Like No Other

Chapter 21: The Strange Behaviour of Lord Stokeford

                                                      Chapter 21

                              The Strange Behaviour of Lord Stokeford

     

        For Caroline nothing was unusual at the assembly last night, except for the Earl’s somewhat erratic behaviour. He had been uncharacteristically engaging during their dance, an occasion which stirred mild interest on a few pairs of eyes whose attentions happened to stray upon them; but when they rejoined their friends, (another occasion which did not also fail to have attracted a few of their acquaintances’ notice across the ballroom — much to Mr Beaumont’s inward chagrin) his manner underwent a subtle change — or perhaps had merely riveted to its typical state. It was as if he’d retired behind a formidable barrier, detaching himself from the rest of the world. Caroline could have almost thought that the Lord Stokeford whom she’d danced with had only been a figment of her imagination, but this notion had quickly been dismissed when she’d met his gaze once, or twice, and saw the warmth there. She wondered why her heart skipped a beat.

        Miss Moore, who was fast becoming Caroline’s confidante, replied to her charge’s remark about the Earl’s behaviour at the breakfast table the following day. “Why, but you danced so delightfully last night! Indeed, I did not see anything amiss in Lord Stokeford’s demeanour. I’d say you were both enjoying yourselves hugely, which was only right.” When Caroline did not respond, she added sensibly: “Silent gentlemen are often temperamental, my dear. There’s no telling what they think, or feel towards something, and unless they are impelled to divulge their inner thoughts they most likely prefer to dwell on it in silence. Well, I shan’t wonder at it if Lord Stokeford had many thoughts in his head; in fact, it is just as well, for I find it unfavourablethat other young gentlemen of this age do not even think at all, except about all sorts of fripperies which they thought are very much indispensable to their every day living!”

        Disregarding the irrelevance of the latter part of this speech, Caroline promptly agreed to this, shoved a strip of buttered bread on her mouth, and washed it down with a copious sip of hot chocolate. For a moment she studied Miss Moore in open curiosity, and asked,  in a manner of one who was discovering a mystery, if she’d been attached before to a gentleman of Lord Stokeford’s disposition. There was a faint flush on the withered cheeks, but the jaunty old lady gave a depreciating laugh and said: “Oh, Miss Caro! What things you ask!”

        “I beg your pardon! My tongue is running away with me again! Pray, do not heed it,” she replied sheepishly, but there was already a distant look descended on her companions’s countenance. In a rapt voice, she said: “Well, but there was indeed one gentleman in my youth I could never forget. He was a most superior creature —  not in rank, of course, but in so many ways that I always thought of him as the epitome of a gentleman!”

        “So you’ve been in love before?” Miss Davis marveled, her green eyes staring wide at her.

        “Naturally! Heavens, do you know a female who has not been in love in her entire life?”

        “I am,” Caroline returned unhesitatingly.  Miss Moore smiled indulgently at her. “Well, but you are still young, and with so many eligible men around London, why, there’s no telling at all! Ah, and that puts me in mind of something! How about our dear Mr Beaumont? Don’t you like him? So amiable and engaging — ! And I must say, very handsome as well.”

        “Oh, Miss Moore, how can you be so absurd? Of course I like Mr Beaumont, but because his such a dear friend!” gurgled Miss Davis, unheedful of her companion’s incredulity. It occurred to Miss Moore that her charge was either impervious to the charms of her suitor, or that she scarcely knew her own young, volatile heart. She decided that it must be both, for that was often the case in most young ladies who were freshly out of schoolroom. She was certain, however, of the fact that Mr Beaumont’s own heart was certainly lost to the naive Miss Caroline, and if his attentions were not quite as demonstrative as those of a man inclined to proclaim his feelings, in the very least it spoke volumes.