He let his arm drop to his side, but he remained too close for Juliana’s comfort.
“Frost, you have been remiss in introducing us to your lovely companion,” Sin murmured, ignoring the banter of his friends.
“Not remiss, my friend, just possessive since I found her first,” the earl said, bringing one of her hands to his mouth and kissing her knuckles. “Nevertheless, it eases my mind knowing that Nell will keep you well occupied.”
Juliana saw no purpose in pointing out to Lord Chillingsworth that she had encountered Sin at the Lettlecotts’.
“My lady, may I present Alexius Braverton, Marquess of Sinclair, and his dear friend the Countess of Lawrie.” He broadly gestured at her as if she were some sort of prize. “My friends, this is Lady Juliana Ivers.”
Lord Sinclair flinched as if he recognized her name. “Lady Juliana Ivers,” he said evenly.
He did not seem pleased by the revelation.
Juliana hastily curtsied. “A pleasure, Lady Lawrie . . . Lord Sinclair.” She sidestepped Lord Chillingsworth’s hand and backed away toward the doorway. “I have to—forgive me—my mother and sisters await my return.”
Without giving anyone a chance to stop her, she bolted from the small parlor.
“What an odd, nervous mouse,” remarked Nell.
Alexius walked to the doorway and searched the passageway. Not surprisingly, it was empty. The lady had vanished. He wondered if she had been telling them the truth about seeking out her mother and sisters or if it had been a ruse to escape what had turned into an awkward encounter.
Christ, what a surprise.
His mysterious blond lybbestre was Lady Juliana Ivers.
One had to appreciate the irony.
“You ruined everything,” Frost said, his voice rich with disgust.
Nell crossed over to the sofa and sat down. “Us?” She glared at Alexius. “I told you to lock the door.”
“There seemed to be little point,” Alexius countered. “We both saw the error of our ways before any damage had been done.”
The countess tipped her chin upward and purred, “Oh, I might have left a scratch or two.”
Tangling with Nell again had been a very bad idea.
Lust had never been the problem between them. They had both enjoyed the carnal side of their relationship. Regrettably, it was Nell’s emotional needs Alexius could never quite satisfy, and he gradually became distant with her increasing demands. This led them both eventually to find solace in the arms of other lovers; however, he and Nell always seemed to circle back to each other at odd times.
This time, he was to blame, Alexius silently mused. He should not have allowed Nell to kiss him.
She had viewed his lack of resistance as a sign that he had wanted to resume their relationship. As it was, the eager lady had managed to partially tug one of her breasts free from her bodice when Frost and Lady Juliana had stumbled into the room.
“Odd,” Alexius said to Nell. “I felt nothing.”
Frost was too frustrated with his own disappointment to notice the couple’s exchange. “I will admit the lady was skittish, but she was beginning to thaw. I might have coaxed the lady to indulge in a little mischief if the parlor had been empty.”
Alexius’s face snapped in Frost’s direction. Unadulterated rage washed over him at the thought of his friend touching Lady Juliana. He had seen her first.
Frost smirked at his friend. “What is wrong with you? Were you hoping that I would share?”
A small mound of violet satin spared Alexius from responding to his friend’s taunt. He strode over to the chair and snatched up the fabric. It was Lady Juliana’s reticule. It was small and delicate like its owner.
“She must have dropped it when she was fighting you off.”
“I resent that remark,” Frost said with mock outrage. “The lady was most definitely warming to my touch.”
Alexius silently disagreed. According to his sister, Lady Juliana was chasing after the well-mannered Lord Kyd. Frost’s aggressiveness probably terrified her.
And Alexius was about to test her reaction to him.
His grip tightened on the reticule. “I will return the reticule to her.”
Frost’s blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why you?” he demanded.
Nell stirred, also unhappy with Alexius’s announcement. “Frost wants the little mouse. Let him return it.”
“Be reasonable. Lady Juliana will be with her mother and sisters,” Alexius reminded them. “Mothers tend to hide their daughters when Frost shows any interest.”
“He speaks the truth. It is a curse.” Frost dropped down beside Nell and leaned his head against her shoulder as if seeking comfort.
The countess sighed, laying her cheek against the top of the earl’s head. “Poor Frost. What shall we do with you?”
Frost used his finger to trace the outline of her bodice. “If I may be bold, I have a few humble suggestions.”
Alexius left the parlor with Nell’s high-pitched laughter ringing in his ears. Though Frost had not been the countess’s first choice, she would take him into her bed, letting him soothe away the hurt Alexius’s rejection had caused.
Alexius had other quarry: the lady in the violet dress.
Chapter Seven
“WHERE DID YOU go? Maman said that you were dancing with Lord Kyd, and then you vanished.” Lucilla beckoned Juliana closer. At their mother’s insistence, her sister was also attired in violet. There were subtle differences, since Juliana’s dress was edged with different trim that had been dyed a darker hue. Cordelia wore yet another style.
“Did you go out into the gardens with him?”
Juliana was scandalized by the suggestion. “What an outlandish thing to say! Lord Kyd is a gentleman, and nothing more than a friend. I—” She abruptly shut her mouth.
The only thing worse than slipping out into the dark gardens with a gentleman she barely knew was letting Lord Chillingsworth kiss her in the Kempes’ small parlor. Lord Sinclair and Lady Lawrie were unlikely chaperones. Juliana suspected that she and the earl had interrupted something intimate between the pair. Thankfully, she had been spared the details.
Lord Sinclair seemed to have ladies tossing themselves at his feet wherever he went. Thank goodness she was immune to the madness!
“What?”
Juliana gave her sister an impatient glance. “I retired to one of the small parlors to recover from dancing.”
Lucilla nodded, accepting her explanation. “Well, Maman was looking for you. She wanted to be the first to share the good news.”
“What good news?”
“Cordelia has a new suitor,” Lucilla said, clearly thrilled that she was in the position to share the news with Juliana before anyone else. “Look over there. They are sitting on one of the benches near the open doors.”
For once, Lucilla was not exaggerating. Across the ballroom, their elder sister was chatting enthusiastically with a rather handsome gentleman. “Who is he?”
“Lord Fisken,” Lucilla confided. “Maman has learned that he is thirty years old, has never been married, no mistresses or scandals lingering in his past, and is heir to an earldom.”
Juliana blinked at the wealth of information her mother was able to gather in such a short period of time. “He sounds like the perfect gentleman for our Cordelia.”
“I heartily agree,” the marchioness said, walking up to her daughters. She had chosen a plum-colored dress to complement her daughters’ dresses. “Mrs. Maddock told me that the earl is currently worth five thousand annually.”
Lucilla’s eyes widened at the amount. “Indeed.”
Poor Lucilla had nothing else to say on the matter. She suspected that Lucilla’s suitor, Mr. Stepkins, brought in a fraction of that annual amount. The two elder sisters were highly competitive. The fact that Cordelia had caught the eye of a wealthy nobleman was bound to be a source of friction between the two sisters.
“Rumor has it that Fisken has a keen eye f
or quality horseflesh,” a masculine voice interjected. “His stables in the country are the stuff of legend.”
Juliana gasped and whirled about to confront him.
Sin.
“You,” she said, wanting to cringe at the inanity of her response to him.
He inclined his head. “Forgive me for eavesdropping. I have always wondered what ladies discuss when gentlemen are out of earshot.”
Juliana slowly dipped low into an elegant curtsy. “I pray you are well-mannered enough to allow us to keep our secrets.”
She was very aware that her mother and Lucilla were awaiting an explanation as to how she had come to know the handsome, flirtatious gentleman.
Lord Sinclair quirked a brow upward at her breathless reply. “I believe this is yours.”
Her reticule looked so small in his large gloved hands.
“T-thank you, my lord.” She took the cloth bag from him and sent a helpless look to her mother. “Maman, may I present to you the Marquess of Sinclair.”
Her gaze shifted back to the man the ton called Sin. “My lord, this is my mother, the Marchioness of Duncombe, and my sister, Lady Lucilla Ivers.”
“Lady Duncombe . . . Lady Lucilla,” he murmured, politely taking their extended hands in turn and bowing. “What providence that your daughter forgot her reticule. Her carelessness gave me the opportunity to introduce myself to the prettiest ladies at the ball.”
Lucilla tittered at Sin’s flattery. Juliana gave her an incredulous look. How easily Mr. Stepkins was forgotten.
Her mother’s smile was reserved as she studied the nobleman. “You are generous with your compliments, Lord Sinclair. How is it that you know my Juliana?”
That was indeed an excellent question!
Juliana was curious about the marquess’s reply. The two occasions she had encountered the man, he’d had a different lady in his arms. Maman was hoping to find a husband for Juliana and her sisters. Lord Sinclair would never do.
“Your daughter did not tell you?” Sin appeared disappointed that Juliana had not gossiped about him. “Lady Lettlecott introduced us.”
Juliana almost sputtered at his audacity. However, to correct Sin would only lead to questions that she preferred not to address.
“Really?” Her mother gave her youngest daughter a hard stare. “What a shame that we departed from the Lettlecotts’ early. Otherwise, we might have been properly introduced.”
The marquess acknowledged the slight rebuke with a gracious nod.
“Regrettably that evening I was pressed into another commitment, and my conversation with Lady Juliana came to an end too quickly.” When his gaze switched to hers, Juliana felt her heartbeat quicken. “With your permission, of course, I would like to continue our discussion about—”
“Music,” Juliana hastily supplied. It was the one subject she could pontificate about for hours, and one guaranteed to discourage her mother and sister from joining.
“Is this what you were discussing in the Kempes’ small parlor?” Lucilla asked slyly.
Juliana’s cheeks flushed with color as she contemplated how she would quietly murder her sibling when they were alone.
“Alas, I did not come across Lady Juliana until she was leaving the room.” His roguish eyes shimmering with mischief, he asked, “By the bye, who was the enviable gentleman that caused you to forget your reticule?”
Lady Duncombe’s eyebrows disappeared into her turban. The gentleman was deliberately tormenting Juliana. Sin’s not-so-innocent question had shifted her mother’s shrewd regard and placed it squarely on her.
“There were several people in the parlor, Lord Sinclair,” she said, recalling the rising panic she had experienced as Lord Chillingsworth had thoroughly kissed her. “This is rather shameful to admit, but I was rather bored by the conversation and did not pay attention to the round of introductions made.”
“Juliana!”
She could not decide what appalled her mother more, her daughter’s inattention or the fact that Juliana had not tactfully lied about it. The marquess was clearly enjoying the mischief that he had stirred between mother and daughter.
“Walk with me, Lady Juliana,” Sin entreated, offering the crook of his arm. “Later, when I escort you back to your family, I am confident that you will not forget my name.”
“You lied to my mother.”
“So did you.”
He seemed privately pleased that she had done so. Perhaps Sin thought she was trying to protect him. It was an erroneous assumption. Truthfully, Juliana did not understand why she had not revealed the marquess’s wicked behavior with Lady Lettlecott or even Lady Lawrie to her mother and sister. The revelation would have simplified Juliana’s life. She had glimpsed her mother’s hopeful expression as she strolled away with Lord Sinclair. Her mother considered the gentleman a potential suitor for her stubborn youngest daughter.
“Where are we going?”
With his hand splayed lightly on her back, he gently urged her to keep ascending the staircase.
“I think this conversation warrants a little privacy, do you not agree?” He led her down a long, narrow hall that the Kempes used as a gallery. Three ladies and their male escort were admiring the art collection, while another couple seemed engrossed in their private discussion.
Sin tried the first door. “It has been a few years since I have wandered this house—” He peeked inside. “Yes, this room will suffice.”
He opened the door and waited for her to enter.
“Lord Kempe is an avid collector of mineral specimens,” the marquess said, which explained why every bookcase, table, and shelf was filled with rock specimens both large and small, delicately beautiful and oversized chunks of uninspiring stone.
Juliana picked up a pretty green stone that she could not identify. “Are you a collector, too?”
“Christ, no!”
Perhaps Lord Sinclair was not a collector of stones, but a lady’s heart was what he coveted, Juliana privately mused. He savored the hunt, took possession, and for a while he admired his prize before he dashed off in pursuit of another.
Juliana could understand the marquess’s appeal. There was something thrilling to be standing next to a beast so beautiful and untamed. The trick was to remember that wild things had a nasty habit of biting the unwary. Juliana silently vowed never to forget that Sin was a gentleman who lived up to his name. He was dangerously tempting. Decadent and unrepentant.
Even if she had been interested in acquiring a husband, Lord Sinclair was wholly unsuitable.
She returned the stone to its place on the marble table. “My lord—”
He held up a hand to silence her. “Sin or Sinclair, if you please.”
“Sinclair, then,” Juliana said, moving closer to the small fireplace, since the marquess had made himself comfortable on the sofa. “I suppose you are wondering if I will keep your secrets.”
Her words seem to puzzle him.
“My secrets?” he said cautiously.
Juliana scowled at the burning coals in the hearth. “Lady Lettlecott and Lady Lawrie.” She shrugged. “I doubt either lady is aware that you are courting both.”
She glanced back at him as comprehension gleamed in his eyes. Sin grinned at her discomfort and lazily stretched his arm across the back of the sofa as he watched her. “Ah, I see. And what is the price for your silence, Lady Juliana?”
“Price?” The manner in which he stared at her was making her fidgety. “There is no price.”
“So you have yet to set a price?”
“No!” She crossed her arms and glared at Sin. “Are you always so provoking? I do not want anything from you.”
“Are you certain? Come away from the fire, Juliana,” Sin tenderly commanded. “You will be far more comfortable on the sofa.”
Juliana glanced back at the handsome male with his long legs splayed apart with an informality that she envied. He patted the cushion beside him and waited for her to return to him.
“I prefer to remain close to the fire. There is a chill this evening,” she added defensively, whirling about and offering him her back.
Sin was a gentleman who unmistakably possessed strong passions. He was used to ladies who acquiesced to his demands. Her refusal might be viewed as a challenge. That had not been her goal at all. However, Juliana suspected that if she joined him on the sofa, Sin would not be content until he gained her complete surrender.
He chuckled at her stubbornness. “Very well, my lady. You leave me no choice.” With a muffled sigh, he rose from the sofa like a magnificent animal and positioned himself so that the warmth of his body covered her backside like a warm blanket.
“N-no choice?” Juliana shivered, swayed slightly into the glorious heat emanating from his body.
What should she do? Scream? Run away? Or stay? She should have never agreed to speak with him in private. She should have remained with her mother and sister.
“You are standing too close,” Juliana whispered.
“Am I?” His lips brushed her right ear. “The distance feels nigh perfect to me.”
The top of her head tingled from his soft caress. It felt as if tiny fairies were dancing about in merry rings in hopes of making her head spin. “What is the point to this flirtation? If this is to silence me—I told you, I want nothing. I have no interest in gossip or your private business.”
“Hush.” Sin nipped the pearl dangling from her earlobe. His breath teased her ear as his hands curled around her upper arms. “You are gracious to keep my secrets. Nevertheless, I believe our first meetings have given you a false impression with regard to where my true interests lie.”
Juliana’s heart stumbled in her chest at the notion that Sin desired her, even though she believed that he was spinning pretty tales to gain what he wanted. “I have tarried here too long. Maman—”
“Knows you are in capable hands,” Sin said, a touch of humor lacing his voice. “I wager that you are no longer cold.”
All Night with a Rogue: Lords of Vice Page 6