Page 65 of Discovering Her Earl

He was nervous on the way to the ball. There would be dancing, but not all of society returned in October for the session, so it wouldn’t be a crush. He was rather disappointed by that. It would have been better had there been a larger audience for what he had planned.

At the end of the night, Lord Darlington would make his announcement on who would be going with the team to Egypt. He knew he wouldn’t hear his name mentioned, but it was fine, for after he gave Elaina the chance to take her revenge, he planned to slink out of the house and go home to lick his wounds.

As planned, he was one of the first to arrive, but rather than go inside, he waited as the other carriages arrived.

When Lord Darlington stepped down from his carriage and reached in to assist his wife and then his niece, Julian launched into action.

He bowed before the group.

“Lord Darlington, Lady Darlington, you look lovely tonight.”

“Thank you, Lord Melville,” the woman said cautiously.

Had Elaina told her about their kiss? He knew Lainey was close to her aunt, but if she had, even a stolen kiss could be used to force a marriage.

“I wasn’t sure if we would see you this evening,” she added and he realized she must be unhappy he’d left her niece in Scotland without escort home.

Damn if he could do anything right when it came to Elaina. He planned to rectify the situation this evening.

Pressing on, he turned his gaze to Elaina and felt his stomach flutter excitedly. She was lovely in a moss green gown.

“Miss Bantham, would you allow me a moment?” He gestured toward the spot where he’d been waiting some feet away from the Darlingtons.

“Oh. Yes.” She turned to her aunt and uncle. “I’ll be along in a moment.”

“We shall wait for you just over there,” her aunt said sternly with her gaze sharply on Julian. “Don’t be long.”

Julian touched Elaina’s arm and led her away from the couple, not wanting to keep her from the entertainments inside. The cold look of the viscountess, as much as the chilly night air, prompted him to get to the heart of the matter rather than dither.

“I need to explain why I left Scotland without speaking to you.”

She winced, just slightly, but enough that he saw.

“I assure you, there is no need to discuss the matter. I understand.” She had yet to meet his eyes and her cheeks had bloomed pink.

“You don’t. You see, before we…” He glanced around before finishing quieter, “kissed. We were speaking of the reason you disliked me. You didn’t get the chance to finish, but I remembered what happened that night. I recalled being so foxed I couldn’t stop laughing and then Robert came up and called you a horrid name as a despicable joke and I laughed again. Or rather, I continued laughing. Of course, you couldn’t have known the true reason why. You only know that I laughed and that was… deplorable.”

“You were drunk?” She looked at him then, her eyes wide.

“Horribly so, but it’s no excuse.”

“It is some explanation. I’ve been drunk and can confirm the ease with which one finds everything unreasonably funny.”

He smiled. “I would quite enjoy seeing you drunk.” He imagined it briefly but moved on. “Anyway, I wanted to make amends. And I think I have found a way to make it up to you.”

“You do not need to—”

“But I do. I wronged you and I think my actions have impacted you far more than I’ve realized. You deserve atonement.”

“Atonement?”

“Yes. Tonight, when the dancing starts, I will come to ask for a dance, and you will give me the cut direct in front of everyone in attendance. I only wish it was the Season so there would be more people to see, but this was the best I could do. Try to be in the company of a group of people so they will witness my disgrace.”

“This is completely unnecessary.” She shook her head, her golden-fire hair was piled up on her head in a mess of curls. He wanted it down, filling his hands.

Shaking the thought away, he continued.

“It is what I deserve. Come now. Your aunt is glaring at me.”