Edith spent the next two days thinking about the dance in the village. She wouldn't have time to shop for a new dress, so one of her old ones would have to do. Twice she'd gone through her wardrobe in search a perfect solution and twice she'd felt unsatisfied with the possibilities. She couldn't remember a time before when she'd cared so much about her attire. But she wanted to leave an impression with a certain baronet that wouldn't soon leave him.
Finally, it was Baxter who came to her aid. Baxter was her mother's assistant, helping Mama with everything from correspondence to clothing. Baxter had seen Edith fidgeting with the clothes in her wardrobe through her open bedroom door. She stood in the open doorway and watched the young woman's consternation. "Perhaps I can help?" she inquired.
Startled, Edith turned, a blush rising in her cheeks. "I... well, I thought I might go to the dance in the village tomorrow night but I can't decide what to wear."
Baxter stepped in closer. "There's someone special that you'd like to impress? It's just that I don't recall seeing you worry about your clothes like this before."
Another flush rose in Edith's face. "There is."
"I won't ask who; I wouldn't want to lose my position for helping you if it is who I suspect it is. But if I don't ask and you don't tell me, I can honestly say I don't know."
Edith smiled at the woman's friendliness. "Thank you, Baxter."
The two women went through Edith's dresses again. Baxter helped her choose a green one that accentuated her coloring nicely. "And perhaps ... well, I know your mother has a scarf that would look lovely. And don't I remember that you have an emerald pendant?" Baxter asked.
The following evening, as Edith studied herself in the mirror, she was once again thankful for Baxter's help. She'd come to Edith's room after tea and helped her with her hair. And once Edith was in her dress and was trying to decide how to wear her mother's scarf, it was Baxter who had suggested she use more like a belt instead. the result was very eye catching, Edith thought, with the various shades of green complimenting her coloring perfectly. And the belt had pulled the rather loose dress in, giving a more stylish look that certainly highlighted her small waist and giving perfect definition to her curves. Baxter dug in her closet and found a pair of heels Edith had forgotten about, dark brown leather with camel suede toe and heel. They weren't perfect but certainly trumped the black pumps she'd planned to wear.
Edith had told her mother she was going out that evening, but she hadn't revealed her plans to attend the dance. Consequently, it was a surprise to both her and Rosamund when they appeared at the dance. And even more surprise was when the object of their evening, Sir Anthony Strallan, appeared with his sister but also with a tall, elegant woman on his arm. Amelia Chetwood exchanged a few words with her brother and then made her way further into the hall, chatting with several people she knew. To Edith's chagrin, Anthony seemed enraptured by the woman with him. She felt Rosamund's frustration, as her aunt sighed heavily.
Edith danced with a couple of the local young men, more as an opportunity to watch Sir Anthony closely than any interest in the men. Anthony's eyes never seemed to leave his companion and Edith thought it must be thrilling to have such attention.
She took a break from the dance floor to have some refreshment and was standing near the punch table when he approached in search of cups for himself and his date. "Sir Anthony, how nice to see you," Edith said as he drew near.
He stopped and looked bewildered for just a moment. And then a smile broke out and he looked down at her. "Lady Edith, yes... I erm... I wouldn't have expected to see you here."
"Papa wouldn't approve, you mean?" she teased.
"Well,... not quite what I was thinking. But the daughter of an Earl at a village dance is rather unusual."
"In my grandfather's time perhaps. His daughter is here too, by the way."
Anthony's warm smile turned awkward, even anguished perhaps. "Is she really?" He glanced around nervously.
"It is a nice dance, don't you think?"
His eyes focused back on her and his expression softened. "Yes, it is," he replied in a way that seemed give deeper meaning to his answer. "I must get back to ..."
"Your date," she supplied.
"Yes. She's quite thirsty after so much dancing, I'm afraid."
"Right. Yes. Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening," she said softly.
He looked at her, almost studying her for a moment and then with a nod, turned and went to fetch the punch.
Rosamund found her niece a few minutes later. "Can you believe how that woman is stringing Anthony along?"
Edith chuckled. "I think you have that the other way round, Aunt Rosamund. He'll give her his full attention tonight and tomorrow he'll barely remember her name."
"What? Why do you say that?"
"Because he told me; that's how he approaches dating... women, since his wife's death. He has no interest in anything serious or even finding out if things could be serious. "
Rosamund eyed Edith curiously. "When did you find time to have that conversation with him? Surely not at the cemetery? Or in the brief conversation you had with him here."
"No, not here. But that afternoon at the cemetery... he was," she sighed. "He was very sad and in need of someone to talk to, I suppose."
Rosamund's gaze left her niece's face to focus on something across the room. "She's dancing with Mr. Ellis. Anthony's alone for now. I'll see you later." And she brushed past Edith in her rush to get to Anthony.
Edith watched from her vantage point as Amelia Chetwood saw Rosamund moving toward her brother. Just as Rosamund reached him, Amelia swooped in, said something to her brother which elicited a smile, and then led him to the dance floor.
Feeling the need for a breath of air, Edith slipped out the door and lingered just outside. It was a crisp, clear night but unusually dry and it felt good to be out in the open air. Edith stood watching the flickering of stars in the sky and then looking down the road at the lights of the village. At night it seemed as if time had stood still in the village, cottages and other buildings looking much the same as they had a century before, or perhaps for some as long as two centuries. She smiled as she contemplated those thoughts.
"It's rather reassuring, don't you think?" a voice asked quietly from behind her. Turning, she saw Sir Anthony standing in the shadows. He stepped forward. "The village, I mean. It probably hasn't changed much since it began; grown, but not changed. The pub has been there since before my grandfather's time and the church has stood for well over two hundred years. The schoolhouse is relatively young, built towards the end of the nineteenth century. And it's all still here."
Yes, I suppose it is... reassuring that is. Standing here just now, it seems timeless," Edith replied. "Sometimes when I think of all these things these old building have witnessed... it's like that at the Abbey too. How many feet have trod over the stones at the entry, how many lives come and gone..."
They stood quietly for a moment and then she added. "It makes me feel quite small at times, inconsequential. "
"But you aren't, you know." His voice was almost a whisper and she thought she heard a tinge of wistfulness in it. "I've no doubt one day you will be quite consequential."
"Really? Do you really? Because I feel as I'm simply existing, just moving through life but not really living it."
"You're far too young to say that," he replied with a sad smile. "You have your whole life ahead of you and I have no doubt you'll live it to the fullest."
Edith smiled shyly. "Perhaps." Wanting to change the mood and especially his forlorn expression, she asked, "May I ask a favor?"His interest was piqued and it showed in his changing demeanor. "A favor?"
"Yes. Would you dance with me?" She saw the hesitancy in him and hurried to explain. "Almost all the men here are farmers or tradesmen in the village or... well, consider me above their station. And most owe their livelihoods to the estate in one way or another and are far to deferential to my liking. I'd really like to dance with someone who feels he is on equal footing. Besides, watching you dance this evening ... you're a very good dancer."
He was quiet for a long moment. "I wouldn't say I'm a good dancer, although I have learned not to step on anyone's feet."
"Well, in this crowd, that qualifies as being a good dancer," she said lightly.
"And as for equal footing, I'm not. Neither my title nor my reputation is near to equal."
"You are at least a part of the nobility, even if baronet is a lower rank. And I don't care about your reputation."
" Our family has never made much of the title and nobility counts for little these days anyway," he said dismissively. "And your father would be appalled if he knew you were entertaining ideas of dancing with me, especially at the village dance.
"Papa would be shocked to hear I was dancing with anyone, anywhere. But alright," she sighed, "I won't pressure you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening," she said as she turned to walk back inside.
"Edith? Lady Edith," he said as he touched her elbow. She turned, surprised that he was right behind her, so close that she could feel his warmth. "May I have the pleasure of this dance?" He spoke softly and with a slight bow.
"Here?" she asked, looking around, confused.
"We can hear the music," he replied. "And word would far less likely to get back to your father."
She smiled and replied, "I would love to dance with you, Sir Anthony." She stepped into his embrace as the music continued. It was a slow song and so he took her in hand, moving them around the stone floor, her head resting on his chest as if they were two lovers and no one else existed. She could hear his heartbeat beneath his shirt and felt his tension as she clung tighter to him. But slowly the tension left him and he relaxed with his face close to her hair. He whispered what a sweet girl she was to dance with him and what a good dancer she was and finally how lovely she looked tonight. And Edith thought she'd never felt warmer or happier in her life.
Their dance ended far too soon and she expected him to back away quickly but instead, he lingered, holding her. She felt his reluctance as he stepped back, his face somber. "Thank you," he said softly, his eyes heavy. "But now I think you really should return to the dance; your aunt will be looking for you."
"She will," Edith agreed, sorry that their few minutes were ending. "But I should thank you. I did ask the favor of you," she smiled warmly.
"It was my pleasure," he responded. And as she walked toward the door, she heard him whisper, "far too much pleasure."
Rosamund had indeed been looking for her. "I just stepped out for some air," Edith explained when her aunt quizzed her. She noticed Rosamund looking around anxiously. "Are you alright?" she asked her aunt.
"Yes, I just... that woman is dancing with all the men and I don't see Anthony anywhere."
"Oh?" She pretended to look around for him. "Well, perhaps he's in the loo?"
"He's been gone far too long for that," Rosamund snapped.
"Oh, well... let's look around." Edith moved her aunt toward the back of the hall, deeper in the crowd, stopping to speak with people as they did. Consequently, Rosamund did not see Anthony enter through the door and move around on the opposite side of the room.
Anthony found his date and they were dancing together again. Edith nudged her aunt and indicated the direction she should look. Rosamund stood fuming for a moment and then turned to Edith. "We should go."
Edith blinked in astonishment at her aunt's abruptness. "Alright," Edith agreed tentatively.
As they moved through the room to leave, Edith saw Anthony dancing with his date. He looked up from her to watch Edith, his eyes following her with a strange expression. She flashed him a smile and then ducked her head as she crossed the threshold to the outside, a satisfied smile on her lips..
