He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 39

39. 18th Century Ball

◈ Ten days later, Almack’s Club.

Late at night, a grand ball was scheduled at Almack’s, a London women’s social club [a prestigious club known for its strict membership rules and exclusive events].

Ashley, a regular member of Almack’s Club, had invited Louis Palmer and his sisters to the club’s ball.

Theo, classified as a VIP by Almack’s Club management, also received an invitation.

It was past 9 PM. Given that balls usually lasted until 4 AM, 9 PM was still early.

Lord Louis Palmer and his two sisters, having arrived early, waited for Ashley and Theo in the tea room next to the ballroom.

-Hello? Viscount?

-Ah, the Earl has arrived too?

-I heard the Princess Royal is coming today? I wonder if she really will?

As it was a ball at an upper-class club, scions of prominent families from London and its surrounding areas were seen here and there.

The Palmer Baron’s two daughters, attending a party after a long time, were decked out in the finest clothes and jewelry.

However, after arriving at the club, they seemed somewhat intimidated.

Haleia, the second daughter of the Palmer Baron, whispered to her sister Sandra.

“Sister, aren’t the people here all so extravagant?”

“Yeah. It’s very different from the local balls held last year.”

“Right. The way the women are dressed, it’s kind of intimidating. That woman over there, and that woman too… They’re all so pretty.”

“Ugh! I think Mary messed up my hair. Look here. It’s falling apart! I’m going to give her a piece of my mind when I get home. Everyone else’s hair looks amazing. Ugh, so annoying!”

“Sister, it’s not just the hair. Our clothes look so outdated and not pretty at all. I feel so shabby compared to the other women.”

Sandra bristled at her gloomy sister’s words.

“Outdated? I saw them coming in, and they were all wearing cheap stuff. We’re wearing the latest fashions from Paris! Hmph, they just put on thick makeup… Stand up straight! Why are you so intimidated?”

However, Sandra’s voice was just loud, and she was no different from her sister. She was already tired and shrinking from looking around.

“I thought a small club ball would be just a formality, but it’s a party for social dancing? I feel like we shouldn’t have come.”

“I know… I had a hard time at the last local ball, and it’s obvious that men won’t ask us to dance here. I wonder if Ashley invited us to make fun of us?”

“If that’s the case, I’ll never forgive her!”

At a ball, dancing begins with a man’s request.

It was an unspoken rule that women wait for men to ask them to dance.

The problem was that the number of men willing to dance was significantly less than the number of women waiting to be asked.

And that wasn’t all. Many men were not familiar with social dancing or didn’t know how to dance at all.

Such men didn’t dance but spent time drinking or playing games among themselves.

In contrast, noblewomen were educated in social dancing from a young age and were mostly familiar with dancing.

For this reason, the women waiting for dance requests were burning inside, and some days they would just lean against the wall, watching others dance, becoming so-called wallflowers.

The Palmer sisters were no different. Despite their not-so-bad looks, they sat with angry expressions, which further discouraged gentlemen from asking them to dance.

Under these circumstances, the ballroom had long become a place of torment rather than enjoyment for the unpopular Palmer Baron’s daughters.

“I shouldn’t have come. Balls are always the same…”

“It’s all because of brother. I’m sure we’ll just stand here like sacks of potatoes again.”

Louis, pretending not to hear his sisters’ complaints, smiled brightly and jumped up from his seat.

“Ah, Mr. Theo Sanderson!”

In response to Louis and his sisters’ greetings, Theo smiled and showed them courtesy.

“Lord Palmer, are you waiting for Miss Clifford?”

“Yes, I am.”

“She’ll be here soon. I saw her getting out of the carriage as I came up.”

“Ah, yes. Haha.”

The sisters seemed a little surprised by Theo’s appearance, who had dressed up for the ball.

He exuded a much more sophisticated, gentlemanly air than when he wore his business suit.

“Ah… Miss Clifford is coming.”

Looking towards the entrance at Louis’s welcoming voice, Ashley Clifford was walking in.

In a pink silk dress with her blonde hair up, revealing her long, elegant neckline, Ashley was undoubtedly the most radiant protagonist in the ballroom.

However, upon seeing her, the Palmer Baron’s daughters subtly hid their arms behind their backs.

It was because of the notepad hanging on Ashley’s wrist.

Several names of gentlemen who had requested a dance were written on her notepad.

She seemed to have arrived a little late because she was receiving them.

On the other hand, no one’s name was written on the Palmer sisters’ wrist notepads.

Ashley, after greeting Theo, grabbed the Palmer sisters’ hands and rejoiced.

“Sandra, Haleia! Thank you so much for coming with me.”

“Ah… Haha… Yes, sister.”

Standing next to Ashley, they felt smaller and more intimidated.

*

As the ballroom dance time approached, men busily requested dances, and couples were gradually formed.

Louis Palmer was naturally Ashley’s first dance partner.

Ashley, with a bright smile, walked into the ballroom with Louis’s escort.

At that moment, Theo noticed Louis’s sisters looking dejected and leaning against the wall.

Theo had a subtle interest and confidence in social dancing.

He had even participated in social dance competitions during his graduate school days in the United States.

After coming to the 18th century, he had been interestingly learning traditional social dances while familiarizing himself with aristocratic manners and culture.

The dances of this period were largely English Country Dance, Cotillion, Quadrille, and Waltz. The theme of today’s ball was the general English Country Dance.

In this dance, men and women formed rows facing each other, and the top couple would dance and repeat the process until they reached the end of the row. It seemed simple, but it was easy to step on feet or bump into each other if you weren’t used to it.

‘Shall I test if my skills have rusted? Hehe.’

Theo approached Sandra, the eldest daughter of the Palmer Baron, who was hanging her head, and extended his hand.

“Would you like to dance with me?”

“Yes… Yes?”

Sandra’s face was a complex mix of surprise, embarrassment, and gratitude.

“If you’ve come to a ball, you should enjoy dancing, shouldn’t you? Shall we go out?”

“Ah… Yes.”

Theo and several other men faced their respective female partners, and soon the first dance of the ball began splendidly with the music.

♬♪~♪♪~♬~♪~

“Wow-”

“Oh-”

Not long after the dance began, small exclamations flowed from people’s mouths here and there.

This was because Theo and Louis’s dancing skills stood out among the mediocre or flustered men.

While the Louis and Ashley couple achieved a beautiful harmony based on their considerable social dancing skills,

Theo’s social dancing showed a sophisticated and masculine appearance, naturally leading Sandra with consideration.

-Those two couples dance so well.

-I think the dance line of the one in the blue dress looks so beautiful.

As the eyes of many people gradually focused on her, Sandra became flustered and began to stumble.

However, the man’s skilled lead plays an absolute role in social dancing.

Even if the woman is a little clumsy, if the man leads well, he can make her look like she is dancing well.

Theo gently led the flustered Sandra, helping her to naturally find a stable dance line.

♪~♬♪~♪♪~♬~

Next to the second daughter Haleia, who was mesmerized watching her older sister’s dance, a young man from a baronial family, whom she only knew by face, approached.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes?”

“Is that person in the blue dress your sister?”

“Ah… Yes.”

“Your sister dances very well.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

“Once the dance with the gentleman she is dancing with now is over, I would like to dance with her next. I would like to ask her younger sister in advance.”

“Ah… Yes.”

Haleia was amazed that people were paying attention to her sister’s dance.

Also, she was secretly proud that they were showing interest and praising her.

It was a thrilling feeling she had never experienced while attending balls.

Sandra, who came in with a flushed face after finishing her first dance, whispered breathlessly to her sister.

“Sister! Sister! Men are trying to dance with you, and several people have made reservations!”

“What? Is that real?”

“Yes! It’s real! That person over there, that person over there, and the person behind you want to dance with you.”

Sandra’s face turned red as she glanced at the waiting men.

“The way Sanderson and sister danced looked so cool even to me. It was like you weren’t the sister I knew. You looked about 10 times prettier?”

“Really? That much?”

“Yes! That’s right! But… Sister?”

“Yes?”

“I want to dance one song with Mr. Sanderson too. Is that possible?”

“Should I go and tell him for you?”

“Can you really do that for me?”

“Yes! I’ll tell him right away. After dancing with him, I realized he’s a really nice person. He relieved my tension with funny words in between dances and made me feel comfortable. I didn’t know, but Mr. Sanderson was a really decent gentleman.”

They were enjoying unexpected joy thanks to Theo.

**

After several dances, Theo, Ashley, and Louis’s sisters were resting together in the tea room.

Sandra and Haleia personally brought drinks to Theo, expressing their gratitude.

“Mr. Sanderson, please have this. You must be thirsty.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Sanderson, for making us have a good time.”

“No, I had more fun.”

Ashley, who was next to him, asked Theo.

“You dance so well. When did you learn to dance like that?”

“I just learned it as a hobby.”

“It’s not just a hobby level. When I saw you earlier, the dance was slightly different, and there were many more sophisticated aspects even in the same movements…”

“Miss Clifford and Lord Palmer danced too well.”

Haleia nodded with a surprised face.

“That’s really true. I don’t know when my brother’s dancing skills improved so much. Did he learn it because my mother forced him to go to many social balls?”

Ashley smiled and agreed.

“Lord Palmer really dances well. Even if I wanted to dance again, I couldn’t bring myself to say it because other ladies were waiting so eagerly.”

Louis Palmer, unable to shake off the waiters eagerly waiting for their turn, was still dancing without leaving the ballroom.

“If you look outside now, they are glaring at my brother and waiting tremendously.”

“Wow, this is the first time I knew our brother was so popular.”

It was then.

A group of women rushed into the tea room.

Among them, one woman, who was most lavishly decorated, recognized Ashley and pretended to know her.

“Oh my! Aren’t you Ashley?”

Judging from her attire and behavior, she seemed to be the daughter of a very high-ranking aristocrat.

Ashley’s eyes widened when she saw her.

“Wow, Eva, is that you? It’s been so long? When did you come to England? Did you just come to the ball?”

Unlike Eva’s pretentious smile, Ashley was genuinely happy.

She exuded the feeling of meeting a welcome friend after a long time.

Eva, who resembled the image of a villain in a movie, approached Ashley with her friends, who had a similar atmosphere, as a screen.

Clatter-

At that moment, Theo noticed three women trying to push open the door of the tea room, but quickly turning back after discovering Eva and her friends.

‘Hmm… Is that Eva some kind of troublemaker who dominates London’s high society? This is interesting… It seems like there are those kinds of kids in every era and place.’

Theo watched Ashley’s response with an interested face.

Eva, facing Ashley, spoke pompously.

“Yes, I came late last night from Italy and rested a bit, so I was late. I arrived at the club ball about 30 minutes ago. And, I danced once right after arriving here.”

As if they had been waiting, the friends next to her splashed saliva and praised Eva.

“Well, when Eva just entered the ballroom, there was a really handsome gentleman. Eva danced with that gentleman right away. They danced so well together… I think that man will contact Eva later with that look in his eyes.”

“That’s right! That man was completely smitten with Eva! The way he looked at Eva was so intense…”

Ashley admired.

“That’s Eva for you. You got a dance request right away as soon as you came. You seem to be very popular wherever you go. It must have been great in Italy too? How was your trip?”

“I go every time, so what. But a year was too boring.”

After exchanging greetings, Eva asked in a sarcastic tone.

“But Ashley, there’s an interesting rumor going around about you?”

“Rumor?”

“I heard this morning that you’re getting engaged soon?”

“Oh! Yes. That’s right. I think that’s going to happen. Hehe…”

Eva snorted and revealed her true colors.

“Hmph. I thought you would be a little different, but… Well… You’re no different?”

“What do you mean?”

“You pretended not to care about money and acted all high and mighty, but you chose a family that scraped together money through vulgar trade as your husband? I guess your groom is a rich gentry [landed, but not titled, upper class] ? Hoho.”

The friends behind her laughed.

“Hohoho, trade?”

“That lowly job of taking a ship and getting sugar? Hehe.”

“How could the noble Ashley choose such a vulgar man?”

The faces of the Palmer Baron’s daughters behind her turned red.

However, there was no agitation in Ashley’s emotions.

Rather, she calmly countered with a gentle smile.

“No, Eva. As I said before, I really only looked at the person. But isn’t it amazing? I really didn’t know that Lord Palmer, whom I chose with just a feeling of attraction, would be so rich. Moreover, he is the grandson of the prestigious Palmer Earl family. It seems like such good fortune rolled in on its own because I met a good person. I’m just grateful.”

“What…?”

Eva’s brow furrowed at Ashley’s confident words and actions.

The Palmer Baron’s daughters, who were watching this from the side, clenched their fists and couldn’t hide their exhilaration.

Ashley’s confident appearance, not intimidated by the glamorous Eva, looked endlessly cool and strong to the timid Sandra and Haleia.

Theo burst out laughing at Ashley’s pure answer, devoid of emotion.

If the other person is not hurt at all by someone’s criticism or insults, that criticism or insult will not be able to exert any power.

Getting angry or upset by certain words is because of a psychological change that comes when you agree with those words even a little bit.

To Ashley, who grew up receiving a lot of love from a young age and learned to respect not only herself but also others, the criticism of a narrow-minded friend named Eva was just a passing breeze.

And at that moment.

Another movie-like event unfolded.

“No! I am the one who is very lucky to have met Miss Ashley Clifford!”

It was Louis Palmer who had overheard Ashley’s words while entering the tea room after finishing his dance.

However, Eva’s friends, who turned to look at Louis’s appearance, which suddenly appeared, whispered with surprised faces.

“Oh my! That person, isn’t he the man Eva had her eye on earlier?”

“That’s right? The man who danced with Eva?”

“Oh… That’s right. What? Then that person… was Ashley’s fiancé?”

Eva also looked at Louis with a flustered look.

“What… what is it? By any chance… are you… Ashley’s fiancé? Then, was it true that you had someone to be engaged to?”

Louis nodded.

“Yes. I’m sure I told you clearly while dancing earlier? That I have a beloved person to be engaged to soon. But the lady didn’t believe my words… Ah, no. I won’t say that.”

Suddenly, Eva’s face turned as red as a carrot.

And after rolling her big eyes for a while, she asked Louis for an absurd promise.

“Pro… promise me!”

“Yes? Promise what?”

“The words I said to you while dancing earlier… If you are a true gentleman, please swear that you will not say it to anyone!”

“Yes… Well… I have no intention of saying it in particular.”

Perhaps feeling that her request was foolish even after she said it, Eva paced back and forth for a long time, not knowing what to do.

Then, without even saying goodbye, she ran out of the tea room as if fleeing.

Clatter-

As Eva and her friends disappeared, the two sisters quickly clung to Louis and asked.

“Brother! What did that strange woman say while dancing? Huh?”

“What did she say to brother that she asked you to keep it a secret? Tell me? Huh?”

“Oh my, what’s wrong with these kids?”

The person who is really curious is none other than Ashley Clifford.

However, she only looked at Louis with warm eyes and didn’t seem to have much intention of asking about what her friend had said.