Free The Great Christmas Ball by Joan Smith Page A

for a week. Alas, no invitation has been forthcoming thus far. It is fourpence to a groat he would not go in any case. He is a demon for work, and I could not leave town without him.”
    “We at the Horse Guards are well aware of his work habits. He puts us all to the blush. But even God, you know, rested on the seventh day of his labors.”
    Cathy felt a poke at her elbow and turned to Gordon. “Is he trying to pump her for news or to seduce her?” Gordon hissed.
    “Probably both,” Cathy replied with an air of amused indifference.
    Gordon’s interest perked up at this lenient speech. “Daresay a spy has to resort to such methods. By Jove, I shall bear this lesson in mind.”
    “Don’t you dare try anything with her, Gordie. She is much too old and too wicked for you.”
    After the supper, Gordon disappeared and Costain brought Mrs. Leonard to introduce to Cathy.
    “Miss Lyman is an old friend of my family’s,” he said to Mrs. Leonard. “Cathy, I would like you to meet Mrs. Leonard. Her husband and I are colleagues.”
    The ladies exchanged a smiling curtsy. “Was that darling boy beside you your brother, Miss Lyman?” Mrs. Leonard asked.
    “Yes. Do you have any family, ma’am?” Cathy inquired, to remind Costain of the lady’s married status.
    “Alas, I am not so fortunate, but I have a darling little pug who is all in all to me. I call her May, for she came to me on May Day. She is a Taurus, like myself. An earth sign. So kind and gentle, unless attacked, of course. Then she becomes quite vicious. She dotes on the arts, especially music. We have that in common. Are you interested in the horoscope?” She looked with bright interest to her listeners. Both disclaimed any knowledge of this art.
    “Most fascinating,” she said. “I live by the stars. They told me of May’s fondness for music. When my little doggie is out of sorts, I play the pianoforte for her. She especially enjoys the new waltz.”
    Cathy hardly knew how to reply to such a foolish outburst. “I have a kitten,” she said.
    “I had one, but May was jealous. I had to give her away.” Mrs. Leonard then turned to Costain to inquire for his sign. Upon learning that he was born in October, she smiled in satisfaction. “I thought as much! A Leo. A natural leader,” she said, and continued with various compliments.
    She did not inquire for Miss Lyman’s birth sign. When the music resumed, Mrs. Leonard sighed forlornly and said, “I daresay it is back to the card parlor for me. You youngsters run along and enjoy the dance.”
    Costain took the hint and asked her if she would stand up with him. “I really should not dance when poor Leonard is ill, but perhaps just once,” she said. “I hope it is true what I have read, that people admire us for our virtues, but like us for our faults. I am deep dyed in faults.”
    Naturally Lord Costain took objection to this wholesale self-condemnation. “I find that hard—no, impossible—to believe. Your husband speaks most highly of your forbearance.”
    By some invisible sign Costain summoned a friend to take Cathy off his hands, and he disappeared with Mrs. Leonard. At the dance’s end he returned to Cathy without his partner. Cathy was unaccountably furious with his satisfied smile and asked in a stiff voice if he would mind taking her home now, as she had a slight headache.
    “You can always return if you dislike leaving early,” she added with a glance across the room at the lady he would be returning to.
    “I’ve gone as far as decency allows on first acquaintance,” he replied, not pretending to misunderstand her.
    “I wager you have.”
    He made his adieu to the hostess and called for the carriage at once. Gordon decided to remain at the assembly to try for a dance with Miss Stanfield.
    “Do you really have a headache, or only a fit of pique?” Costain asked as they drove home.
    “Am I not entitled to a headache after being slighted in public?” she asked. “Do you think no