by Lori Wick
glanced over to ask him a question and found his handsome
face in a fierce frown.
"Are you feeling ill, Roddy?"
"No. I'm just always amazed at the ton's propensity for
gossip."
Stacy stared at him uncomprehendingly.
"I take it you didn't hear that remark concerning you and
me?"
Stacy shook her head no.
"Well, then, we'll let the matter drop."
Stacy nodded in agreement but was troubled by his words.
It was a pity really that her friendship with Roddy had to be put
in a sordid light, because it simply wasn't so. He was only a few
years younger than Lucinda and like a father figure to her.
Even if her heart had moved to romance where he was concerned,
in her mind he belonged to Lucinda. Stacy sighed
softly and did her best to do as Roddy suggested
"I don't believe you've heard a word I've said," Lord Edmond
Black complained to his nephew as their horses stood off the
path in a small copse of trees. "But I'm going to say it again. I
think those horses are a good investment, and I think you
should look into it."
Tanner glanced at the older man for an instant, but his
eyes swung swiftly back to the woman riding through the park
with Roddy Caruthers. Something tightened in his chest as he
watched her smile at her companion, something he hadn't felt
for years.
Edmond was talking again, so Tanner turned and tried to
pay attention, but almost immediately, as though they couldn't
help themselves, his eyes sought out the girl once again. This
time he watched her until she disappeared from view, wondering
absently how long her hair might be, and about her relationship
to Caruthers.
"Tanner!"
Tanner's handsome head swung slowly back to his uncle.
The look he gave the older man was one of pure boredom.
Tm listening, Edmond."
Edmond grunted with irritation. "You were doing nothing
of the kind. You were watching Luanda's niece."
"Lucinda Warbrook?"
"Certainly." Edmond's voice was still testy. "Daniels is the
girl's name. Her grandfather is Andrew Daniels, Viscount
Garemont. She never had a coming out, but she's here for the
summer and Lucinda is dressing her like a princess and introducing
her all over town."
Tanner listened intently, something he was not prone to
do with Edmond. Edmond loved to gossip, and Tanner simply
didn't care to hear about everyone in London. However, this
tall-looking girl in the yellow riding habit captivated him.
"Now as I was saying..." Edmond began again, as their
ride resumed, but Tanner's mind was still elsewhere.
The younger man had just remembered the invitation he
had received to the Madisons' ball. He usually hated those
affairs, but the thought of possibly seeing Lucinda Warbrook's
niece was enough to make him reconsider.
39
the night of the madrons' ball, Stacy was dressed long
before Lucinda. She sat before the dressing table mirror and
thought how lovely the emerald necklace looked with her
green dress. Lucinda had done a wonderful job choosing the
new settings for the family stones. In fact Stacy had already
worn the ruby last week.
When Rayna finished stacking her hair high atop her head,
Stacy walked downstairs to wait in the parlor with Roddy. She
wondered in some amazement at how many hours he had
stood in this parlor waiting for Lucinda to appear over the
course of the years.
"Oh, my, Roddy," she commented as she came in. "You
look very dashing tonight." Stacy moved to where he stood
near the mantel and kissed his cheek. They had grown closer
almost daily, and small touches were now customary and
warm.
"Thank you, my dear." He accepted the compliment with a
sparkle in his eye.
Stacy's grandfather had never been a demonstrative man,
and now to have Roddy here to pat her hand or cheek and to
accept her embraces and kisses was more special to Stacy
than she could have put into words. It didn't cause her to miss
Andrew Daniels any less, but it added a warm dimension to
her life that she'd never before experienced.
Stacy and Roddy talked for the better part of an hour, both
beginning to think that Lucinda was never going to make an
appearance. Roddy's coach was waiting when she did come,
however, so they were swiftly on their way.
"The Madisons are an old family," Lucinda explained on
the way. "They have several daughters and one son. I would
advise you to get to know him, but I think he's a bit of a
libertine and a little young for you."
Stacy smiled in the darkness of the coach interior. Her
aunt was forever out to see her married. Her grandfather had
told Lucinda in no uncertain terms not to push this point, but
Lucinda did as she wished.
"Now don't hesitate to dance with Lord Culbertson. You
did well at the Parkinsons' ball; however, you must always
watch who you're seen with. I want you to enjoy yourself, but
spending even a few moments with the wrong person could
ruin your chances." Lucinda's voice was now severe.
This time Stacy didn't feel like laughing. She wished with
all of her heart that it was easier for a young woman to stay
single, so that every union could be one of love. But this simply
wasn't the case. Her honest desire was to marry, but at this
moment Stacy wondered if she would ever meet the man of
her dreams. She was comforted by the fact that she knew her
grandfather would never force her. The thought made her sigh
unconsciously, and Lucinda's voice came sharply from the
other side of the coach.
"Did you hear me, Stacy?"
"Yes, Aunt Lucinda," she answered obediently, and the rest
of the ride was made in silence.
The ballroom was crowded when they arrived, but Lucinda
and Roddy were old professionals when it came to this
type of entertainment. Stacy was more than willing to follow
40
41
their lead, and within moments of coming to the edge of the
dance floor, Stacy was swept out into a waltz.
She didn't catch the name of the man dancing with her,
but she answered all of his questions and detected a gleam of
disappointment in his eyes when he learned that she would
not someday be the heiress to a fortune. Not until she arrived
back at Roddy's side did Stacy begin to wonder if some of the
young man's questions might have been out of order.
-The
next hour passed in much the same fashion, Stacy
going from one partner to the next, some young, most old. She
tried to ignore the fact that even if her hair hadn't been piled
high atop her head, she would still be taller than most of them.
The room grew very stuffy, and Stacy felt delivered when
Roddy pressed a glass of punch into her hand.
The glass was on the way to her mouth when she spotted
him across t
he ballroom--the tallest, most handsome man
Stacy had ever seen. He was dressed all in black, and she
stared at him because she seemed incapable of doing anything
else. His own eyes were on her, and for the space of
several seconds Stacy simply couldn't look away.
"Drop your eyes!"
The low, furious words came to Stacy's ears, but thinking
they couldn't be for her, she didn't heed them. A fierce yank on
her arm, one that nearly spilled her punch, finally brought her
to her senses. She looked down to see Lucinda glaring furiously
at her.
"I said, drop your eyes!"
"Oh." Stacy was startled and instantly contrite. "I didn't
realize it was you, Aunt Lucinda. I'm sorry."
Stacy seemed to be at a sudden loss, her hands all aflutter
as she changed her glass from one hand to the other. Lucinda
wondered if she might not have overreacted and felt compelled
to make amends.
"Here, give me your glass." Lucinda's voice was brisk now,
but not angry. "Go to the retiring room and fix your hair.
There's a good girl."
Stacy complied, but she honestly couldn't feel her slippers
as they moved on the carpets. It was a comfort to find the
retiring room empty. Head in the clouds, Stacy stood before
the mirror and took in her flushed cheeks and dazed eyes. No
wonder Lucinda had sent her from the room. Her own image
faded as once again her mind's eye saw the man in black.
Can aperson really be so drawn to someone afterjustone
look? Stacy asked herself, and then her heart lifted. It didn't
matter if no one else had ever felt as she did. He was the most
wonderful man she'd ever seen.
"I wonder who he is." This was spoken out loud as Stacy's
brow lowered in concentration.
Two young ladies chose that moment to enter the room,
and Stacy swiftly turned and entered one of the booths. She
wanted some time to herself. She came to her senses some
five minutes later and knew she would have to return to the
ballroom or Lucinda would miss her.
And who knows, Stacy told her heart as she moved toward
the dance floor. Maybe you'll spot him again.
An hour and a half later Stacy knew that if she didn't get
some fresh air she was going to be ill. It was dreadfully warm,
and the young man who had promised her a glass of punch
had left and never returned She hadn't spotted the man in
black again, but from across the way she could see Lucinda and
Roddy talking with Lord Culbertson. Stacy was simply too
warm to push her way through the crowd in order to join
them.
With movements that were as subtle as she could make
them, she moved toward the balcony doors. They were closed
but thankfully unlocked, and Stacy drew in a huge breath'of
cool night air the moment she was outside. The breath nearly
stuck in her throat, however, when a deep male voice addressed
her from out of the darkness.
42
43
"I wondered how long it would take you to join me."
Stacy gasped as she spun and saw a man leaning lackadaisically
against the stone railing, close to the house. Stacy "I
was so startled by his presence that for a moment she said
nothing.
Tanner, who had been watching her through the glass
doors for over an hour as she danced and talked with half the
people in the room, smiled at the surprise he knew must be
feigned. It was an old game, often played in social circles. Not
that he cared. He intended to know this woman very well
before she left in the fall.
"I didn't know anyone was out here," Stacy finally spoke
when her breathing returned to normal.
Again Tanner smiled Most of the debutantes he knew
believed that coyness was the way to attract a man. If Stacy
preferred that method of sweet innocence, it was fine with
him.
"Would you rather be alone?" Stacy asked kindly, not
seeing Tanner's smile in the dark.
"Don't go in on my account," he told her. "I realize it's
warm inside."
Stacy sighed with relief and moved away from the doors.
She stepped to the railing a good ten feet from Tanner, thinking
what a nice voice he had but wondering what he looked
like. Stacy glanced out over the gardens, but the moon was
very dim and beyond a shape or two, she could make out little.
"The Madisons have a lovely home," Stacy commented
absently.
"It's nice," Tanner observed, his voice bored. "A little
small perhaps."
Stacy stared at his silhouette and then up at the grand
expanse of mansion before her. Clearly this man was accustomed
to a home far larger than her grandfather's.
"You haven't told me your name," Stacy's companion suddenly
said to her.
"Oh, I'm Stacy Daniels. Lucinda Warbrook's niece."
"Stacy would be short for--?"
stasia.
[in, Anastasia. That's a lovely name. I think it fits you."
was well aware that he was doing some pretending of
i. Since he'd seen her in the park he had set about
ting everything about her he wished to know. Unmarried,
old, not spoken for, and of course what his eyes had
him the first time he'd seen her--tall and beautiful.
/Tin Tanner Richardson."
| "Tanner," Stacy said with surprise. "I've always liked that
ie." Relieved that he had shared his name, Stacy chatted on
a young man from home with the same name.
Stacy would not have been quite so friendly had she been
to see the calculative look in Tanner's eyes as he studied from the shadows. From where he was, the lights from the
llroom gave a perfect view of Stacy in her lovely green frock
Ith its rounded neckline and short, puffed sleeves.
Stacy laughed suddenly. "I'm chattering on here, and you
$iust be bored to death." Suddenly, her whole frame stiffened
%ith embarrassment, but when she spoke her voice was as
$weet and sincere as the woman herself.
"I'm sorry, Tanner. You must be waiting for someone, and
now IVe joined you and ruined it. I'll go inside and leave you
alone."
"Come now, Stacy." Tanner kept his voice calm, but he
wanted the game over. "We both knew you would come out
here to join me."
A moment of silence met this remark. "I don't know what
you mean," Stacy told him in genuine confusion.
"Of course you do." Tanner's voice lost some of its patience.
He didn't care to keep up this pretense much longer.
'Your eyes told me from across the room what I wanted to
know."
Stacy tensed abruptly. It was him! Even though Tanner had
not moved from the shadows, Stacy could now visualize this
gorgeous man--very tall with dark brown hair and dark,
compelling eyes. Lucinda's sudden hissing in her ear now
made complete sense.
44
45
"I have to go in now." Stacy's voice was thick with shame
and near desperation. Lucinda had warned her time and again
to
be careful with her eyes, but she'd never understood. Now
by looking at a man and thinking him handsome, she had
unwittingly given him a signal that she was interested Lucinda
would be livid
Stacy moved back to the glass doors of the ballroom to the
sound of Tanner's voice, but she didn't take in the words.
"I think Roddy is ready to leave now," Lucinda told Stacy.
Stacy had come back to the dance an hour ago, and Lucinda
had not seemed at all put out by her absence.
"You wait here by the cloakroom. We'll say our thanks and
collect you in a moment."
Lucinda swept away before Stacy could frame a reply,
which was just as well, since she was too tired to speak. She
waved at a group of girls who were leaving and then slipped
farther down the wall to lean against it and rest her feet. She
knew it wasn't the least bit ladylike, but right now she didn't
care.
"You left the balcony so abruptly that I didn't have a.
chance to tell you something."
Where he had come from Stacy didn't know, but suddenly
there stood Tanner Richardson. He nonchalantly leaned one
hand on the wall above her, and Stacy had to actually look up
to see his face.
With a smile that was almost tender, Tanner turned on the
full force of his charm. Stacy's heart pounded in her chest.
She'd never reacted to anyone as she was doing now.
"I was going to tell you," Tanner went on quietly, his deep
voice confidential, "that I was waiting for someone to join me.
I was waiting for you."
Stacy could only stare up in stunned surprise. She couldn't
W
or think, not even when his free hand reached for her
he gently touched the end of her adorable nose.
"I'll look forward to seeing you again, Anastasia," he
ispered before straightening. A moment later he was gone.
Stacy didn't move or even breathe in the seconds that
Uowed. Her heart felt as if it might pound through her chest.
"Why, Stacy." Lucinda's voice snapped her out of her I firance. "Your face is rather flushed Are you not feeling well?"
"Cinda," Roddy spoke with a laugh, "she's just danced for
hours; what would you expect her to look like?"
Lucinda laughed with him, and Roddy helped her into her tr cloak. Stacy was thankful that no more was said on the subject
as they loaded into the carriage and headed for home.
The next morning Roddy and Stacy enjoyed another ride
in the park. When they returned, Stacy went directly to her