The Gentleman Villain

Hesitation Waltz

“Apart, from horse-riding, what accomplishments of a young lady do you have?”

Ariana’s grandmother was slowly sipping tea from a small cup. Miss Crowford was placed in front of her and subjugated to an interrogation. The girl was slightly irritated as she wanted to be on her way in order to disclose what actually happened to her brother when her grandmother summoned her.

“I am quite good at archery.”

“I had in mind something to display during the oncoming season in order to catch an eye of a well-established bachelor. How are your singing skills?”

“Nonexistent.” Ariana crossed her arms.

“I understand you can play pianoforte?” the elderly lady did not budge so easily.

“Hardly.”

Well, she could play piano but rather badly and only when forced to.

“You do know how to dance, don’t you?”

Ariana pressed her lips together to hide a smirk as she recalled the wild jumping dance she and her neighbour performed along with the servants for the Christmas Eve party in their countryside manor. She supposed that hardly counted as dancing in her grandmother’s opinion.

“When I must.”

“What accomplishments do you have?” the elderly lady asked not bothering to hide her irritation any longer. She placed the tea cup on the saucer with a loud clink.

“Well, I won the county archery competition three times in a row.” Ariana wanted to add about winning the racing competition as well but recalled that she accomplished that in men’s disguise and was disqualified right after crossing the finishing line as her gender was revealed.

“I suppose this will have to do.” the dowager pressed her thin lips tightly. “Apparently, this sport has become even more popular recently. There is even an archery contest held yearly in Hyde Park. You shall participate.”

“I have no intention of participating in the season this year.” Or any other year for that matter, but Ariana did not wish to irk her grandmother even further. 

“You are already a year late with your coming out. Your cousin generously offered to hold your Débutante ball right after you are presented at court. We are lucky, this year’s presentations have been postponed and will take place in a week. You should have been presented at court a year ago, as soon as you turned eighteen but your brother neglected this important matter. As well as many others…” she scanned Ariana’s posture from head to toes with clear disapproval.

The girl found herself speechless for a long moment as anger built up inside her.

“He did not neglect it! I made it perfectly clear I wish not to come out nor be a part of the circus you call the polite Society!”

In her opinion, there was nothing polite in being sold to a prospect husband like a broodmare.

“How did you expect to find yourself a husband then, pray tell?” the dowager scoffed.

“William left my dowry in a trust. I intend to use it to start my own business.” she said proudly, lifting her chin. Her grandmother tsked at her.

“Clearly, you do not realize your own position. Allow me to explain. The roof over your head, this very China set,” here the woman lifted the cup to emphasise her words “Even the dress you are wearing are the Earl’s possessions now. Whatever silly plans you had, you must put them aside and assume the right attitude in order to survive and not end up on the street.”

Blood drained from her face and suddenly Ariana felt dizzy at the revelation. Apparently, there was a more immediate problem on her plate rather than finding her brother.

“Does it mean we need to move out…?”

“Is your opinion of me so low, cousin?” his deep voice startled her and she turned around to find Edward in the doorway. Ariana’s heart skipped a beat when he gazed at her intently. “You are welcome to stay for as long as you wish.” he strolled towards the girl, acknowledging the dowager with a kiss on her hand. Her grandmother’s stern facial expression melted at that and Ariana was shocked to see the woman actually chuckled.

“You are my guests and I will strive to be a good host, though I have not much experience in the aristocratic circles. I hope to receive some guidance from my beloved family.” Edward then proceeded to grasp Ariana’s hand. To her utter puzzlement, he grazed his teeth against her knuckles as he pretended to kiss her hand. She tore it away with an expression of shock on her face. Ariana glanced at her grandmother but she seemed not to notice.

“This is my family house and yet somehow I am a guest…”  she thought irritably, trying to come up with a solution to this conundrum. 

“Pardon my interruption, dowager, I wished to ask how many people for Ariana’s ball?”

Panic seized the girl and she felt like a fish stranded ashore. 

“I think it is inappropriate…” Ariana managed finally as her grandmother started to explain to the young Earl that a proper ball should contain no less than two hundred people.

“To organize a ball, or even a soiree is inappropriate when my brother is missing, possibly….dead.”

“Yesterday you assured me of your stern belief in him being alive. Did that change?” Edward narrowed his piercing eyes on Ariana and smiled triumphantly.

“And practically, next month it will be half a year since his disappearance so that would be the end of mourning.”

“Of mourning that never took place!” she thought irritably. That scoundrel…!

Ariana opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She excused herself and exited the room before she said something unpleasant. Edward quickly caught up with her.

“Ariana, I wished you could accompany me this afternoon. There is a display of hot-air balloons in Hyde Park.” his lips crooked into a mischievous smile. For a moment, Ariana fought an internal battle with herself - she knew she was supposed to be looking for her brother, not amuse herself with London’s attractions. On the other hand, it was a good opportunity to find out what Edward's deal was.

“What about the supposed mourning we should be in?” she asked, crooking a sour smile at him.

“We shall make our trip as clandestine as possible.” he revealed is white teeth in a grin. “We can even dress like peasants if you like.”

For some reason, Ariana suddenly felt giddy and could not repress a smile.

“I’d like that very much, thank you.”

One thing was that she really wanted to see the balloons but it was also a good opportunity to learn more about his intentions.

“How do you even know about William?” Ariana crossed her arms and gave him an expectant look, as soon as they hailed a cab on a street and got into it, pretending to be ordinary mortals and not aristocracy.

“I was informed that the ship he was travelling on sank. A terrible accident - the steam engine exploded, there were no survivors.” he replied quickly.

“And...you did not venture to check whether this information was confirmed?” she pressed.

“Oh, it was surely confirmed, Otherwise, would your family’s lawyer call upon me informing me that I am the next person in line?”

Ariana chewed on her lower lip nervously, not sure whether to push this conversation further. 

“Again, I am deeply sorry for your loss…” suddenly Edward’s fingers wrapped around her wrist, gently stroking the sensitive skin right above the edge of her glove. Ariana’s throat went dry and she found herself unable to breathe when a strange tingling sensation  spread from her belly. It was impossible to gather thoughts when he did that!

She tore her hand free, clearing her throat.

“I still do not believe it. He is not dead!” Ariana protested.

“I realize this must be very difficult for you.” Edward leaned in towards her again with an expression of utter compassion in his blue eyes.

“No, you don’t understand. My brother is my twin - I would know if something terrible happened to him!” she sent him a glare but Edward remained adamant.

“That is magical thinking, Ariana.” he sighed and Ariana’s jaw nearly dropped. Was he serious? Just a few quarters ago he was talking to her grandmother as if William was alive and now he claimed with all certainty that he wasn’t?!

She scoffed and changed her seat to the opposite one, suddenly feeling oppressed by his closeness. His perfume was too strong, it choked her. Or at least she believed that was the reason for her breathing problems.

“Since when did you stop believing in magic?” she asked after a long pauze.

“Since I grew up.” the young man replied with a lenient smile.

“Is that your refined way of calling me childish?!”

Her cheeks turned red and her chocolate eyes shot daggers at him.

Edward’s lips curled up showing his teeth. He stood up and quickly sat down next to the girl.

“If I considered you childish, I would not venture to capture your attention.” before she realized what he was doing, he took off her glove and planted a hot kiss onto her wrist. Ariana’s eyes went wide at that and her face flamed.

“You do want me to slap you, don’t you?” the slightest tremble of her lips betrayed her - she was childish. And yet not entirely clueless. Edward smiled to himself and moved away, allowing her some space. For now.

“Are you quite sure this was the shipping company your brother used?” the plump man asked, going through the huge stack of papers on his desk. “What was the name of the ship, again?”

“Stormbreaker, sir.” she pressed her lips in what was supposed to be a smile. Yes, she was sure, after all her brother informed her about his imminent voyage and mentioned the name of the ship, should anything happen….

The office was cluttered to the point where it was difficult to move around and Ariana wondered how could anyone gather their thoughts in such a place, let alone work. The insides of the clerk’s head looked quite similar, Ariana supposed, as she has mentioned the ship’s name at least four times ever since she arrived and he still could not remember it. The girl has spent two quarters with no results, as the man struggled with the mess to find the report journal.

She has caused quite a scene by simply appearing at the docks. The young clerks buzzed like bees as soon as the young lady entered the office of the shipping company. Miss Crowford was dressed in the most fashionable purple overcoat and a crinoline-supported dress in the color of the sea that underlined her fiery hair. A small hat tilted on the side of her high forehead topped the abundance of curls arranged into an intricate hairstyle. A lady like her in the docks was like a colorful exotic bird among the grey sparrows.

At least a dozen of young clerks were plastered to the window pane on the other side of the office. They seemed abashed as she turned and glanced at them. The clerk dashe for the door and started yelling at them to get back to work at which they scattered like frightened pigeons, nearly trumpling each other. In that moment Ariana noticed a notebook with the name of the ship she was inquiring about.

“Forgive me, miss, but I believe that your brother bought a passage in another shipping company. Now, if you’ll excuse me….” he cleared his throat and opened the door. Ariana’s eyebrows furrowed at that. She could not resist the impression that he was trying to brush her off.

The man was obviously trying to hide something from her but Ariana was not going to give up so easily.

“Forgive me for taking your time, sir.” she exited the office and caught a sight of a young man staring at her. He quickly turned his head away but Ariana took that chance to approach him.

“What is your name?” she asked, smiling at him.

“Jimmy, miss.”

“If I wished to visit you here, Jimmy, what time would be best so that Mr. Brooks would not scold you?”

The young man flushed red and started to nervously adjust his hair shining from pomade.

“Mr. Brooks leaves the office for lunch at exactly quarter past twelve and is never back before one o’clock, miss.”

“Thank you, Jimmy.” with that Ariana turned on her heel and left the office intending to return there quite soon.