He caught sight of his father entering the ballroom from the east corridor, which led to a massive sitting room for their party guests. Erroll had a feeling the guests would surpass the two hundred the ballroom could hold, and would spill into the sitting room. He strode toward his father, who had stopped just inside the ballroom.
“Good evening, sir. Have you by chance seen the ladies?”
“They arrived home two hours ago, and locked themselves in your mother’s chambers.”
“I suppose they will make an appearance when they’re ready,” Erroll said.
It seemed they were ready, for the three ladies entered the ballroom from the north entrance, and Erroll’s heart stopped. Eve wore a simple muslin gown adorned with exquisitely embroidered flowers sewn in cotton and silver thread with tiny gold sequins.
His mother spotted them and led the two sisters across the room. Erroll’s gaze snagged on his father, who stared at his mother with unabashed desire. Erroll had long known that his father still desired his mother and bedded her regularly, and had hoped that he would enjoy the same fate with his own wife. Given the way Eve looked tonight, he had no doubt that would be the case.
The ladies reached them and the marquess said, “You ladies are looking particularly fine tonight,” though his gaze rested on his wife.
She looked at him from beneath her lashes—Erroll also knew that his mother was well aware of her effect on her husband—and the marquess clasped her hand and brought it to his lips. He released her, then bowed over Eve and Grace’s hands.
Then Eve’s gaze shifted onto Erroll. “Good evening, my lord.”
He lifted her hand and brushed his lips across her fingers. “I missed you today, madam.”
He glimpsed the surprise in her eyes, then it was gone and she said, “I would think you were busy all day preparing for the party.”
“That is my mother’s affair, not mine.”
“I’m sure you found a way to amuse yourself,” she replied.
“Perhaps.”
“And what of me?” Grace asked. “Will you ignore me now that I am your sister instead of a prospective bride?”
Erroll bowed over her hand. “You were never a prospective bride, Grace, but that does not mean I ever ignored you.”
“Of that I am certain. Will you make introductions tonight, my lord? I suddenly find myself back on the marriage mart.”
Erroll laughed. “My dear sister, one always knows where they stand with you. As for introductions, my mother will, I am sure, see to that, but you will find us less formal than London society.”
She looked at his mother. “I shall rely upon you, ma’am, for direction.”
The orchestra began playing a country dance.
“There’s Ash,” his mother said. “And Olivia.”
Erroll’s sister and brother threaded their way through the crowd that had grown in the few minutes they’d been talking.
When the two reached them, Olivia threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “Ash told me what you did for Grant,” she said into his coat.
Erroll sent Ash a frown over her head, then drew back. “It was more Val than me, love, but I put the final screw to the admiral.”
She kissed his cheek. “I thank you both. Now, introduce me to your wife.” Her eyes rested on Eve. “This is she, I imagine.”
“Eve, this is my sister, Olivia Cunningham.”
Olivia pulled Eve into a hug, and Erroll heard her whisper, “I wondered who would catch him.”
They separated, Eve’s cheeks a very pretty pink with embarrassment, then Ash stepped up and slapped Erroll on the back. “I still haven’t heard that story. I think it must be quite interesting.”
“I suspect you’ve heard a great deal of it,” Erroll said dryly. “By now, the gossip has likely reached the Outer Hebrides.”
“I see you made sure she was clothed this time.” His gaze shifted onto Grace. “And this one too. Though the nightshift was pleasant.”
“Then I hope the picture is burned into your mind,” Grace said, “for you shall never see it again.”
Ash looked at Erroll. “That sounds like a challenge.”
“Beware,” Erroll said. “My wife might—”
Eve elbowed him in the ribs—hard—and Erroll jerked his head in her direction.
“That is enough gossip for the night,” she said.
She was right. It was best if his parents never learned she had pointed a gun at Ash. Erroll realized the guests seemed to have doubled while they spoke. “Have you any idea how many guests are coming?” he asked his mother.
“As I said, I invited four hundred.”
“I believe you said three hundred.”
“Did I?” She shrugged. “I am terrible with numbers.”
“Is that Hilary?” Olivia asked.
Erroll turned to see his cousin dancing alongside a young man. She had grown at least four inches, and the woman’s body beneath her muslin ball gown would, in another year, rival the beauties in London.
“Good God,” Erroll said.
“I told you she had grown,” his mother said.
She had. Erroll suddenly realized something. “Has anyone seen Tolland and Somerset? I expected them tonight.”
“I saw them together in the refreshments room earlier,” the marquess said.
“Rush,” his mother said, “do not make any plans with Eve just yet. Olivia will want to make her better acquaintance, and we ladies will be introducing her and her sister to all our guests.”
Erroll looked at Eve. “Do not say I never warned you about the MacLean relatives.”
“You will remember that I said I am well equipped to deal with them.”
With that, his mother led her and the other ladies into the crowd.
Ash stepped up beside him. “I would guess she is a handful.”
Erroll watched her disappear into the crowd. “You would be right.”
*****
Erroll stopped short at seeing Rebecca Reid talking with two other women. He hadn’t seen her since he left for the Navy. He’d thought of her in those first months after he’d returned, wondered if she remembered him as fondly as he did her. Her eyes shifted from the woman she was speaking with and rested on him. For an instant she didn’t move, then her mouth curved upward in a soft smile and he relaxed, then started toward her. Erroll was suddenly sure every one of the four hundred guests his mother invited had attended the party. When he finally reached Rebecca, her female friends all looked expectantly at him.
“Lord Rushton.” Rebecca extended her hand.
Erroll clasped her fingers and bowed over them, then looked at the other ladies. “Marianne, Jane, a pleasure to see you ladies.”
They murmured greetings in response, then Erroll said to Rebecca, “May I have this dance?”
She acquiesced with a nod and he excused them from the other two ladies then led her toward the dance floor.
“I wondered when you would return,” Rebecca said.
He smiled at her. “Who would have thought it would be under these circumstances?”
“I am not all that surprised,” she said.
“You expected me to marry?” he asked.
“I expected you to get yourself into trouble.”
Erroll laughed. “You know me too well.”
“Well enough to know you did not intend to marry.”
“That was no great secret.”
They neared the dance floor and she said, “I believe everyone on Mull is here. The dance floor is over-full. Would you mind if we got some fresh air instead?”
“Rebecca, you are an angel.” He steered her around the dancers and a moment later stepped out onto the balcony and into the cool night air.
“That is wonderful,” she said.
Erroll nodded at the bench near the railing. “Shall we?”
“Yes. I would love to rest a bit.”
They crossed to the bench and sat down.
“How have you bee
n?” she asked. “You look well.”
“I am very well, thank you, and you look wonderful. I don’t believe you have aged a day.”
“No need to charm me, Erroll.”
He covered her hand with his and gave it a squeeze. “I mean it. You are as beautiful as you always were.”
“Thank you.” She gazed out across the garden. “I’m very sorry about Val.”
He released a breath. “It’s been over a year. I have accepted his death.”
“I saw him a week before he left.”
Erroll kept his gaze straight ahead, beyond the light that spilled from the ballroom. “He served on one of the ships in the fleet at Trafalgar. I was there, but didn’t speak with him. How was he before he left?”
“You know Val. As serious as usual.”
Erroll nodded. He knew.
“He was in very good spirits,” she said. “Unlike most young men, he didn’t romanticize the war.”
“He wouldn’t,” Erroll said.
“He actually wrote me while he was away.”
Erroll looked at her in surprise. “I didn’t know you two were close.”
“We were…friends.”
“Friends?” he repeated.
She smiled. “Incestuous, I know. But after Glen died and you left…” she shrugged. “Val was a very charming man.”
Erroll wasn’t sure what to think. “Did you care for him?”
“You can’t be jealous,” she said with a laugh. “You and I cared for one another, but I had no illusions where you were concerned.”
“You are ever practical,” he said. And she would be, for he had made it plain there would be nothing beyond the sweet friendship they shared. They’d grown up together, shared a first kiss, then she’d married only to lose her husband early on in the war. Erroll had been there, comforted her, worshiped her body, then went off to do his part in the war. It was grossly unfair that of the three men she had cared for, he was the only one who returned.
“Would you like to read the letter?”
Erroll started from his thoughts. “Good God, no.”
“It’s not personal, at least not as personal as you might think.”
“It is better I do not.”
She was silent for a moment, then said, “Are you certain?”
He nodded and said nothing, could get no words past the lump in his throat.
As always, she understood, and said, “Your wife is lovely.”
“She is,” he agreed.
“Are you happy with her?”
Erroll laughed. “It would be more appropriate to ask if she is happy with me.”
“Is she?”
“Not completely,” he replied.
Rebecca laughed. “No woman is completely happy with a man. But what is that in a marriage?”
He cast her a sideways glance. “Is it any wonder I avoided marriage so determinately?”
“Perhaps not,” she said, and rose.
He followed suit, placed her hand in the crook of his arm and started back toward the ballroom.
“You do not seem unhappy,” she said.
“One could say I’m not unhappy,” he replied, and walked with her the rest of the way in silence.
*****
Lord Rushton had been wrong to warn her about the party and his relatives. Eve was charmed by each and every one of them, even the brother who had barged in on her and Grace on the ship. The warm welcome included orders to whip Lord Rushton should he misbehave—Eve knew all too well what they meant by misbehave—and downright coarse suggestions on how to make the most of their wedding celebration once alone in his bed. Through it all, in the back of Eve’s head echoed the words, “I wondered who would catch him.”
The marchioness and his sister had kept Eve so busy that she’d had no time alone with the earl. She wondered if he was getting as many lurid suggestions as she was. Lord, he didn’t need any help seducing her. Though the way he’d been acting since their marriage had become official made her wonder if he intended to.
“Oh dear,” Olivia’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Surely Marshall is not headed into the hallway with Hilary?”
Eve followed her gaze across the ballroom and spotted Hilary leaving with a young man. “Does not that hallway lead to the sitting room?” Eve asked.
“It does, but if you go beyond the sitting room, you can very quickly find privacy. In fact, they need not find a room to have privacy. There are private alcoves throughout the corridors.”
Eve certainly understood the dangers of a woman alone with a man in an alcove. “Would the young man take advantage of her?”
“Marshall is a good boy,” Olivia said, “but he fancies himself in love with her, and Hilary is already too accustomed to male attention.”
Olivia’s gaze shifted. Her eyes widened and she blurted, “Goodness.”
“What is it?” Eve demanded, then saw for herself what had startled her. Lord Rushton—her husband—was entering the ballroom from the balcony with a very beautiful woman on his arm.
Eve’s heart jumped to a gallop. Married less than a day—he had yet to consummate the marriage---and already he was fraternizing with other women?
“It isn’t what it looks like,” Olivia said. “Erroll and Rebecca are childhood friends. I am certain they were just visiting.”
Eve had the distinct impression Olivia was using the word ‘friends’ loosely.
Lord Rushton abruptly left the lady and hurried through the crowd. Eve couldn’t tear her eyes from him. He moved with lethal grace. She was reminded of a panther stalking the Serengeti. He entered the hallway where Eve realized Hilary had disappeared with the young man.
“Oh dear,” Olivia fretted. “I believe he saw Hilary with Marshall. I wish Angela were here. If Rush finds Hilary misbehaving he’ll take her over his knee without hesitation.”
And heaven help the boy if the panther catches him.
“Perhaps I had better go see if there is any mischief.” Olivia looked at her. “Will you be all right on your own?”
“I think I prefer to accompany you.”
“Eve, there is no need—”
“You shall not talk me out of it,” Eve cut in. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Olivia hesitated, but didn’t argue, and they made their way through the crowd as quickly as was possible. They finally reached the sitting room, but found neither Lord Rushton nor Hilary, and Eve followed Olivia into the hallway.
“I don’t hear any screams,” Eve said when they’d gone a little ways.
“Rush might have bound and gagged her.”
“Is he predisposed to tying women up and beating them?”
“There’s no telling what a man is capable of when he thinks a woman is acting improperly.”
Eve made no comment.
They turned a corner and muffled voices sounded from a room ahead. Olivia hurried forward. They reached the room and, without knocking, Olivia opened the door. Lord Rushton stood with Hilary and the young man.
The earl turned. “Olivia, Eve. Good, perhaps you two can talk sense into this girl.” He glanced at the young man. “I will deal with Marshall.”
“I can’t believe you are taking me to task,” Hilary said.
“I swear, I will send you to a convent,” he said.
Eve recalled her father making that same threat to Grace.
“You aren’t my guardian,” Hilary shot back.
“Do not doubt that your mother will obey me,” he said. “If your brother were here he would marry you off to the first man foolish enough to have you. That is exactly what I should do—and Davis will thank me when he returns.”
“I am no more ready to marry than you are, Rush.”
His expression turned stony. “You forget yourself, Lady Hilary.”
She sent a startled glance Eve’s way, then ire flashed in her eyes as she said in a petulant voice, “I did not mean any insult to your wife, but I wager she knows the truth.”
“But you know nothing,” he snapped. “Marshall, take yourself from Ravenhall. If you wish to pay your addresses to Lady Hilary, you will see me or my father—but not until you are at least five years older. By God, you are all of nineteen.”
“Twenty, my lord.”
“As if that is any better,” he muttered.
Marshall drew himself up. “I will see you at dawn, my lord.”
“Do not flatter yourself. I won’t shoot you. But I will beat you senseless should you again allow Hilary to bamboozle you into being more than five feet distance from a chaperone.”
“I understand.”
“I doubt that,” the earl said, but waved him off. “Pay your respects to my wife and sister, then go home.”
The young man murmured congratulations to Eve, bowed to Olivia, then left.
The door had barely clicked shut when Hilary said, “It isn’t as if I let him make love to me.”
“That would have gotten you two married,” Lord Rushton snapped. “Have you no shame? He is a good man. You were wrong to toy with him.”
“You toy with women all the time.”
Disapproval flashed in his eyes. “I wonder how you might hear of such things.”
“Do not be so tiresome,” she said. “Mull may not be Edinburgh, but your exploits reach us on a daily basis.”
“I wager by the time gossip reaches Mull there is little if any truth left—and I am sure you exaggerate.”
She eyed Eve and Eve saw the wheels turning in the girl’s head. Olivia must have seen it as well, for she said, “Hilary, stop being a brat.”
“Perhaps Lady Hilary would like to repeat the gossip she’s heard?” Eve said.
“Eve, I think—”
“There is no reason to avoid it,” Eve cut him off. “I happen to agree. Gossip seldom resembles the truth. Gossip that might spring up tonight, even.”
Lord Rushton’s brow furrowed, then she read understanding in his eyes.
“You of all people know how gossip laughs in the face of truth,” he said.
Eve canted her head in acknowledgement. “Lady Hilary is your family, so there’s no reason she cannot know the truth.” Eve looked at her before Lord Rushton could reply. “What did you hear?”
Daring Lords and Ladies Page 36