Free At Last Comes Love by Mary Balogh Page B

direct, Meg, though it was a little alarming to watch him lead you off the dance floor in the middle of a set in order to sit with you in that alcove.”

    “Which is in full public view,” Margaret pointed out. “I was in no danger whatsoever of being kidnapped or otherwise assaulted.”

    “True.” Vanessa laughed. “But I had visions of him whispering all sorts of improper suggestions in your ear. I might have stridden over there to rescue you myself, but Kate was dancing at the time and could not accompany me, and Elliott thought it unnecessary to risk making a public scene, since he trusts your good sense. Crispin went to see if you needed rescuing, though. I was glad of that even though I know you are not entirely delighted that he is inLondon .”

    And a mistaken sense of pride had goaded her into introducing the Earl of Sheringford to him as her betrothed. The enormity of what she had done swept over Margaret again. Thank heaven she had at least sworn Crispin to secrecy—or as good as sworn him, anyway. She had told him the betrothal had not yet been publicly announced. She must find him without further delay and tell him the truth. But he had asked to dance with her later, had he not? She would tell him then, humiliating as it would be. And there—finally—would be an end of the matter.

    It was already too late, though.

    Stephen was striding toward them across the ballroom, looking uncharacteristically grim, his eyes fixed upon Margaret.

    “Stephen,” Katherine said as he came up to them. “Whatever is the matter?”

    He spoke directly to Margaret.

    “Meg,” he said, “I do not know who on earth introduced you to that fellow. Whoever it was deserves to be shot. But that is the least of our worries. The most ridiculous rumor is spreading and we are going to have to move quickly to quash it. It is being said that you and Sheringford are betrothed .”

    “Oh, Stephen, no!” Vanessa exclaimed.

    “But how very ridiculous!” Katherine said, laughing. “No one will take it seriously, Stephen.”

    Margaret stared at him, speechless.

    Elliott and Jasper must have heard what Stephen had said. They both turned away from their group.

    “I'll draw his cork for this,” Elliott said. “What does he think he is up to?”

    “It would be more to the point,” Jasper said, “to draw the cork of the joker who began the story. It was hardly Sherry himself, as he left the ball half an hour ago. Do you know who did , Stephen?”

    It was Margaret who answered him.

    “I fear it must have been Crispin Dew,” she said, and not for the first time that evening she felt on the verge of fainting.

    There was that quite unmistakable buzz in the ballroom that always accompanied the spreading of the newest salacious rumor. And a quick glance about the room confirmed Margaret in her fear that it was indeed she who was the subject of that rumor. Far too many eyes were turned in the direction of her group to be normal.

    “Dew?” Stephen's voice was like thunder. “Why the devil would he start any such rumor?”

    He did not even apologize for his language—and no one in the group thought to demand an apology.

    “I fear it was something I said,” Margaret said. But that was clearly not explanation enough. She drew a deep, somewhat ragged breath.
    “I introduced the Earl of Sheringford to him as my betrothed.”

    “You what ?” Elliott asked very quietly.

    The others stared at her as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head.

    “I also told him no one else knew yet,” she said. “It was a joke . It was … Well, it was something I said impulsively and would have corrected later when I dance with him.”

    To say she felt foolish—as well as a number of other uncomfortable things—would be a massive understatement.

    The buzz of excited conversation about them had not abated.

    “But what,” Katherine asked, “did Lord Sheringford have to say about such an extraordinary announcement,