Samuel.

"So how many is this?"

Samuel glanced at his cousin as he took a mouthful of his wine, and then looked around the ballroom. "Six in just about as many weeks. Whatever possessed me to make such a stupid promise, and then be wrangled into attending three more balls than what I agreed on? I have one left in Ludgershall, and that will be the last."

James Denyer chuckled. Though they were related, the only common feature they owned was their height. James had light brown hair where Samuel's was very dark. James' eyes were hazel while Samuel's were dark chocolate, and in times of anger, black. James' skin was fair. Samuel's of a darker hue. He looked around at the mass of men and women. "This ball is the largest every Season. Are you sure there isn't a woman who has caught your attention?" James didn't need his cousin to answer. The dark look he gave him was enough to let him know, Samuel was completely over matron's pushing their daughters onto him.

"If Lady Neilson pushes her damn daughter, Amanda, onto me one more time, I think I'll ring both their wretched necks."

Laughing harder, James slapped Samuel on the back and with a grin asked, "What don't you like about her?"

"Really?" Samuel looked at him cock eyed. "There isn't enough time left of my life to list them all, but the first." He grinned and said, "Amanda purrs like a pig rolling in mud."

"Purrs?" James queried.

"Ah... I don't know how to explain it." Sam shook his head. "What do you call that sound, that women make when they're trying to be seductive?" He gave it some thought and said, "Mewling?"

James shook his head and covered his mouth to try to stop laughing. "Sammy, I think mewling is wailing, maybe whimpering."

"Whatever it is," Sam grinned at his cousin. "It sounds bloody atrocious. I can't imagine what having sexual relations with her would be like." He grinned some more. "If a hunter heard it, they'd think she was an elephant in calf."

Both men roared with laughter and had to turn their backs to each other to stop the infection that had caught them. Once they had contained themselves, they faced the dance floor once more.

Mathew, Leopold's son, who was just shorter, with blonde hair and light brown eyes, came towards them with a lady on each arm, and a wide grin on his face.
It had often been wondered, how the three older Denyer brothers, whose genes had been so strong, that they were almost identical, could have produced sons who looked entirely different.

"Hello Samuel, James. Let me introduce you to these delightful ladies." Each girl blushed and giggled as he blessed them with one of his charming smiles. "Ladies, my cousins, Viscount James Denyer, and His Grace, the Duke of Irvine, Samuel Denyer."

Both James and Samuel bowed politely.

Mathew continued, "This is Lady Katherine Watson, and Lady Melissa Turning."

James whispered, "Not Amanda. You must be disappointed, Sammy."

Sam took another bow so he could hide his grin and compose himself as a duke must.

The young women curtsied and giggled some more as James followed Samuel's lead.

"Very pleased to make your acquaintance ladies," James said as he straightened, took a hand of each and pressed them to his lips.

Samuel nodded politely at Mathew. "I have had the pleasure of meeting Lady Katherine and Lady Melissa previously, Mathew."

"Really, Sa.... m...ah.... My Lord." Mathew cocked his head and grinned. "Where?"

Samuel looked from one girl to the other. Before he could go on, Lady Melissa answered for him. "You met me at Lord and Lady Rowels' anniversary ball, and once again at the Duchess of Yates' charity ball. There was also the garden party at Stanton House."

"Yes." Samuel tilted his head. "What a good memory you have, and Lady Katherine, I met you at...?"

She giggled and finished the sentence for him. "These very same places."

Samuel smirked. "Thank you for the reminder."

Both girls tittered and blushed again as they fluttered their fans and eyelashes in time with each other.

"If you would excuse us ladies, I need to have a private word with my cousins." Samuel stepped abruptly away and headed toward the terrace, leaving both girls standing with their mouths agape. James and Mathew followed. Once they were in private, they looked at Samuel with curiosity.

He leaned against the rail, crossed his ankles, folded his arms and sighed. "This is the sixth ball I have attended in almost the same number of weeks. I have met every lady six times over. Not one has grabbed my interest enough to want to see her again, let alone, ask for her hand."

James laughed. "There are hundreds here, Samuel. Surely you haven't met them all."

Samuel blew out his breath. "I'm afraid the ones I have met, are all so desperate to please. If the rest are the same, I don't want to meet them. I find desperation very unattractive."

Nodding in agreement, Mathew said, "I would write a list with for and against, and then filter through each one, until the better is left. Marry her, produce an heir, and then leave her to it, so you can get on with your life. Didn't you have a mistress?"

Samuel gave him a glum look. "Yes, before my time away, Mathew. She has married a French wine maker, I believe."

Holding out his hands to his cousin, Mathew's face lit up as he said, "There is still the Derby and auction in Ludgershall. Perhaps you'll have more luck further afield."

James slapped Samuel lightly on the back. "I'd say Mathew's got it. New horse. New bride. We'll even go with you, won't we, Mathew?"

"Ah... yes. Of course." Mathew hadn't had that on his agenda, but he agreed anyway.

"Yes, of course you will." Samuel grinned mischievously. "Why shouldn't my favourite cousins have the same...?" His words were cut short as he heard a young woman's voice on the opposite side of the partition they were standing near.

"I beg you, Mama. I don't want to dance with him again. Can we please go?"

"What did...?" Mathew cocked his head as Samuel held up his hand to stop his speech and put his finger to his lips. He wanted to hear what this girl had to say, because it was the most interesting thing he'd heard come out of a woman's mouth, in the last six weeks.

"Why, dear?" An older woman said. "I thought you liked the viscount."

"Mama. He has very bad breath. Please.' She gasped. "I can't dance with him again."

"Papa will be very cross if he finds out we have left early, and you promised to keep your word."

"I have. I have tried extremely hard. The viscount is very clingy. He has horrible breath and his hands are always sweaty. I'm sorry, Mama, but I am sick of being looked upon as a brood mare." The girl gasped again. "I don't feel well. I have to leave." There was the sound of hurried footsteps and the older ladies voice calling, "Wait."

Samuel rushed into the ballroom and just caught a glimpse of a lilac dress and two heads. One with blonde hair and one with light chestnut hair. This was a woman he wanted to meet. He headed in the direction they took with James and Mathew on his heels.

"What's going on, Samuel?" James put his hand on his cousin's shoulder.

"Lilac dress, James. Blonde or chestnut hair. Keep your eyes opened." Samuel moved toward the drinks table; sure, they had gone that way.

"Your Grace." The Reverend Clancy Butterfield stepped out in front of him.

Samuel had no choice but to stop. "Reverend." He forced a smile on his face as the priest lifted Samuel's hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

"I have wanted to have a conversation with you all night, Your Grace. If I could lend your ear for a moment?"

"Certainly." Samuel took a breath. He glanced in the direction he was heading, but couldn't see any sign of the women he had been looking for, so he settled in to listen to what the reverend had to say.

The conversation went on. A woman he had never seen before caught his attention. She was dressed in lilac. His heart thumped in his chest. Was this the girl? He couldn't remember if the woman he had seen in the lilac dress had blonde or chestnut hair. Samuel watched as she opened her fan and fluttered it in front of her. She was tall and graceful with chestnut hair that hung in ringlets around her face. She looked directly at him while a short plump older woman whispered fervently in her ear. Samuel bowed his head toward her in acknowledgement. She smiled shyly back. He thanked God for putting such an alluring creature in front of him.

Samuel excused himself from the Reverend's lengthy tête-à-tête on the disgusting habits of his lower-class flock, and made his way to where James was having a conversation with the Lady Melissa. Samuel had no intention of making his interest obvious. He didn't need the ton gossiping, so took a glass of wine from a servant's tray as he passed, and glanced at the lady as he took a mouthful. Samuel smiled to himself as he noticed her confused look.

In his past experience, he had discovered it was best not to look too interested, because once a woman knew she had a man intrigued she had the upper hand. Samuel had enough experience with women to know never act too quickly. This had, of course, given him a name as being in the petticoat trade, which seemed to have the bizarre effect of attracting more women to him. Not that he had ever complained about this. He had found it exceedingly strange, that women should be attracted to a man who they knew had no intention of committing to them.

"What are you smirking about?"

Samuel glanced at James who had somehow managed to rid himself of the two ladies. "I think I've found the lady in lilac."

James scanned the crowd. "Which one is she, and I'll see if I know her."

"She's dressed in lilac, chestnut hair, ringlets. Please do it casually. I can't have you ruining my play."

James grinned. "They all know you're looking for a wife. You do realise that, don't you?"

Samuel frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"Lady Melissa told me. Apparently, my father told her aunt, and of course it's spread like fire." He laughed. "Did you really think all this attention, and all of these invitations are because you are so good looking and honourable?"

Chuckling, Samuel tweaked his eyebrows and said, "Of course."

James turned to face the ballroom and casually looked over the crowd. He lifted his glass to his lips and before he drank, he whispered, "Oh yes, very nice."

Samuel also took a mouthful of his wine.

"So how are you going to approach her?" James studied Samuel's face as he drew his gaze from a completely different direction to where the lady was standing.

"To be honest, James, I don't know. In fact, I feel a little nervous."

James frowned and shook his head. "You're jesting, aren't you?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, Samuel said, "It's been some time since I took any interest the female sex. In the past I've just been looking for a bit of fun. What if I make the wrong decision and I have to live with that mistake for the rest of my life?"

"You take a mistress like every other man, you fool."

Samuel laughed and turned to face him. "What about you, James? Uncle Leo and your father are hounding me to marry, have they put the same onto you? After all, you are a year older than I."

Grinning, James said, "I'm not as important, and dear brother Harry has provided plenty of heirs for our branch of the family to survive for many generations yet."

They laughed once more and turned to the sound of a man coughing. Their host, Sir Walter Gibbons, was standing with the lady in lilac on his arm. "Excuse me, Your Grace, I don't mean to interrupt. Please let me introduce you to my niece, Lady Josephine Gibbons, my brother's daughter."

Samuel looked from the elderly gentleman to the young woman. He smiled down at her, bowed his head and took hold of her hand. "Very pleased to make your acquaintance, My Lady. This is my cousin, Viscount James Denyer."

She smiled and curtsied politely. "How do you do, sir?" She held out her hand towards James and curtsied once more.

"How are you enjoying the evening, Your Grace? I do hope you are being looked after properly."

Samuel bowed his head towards Sir Gibbons. "Yes, sir, my cousins and I are having a very nice time, thank you for inviting us."

Walter chuckled. "Believe me, the pleasure is all mine. Oh! I have to catch up with the reverend. I shall leave Josephine to entertain you, and be back shortly."

Samuel watched him move off, have a brief word with the reverend, and then whisper into the short plump lady's ear. He then looked down at the girl in the lilac dress and said, "Would you like to dance, Lady Josephine?"

She tipped her head. "Yes, thank you, Your Grace."

Samuel handed his goblet to James and held out his hand. She placed hers on top of it. All eyes were upon them as they moved into the centre of the room. The short plump lady looked like she was going to explode with excitement. They took their places and began to dance. As they came together Samuel asked, "Lady Josephine, do you live with Sir Walter?"

She swirled away from him and when they came together again, she answered, "No. Your Grace. I live with my aunt the Lady Gertrude at Carline House." Once again, they parted and came back together.

"Is that the Lady Gertrude talking to your uncle?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

When she joined him again, he questioned her once more. "Have you had the opportunity to dance with the viscount tonight?" Samuel had no idea which viscount. He was interested to know if this was indeed the lady who had danced with a viscount that evening.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace." She gave him a curious look. "I don't understand what you mean. Are you talking of your cousin?"

Samuel smiled and picked a name from his head. "Viscount Linley said he had been dancing with a beautiful lady in lilac, and I thought perhaps it was you."

"Oh, no," she giggled and blushed. "I haven't danced with any viscounts this evening. My aunt has only allowed me to dance with earls and marques'. And now you, Your Grace."

Samuel's heart sank. So not the correct lady in lilac. Obviously, viscounts were below the aunt's standards. He continued, "Do you have an interest, Lady Josephine?"

"Yes, Your Grace. I enjoy pressing flowers." The routine went on.

"Do you like horses, Lady Josephine?"

"Yes, Your Grace, they are splendid creatures."

"What about pigs? Do you like pigs?"

"Yes, Your Grace, they are very robust animals."

"Can I please ask you to stop calling me Your Grace?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

Samuel sighed. "And what about rats?"

Josephine frowned. She had been instructed by her aunt to be agreeable about everything. She smiled and said, "Yes, Your Grace, they have very long tails."

As Samuel spun away from her once more, he glanced towards James. He and Mathew were watching closely as the couple danced. When they saw an exasperated look on Samuel's face, they cocked their heads in question.

The music ended. Samuel bowed politely, delivered the girl back to her aunt, and then made his way toward his cousins.

"Well?" They both asked in unison.

Samuel rolled his eyes. "She is not the lady we heard talking. This one is lovely to look at, yet, I'm not sure she has a mind of her own."

"What do you mean?"

"She said, yes, Your Grace, to every question I asked her. Even when I asked her not to call me Your Grace, she said yes, Your Grace." Samuel shook his head in disbelief. "I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh. I think the old lady told her she had to agree with everything I said." He cocked his eyebrow as he added, "Viscounts, apparently, aren't on the aunt's list of prospective of husbands." Samuel grinned before saying, "Sounds like she's aiming for an earl or higher for her niece."

Mathew gave a cheeky smirk and looked over at James. "That leaves you and I in a safe place." He looked back at Samuel and said, "Do we cross her off the list?"

Chuckling, Samuel looked at Mathew and said, "What list? I didn't know I had a list."

"A list of possible wives." Mathew held out his hands and shrugged. "You really should make a list."

"All right, the Lady Josephine can be the first. Perhaps on our next meeting, she'll display more intelligence." He glanced her way. "She certainly is the most attractive so far." Samuel rubbed his chin in thought. "You better put Lady Katherine on the list too. I quite enjoyed my conversation with her earlier, though she does giggle a lot."

James laughed. "Oh, not compared to Lady Melissa."

Poor Samuel isn't having much success. I wonder who the lady in lilac is.  Any ideas?

Painting copyright - Mimi Matthews.