The governor roared with laughter at that. “You have your mother’s sense,” he said. “Good girl, you stay just like that, and you’ll keep out of trouble.” He wished us a curt good evening, then turned and moved away. He was only a few feet from us when a footman approached him with a note on a silver tray. The governor read it and reacted with shock, then signaled across the room to General Montgomery. They met to the side and spoke for a moment, their heads close together, then the general signaled to a couple of the other officers, and all of them left the room.

“I wonder what that’s about,” Henry said under his breath. He moved away into the crowd, disappeared for a moment, and then returned to us. A few minutes later, he barely suppressed a smile as another footman approached us with a message for Henry. He merely glanced at it before saying, “Matthews is here, says he has an urgent message to deliver. I’ll be back in a moment, ladies.”

Soon after Henry left, the governor, the general, and the officers returned. The officers worked their way around the room, stopping other officers and speaking briefly. The officers then began departing. “All the dancing partners are leaving,” Flora grumbled. Dancing wasn’t my concern. If they had withdrawn the officers, it had to mean something was happening elsewhere.

Elinor’s maid came up to me with a curtsy. “Miss Newton, Lady Elinor has asked to see you.”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” I said. “Lord Henry has stepped out, and I must chaperone Lady Flora.”

“Oh, go on, Miss Newton,” Flora said with a flick of her fan. “There’s no one left to dance with, and I’m in my grandfather’s house. I’m the safest girl here. I promise to stay right where I am.”

Although I’d been there before, the maid gave me a brief tour of the house on our way to Lady Elinor’s room. She pointed out the library, the parlor where we’d gone the first time I was there, and the closed door to the governor’s study. The latter caught my eye as we passed it. Whatever information had been brought to the governor might be in there.

Lady Elinor was sitting up in bed when I reached her room. “I hope you don’t mind me pulling you away from the ball, but I had to see your gown,” she said. She gestured for me to turn around so she could see it from all angles. “I approve. You look lovely. Are you having a good time?”

“It’s a very nice ball,” I replied.

She laughed. “You haven’t danced a bit, have you?”

“I’m afraid not, and most of the officers have already left.”