.jpg)
“Nonsense. Almira knows which way the wind blows; she’ll be anxious to help.” Maddie’s face softened. “You’ve made quite an impression on her, Julia. On several people, in fact. Don’t worry; we’ll muddle through this. I don’t mean to say there’s not been damage, for there has. But we’re far from lost.”
Julia nodded, trying to reconcile herself to the thought of an entire evening spent under the harsh, knowing stare of the ton, tittering behind their gloved hands at her discomfort. Still, if there was even the slightest chance she could help Alec, she would do it, even if it killed her. “Thank you, Aunt Maddie. I was hoping you would see a way through this.”
“So I shall. Now tell me, my dear, what do you intend to wear this evening?”
Chapter 27
As Maddie had predicted, the Dowager Duchess of Roth was outraged at the liberties taken by a newspaper she had no compunction calling a slanderous rag. Furthermore, once Maddie had finished edifying her ladyship about how Julia had been rudely cut by Lady Harrington, a woman they both heartily detested, the Dowager became so incensed she demanded that Julia and Alec be her guests of honor at the charity ball.
As a result, an elegant carriage equipped with the Roth crest arrived at Hunterston House to carry Alec and Julia to the ball as a visible sign of her favor.
Julia brushed a hand over the lush velvet cushions. “Nice carriage.”
Alec’s gaze flickered across her. “Yes, it is.”
It was the most he’d said to her since this morning’s scene. Julia folded her hands in her lap and sighed. She couldn’t fault him for his anger. She even understood why he blamed her. After all, she hadn’t taken his advice on one single thing.
Julia looked out the window and pulled her cloak closer, wishing the evening were already over. Aunt Maddie had seen to every detail of Julia’s costume, from the cut of the bodice to the bronze satin slippers festooned with amber crystals. She flexed her foot and winced. Pretty the slippers might be, but they pinched her feet hideously. Drat Nick for forcing her to this measure. She’d take great delight in telling him exactly what she thought of his antics.
The silence lengthened and Julia cast a surreptitious glance at her forbidding husband. He was elegantly dressed in black, an emerald nestled in the snowy folds of his cravat. He stared straight ahead, arms crossed, his mouth an unyielding line. To Julia, he looked every inch the Devil he was named. As she stared, he rubbed his jaw and winced as his hand brushed where a faint bruise lingered.
Mrs. Winston had told her how Alec had gained his bruised jaw. Julia couldn’t imagine that pummeling the author of the article had accomplished anything worthwhile, but if it had afforded Alec some relief, then so be it. In her opinion, Mr. Everard deserved more than a punch in the nose for his part in this dastardly plan. Much more.
Julia toyed with the edging of her cloak. “Do you think there will be many people tonight?”
Alec looked at her as if seeing her for the first time, his gaze suddenly narrowing. “Where are your spectacles? You didn’t break them, did you?”
She flushed. “No.” That was another of Aunt Maddie’s suggestions, one Julia was sure she would regret.
Alec frowned and looked as if he would say more, but the coach rumbled up the graceful drive of Roth House. Its lights ablaze, the stately manor shimmered in the twilight. A footman placed a step by the door and Alec assisted her down, his silver gaze brushing across her for an intense moment. Looking quickly away, Julia clutched the cloak tighter and entered the foyer.
The Dowager had spared no expense to ensure her charity ball would be the event of the season. Yards and yards of gold silk swathed the entryway, which was brightly lit with fanciful golden lamps. A deep red oriental rug had been rolled across the marble floor. Julia felt as she if were arriving in a strange exotic land.
“Your cloak.”
Julia gave a start at Alec’s voice so close to her ear. She reached up to untie her cloak and for one horrifying moment, she wondered what she had been thinking to let Maddie talk her into this. But it was too late now. Taking a deep breath, Julia pulled the bow loose and allowed Alec to slide the cloak from her shoulders.
Cool air immediately chilled her neck and shoulders and brushed across the tops of her breasts, exposed by her low décolletage. Alec stilled, his cold gaze raking down the length of her body. She knew what he saw, for she’d stared at herself in the mirror a full half hour before she’d gathered the courage to leave her room, even wrapped in the concealing cloak.
The dress was simply, but seductively made. Heavy bronze-colored silk molded her body, outlining the shape of her breasts, the rounded contours of her hips, the curve of her thigh. A delicate lace overskirt the color of heavy cream served to emphasize the sensuous cling of the silk, drawing the eye to the length of her legs. A single bronze feather nestled in her curls and wrapped about her face, brushing silkily across one of her shoulders with every move.
Julia had never worn anything so daring. In one way, it was terrifying and she wondered if she dared breathe. In another way, it was exhilarating to think of herself the center of attention—or so Maddie had assured her.
Alec swore under his breath and held out her cloak. “Put this back on.”
Julia swallowed her disappointment. While she hadn’t expected his mouth to drop open in astonishment, a simple “You look nice” would have been pleasant. Shoring up her irritation, she turned from him.
“Damn it, Julia.” His breath brushed against her ear, as heated as his temper. “Put your cloak back on before anyone sees you.”
Another couple had just entered the foyer and were handing their wraps to the footman.
Julia waved at them and smiled, though she had no idea who they were. “Oops. Too late.”
Alec’s fingers dug into her elbow as he pulled her to the corner and further from the line of guests. “We will go home and you will change.”
“I can’t. If I were to appear in two different gowns in one evening it would cause talk, and we don’t need more.”
Julia recognized the next arrivals as Lord and Lady Eston, and she nodded to them. Lord Eston immediately returned the greeting, his gaze raking over her with approval. Lady Eston turned away, nose in the air, pulling her reluctant husband after her.
The simple brilliance of Maddie’s strategy was suddenly plain. If Julia could just win half the people at tonight’s ball to her side, perhaps she could turn the tide of this latest disaster. Even if that half was of the male persuasion.
If such silliness would save the fortune for Alec and the Society, she would be a fool not to at least give it a try. She caught Lord Eston’s appreciative stare as he waited to greet his hostess. Julia returned his smile with what she hoped was a seductive grin. For a second he looked astonished, and then his face softened into an answering smile.
Well! That wasn’t too difficult. One down, two hundred to go. She straightened her shoulders and decided to allow the clinging silk to do its magic.
Alec swore and caught her arm in a powerful grip. “What in the hell are you doing? Trying to prove what that newspaper article said is true?”
She plastered a smile on her face and said in a calm, rational voice, “My father used to say the best way to take a hit is square on the chin.”
“I have had enough hits for one day, madam. You will put your cloak back on and we will return home.”
Julia’s patience fled. She had as much to lose as he. She yanked free from his hold and planted her fists on her hips, heedless of the way the silk dress crumpled beneath such harsh treatment. “Nonsense. That article wasn’t about you; it was about me. If I can stand it, so can you. Aunt Maddie and I have a plan, so stop complaining.”
He looked at her bared shoulders. “This is a plan?”
“Of course. And a good one, too.” She hoped.
“I was a fool to ever put you in the way of that woman.” Yet, despite his churlish tone, he did not stop his intense perusal.
> As his gaze touched on the curve of her breasts rising over the bronze silk, Julia shivered, her heart thumping an extra beat for good measure. “Aunt Maddie said the ton would forgive anything if one were interesting enough and had position or money.”
“We only have the money until my meeting with the executors tomorrow.”
“But we have it today,” she said brightly. “Now all we need is to become interesting.”
“Well, you have certainly made a start,” Alec said, wondering if he should just toss the cloak over her head and be done with it. But the hopeful glow in her emerald eyes held him in check. She truly believed she could help with such an obvious ploy.
Despite his apprehension, Alec had to admit Maddie had done her work well. No man would look at Julia this evening without wondering if what lay beneath the clinging silk was as luscious as it appeared. Never had her eyes appeared so deep a green, her skin so brilliant, her body more enticing. Worse, the tantalizing scent of cinnamon wafted from her honey-colored ringlets with every move, making him remember their one night of passion in vivid, intense, painful detail.
Alec sighed his defeat and motioned one of the footmen to take the cloak. “In the future, you will ignore all of Aunt Maddie’s plans. That woman can be dangerous.”
Julia awarded him with a brilliant smile before peering around the room, the bronze feather pinned in her hair smacking him across the face. Alec waved it away. “If you are looking for Lady Birlington, she always sits near the refreshment table so she can gawk.”
“Oh, no. I wasn’t looking for Aunt Maddie. Do you see Nick?” Her voice deepened. “I want a word with him.”
The gown suddenly took on new meaning. Her careful preparation was not for him. She had worn the dress for the man she loved.
Something must have shown in his face for she laid her hand on his arm. “Are you well?”
“I was just thinking I should have brought my dueling pistols.” Pride lifted the corners of his mouth into a hollow smile. “No doubt all your would-be admirers will want to fight.”
A pleased flush tinted her cheeks. “I feel silly in this dress. I’m likely to laugh if I catch sight of myself in the mirror.”
From where she stood, her arm almost brushing his, Alec could see the tantalizing rise of her breasts above the bodice. The gown moved with her every breath, a gleam of gold playing across the bronze that drew the eye. Every satiny inch of the sinuous silk begged to be touched. He wanted to slide it up her long, smooth legs, across the luscious curve of her hip and to her narrow waist. He wanted to free her breasts from the bodice and tease them into delicious submission.
He cleared his throat. “No one will laugh, Julia. You look beautiful.”
Her eyes widened in surprise and he cursed himself for being a fool. She didn’t wish to hear such drivel from him. He was saved by Lucien’s arrival.
“Good God,” the duke murmured, stopping in front of Julia. He lifted his quizzing glass and regarded her from bronze feather to slippered feet. “Behold, the moth has become a butterfly.”
Julia frowned. “Moths don’t become butterflies, Wexford. Caterpillars become butterflies.”
His lips twitched and he sent an amused glance toward Alec before bowing. “I beg your pardon, Lady Hunterston. It just seemed rude to call you a caterpillar.”
“It was rude to call me a moth, too. Disgusting creatures! One ate a hole in my favorite bonnet last winter.”
He chuckled. “Though you look an angel, you are still very much our Julia. I am only surprised Alec will allow you to wear such, ah, fashionable attire, lovely though it is.”
Alec scowled at his friend’s levity. “It wasn’t my idea.”
“Lucien, pray do not tease Alec. It was Aunt Maddie’s idea. It is either this, or Alec and I can just go home and wait for the executors to take all the money.”
Lucien grinned. “I find it hard to imagine you sitting at home and waiting on anything.”
Her chin squared in a way that made Alec want to kiss her until she flushed with passion. He leaned forward to murmur in her ear, “You are the most damnable woman, do you know that?”
“So I’ve heard,” she replied, casting him a startled glance before coloring an adorable pink.
Lucien cleared his throat. “Pardon me. We should move out of the entryway. People are starting to stare.” He took Julia’s arm and led her toward the receiving line. “May I claim the first dance?”
Alec tucked Julia’s hand into the crook of his arm, pulling her from Lucien’s side. “The first dance is mine.”
The Dowager greeted them with telling enthusiasm, thanking Julia loudly for her assistance in planning the ball and auction. Two couples who had maintained a frosty silence behind them visibly thawed at the effusive reception, and even stopped to speak with Julia before entering the ballroom. Alec caught her triumphant look and smiled, sharing her excitement as they followed Lucien.
If the foyer had looked impressive, the ballroom was magnificent. Long swaths of watered silk hung from the ceiling and fastened to the wall with gold cords before collecting on the floor in jewel-toned puddles. Each fastening was adorned with bouquets of gold flowers. The silk began at the far wall as a pale lavender and gradually darkened to midnight, where the golden twinkle of hundreds of candles gave the impression of sunset darkening to a starlit night.
The music swelled over the room and people danced by, swirling gowns of every color imaginable against an army of broad shoulders and black coats. Nodding to Lucien, Alec held out his hand and swept Julia onto the floor. It was difficult to hold her and not ask her about Nick, but he managed, savoring instead the feel of her in his arms, the warmth of her hand in his.
All too soon, it was over and the music ended. Lucien arrived to claim his dance. Alec watched them twirl away, every eye upon them.
By the time supper had finished, Alec had begun to feel a spark of hope. Though some slights were inevitable, it quickly became obvious that Julia had made friends in high places. She had won the rare approval of the established matrons, and was obviously a darling of both Lady Birlington as well as the Dowager Duchess of Roth.
His relief was short lived, however, when he saw the wife of one of the executors sidling up to Julia. Alec quickly headed the woman off, inquiring after her husband and murmuring the proper sympathies when she explained how her husband had succumbed to a putrid sore throat.
Maneuvering the lady into the refreshment room, Alec abandoned her to the care of the Dowager Duchess, who was entertaining anyone who would listen with the latest tales of her unruly page, an urchin who bore a shocking resemblance to her late husband. Feeling as if he had just escaped a hangman’s noose, Alec made his way back to the ballroom.
Lucien fell into step beside him. “Nick just arrived.”
“Where is he?” Alec asked grimly, certain he would find him languishing over Julia in some secluded corner.
“He went to the card room.” Lucien looked across the room to where the objects for the auction were being set out. “I wanted to see Bentham’s portrait, but he refuses to allow it be uncovered until the auction begins.”
“Oh?” Alec listened with but half an ear as he looked over the crowd, trying to find a bronze plume and a delectable pair of bared shoulders.
Edmund came up, wiping his brow with his handkerchief. “Whatever you do, don’t agree to dance with Miss Hepperdon.”
Lucien’s mouth quirked. “The redhead?”
“Lud, yes,” said Edmund with a dark look. “She don’t look it, but she’s as strong as a horse. She swung me across the room on one of the turns. Bumped me right into Patterson and his wife. Deuced embarrassing.” His gaze fell on the dais. “I say, have either of you seen Bentham’s painting of Julia? Everyone is agog to see it.”
Alec winced. “Damn. I had forgotten that.”
“Don’t look so grim,” Lucien said. “Julia is to be congratulated. Bentham is notoriously selective in choosing his subjects.”
/>
Though Lucien was right, Alec did not reply. Every time he turned around there was yet another man in Julia’s life.
It was galling.
A chime rang, signaling the beginning of the auction. The Dowager made a gracious speech about how the charities would benefit, then stepped aside to allow Lord Dunston to proceed with the first item. With a flurry of bids, the auction began.
Alec finally located Julia standing by the dais with Lady Birlington and the Dowager. Maddie, resplendent in orange and green, wore a red wig teased into a wild spate of curls. Her bold coloring made Julia appear that much more elegant.
Relieved that Nick was nowhere in sight, Alec made to move through the crowd toward Julia when Edmund choked, his face an alarming red.
Alec frowned. “Good God, what is it?”
“Nothing. Choked on my wine.”
“Your glass is empty.”
“Oh.” Edmund eyed his empty glass as if it had suddenly appeared in his hand. “Oh, well, yes. I was, uhm, holding a swallow in my mouth.”
“Why on earth would you do that?”
“It, ah, warms it and, uhm, makes it…sweeter. And…more fragrant.”
Lucien shook his head. “It’s only a quarter past ten, Edmund, and already you are ape-drunk.”
“I am not,” protested Edmund. He leaned toward Lucien and gave an extensive series of winks and head bobs.
“Confound it, what is wrong with you?” asked Lucien.
Edmund grasped his hair with both hands. “Damn it, Luce! I never met a more thick-headed—” He stopped when he caught Alec’s gaze. “There you are! Come and play a hand of whist with me! Do you good to get some air. Too hot in here.”
Alec tried to shake himself free of Edmund’s insistent hold. The hum of the crowd increased as bids were called in furious order. “Not now.”
“But I need you in the card room,” said Edmund desperately, clutching Alec’s arm even tighter.
“What for?”
“Money. End of the quarter and my pockets are to let. Devilish thing to happen, but I forgot my wallet, too.”