He stared at her curiously. “I can’t say that I see the significance of friends of Judith’s being here. Judith knows a great many…”
Not that this is at all like any of her other three adventures.
“Mountford, Nottingdon, and Helmsley?” He stared at Lady Dinsmore. “Three old friends? And you said she’s had three adventures?”
“You promised to forget that,” she said pointedly.
“I lied,” he snapped.
“Imagine my surprise.” Her gaze met his firmly. “Do you mind if I confess something to you?”
“I live for confessions from beautiful women,” he said without thinking. Three old friends?
“If you’re going to attempt to sway a woman with compliments you should try to sound more sincere.”
“Probably,” he muttered.
She studied him in a far too thorough manner. “I was looking for Judith to tell her of the unusual nature of the guests invited here to night. I did see her leave your side to dance with Lord Mountford.”
“So you deliberately told me that Judith’s former friends were here?” he said slowly.
“Forewarned is forearmed, my lord.”
“And you were warning me?” He did appreciate it, as odd as it seemed. He had a hard enough time coping with the fact of Judith’s past relationship with Helmsley. Putting faces to the rest of Judith’s adventures would be difficult indeed. “Why?”
“In many ways, Judith is just like any woman. A touch of jealousy in the man she cares for is relished.” Lady Dinsmore paused. “However, more than that she considers…unpleasant. She has never said it, but I have always suspected it has something to do with her late husband. I suspect as well it is the surest way to lose her entirely.”
“I shall struggle to keep my emotions under control,” he said wryly.
“You have nothing to be jealous of save the past, and frankly, my lord, what’s done cannot be undone.”
“I shall try to avoid fisticuffs and I doubt that there is a dueling pistol lying about here anywhere.”
“You may joke about this as much as you wish but do heed my warning.” She stared at him. “Are you in love with her?”
“That’s really none of your concern, is it?” he said mildly.
“On the contrary. Judith is my dearest friend. Her happiness is of great concern to me. Of late, she has been happier than I have ever seen her.” She met his gaze firmly. “If you are not in love with her, I would hope that you would end things with her before it is too late. I have never seen Judith’s heart broken. Indeed, she has guarded against that very thing through the years. I should hate to see it happen now.”
“And if I am in love with her?”
“Then it seems to me you have a number of decisions to make. Not all of them particularly pleasant, I would think.”
He studied her thoughtfully. “You care for her a great deal, don’t you?”
She nodded. “She is as close to me as a sister. And, more often than not, I like her far better than I like my own sisters.”
“Although I daresay she would not appreciate your telling me about the friends of hers here tonight.”
“One does things for those one cares about that are not always to their liking, yet for their welfare all the same.” She shrugged. “I have her best interests at heart.”
He smiled. “She is lucky to have you.”
“I hope I can say the same about you.” Lady Dinsmore cast him a brilliant smile. “Now then, my lord, I should like nothing better than to dance.”
“Then allow me the honor.” He extended his arm and escorted her onto the floor.
He took Lady Dinsmore in his arms and, as they moved around the floor, he caught a glimpse of Judith with Harry. Gideon firmly ignored the annoyance that stabbed him at the sight of Judith laughing up at the not unattractive but definitely too short gentleman who held her entirely too close.
He did appreciate Lady Dinsmore’s warning, it would not do to be caught unawares by Judith’s past, but what was the woman thinking? He was not some callow youth who would fly into a jealous rage at the sight of Judith’s former lovers. Certainly, his immediate impulse at the moment was to rip Judith from Mountford’s arms and drag her away, but he could hold rein on his emotions. He was a civilized man after all. And yes, he had experienced some jealousy earlier in the evening and he did find the fact of her relationship with Helmsley somewhat bothersome, but he was certainly the master of his own feelings. Perhaps once he had allowed his emotions to rule his behavior but this was a different time, a different woman, and he was an entirely different man.
Besides, Judith was his now. Why, hadn’t Lady Dinsmore just said Judith cared about him? He caught sight of her across the ballroom and tried to ignore the question that thundered in his head and perhaps in his heart, a question that had nothing whatsoever to do with jealousy.
Judith was his now, wasn’t she?
“You are exactly as I remember you, Judith.” Harry escorted Judith off the dance floor and managed to gaze into her eyes at the same time. But then Harry had always been talented if she remembered correctly. “You have not changed a bit.”
“I do hope I have changed somewhat.” She shook her head in a mock serious manner. “It wouldn’t do to remain the same year after year after year. I think it would make a person frightfully dull.”
“You’re right, of course.” Harry laughed, then sobered. “It’s been a very long time.”
“Not that long.” Judith shrugged off the comment. “Five years or so I should think.”
“Five years is a lifetime to be away from people you care for,” he said in a firm manner.
“I would imagine so.” There was something about him, something about the look in his eye that struck her as odd. No, not odd. Optimistic. Of course, she could be mistaken. Nonetheless, a tiny voice in the back of her head urged her to proceed carefully. “You have a rather extensive family if I recall. It must be difficult to spend so much time away from them.”
“Yes, of course, but my family is not who I was referring to.” He cast her a meaningful glance.
Judith laughed lightly as if he had just said something most amusing. Good Lord! Surely Harry couldn’t be thinking there was a possibility of renewing their relationship? Shortly after she had ended their adventure, he had taken to traveling to India and the Orient and, from what she’d heard, had increased his family’s fortune significantly. She had not seen him more than once or twice in passing since their days together, although she had not especially avoided him. However, avoiding his apparent intentions now seemed the wisest course. “Have you been back in En gland very long?”
“Nearly a year. Judith.” He gazed at her with an earnestness that was disquieting. “We have a great deal to talk about.”
She kept a pleasant smile on her face. “Do we?”
“Indeed we do.”
“Harry.” She chose her words carefully. Harry was a very nice man and she would not offend him for the world. However, there was an eager note in his voice, a fervent gleam in his eye that only a blind and deaf woman would fail to recognize. “I am fairly certain we said everything we needed to say to one another years ago.”
“So was I.” He grinned. “You can well imagine my surprise.”
“Your surprise?” She arched a brow. “Why on earth would you be surprised?”
“You’re right.” He chuckled. “I shouldn’t have been the least bit surprised. Fate and all that. Judith.” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “I must talk to you alone. Surely there is a terrace or library or unused parlor or somewhere where we can speak privately.”
“I have no idea.” And no intention of going anywhere with you alone. “I believe this was Lady Braxton’s parents’ house and I have never been here before. However.” She slanted a quick glance at the dance floor. Gideon was still dancing with Susanna and there would be no rescue from that quarter at the moment. “Why don’t you…go. Yes, that’s good.” She wave
d him away. “Go, see what you can find. Regarding a private location, that is. I shall wait for you here.”
“Better yet, why don’t you come with me?”
“I think it would be best if I were to remain here.” She leaned toward him in a confidential manner. “Gossip, you know.”
He scoffed, “If I recall, you were never overly concerned with gossip.”
“There you have it.” She beamed at him. “I have changed.”
“Yes, well, I suppose.” He eyed her longingly. It might have been most flattering under other circumstances. Or five years ago. But they had had their adventure, it was in the past, and she preferred to leave it there. “You will stay here, then?”
“Most certainly,” she lied. “Riveted to this very spot.”
“Excellent. I shall return shortly.” He took a step toward her as if he were about to take her in his arms right there in front of the world.
She wagged her finger at him. “Gossip, remember?”
“Yes, of course.” He sighed deeply, cast her one last yearning look, then turned and headed toward the main doorway.
“Do take your time,” she said under her breath and stared after him. What on earth had gotten into Harry? And what ever was he surprised about? Whenever she had seen him through the years they had been pleasant enough to each other, even friendly, but he had never before looked at her with the eagerness of an unrepentant puppy.
“Champagne?” A waiter’s voice sounded beside her.
“Yes, thank you,” she said absently and accepted an offered glass. There was definitely something odd here and she wasn’t at all sure if she wanted to find out what it was or flee. At the very least, she certainly wouldn’t be waiting when Harry returned, although she couldn’t let him believe there was the tiniest chance of a reunion between the two of them. What she needed was something to distract him. And what Harry needed was a nice woman who would make a nice wife. Not Judith, of course, but someone. Surely there was someone she could introduce him to. Preferably someone in this very room. It wouldn’t do to let Harry go on thinking—
“I never really understood what you saw in him.”
“He’s very nice and quite amusing when you—what?” She jerked her head toward the waiter and groaned. “Dear Lord, not you.”
Samuel, Viscount Nottingdon, grinned down at her. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?”
She stared at him for a moment, then favored him with a reluctant smile. “No, of course not. Your appearance simply caught me by surprise.”
“Did it? I thought it might.” He chuckled and sipped his wine.
Unlike Harry, her path and Samuel’s had crossed on a regular basis during the three years since their adventure had ended. They were now and again at the same ball or party, usually those so large the crush of people prevented anything more between them than a smile or a nod or the brief exchange of pleasantries. For the most part, Samuel had always kept his distance. Judith was under no illusion that he did so because she had broken his heart or anything of that nature. They had parted long before anyone’s heart could be at risk. But, as always, she had been the one to end it. She’d always thought it was more a matter of pride with him than anything else.
“It is good to see you see, Samuel.”
“Is it?” He raised a brow. “Why?”
“It is always good to see an old friend,” she said smoothly.
“You’re lying and you were never very good at it.” He sipped his wine and studied her.
“On the contrary, my lord.” She grinned in spite of herself. “I’ve always been quite an accomplished liar.”
“No, Judith, an accomplished liar would have made me feel as if I were the one ending it with her. You are annoyingly candid. Kind but honest.” He heaved an overly dramatic sigh. “However, you did teach me never to fall in love with a kind but honest woman.”
“Now you are talking nonsense,” she scoffed. “You never fell in love with me.”
“No, of course not,” he said wryly. “I am not that foolish.” He chuckled. “Nor were you foolish enough to fall in love with me.”
“That would indeed be foolish.” Relief swept through her and she took a long swallow of her champagne. At least Samuel, unlike Harry, had no illusions about what their relationship had been or could be now. Harry’s behavior still made absolutely no sense.
“However, I do suspect someone thinks foolishness is in the air.”
Judith drew her brows together in confusion. “What on earth do you mean by that?”
He considered her carefully. “You really had no idea I would be here to night, did you?”
She shook her head. “Why would I?”
“There’s something you should know,” he said slowly. “However, I think it would be best for all concerned if we continued this discussion in private rather than here in the ballroom.”
She narrowed her gaze and studied him. “You are not the first gentleman this evening to suggest a more private setting to speak with me.”
“And I can’t imagine I should be the last.” He cast her a wicked grin.
“I’m not sure if I can trust you.”
“You can’t, of course, not for a moment.” He met her gaze directly. “I wouldn’t.”
She smiled slowly. “Do you promise not to declare your undying love for me?”
He hesitated for so slight a time, she wasn’t certain it had happened at all, then grinned. “Absolutely not.”
She sighed in an exaggerated manner. “I suppose then it’s a risk I shall have to take.” She glanced around the ballroom and did not see either Gideon or Susanna. No matter, really. She would not be gone long. She drew a deep breath and looked at Samuel. “Well, where shall we go?”
He nodded at a different door from the exit Harry had taken. “Out that door and down the corridor to the right, there is a billiards room. I shall meet you there.”
She frowned. “Might not someone be playing billiards?”
“I would doubt it.” He shook his head. “Lady Traverston, Lady Braxton’s mother, never liked billiards, or rather never liked the way her husband and his companions gathered in the billiards room. The very existence of the room was apparently the subject of some dissension between herself and Lord Traverston. When he died, he left specific instructions that the table was not to be disturbed, and it wasn’t.” He grinned. “But Lady Traverston had the balls, the cues, and everything pertaining to the game removed.”
She laughed. “How do you know that?”
“You’d be surprised at the things I know.” He nodded toward the door. “We’ll leave the ballroom separately to avoid undue gossip, and I shall join you in a moment.”
“Very well.” Judith discreetly made her way to the door and from there to the billiards room. She said a brief prayer of gratitude that the large room was empty save for a number of masculine-looking chairs, an intricately carved billiards table, and the faintest hint of long ago cigar smoke. The last thing she wanted was to come upon Harry while waiting to meet Samuel. And then there was Gideon to consider, although with any luck at all, she would be back in the ballroom before he noticed she was gone. Not that it really mattered. If she had seen him she would have invited him to join them.
Even so, she wasn’t the least bit worried about meeting Samuel alone. There was something in his manner that indicated that his request to speak with her privately was sincere. Not that Harry wasn’t sincere. She grimaced. She still couldn’t imagine why Harry had decided there could be something between them again. She’d done nothing to encourage him. Why, she hadn’t even seen him for longer than she could remember.
“My apologies for not being here sooner.” Samuel stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “I ran into Mountford in the corridor and pointed him in another direction.”
“I am most grateful.” She blew a relieved breath. “I have no idea what has gotten into him. Lord Mountford has always been so rational. But he seemed to think
that he and I…” She shook her head. “Suffice it to say, he was under a misassumption. The question is why.”
“I believe I have the answer to that.” Samuel chose his words carefully. “As discreet as you’ve always been, it would not be at all difficult to identify those men who have been involved with you.”
“Don’t be absurd,” she scoffed. “I’ve had flirtations with any number of men through the years.”
“Yes, but those you have—what is the word you use?” He thought for a moment. “Ah yes, adventures with is substantially smaller. I had long ago determined I was the third of your adventures although I daresay Warton is number four.”
She stared in disbelief. “How did you—no—why did you—”
“Nothing more than simple observation, Judith.” His voice held a stern note. “Do not make more of it than that. We parted as friends and I should like to remain friends. I make a very loyal friend.”
“There isn’t a doubt in my mind.” It was quite wonderful to realize that a man she’d been intimate with thought enough of her to remain her friend. She cast him a warm smile. “And I am most grateful for that friendship.”
“As to the matter at hand.” He leaned back against the billiards table and braced his hands on either side. “When I received the invitation to Lady Braxton’s party I was surprised but not overly so. My mother and hers were great friends, and I’ve known Violet much of my life although I’ve never known her particularly well. Fortunately, my mother realized at an early age that her son and the daughter of one of her dearest friends would never suit so she did not push me in that direction.” He shuddered. “Thank God. But that’s how I knew the story of the billiards room.” He glanced around the room and shook his head. “Pity.”
“Go on.”
“At the bottom of the invitation Lady Braxton had written that you would be here—”
Judith stared. “What?”
“—and that you were looking forward to renewing our acquaintance.” He drew his brows together. “Or words to that effect. I would wager Mountford’s invitation was similar although as Helmsley is now married, it probably suited Violet’s purposes simply to have him present.”
A Little Bit Wicked Page 19