She nodded. In her heart, she knew that he would. Her father would make sure that Eleonora would be welcomed back. She just wasn’t sure that her sister would be well again.
* * *
Elijah was greeting guests at the door. So far, everything had gone well. The guests had arrived, including Diana, her father, and her aunt. Elijah would never forget when he had seen her that evening, dressed in the blush satin. He had to tear himself from her, if only to continue in his hosting duties. Finally, the long line had dwindled away.
He entered the ballroom, looking about the crowd. He felt a large sense of pride. His father would have been pleased with the ball. For the first time since his father’s death, it felt as though he had finally stepped into the role of Viscount.
He found Diana, standing by the door waiting for him. She curtsied to him, and he bowed to her.
“Cambolton House looks wonderful this evening, My Lord,” she said, fanning herself with a fan made of pink-blush lace.
“Well, I couldn’t have done it without you, My Lady.” They both stood, looking out over the crowd. “It seems to have all gone off without a hitch.” He glanced over at her. Her brows were knit together.
“What’s the matter?” he asked gently.
She smiled, shaking her head. “Nothing. There was a bit of a disagreement during luncheon this afternoon.”
“What can I do?”
“Distract me.”
“Well,” he said. “I suppose we should be the first couple to the dance floor. The musicians look to be tuning up.”
“It would look very proper,” she agreed, taking his proffered arm. “Especially since I’ve saved the first dance for you.”
Beaming with both joy and pride, he led Diana out to the middle of the floor, just as the musicians began to tune up their instruments. As he had planned, it was a waltz. He had wanted to dance with her, like this.
The music began, and he led her in the box step, his hand on the now-familiar hourglass shape of her waist. She looked up and into his eyes and beamed at him.
He could feel everyone’s eyes on them. He felt he was the happiest gentleman in the room. He was glowing with delight. Diana only had eyes for him.
“All I want, in this moment, is to be alone with you,” she whispered.
“Perhaps we can make that happen,” he replied.
“Scandalous, Lord Cambolton,” she remarked. “Three dances, do you think?”
“Three,” he agreed.
“Where we said?”
“Yes.”
The dance ended, and he bowed to her. She curtsied, and then went to find whichever gentleman had claimed her for the second dance. Elijah found a young lady, who had no partner for the second. It was a rousing country dance. He had made sure.
He didn’t want to dance closely with any other. He couldn’t bring himself to. He belonged, body and soul, to Diana. He couldn’t even look at any of the other ladies. There was no going back.
Everything must work out.
He didn’t know if he would be able to stand it if Lord Lutterhall refused to allow him to marry her. He would be devastated. He thought of all of the great love stories, and how the people in them weren’t always so certain that things would work out.
Chapter 20
Diana’s head spun, as she finished the third dance, then excused herself to go over to the refreshments table. By now, the ball was in full swing. She got a glass of wine, then sipped it. It was a sweet but bitter Pinot. Cold, with a bite. As white wine should be.
“My Lady,” Elijah said, sidling up to her. She grinned at him, setting down her glass. She only wanted to be intoxicated by him.
They both glanced around. No one was paying them any attention. Her Aunt Clarabelle was deep in conversation with a group of older ladies. Her father was having a discussion with Admiral Jansen.
Diana and Elijah shared a glance, then slipped from the room, together.
“At last!” she whispered as they both ran into the gardens. She held up her skirts with one hand, her other clutching Elijah’s. Her tiny dancing slippers were beginning to pinch, yet even that couldn’t bring her back to the ground.
Outside, darkness had fallen and the gardens were lit up by torches, which had been placed periodically so that the small groups of guests could walk through them.
In the light, the gardens seemed like a fairy land with the flames lighting up the flowers in the night. Overhead, the moon was round and full. Diana’s heart raced. She had never, in her whole life, done something like this. She allowed him to lead her along through the semi-darkness.
All around them, groups of people strolled the garden paths out of sight. As they made their way along the other side of the hedge row, she turned to Elijah, whose hand went to her lower back, pulling her in close to him.
He kissed her and she went up on her tiptoes. They both pulled away, then continued to run. Once they arrived at the path toward the millhouse they slowed.
Her stomach was filled with butterflies. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but knew that it would be wonderful. It was quiet out there, except for the soft sound of the frogs. No one would find them. They slipped inside. In the darkness, she reached up, her fingers to his lips. He kissed her fingertips.
“Do you think you could get away during the day tomorrow?” he asked. “Could you meet me here? I can’t stand being away from you like we have been.”
“Yes, I believe I could. I mean, we’re safe, here. No one will know.”
“The workers are only here during the morning,” he pointed out. “If you come when it’s still daylight, then we won’t be seen.”
She raised her hand to his cheek. It was both smooth and rough at the same time. His hand was on the small of her back, holding her close to him. There was a warm feeling, pooling in her stomach.
The rush of his nearness, combined with the illicitness of their sneaking off was combining into an intoxicating rush. He pulled away, looking down at her.
“I love you,” she whispered. It was the first time that she’d said it in such certain terms. Before it had been I’m falling in love. But she knew, then, that she was very much already there.
In the darkness, he beamed down at her. He opened his mouth, to say it back to her, when they heard the sound of footsteps in the gravel walkway. They both slipped into the shadows, behind a low pile of bags of barley and flour.
Diana almost gasped, when she saw her father enter. She wondered if he had followed them. He was certainly looking for them. He walked around, peering into the shadows. The sound of the rushing water, the wheel as it turned, drowned out any noise of them.
She was terrified. If he found them out here, he would be livid. He might even end their courtship. She held on tightly to Elijah’s hand, hoping that her father didn’t look behind the bags.
* * *
It was a very long while, while Lord Lutterhall poked around. He searched the mill house for a sign of them. However, he did not search thoroughly. Finally, the door opened, revealing a slice of blue light from the moon. Then, he was gone, shutting the door behind himself.
Elijah glanced at Diana, as they both let out a sigh of relief. He patted her on the back, while she caressed him gently on the cheek. They came out, from where they had hidden.
“Come,” he said, taking her by the hand. “We can go out this way.” They left through the other door, then peered out around the mill house. From where they both hid, they could see the retreating figure of Lord Lutterhall as he walked back into the garden.
“He’s looking for us,” Diana said, fear in her voice.
“He is,” Elijah agreed, taking her by the hand. “Before we go back, though, I wanted to ask you something.”
She looked at him, curiously. This was the perfect time to do it. Now, when she was looking at him in the moonlight, just like when he had first beheld her.
“You said to ask you in a month, whether it was possible for you to fall in love wi
th me. I know that it has only been a few weeks, but I myself know that I am already in love with you,” he said, his heart racing. “And only just now, you did say that you loved me, so I think that I’d be justified—"
She smiled. “I know what you’re going to ask,” she replied. “And the answer is yes. I do love you.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m asking you to marry me, Diana.”
“You are?”
“Yes. I can’t keep sneaking off from your aunt all of the time,” he said. “I want to marry you, and start our lives together.”
“Of course!” she said. He leaned in, and kissed her. He felt as though everything was coming together for him, in that moment. When they finally pulled away, they beamed at each other.
“Now, we have to get back!” she ordered, grabbing his hand. “My father cannot find us, and he will send out the cavalry if we are nowhere to be found.”
Together, hand in hand, they ran across the open space, heading for the garden, where they would rejoin the party. However, when they reached the garden gate, Lord Lutterhall stood there. His face was grim. Elijah realized that, in his desire to speak with her alone, he had made a grave mistake.
* * *
Diana’s heart leapt into her throat when she saw her father. He was livid, his eyes glittering with cold fury. She steeled herself, holding tightly to Elijah’s hand.
“Father—” she began, but he cut her off.
“I realize that I gave my permission for the both of you to court. However, I never want to see you sneaking off again.” His jaw twitched. “Am I understood? Courting. Not marriage.”
“Yes, Father.” Diana said it, yet she still planned to meet him. She couldn’t continue to have her aunt always watching them. She knew, in her heart, that she would go to great lengths to ensure that she would be with him.
“I apologize, My Lord,” Elijah said.
“I thought that it would be more productive to keep you around,” he replied. “I’m seeing that I might have been mistaken. I thank you for your hospitality this evening.” He bowed, then grabbed Diana by the arm. “Come. I believe that it’s time for us to leave.” His tone brooked no argument. He would be obeyed, and that was final.
“But it’s early,” Diana complained. “We can’t just leave.”
His look told her that he had no intention of staying any later. “I have already told you,” he stated flatly. “Say goodnight to Lord Cambolton.”
She turned toward him. He looked very sorry. She knew that it was now going to be difficult to get her father to agree to anything.
“Goodnight, My Lord” she whispered, attempting not to cry.
“Goodnight, My Lady.” He bowed, then brought her hand to his lips.
Her father took her by the arm, leading her through the gardens, back around to the front of the house. She looked back, to see Elijah, watching them go. She ached for him, endlessly. He pointed, indicating that he would be there the next day, as they had planned.
She would be there, though she couldn’t make any gesture. She would have to ride through the woods. Alone. She wasn’t afraid. Getting out of the house would be her only difficulty.
And that might be far more difficult, indeed, now that Father’s going to be watching my every move.
The two of them climbed into the carriage. Her father ordered the coachman to take them home. When he spoke it was in sharp commands. The last time that she had seen him so angry was at the time of Eleonora’s accident. Her father had been both angry and grief-stricken. However, Diana was nowhere near death, so he was merely angry.
“What about Aunt Clarabelle?” she asked. Surely, her aunt would notice that they were gone.
“I will take you home, then I will return for her,” he replied succinctly as the carriage pulled down the drive and away from Cambolton House.
Diana watched as the house disappeared behind the darkness of the trees. As she watched, she could still see the lights flickering on the other side. It was as though she were leaving her home behind.
It was a long while before her father spoke. When he did, it was with anger. “I am disappointed in you, Diana.”
“I know, Father.” She raised her chin, fully prepared to face his wrath. She had known that he was strict. He loved her, and wanted to protect her. “Eleonora is already spoken of as a fallen lady among the ton. We cannot disprove this, however, rumor has destroyed her reputation beyond repair. As her sister, you must be above reproach, or risk losing your own.”
This was utterly contrary to what he had said, when they had arrived. “I thought that you were going to fix her reputation,” she said. “You said that you would.”
“When she is well enough,” he clarified, “I will make sure that she is comfortably wed to a man who doesn’t mind that she is ruined. You, on the other hand, shall make an advantageous match. I will see to it myself that Lord Cambolton understands this.”
“Father, I want to marry Lord Cambolton,” she reasoned, figuring that if she bared her soul to him, then he would allow her to follow her heart. After all, Elijah had just asked her to marry him. “If you would just give your permission for us to marry—”
“I am not convinced that he is the best that you can do,” he told her. “I’m sure that we can find you someone more suitable.” It was like a door, slamming shut on the happy life that Diana would have at Cambolton House.
“I know that he is,” she said, devastated by her father’s admission. “I love him.”
“When are you going to grow up, Diana? Love doesn’t exist. A marriage is a business proposition or a political alliance.”
She blinked at him, tears forming in her eyes. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe that her father said this.
“Then I shall never marry,” she replied, stunned even by her own calm demeanor. “You can parade as many Dukes, Earls, and Marquesses before me as you like. I shall refuse every single one.”
He didn’t respond. He merely sat there, across from her, the light from the lamps on the carriage flickering against his glasses. “You will do as I tell you to do. I have not been as hard on you as I could be. I can see that was a mistake. It has almost caused you to lose your reputation.”
Diana felt like she’d been slapped. In the space of a few moments, her future with Elijah had become very uncertain. She wasn’t about to give up hope, however. She would convince him to go to her father tomorrow.
She was certain that reason would prevail, and that the two of them could convince her father otherwise.
I can’t give up, not when Elijah is ready to marry me.
“I’m not entirely sure that I can condone the courtship any longer,” her father said at last. Diana flinched, horrified. She stared at him, feeling her heart break at the thought.
“Please,” she begged. “Please don’t end it.”
“You made your choice,” he replied coldly. “Now, you’ll have to learn the consequences. I will not have your reputation sullied.”
Chapter 21
Elijah watched as the carriage pulled down the drive. He knew that he had hosting duties, so he returned to the ball. He moved among the crowd, though with Diana gone he couldn’t enjoy it. He passed through his own home like a ghost.
He thought back to the anger in her father’s face. He had made a mistake.
How am I going to fix it?
“Lord Cambolton,” Lady Bolger said, coming over to him. “Have you seen Lady Diana?”
“I saw Lord Lutterhall taking her home.”
She frowned. “My brother,” she murmured shaking her head. She placed a hand on his arm. “If you must know,” she said. “I’ve put in a good word with Lord Lutterhall. I think that you and Lady Diana will be a good match.”
“Thank you, Lady Bolger. That means all the world to me.” He meant it. Now that he might have lost Diana, any ally was a help.
“What you must understand is that Lady Eleonora’s accident, six months ago, has upse
t him.”
“Six months ago?” he asked, his heart squeezing.
“Yes. Didn’t you know?” She looked at him, her eyebrows raised.
Lady Bolger continued speaking. But Elijah’s pulse was racing, blocking out any other sounds. Lady Eleonora’s accident was around the time of his father’s death. He wondered if, perhaps, they happened on the same night.
He would have to ask Lady Diana. He hoped that she would come the next day, to meet him back at the mill house. If she did, he would ask her. They would get to the bottom of it. He didn’t know what to think.
Sinfully Bound To The Enigmatic Viscount (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 14