittie said.
Richard drew near to them and greeted Jane as well. It was far more formal than Kittie thought necessary for seeing their cousin, but she tried to ignore it. She knew the sort of man her brother was, and it was reasonable enough that he should at least acknowledge the presence of a member of the family.
“Jane, I have heard that you are being courted by Lord Bell. Is that so?” Richard asked, intrigued.
Jane blushed and grinned like a young girl.
“Indeed, it appears that I am,” she said.
“That is terribly exciting. I knew him in our younger years before he went off and travelled,” Richard said.
Kittie saw the wistful expression in her brother’s eyes. He likely would have gone off to the West Indies as well, were it not for the loss of their parents. He would have enjoyed travel and adventures for the family business. He would have done a great many things if he had not been forced to look after Kittie and Henry instead.
“Well, his family is growing their business dramatically. Of course, he is going to inherit the entire thing when the time comes. I know that he going to make it even better than what it is now,” Jane insisted, as though she had already become the perfect wife that she was meant to be.
“Excellent. I hope to learn more form him in about making an enterprise increase. I know that we deal more in fabrics, but I expect that the tobacco trade is none too different. I would need to work in a different part of the world, of course, but it would be very good for our family as well,” Richard mused.
Kittie had never heard him talk like this and she was beginning to wonder if Richard wanted her married off and Henry brought up to a standard of gentlemanliness all for the sake of Richard being able to finally pursue his own dreams. he would keep the business running in the East while setting up a new business in the West. She could not blame him for these hopes.
“You must speak with him,” Jane said. “I am certain he would love to share information with you, even if it would make you his competitor in the future.”
Richard laughed and nodded.
“Indeed, it would. But no matter what, I wish my sister would follow in your footsteps just as I consider following in the footsteps of Lord Bell. Please, you must encourage Kittie to dance with as many gentlemen as possible this evening. That is, anyone who is reasonable and of a high standard, of course,” he said.
“I shall do my very best,” Jane promised.
With that, Richard walked away, and Kittie stood there, having been silent as they spoke about her. She disliked knowing that they considered her to be so worthless outside of her willingness to dance with men and find a spouse, but she would try to appease them.
Then again, there was only one man she wanted to dance with, and he would never be invited to attend a ball like this.
Mr Whitman was the one who carried her through the evening. In the back of her mind, she could not stop thinking about him. She imagined what it would be like if he stormed through the main door of the ballroom and all eyes would turn to him. He would look at Kittie and smile and take her in his arms for a dance.
The room would be still and only the two of them would remain. He would speak to her in Latin, saying something sweet and romantic. She would reply and he would be impressed by her intellect and then she would recite a poem from memory, and he would swoon.
“Kittie?”
Jane brought her back to the present. No matter how badly Kittie had wanted all of those other things to happen, she was standing here, in the midst of the ballroom, surrounded by people mingling and flirting and dancing.
“Oh, there he is!” Jane exclaimed. “There is Lord Bell. Come with me. You must meet him!”
Jane grasped Kittie’s hand and pulled her along through the crowd until they finally reached Lord Bell who turned and smiled at them. His eyes danced when he saw Jane and it was obvious that he was smitten with her.
“Lord Bell, please meet my cousin, Lady Montague,” Jane said.
“Montague?” he asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Kittie sighed. “I know. Fair Verona and all that.”
She had often met people who were surprised that her name was from the famous play by England’s great Bard. Still, she tried to be sweet and polite as she spoke with Lord Bell. It was not easy when her thoughts wandered, but she would have much preferred to spend the evening with Lord Bell and Jane than to have to dance with others.
Unfortunately, the moment came when Lord Bell took Jane to the dance floor. Just then, another gentleman came up to Kittie and smiled.
“May I have this dance?” he asked.
She nearly said no, but when she glanced across the room, Richard was watching her, an eyebrow raised and a look of warning in his eyes. Kittie looked back at the man and smiled.
“Indeed, you may.”