With her clothes sorted, Grace went back to pushing her food around her plate and Victoria continued to go through the mail.
“Ah, look.” She held up a crisp card embossed with golden writing. “It’s an invitation to Lady Blade’s Monday night. Have you met Jasper’s friend Lord Eaglestone? Well, it’s his mother. She and her husband, Lord Blade, are wonderful friends of the family. It would be fabulous to introduce you to a family of their standing. The more people of their ilk you are associated with, the more likely you will be accepted into society. Oh this could not have come at a better time.” Victoria clapped her hands lightly together in glee.
Grace smiled at Victoria’s obvious excitement.
“I’ll send a reply straight away. And one to Jasper too, I think. He will be coming as well.”
Victoria’s words were enough to wipe the smile from Grace’s face but what she said next sent dread into her heart.
“Perhaps we should arrange for you to travel there with Jasper in his carriage? I know it’s just not done, but considering you’re already engaged to be married, it will hardly cause the stir it might otherwise do. Lord knows you need to get to know each other better before the wedding. Why, I don’t even think you have spent any time alone together, have you?”
Victoria floated from the room to write her letters, leaving Grace to her cold breakfast and thoughts of being alone with Jasper, in a confined space, without any means of escape.
As it turned out, Jasper was unable to escort Grace the night of the dinner. In fact he arrived so late, he almost missed the dinner entirely. He spent the afternoon wrestling Philip from their club and then enjoyed the first hours of the evening trying to sober him up enough to make an appearance. What possessed Philip to get so inebriated on the day of his mother’s dinner party he would never know.
“I hear you’re going to sing for us tomorrow, Grace.” He managed to corner Grace by the bookshelf in the drawing room after the men returned from their cigars and port. Jasper had been trying to talk to Grace all week, but she deftly eluded his every move. She was either out or busy whenever he called upon her. He decided he needed to tell her about the money he’d settled upon Lady Anne before she found out from someone else. And with the state Philip was in tonight, Jasper wouldn’t be surprised if he announced it before the evening ended. Philip never could keep a secret. He wasn’t sure why he’d told Philip in the first place.
“What? What are you talking about? I’m not singing. Your sister is hosting a musical. I don’t suppose it’s The Sound of Music, is it?” Grace smiled up at him.
Looking down at her he couldn’t seem to recall why it was a bad idea to give in to his desire and kiss her. He stepped forward and crowded her into the bookcases. They were standing so close they were practically touching. Oh the scandal! He laughed out loud. If everyone only knew what kind of scandal they had been partaking in last week in the library!
“The Sound of Music? What are you talking about Grace? My sister is hosting a music recital and she is expecting you to sing.”
“What?!” Several heads turned their way at her outburst. “I can’t sing,” she whispered.
“Well, she thinks you can, she’s already sent the invitations and I’m afraid your name is front and centre as the singer. Don’t you know any songs?”
“Of course I know songs. I know lots of songs; unfortunately I just can’t sing them. Besides, no one would know any of the songs I know anyway. You have to tell your sister I can’t be her singer.”
“Oh no, you are not landing me with that job,” Jasper chuckled. “I’m not going to be the one to do that. You’ll have to tell her yourself.” Jasper smiled down at her stricken face, but there was no way he was going to break the news to his sister that her party was doomed to fail. Her parties never failed.
A piece of hair fell across Grace’s face. Before she could sweep it aside, he couldn’t help but reach out and gently brush it back behind her ear. She leaned her face into his palm and her lips parted. His thumb found its way to her lips and stroked the full bottom one. A sigh escaped from her lips and a bolt of desire shot straight to his groin.
“Can’t you two control yourselves even in public?” Neal’s voice broke the trance.
Grace jerked away from Jasper and bumped into the bookshelf, knocking books to the floor with a loud thud.
Neal reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her. “Come with me, Miss Lancaster. Bingham, you stay here, I think it would be best if you stayed away from each other for the duration of the evening. We will be leaving in an hour, so I hope you can manage that much.” He turned with Grace and led her from the room and into the hallway.
“What am I going to do with you? Victoria seems to have fallen in love with you so I can’t get rid of you. But can’t you show some restraint?”
There was something in Neal’s eye that Grace could relate to. “You love her, don’t you?”
“Who?”
“Victoria of course.”
“She is my wife.”
“That I know. You didn’t answer my question though. Do you love her?”
Neal turned away from her and ran his hands through his hair, making it stand on end, something that totally didn’t suit his usual perfect appearance. “Yes,” he whispered into the stillness of the hallway, “I’ve always loved her, but she can’t stand the sight of me. Do you have any idea how horrible it is to be trapped in a marriage where your wife hates you?”
“She doesn’t hate you. She just doesn’t know why you are such a grump all the time. Do you always have to be in a bad mood?” Grace touched his arm lightly so he would look at her.
“I can’t be any other way with her. She doesn’t understand me and that causes me to be the way I am. I used to be joyful. I wish I could be that way again, but it is not to be. I’m trapped in hell with the woman I love. I know she feels trapped too, but there is nothing I can do about it. There’s no way I will ever let her go.”
“Well, how about helping me then?” She deliberately injected a light note into her voice, trying to sweeten him up so she could get her way.
“You? I thought I already was. I am giving you a place to stay am I not?”
“Yes, and I thank you for that, but you will be helping Victoria too.” Grace bounced hopefully up and down on her toes.
“Oh very well, what is it that you want?”
Grace took a big breath and let out in a rush, “I can’t be Victoria’s singer tomorrow.”
“What? How is that helping Victoria? She needs you to be the star of her show. She said she told you a week ago.”
“I’m afraid I mustn’t have been listening. That’s why Victoria and I both need your help. There must be someone else who could be her star. Someone who every hostess covets?” Grace crossed her fingers and prayed there was someone else…anyone else.
Neal looked at her intently before he answered, “You.”
“Me?”
“You are the someone that every hostess covets. Everyone wants to meet the woman who brought Bingham to his knees. Someone who obviously still makes him forget where he is even after the scandal you two caused when you met.”
“But I don’t know any of your songs. They’re just not something that anybody sings back home.”
“Even better then, sing something from home. Something different, that no one else has heard before. You’re not getting out of it. Victoria needs you and therefore so do I.” Neal turned and stalked back into the drawing room leaving Grace standing alone in the hallway.
A song from home, huh, but which one?
“I hope you don’t mind, Jasper, I invited Lady Anne and her brother.” Victoria caught him just as he entered her house.
“Does Grace know?”
“She’s the one who suggested it. She also said she’ll only sing one song because she doesn’t know any songs from here. But she’s going to sing one from her home! Don’t you think it’s a great idea? She’ll be a hit! It’ll leave m
y guests starving for more. This is going to be the music recital of the year!” Victoria danced around the entrance with glee.
Jasper didn’t have a chance to comment on Grace’s brilliance before she bustled off to ensure the last-minute details were to her satisfaction before her guests arrived later in the afternoon. He should have been helping but he found himself unable to concentrate long enough to do much more than wander from room to room and get in everyone’s way. Hoskins had already asked him to move three times this morning as the maids carried overflowing flower vases into the drawing room. He felt like an imbecile. He couldn’t keep his mind off his fiancée.
Grace was still trying to decide which song to sing. She couldn’t think of any that would be acceptable. It was frustrating because she knew so many songs, but right now her mind drew a blank. Surely there was something she could sing? She sat at the piano racking her brain for inspiration. Her fingers ran across the keys remembering a simpler time when she had time to play. At one stage of her life it was her passion, but she hadn’t touched a piano since she lost her family; she didn’t have time. She was too busy numbing the pain and making ends meet. Her plan to accumulate enough money so she could move to Paris and disappear into the crowd had been disrupted just short of her goal by travelling here. She vowed to herself the day she buried her Mom, Dad and her brother Jacob that she would never become so close to anyone again that she could be hurt if she lost them. But getting accidentally engaged had put a slight spanner in the works. She wanted to help Victoria and felt responsible for her happiness today. It was not a good sign. Grace couldn’t risk her emotions again, especially when she was sure she wouldn’t be staying forever. If she arrived here all of a sudden, who’s to say she wouldn’t leave just as quickly? She didn’t want to put anyone else through what she’d experienced when she lost her family. At least she’d made Victoria aware that if she disappeared she would not ever be found.
“Grace, that is beautiful.”
Grace jumped a foot off the bench, almost missing it on the way back down. She turned around to see her new friend Anne and a strangely dressed gentleman. She supposed he was dressed in what was the latest fashion of the time. Yikes!
The fashion was interesting to say the least. He looked absolutely ridiculous. His collar was so high she didn’t think he could turn his head and the lace and ruffles coming from his sleeve would put Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean to shame. Thank God the women were not expected to dress as flamboyantly as that. Grace found it hard enough to wear corsets and garters let alone feathers and excess lace.
“I haven’t played the piano for years so I am glad it sounds all right. It relaxes me, and with having to sing today, I definitely need relaxing.” She ran her hand nervously across the keys. Maybe she could get away with just playing ‘Chopsticks’.
“Will you be playing as well? I would happily listen to that again. What was it? Beethoven?”
“Yeah, it was. And I might play, I don’t know, I would have to talk to Lady Harrison first. I don’t want to mess up her schedule.”
The man beside Anne obviously didn’t take kindly to being ignored for so long. “You speak very distinctively,” he sneered insultingly at Grace.
“Oh, sorry, Robin, I forgot all about you. May I present Miss Grace Lancaster? She’s from America. Grace, this is my brother, Lord Wester.”
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Lancaster, my sister tells me the two of you have become fast friends.” He smiled into her breasts.
A shiver ran up her backbone and it was not nearly the same sensation as the shivers she received from Jasper. “It’s nice to meet you.” She extended the tips of her fingers towards him and tried to smile without breathing in through her nose; the perfume coming from him was making her eyes water.
“The pleasure is all mine, my dear.”
Bile rose in her throat and Grace tried not to gag as his hand grasped hers and he brought his lips down to kiss it. She quickly pulled her hand from his grasp just before there was contact. Now she knew why women of the time wore gloves; to avoid having to touch leering men.
“Now that we have finally met, Grace…I may call you Grace? Would you do me the honour of joining me for a ride around the park tomorrow?” The man adjusted the front of his trousers and gave her a slow smile.
Grace rose from her bench by the piano and stood as tall as she could and looked down her nose at him. It was a bit of a struggle seeing as she was a good foot shorter than him, but she managed the effect all the same. “You may call me Miss Lancaster and I don’t think my fiancée would approve of me going for a drive with another man now that we are engaged. Besides, it’s awfully cold outside; I think I would rather wait until spring to enjoy the park. But thank you for the offer all the same.” She grasped Anne’s arm. “I’m so sorry, but I need to borrow your sister for a while, please excuse us.” Grace practically dragged Anne from the room.
“Anne, I’m sorry but your brother…” Grace started once they were out of earshot.
“Ah, there you are Grace.” Victoria bustled down the stairs. “You should be practising your song. You have chosen one, haven’t you?” Victoria linked her arm in Grace’s and swept her away with a quick apology to Anne.
“Well, not yet. I can’t think of one that would be appropriate.”
“You haven’t picked one yet?” Victoria’s voice rose to a squeak. “However on earth are you going to be ready in time, Grace? The recital is this afternoon!”
“I know, but I have a few in mind,” Grace said quickly, trying to sooth Victoria’s nerves. “I just need some inspiration.”
“What were you and Anne talking about? Maybe there’s a song that would suit your conversation?”
Grace smiled as a thought formed in her head. “Maybe there is one. Thank you, Victoria.” Lord Wester wouldn’t like it but she’d just decided which song to sing.
Anne found her brother amongst the beverages. He was drinking, again. “You can be so revolting sometimes, Robin. Poor Miss Lancaster. That was just so embarrassing. I cannot believe you touched yourself in front of her!”
“She has that effect on me. Besides she should be used to it, she is nothing but a whore and she should be treated like one. I will be happy to remind her of that fact.”
“How can you say that? Miss Lancaster is lovely, you just need to get to know her.”
“Oh, don’t you worry, sister dear, I intend to.”
“You stay away from her, Robin, she’s my friend and I won’t let you talk of her that way,” Anne hissed. She poked him in his chest, making him back up into the sidebar.
“She’s only your friend because of me.” He advanced, forcing her to retreat out of his reach.
She knew what he was capable of in one of his moods and she wasn’t about to let him near enough to catch her, even though they were in a room rapidly filling with Lady Harrison’s guests.
“She should be your sworn enemy, Anne. She stole your fiancée. You realise she’s just using you to get into your social circle? If she is able to crack yours as well as the Harrisons’, she will be the toast of the town and the ton will overlook the scandal she has caused.”
The smirk on Robin’s face before he walked away from her made her momentarily doubt her friendship with Grace. But she was sure Grace was a genuine and a true friend. Her brother didn’t do anything unless it was for his own benefit. Growing up with his morals made it hard for Anne to differentiate between friends and people just using her for their own gain. She watched with growing concern as her brother made his way to the front of the room to find a seat for the recital. Why would he want to sit in the front row? She knew not to trust her brother. She’d have to watch out for Grace, who didn’t know what Robin was capable of. Regrettably, Anne did.
Jasper could hardly contain his amusement; others were having a harder time. Snickers and guffaws echoed throughout the room. He couldn’t believe she had the gumption to insult Wester in public. She hit it j
ust right though, the dandy fitted every word. He was so vain. Jasper wondered what Wester had done to deserve her disdain. Unfortunately, he could well imagine.
Lord Wester was well known for how he treated ladies and Grace may have been exposed to his particular style. Jasper dearly hoped not. Otherwise his fists would have to have words with him. No one was going to insult his fiancée.
But what in the blazes was a ‘Lear Jet’? He made a mental note to question Grace when he had a chance to speak to her.
Jasper could hardly wait to find out what Wester had done to deserve such mockery. He smiled at the thought of the insult being spread throughout London by tomorrow. His girl had spunk.
Neal grabbed Victoria’s hand before she could rise from her seat. The look on her face was priceless. If he’d known Miss Lancaster would sing such a song he would have bagged a front row seat instead of hiding near the back. “Shh, let her sing,” he whispered amongst the ill-disguised laughter of their guests. “She’s fantastic.”
“She is ruining my recital,” Victoria hissed back.
“She’s making it the best recital in all of England. Everyone will be talking of this for years.” Laughter lines crinkled by his eyes as he tried unsuccessfully to muffle his mirth.
Victoria opened her mouth to lash him with her tongue, but he was pleased to see she seemed to be out of words. Now that was a change.
The looks on everyone’s faces told her she should have picked a different song. Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’ probably wasn’t the best choice.
There were coughs muffling laughter throughout the room and Lord Wester’s face was puce as she sung the words to him. The young girls present giggled into their hands while their mammas tried shushing them to no avail.
The bastard deserved every humiliating moment of it, but Grace could hardly wait until the song ended and she could leave. She was sure humiliating Lord Wester publicly wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had and she was sure she would pay for it somewhere someday.
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