Microscopes and Canvases - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 19
By daybreak, the fervor of the ball had reached its zenith.
On the dance floor beneath the brilliant chandelier light, countless couples swept gracefully in wide circles, while parents and relatives stationed at the floor’s edge observed the young men and women’s interactions with profound approval.
It was a most heartwarming scene, though one that had little bearing on them. The Marquis and Marchioness Somerset sat on the second floor where the dance floor lay spread before them, yet they paid it scarcely any attention.
“Darling. Darling?”
It was then that the Marchioness Somerset, reclining at an angle on the crimson velvet sofa, suddenly ceased her fanning.
“Darling, look down there, would you?”
The Marchioness shook her husband awake in a flurry. The moment the Marquis Somerset’s eyes snapped open—he had been dozing—she pushed his shoulder forward, forcing him to look at the floor below.
“There, that young lady dancing—isn’t that our daughter?”
“What?”
The Marquis Somerset leaned forward slightly to gaze at the floor, his mouth falling open in astonishment.
“What is the meaning of this?”
A similar commotion was brewing on the opposite side of the hall. The Countess Bennett, who had nearly given up hope of spotting her son anywhere in the ballroom or beyond, struck her husband’s thigh with a sharp slap and clapped her hand over her mouth.
“What is it, Edith? What’s the matter?”
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!”
Both pairs of parents rose from their tables or turned their heads, their eyes fixed intently upon the spectacle unfolding in the center of the dance floor.
Good heavens—the sight defied belief no matter how many times one looked.
As if they were the very sovereigns of this glittering ball, an elegant couple held sway over the entire atmosphere, drawing delighted gazes from all who beheld them.
The two dancers moved with such weightless grace, entirely absorbed in one another. Each time their eyes met, tender, serene smiles bloomed across their faces, and they whispered private words that belonged only to them, laughing softly together.
Heedless of the curious stares that rained down from every quarter, the pair remained on the floor long into the early morning light.
* * *
In the Somerset carriage on the journey home. Everyone was flushed with wine and held an air of peculiar excitement.
The Marchioness Somerset began gently, folding her fan.
“Beatrice. About that young man you were with earlier. I don’t believe I’ve seen him before. Whose family does he belong to?”
“Oh, Lord Patrick Bennett.”
Beatrice gazed out the window, her tone listless.
Her parents had utterly disregarded her declaration to depart for Belgique, and now they pestered her about the identity of the man she’d danced with as if nothing had occurred—which had thoroughly soured her mood.
“Lord Patrick Bennett? My, then he’s from the Bennett family, is he?”
“Why, I believe I recall hearing that their son studied abroad. It seems he’s returned now, hasn’t he?”
“So it would appear. Now that I think of it, he must be about Beatrice’s age. And he looked most agreeable earlier—handsome, really. How did such a prospect escape your notice before?”
The Bennett family controlled vast estates in Dunkaster and possessed both status and fortune beyond reproach—an excellent match by any measure.
But Beatrice, exasperated by her parents’ fuss, quickly dampened their enthusiasm.
“Please don’t manufacture anything. He was simply someone I encountered in the refreshment room, and since he wished to meet my uncle, I merely introduced them. What you saw earlier was simply a courtesy dance—nothing more.”
“Your uncle?”
The Marchioness Somerset’s eyes narrowed. In that same moment, vague, unsettling rumors surrounding the Bennett family surfaced in her memory.
“That’s right….”
The Marchioness released a sigh so heavy the carriage floor seemed to creak beneath it.
“How on earth did you manage to encounter a man like your uncle in that vast ballroom?”
“There is nothing between us, I assure you. He simply wished to meet my uncle, and I introduced him. That is all.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
The Marchioness rolled her eyes and pressed her palm to her brow.
“And yet….”
The Marquis ventured forward hesitantly, gauging his wife’s expression.
“When people of similar temperament meet, it’s usually a good thing, is it not? Their conversation seemed quite natural. And I observed that both their expressions were remarkably bright.”
“Father, why do you encourage this?”
Beatrice waved her hand dismissively, but the Marquis remained in good spirits, smiling contentedly at the thought of Patrick Bennett.
In truth, his wife’s list of suitable suitors had never satisfied him, and he was already heartbroken at the prospect of his beloved daughter—the apple of his eye—settling for just any man. Would not Patrick Bennett, with his handsome bearing and excellent family, be ideal?
Moreover, he had wished to meet their brother-in-law!
“What of him? What do you make of the man?”
“I’m not certain.”
Beatrice replied coolly.
“He harbors no thoughts of marriage whatsoever, as far as I could discern. Not romance either—in fact, he seemed eager to work at the Museum with my uncle.”
“To work at the Museum? The only son of the Bennett family?”
A moment of silence settled over the carriage.
“What?”
The Marquis Somerset, momentarily speechless at this bewildering revelation, gradually felt his mouth twitch before he broke into open laughter.
“My word, what a headache that household must have!”
So Patrick Bennett was not some ordinary admirer seeking Mr. Greenleaf’s autograph after all.
“Quite right. That explains it. No thoughts of marriage between either of them—that’s why they both looked so content….”
The Marquis wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief, while the Marchioness brought her fan down sharply upon her lap and sank deep into the cushions of her seat.
“I shouldn’t have asked….”
* * *
At that same moment, inside the carriage of the Bennett Family as it turned toward the Townhouse, conversation flowed without pause.
“What a remarkable evening. That enormous dinosaur model right in the center—you know the one. When the new lighting caught it, it looked absolutely terrifying. I found myself sitting up straighter without thinking.”
“The Diplodocus, you mean?”
Patrick smiled faintly.
“Yes, that’s the one. And the new museum director seems quite the capable person. It’s rather good to have someone with such reformist ideas in the world.”
“That’s true, but….”
The moment the museum director was mentioned, Countess Bennett cut in quickly.
“To my mind, he seemed rather too radical. Though I do read his pieces whenever they appear in the papers….”
“We all read them. We always started with Mr. Greenleaf’s Column before Patrick had to clip it out for us.”
Count Bennett and Patrick exchanged glances and snickered.
“Well then, did you have a good meeting with your idol?”
“Actually….”
Patrick began spilling words as though a spring had been released. He had circled the ball hall several times to catch a glimpse of him, finally managed to meet him and deliver his research proposal, and this great ‘Mr. Greenleaf’ had rated the potential of his research proposal very highly indeed.
Yet even as the words tumbled from him like a waterfall, Patrick made no mention whatsoever of Beatrice Somerset.
“Well, I’m glad you received such a favorable assessment. Does this mean you’ll be taking a position at the Museum?”
“For now I’m in a holding pattern, but it seems likely to work out.”
“That’s fortunate.”
The Count stroked his beard and nodded thoughtfully.
“Patrick.”
The Countess interjected again.
“You’re not thinking of living alone because you’ve been influenced by him, are you? I heard he’s remained a bachelor all this time.”
“No, that’s not it at all.”
Patrick gave an awkward laugh.
“I only met him today for the first time. How could I be influenced by his bachelorhood?”
“Well, of course….”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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