“Well.” Alice’s gaze followed the older couple. “What do you think of that?”

“I think she is having a grand time watching her son hang in the wind.” Charlie grinned at them. “The three of you will have all the gentlemen tripping over themselves.”

Kenilworth strolled up behind their brother. “One of these days, Charlie Stanwood, you are going to have to court a lady, and when you find you’ve made a muddle of it, I’m going to take a great deal of pleasure laughing at you.”

“I see we’re all here,” Matt said. “Let’s repair to the ballroom.”

Eleanor, Madeline, and Alice had all had a hand in the ballroom decorations, but they had not seen it completed. They had decided on a garden theme, with flowers that were currently in bloom. Swags of yellow and green silk interspersed with netting dotted with purple spangles hung from the ceiling above the windows and doors. The chandeliers were decorated with flowers and ribbons in the same colors. Along the walls, vases had been set on pedestals, holding branches of forsythia and lilacs. It was exactly as she had hoped it would be. “I never imagined it would turn out so well.”

“I knew it would.” Alice smiled. “We planned it.”

Madeline grinned and pointed to one of the windows. “The birds and squirrels turned out well.”

Placed on a few of the swags where they would catch an observant guest’s eye, were papier-mâché birds and animals. Finches perched on some of the curtain rods, and squirrels peeped from behind a few of the vases.

Eleanor felt the now familiar warmth of Montagu’s gaze on her neck. The next thing she knew, he was next to her, and her sisters had stepped away to speak with other guests. He took her hand and placed it on his arm. It was a gesture she had seen her brothers-in-law do with her sisters.

Montagu waved his other arm to indicate the room. “I must say, this is the most interesting ballroom theme I have ever seen. It is fanciful and elegant at the same time.”

A blush rose in her cheeks. “I am glad you like it. My sisters and I designed all of it.”

His gaze captured hers, and it was as if they were the only two people in the room. “I am not surprised to hear it. You have excellent taste.”

Before she could respond, Lady Lytton joined them. “Everyone is exclaiming over how cleverly the room is decorated. I have quite fallen in love with the squirrel next to the one vase of lilacs.”

The strains of violins announcing the first set floated through the air. A smile hovered on Montagu’s lips as he looked at her. “A waltz?”