He kept one eye on Noah as they left the dining room and ambled toward the foyer, where Gardener had just opened the door. Mingled with his anxiety about what Noah might do or how he might react was a clutching sort of sympathy that made him want to do something, anything, to make Noah better.
“Miss Smith, how lovely to see you again,” Noah greeted Aurora as though nothing at all were wrong.
“Mr. Cheevers,” Aurora replied, already bubbling with excitement, as she removed her hat and handed it to Gardener. “I have so much to tell you,” she said without pause as she shrugged out of her coat.
“Is it about Mrs. Livingston’s ball?” Noah asked, rushing to take Aurora’s coat. His eyes were filled with excitement again, which Beckett took as a sort of relief.
“It is,” Aurora said, spinning to face him with equal amounts of excitement. “I am happy to report that the ball was an unequivocal success for me.”
“Magnificent,” Noah all but shouted, causing Aurora to jump and laugh with glee. He handed her coat carelessly off to Gardener—who hadn’t quite finished helping Beckett’s father with his coat—then swept Aurora down the hall toward the parlor. “First, you must tell me what you were wearing. Then I will tell you all about the costumes Beckett and I wore to the masquerade ball at The Slippery Slope.”
“Oh!” Aurora exclaimed. “Did you follow through with theAlice in Wonderlandmotif I suggested?”
“We did!” Noah said.
Beckett’s heart beat unusually fast as he watched the exchange. He felt as though he should do something, but he had no idea what.
His father chuckled as he finished removing his outerwear. “Your friend is in high spirits this morning,” he said. “He’s exactly what Aurora needs right now.”
“Oh? How so?” Beckett asked, feeling better now that his father was there. His father was the very best of men and always made things better.
“She’s talked of nothing but that ball since arriving home very early yesterday morning,” his father said with a fond smile as the two of them followed Noah and Aurora to the parlor. “She wanted to come over immediately to share all, but I reminded her that you and Noah had a ball of your own to prepare for.”
“Yes, and I’m certain Noah will tell her all about it,” Beckett laughed.
His anxieties over Noah’s odd behavior calmed a little as they joined Noah and Aurora in the parlor. The two of them had taken up seats on the sofa together, and they chattered away like two old hens about their various balls. Beckett didn’t feel the need to interrupt or add much to their conversation, and neither did his father. Noah and Aurora were well-matched in terms of personality.
Perhaps it wasn’t some sort of madness after all, Beckett considered as they moved to the dining room, once Miss Taylor informed them lunch was ready. Perhaps Noah was just a man of high spirits, like Aurora was.
Except Aurora was not quite twenty, and while Noah was only a few years older, he was a man who had lived on his own, been employed, and seen much of the world. He should have known better.
“And then Mr. Fuller asked me to dance,” Aurora told them all as they finished up the excellent meal Miss Taylor had prepared.
“No!” Noah exclaimed, nearly knocking over his glass as he reached for a drink. “The one you’ve fancied so much for all this time?”
“The very one!” Aurora exclaimed.
Beckett winced a little at her loud, shrill tone. He sent a smile of camaraderie to his father, who also looked pained by the tone and intensity of the conversation.
“You must pounce on him at once, Aurora,” Noah said, leaning across the table to her, mischief in his eyes. “Never hesitate when it comes to love. Take it from me. Do whatever you can to secure the man’s affections, if you love him. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Now see here,” Beckett’s father said, raising a hand. “Do not encourage my daughter into actions she may regret later.” He wore a smile as he spoke, proving to Beckett that he did not take Noah’s words seriously.
Noah, however, took them very seriously. “But of course she must act if she is in love,” he argued, as though he were on trial and his life were at stake. “Love does not sit around waiting for us. It demands swift and immediate action.” He pounded his fist on the table, causing Beckett, Aurora, and their father to flinch. “It requires acts of devotion and great sacrifice to prove to one’s beloved that they are adored.” He shifted to stare intensely at Aurora again. “If you love this Mr. Fuller, then pursue him single-mindedly and do whatever it takes to win him. Whatever it takes!” He pounded on the table again.
Again, the three of them flinched. Aurora burst into bright, tinkling laughter, as though she found everything about Noah highly entertaining.
“I’m not certain I love Mr. Fuller that much,” she said, all good spirits and forgiveness for Noah’s outburst. “I’m not certain I love any man enough to be that romantic with him.” She leaned across the table in imitation of Noah’s stance. “Do you, Mr. Cheevers?”
Beckett’s brow flew up. His life was no secret to his father, for a variety of quite obvious reasons, considering where he inherited his tendencies from. He’d been vaguely aware that Aurora knew the truth about him as well, though she shouldn’t, considering her age and sex. But the implication in her words and the impishness of her expression as she looked across the table at Noah made Beckett wonder if his sly sister had sketched his friend’s character from the start.
Noah either didn’t grasp the importance of that implication or simply assumed there was nothing secret about whom and how he loved. “I am positively devoted, Miss Smith,” he said, grinning as though they were in on the conspiracy together. “My heart and soul are lost, but they’ve no wish to be found.”
Aurora sat straighter, reaching for her glass. “How terribly fortunate for the person you hold in such high regard, Mr. Cheevers,” she said.
She then had the audacity to peek in Beckett’s direction over her glass as she took a drink.
Beckett nearly choked on the last bite of his chicken. “Perhaps we should all take a walk in the park this afternoon,” he said in a hoarse voice as he recovered. “Noah said something about wishing to explore the place, since we haven’t had much time so far.”