Rescuing Rosalind (Three Original Ladies and Their Gentlemen) Read Free Page B

stepped away and down the staircase into the ballroom.
    It took him some time before he could find Rosalind again. Finally, he thought to look on the dance floor. There she was. Dancing a minuet with a spotty youth who had very little chin. How she must chafe at the tame, measured dance!
    She was taller than when they had first met. And exceedingly graceful. Gowned in turquoise, her auburn hair half up and half in ringlets, she was beautiful, indeed. As she made the turns, she inclined her head as though she were a ballerina, thus investing the staid dance with her own particular kind of drama. Obviously, she was playing some role she had cast for herself. He smiled, remembering the slight figure in the tunic among the topiary animals at Ruisdell Palace. He had offended her in at least a half dozen ways. But until he called her overindulged, she had taken it in good part. Why had he been so judgmental? He hadn’t had a shred of right to be. And speaking his thoughts had surely been unpardonable.
    Would she even remember him? She had been on the Town three years now. Perhaps she was engaged or even married.
    “I see you are observing my sister-in-law,” Ruisdell said, strolling up to greet him. “Perhaps a victorious navy captain could restrain her. I surely can’t.”
    “She doesn’t like me at all. If she even remembers me.”
    “I don’t think she would forget a man who gave her such a neat set down.”
    “You heard about it?”
    “Endlessly. She rang quite a peal over you. You wouldn’t credit some of the names she called you.”
    He laughed. “Give me a sampling.”
    “Popinjay.”
    “That’s not too bad.”
    “How about ‘Queer as Dick’s hatband?’”
    “I say! She didn’t!” He laughed. “The little spitfire.”
    “She has only become more difficult since she made her come-out. Recently, she has taken up with questionable company. Elise worries she has ruined her reputation. And I do not like Elise to be worried. I have been forced into the role of the evil stepbrother in an attempt to curtail the worst of her starts. And she is not the least awed by the fact that I am a duke.”
    “Does she still desire to become an actress?”
    “She is acting all the time.” The duke shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. “As a lifelong friend, I know I can trust you, Buck. I’m seriously worried about her. She’s seemed a bit desperate lately, feverish, as though she’s spinning out of control.”
    Ruisdell’s words touched Buck with an unexpected concern. Rosalind was such a game little thing. Was she, too, looking for adventure? Did she feel trapped and nullified by the ton , as well? Oddly enough, their conversations at Ruisdell Palace had always stuck in his mind. He remembered her concerns about becoming a proper young lady, and so he suspected she found the rules of the ton onerous indeed.
    The interminable dance ended. It only took a minute after she had spotted him before she made her way through the crowd and stood in front of him.
    “If it is not ‘Old Sobersides,’ back from the wars!” she greeted him, offering a languid hand. Her eyes sparkled.
    “Rosalind,” he said, his voice low as he bowed over her hand. “You look well.”
    She twirled before him as though exhibiting herself. “Is that all you can say?”
    “You have grown,” he said and grinned.
    “I had forgotten your smile,” she said. “That almost makes up for the tepid compliment.”
    She was a captivating little minx.
    “Orlando has not yet appeared on the scene?”
    “Alas, no! He is dashed slow to make himself known!” She plied her fan and gave an exaggerated sigh.
    The girl delighted him with her tricks. How could one quell such spirit? Remembering Ruisdell’s description of her desperation, Buck felt a sudden spurt of fellow-feeling. He surprised himself by saying, “Well, in the meantime, I have a mind to try to beat the record time to Richmond tomorrow in my new phaeton. Would you care to join