by Jaimey Grant
Aurora found it a novel thing to socialize with someone shorter. The girl was barely over five feet tall. Her hair was black, her eyes hazel, her very tiny body delicate, and her face was nothing short of pixie-like. She was adorable.
And very difficult to draw out.
Perhaps the earl would have better luck, she thought in resignation when he finally reached them.
“Ladies.” He bowed. “Miss Davis, you are enchanting tonight. How is Sir Henry?”
The girl curtsied awkwardly. “He is w-well, my l-lord,” she replied just above the softest of whispers. “Thank y-you.” And she curtsied again.
He looked at Aurora with a blank expression. “And your father?”
Aurora grinned. She couldn’t help it. “Dead, my lord, very dead.”
Miss Davis squeaked and fell into quite the most graceful swoon that either of her companions had ever seen. Lord Greville caught her before she fell and set her carefully on a nearby chair, partially hidden by some greenery.
“Oh, dear,” Aurora murmured. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have said that.” She covered her face with one small hand.
“Here now, Miss Glendenning, it’s nothing to cry about, I’m sure. She’ll be right as a trivet in no time. And this will guarantee the success of Lady Jersey’s rout, you know.”
Aurora’s hand fell and a tinkling laugh escaped. Levi grinned. Miss Felicity Davis moaned. The earl sat on one side of the girl supporting her. Aurora collapsed in a chair on her other side and giggled as she patted the girl’s hand.
Sir Henry Davis hurried forward and took charge of his daughter. It was a relief. The girl was sweet and very biddable, it was true, but she was so very small, and so very shy that holding a conversation with her could be physically painful.
Something more than a giggle escaped Aurora, effectively drawing the earl’s attention back to her.
“Miss Glendenning,” he said repressively, “you are making a scene.”
Aurora sobered. She sat up straight and folded her hands in her lap, eyes downcast. Then she frowned and shook her head as if she was displeased about something. Flicking open her fan in one deft movement, she glared haughtily over the top at anyone daring enough to stare at her.
“Sprite, you enchant me,” her companion said, eyes and tone confirming the sincerity of his words.
She turned her haughty glare on him, a mischievous twinkle lighting her green-blue eyes.
“Lord Greville, that was inappropriate,” she admonished, her tone gentle.
“Was it?”
“Yes.” She folded her fan and dropped it back into her lap. “Why do you stare at me so?” she asked in exasperation. “Do I have a smut on my nose?”
The earl grinned. “No, I have just never seen a real sea sprite before.”
“Indeed? How…interesting. Where is Ellie? She should have been back long before now.” She made a great show of searching the ballroom with her eyes.
Levi chuckled. “Think you to escape me so easily, my sprite?”
Her little nose went up a notch. “I am not your anything, sir, and certainly not your sprite. Please refrain from such familiarity.”
He assumed a somber expression. “I do beg your pardon, Miss Glendenning,” he said in a credible imitation of Lord Acton’s pompous tones. “I am afraid the champagne has made me more free with my speech than is my wont. Do say you forgive me?”
Miss Glendenning snorted indelicately. “Gammon! I might consider it if I thought you were in earnest, but it is apparent to the greenest girl that you are nothing more than a flirt. Blaming it on the champagne is a cowardly excuse. And I do believe you are being more constrained in your speech than is your wont, sir.”
She turned her head just a bit to gauge his reaction. Lips curved into a devastating grin, Lord Levi knew full well what he did to her, vexing man. Her heart rate increased.
“You know me better than I do myself.” Levi took her hand and placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist. Her breath caught in her throat. “We are soul mates. Let us run away together, princess, and live happily ever after.”
Tugging her hand away from his grasp, she retorted, “What fustian you do speak, my lord. Soul mates, indeed.”
Levi’s smile disappeared to be replaced with a blank look. He stared at her so intently that she began to squirm. It was like he was trying to discover her innermost secrets, thoughts, and desires.
If he only knew.
“I do think I owe you an apology,” he finally said. With troubled dark eyes and a slight furrow between his brows, he appeared a different man from the jovial one she’d been flirting with moments ago.
“For what, my lord?” Aurora asked, unsure how to react to such seriousness.
“About your father. I did not know. I am sorry.”
She waved her hand dismissively, relieved it was something so trivial that concerned him. “Don’t be. How could you know? We have only just met this night.”
“True, but I am still sorry. For your loss.”
Aurora smiled thinly. “Don’t be,” she repeated. “I am not.” Inside, she cringed at her honest, albeit impolite, comment. Her face remained impassive and relief flowed through her when she saw Ellie approach.
“Here you are, Rory.” Miss Ellison bustled up to the couple and smiled at the earl. “Hello, again, my lord.”
They exchanged a few inane comments on the weather and the state of the government and then the earl excused himself to speak with some friends. Aurora watched him go, half relieved and half depressed.
*
Chapter Four
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, I’m certain and stop that infernal pacing. You will wear a hole in my new carpet,” Bri commanded.
Lord Greville stopped as ordered and stared at his cousin. “She has no money? Not a shilling? A farthing? A groat? Nothing?”
Lady Prestwich sighed. “Not a penny, Levi. Rory told Doll that her father lost it all right before his death.” He started pacing again. “Oh, Vi, isn’t there another way? Find another way to get the money you need and marry the girl if you want her.”
“If she has no money, then how did she manage an invitation to Lady Jersey’s?” he asked with a pointed look as he paced by her.
“According to rumor,” Bri replied as she sat gracefully on a chair that was far enough from her cousin to ensure her safety, “her father was a great…friend of Sally’s mother-in-law. And I believe Miss Glendenning has been granted vouchers for Almack’s, as well.”
That’s just what he needed, the earl thought furiously. Money or not, the girl was beautiful. Many gentlemen would be more than willing to offer her carte blanche. The mere thought made Levi see red. Some might even be willing to marry her despite her penury. And Levi would cheerfully thrash every last one of them, too. The winsome sprite was his.
But he couldn’t have her. She was poor. He was poor. How would they live? Where would they live?
Well, that at least was not an issue. He had so many bloody properties that they could live practically anywhere in the world.
He stopped in front of the window overlooking the square. It had been two days since Lady Jersey’s rout. Two days since he had met the enchanting Miss Glendenning. Two days since he had decided he would marry her.
And two minutes since he had found out she was poorer than a church mouse.
“Bloody hell!”
He slammed his fist into his thigh. The dull pain that shot through his lower limb gave him an idea. He knew just what he could do to take his mind off his troubles.
“Levi, where—” But the countess found herself talking to a slammed door.
~~~~~~
Levi exited Gentleman Jackson’s Boxing Salon later that morning with a smile on his face. The bout with the man himself had gone far in relieving his frustration. Then Northwicke had shown up in a worse mood than at Brooks’s several days ago and Levi had found the man a challenge indeed. Northwicke was smaller, quicker, and angrie
r than Levi had been and the earl had the bruised ribs to prove it. He smiled through his annoyance at his own personal failure.
The pain in his ribs, the sore knuckles, and the bruised jaw were not enough to take his mind off of a certain golden-haired sea sprite.
She wouldn’t leave his mind. He was afraid only unconsciousness would do that. He decided a gallop in the park before anyone else was about would do him good. Perhaps, if he were lucky, the jarring motion of the horse would knock him out.
It didn’t. He suspected that even if it had, he would dream of her.
Maybe, he thought with sudden inspiration, Raven could take his mind off Miss Glendenning. So, instead of returning to Lockwood, Adam’s house in Park Lane, the earl headed for Haymarket.
He never made it.
~~~~~~
It had become a daily habit for Aurora to take her three-year-old sister, Rhiannon, to Hyde Park every morning so the little girl could play. That day proved to be no exception. As Levi left the park, Aurora arrived.
Lost in thought, she paid little attention to her surroundings. Lord Greville and their odd conversation dominated her ruminations.
And the even stranger—and very disappointing—discussion she’d had with Ellie the day immediately following Lady Jersey’s rout.
Her faithful companion and loving friend had thought to warn her about the Earl of Greville. The rumor mill declared the man to be a wastrel, a ne’er-do-well, a here-and-therein, a gambler, a womanizer, and poor to top it all off. Several of his entailed estates struggled to support themselves. All he really possessed was a title. What kind of protection would his title be without the money to support the power?
Contrary to popular opinion, Aurora Glendenning had money. A lot of money. More money than many men could spend in a lifetime. But did she want to hand it over to an irresponsible nodcock just so he could lavish it on his mistress, his drink, and his cards?
His mistress. A man like that had to have a mistress if not more than one. He probably had twenty.
Unfortunately for Levi, it was the thought of his imagined harem that was in Miss Glendenning’s mind when they happened to meet near the park gates.
“Hello, Sprite.”
Aurora stopped and turned the full force of her glare upon him. “I asked you not to call me that, Lord Greville.” She was annoyed to hear how petulant she sounded.
He must have heard it too, the cad. He grinned and appeared to want to laugh outright.
“Who’s him?” asked a miniature version of Aurora Glendenning.
“No one of importance, my dear,” Aurora replied as she stuck her little nose in the air.
Rhiannon imitated her sister and caused the maid to giggle, which earned that young woman a glare from her mistress.
Levi feigned hurt. “Well, I like that. No one of importance,” he grumbled with a distinct twinkle in his dark eyes. He smiled down at the little girl. “Hello, sweetheart. What is your name?”
“‘Annon. Who’re you?” she asked again with wide blue eyes. A mass of very pale gold curls rested atop her head, her pixie face set in an expression of awe. No doubt his size intimidated her a bit.
He fixed a questioning look on Aurora. “My sister, Rhiannon,” she supplied, trying very hard to keep her face blanked of any expression at all.
The infuriating man grinned, winked at her, and looked back at the child. “I am Levi, at your service.” The child’s look grew intense as she thought about it. She tried to say his name but found it difficult. The earl smiled. “You can call me Vi, if you wish,” he offered gallantly.
Aurora had to tell herself not to place too much credit on the earl’s interest in her sister. He sought merely to gain her good favor.
But why?
“Unka Fie,” Rhiannon stated proudly after studying him for several interminable minutes. The earl chuckled at the mangling of his name.
Rhiannon held up her hand and stuck it in his, attempting to lead him away. With a glance of apology for Aurora and a shrug, the earl followed the little girl, his huge brown mare walking sedately behind.
“Ooh, Mistress Rory, I don’t think you ought to have done that,” the maid squeaked as they followed in the wake of the other two. It was only natural that the servants had heard the rumors of Levi as well.
“Hush, Mary,” Aurora commanded curtly. “There was little I could do about it then and less I can do about it now. Rhiannon likes him so I have a feeling we will be seeing either a lot more of him or we’ll never see him again.” Part of her wanted the former. She told herself grimly that all of her wanted the latter.
The murmur of voices floated back to Aurora as she walked with the maid. Ordinarily, the maid would have walked a few steps behind her mistress, but Aurora and Mary had grown up together. As the daughter of one of Mr. Glendenning’s tenant farmers, Mary and Aurora had played together as children. Later, Mary received training as a maid. They were still friends and Aurora had found she could not part with her after certain events had forced her to London.
So Mary, empty-headed little widgeon that she was, knew all of Aurora’s secrets. Well, most of them anyway. Enough that she could very well ruin Miss Aurora Glendenning should she wish. Thankfully, Mary did not wish.
Aurora heard the earl murmur something to the child at his side before crouching down to her level. Aurora watched him much closer than he realized. She saw the way he winced in pain as he stooped and she found herself rushing over to him.
“Oh, are you hurt?” she exclaimed. Then she noticed the bruise on his face and dropped down beside him. “You are hurt. What has happened?”
Levi smiled ruefully but his smile disappeared when she reached out and touched the swelling on his jaw. She didn’t notice how still he suddenly became nor the way his eyes roved over her face as if memorizing every curve and line.
Suddenly realizing the impropriety of her actions, she dropped her hand. She continued to search his face for more injuries, but refrained from touching him. So intent was she on avoiding eye contact that she wasn’t fully aware he was talking until he lifted her chin to force her eyes to meet his.
“Miss Glendenning? I assure you, I am fine. I was not set upon by footpads, or highwaymen, or cutpurses, or the like. Lord Connor has a punishing right, that is all,” he added with a quirk of his sensuous lips.
Aurora found her attention drawn to those lips. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Would it be as distasteful as the only other time she’d ever been kissed? Or would it be as wonderful as she suspected?
Glancing back to his dark brown eyes, she sucked in a breath. He stared at her with an expression one could only describe as desire.
Mary cleared her throat.
The spell broken, Levi sighed as he released the Aurora’s chin, and she leapt to her feet, chagrined at her behavior. Rhiannon paid them no attention at all as she watched a butterfly flit around her. Mary gazed at her shoes as if they were quite the most amazing of inventions.
“Come along, Rhiannon,” Aurora commanded gently, holding out her hand. “It is time to go, dearest.”
~~~~~~
“Thank you, Ellie,” Aurora said with an absentminded smile. She then proceeded to spoon sugar into her teacup—a full six spoonfuls. “Oh, drat,” the young lady muttered. “It is all his fault.”
“Whose fault, dear?” Miss Ellison asked in concern.
The girl had been positively dotty since her return from the park. Upon entering the house in Mayfair, she had upset the table in the hall, scattering invitations and calling cards all over the floor. Then she had overset the first tea tray that Ellie had ordered and proceeded to shred anything she could get her hands on.
Then the pacing began. Aurora had found herself on the floor in an inelegant heap after tripping over a chair. And it didn’t stop there. She then sat on the backless sofa—and leaned back.
After changing and applying a salve to her numerous bruises, Aurora had fared much better, but now it appeared
that she liked a little bit of tea with her sugar instead of the other way around. Ellie just shook her head and let the girl wallow in whatever thoughts had her so discomposed. At least now she was safely seated in an armchair.
Pondering the vagaries of life was exhausting, Aurora thought ten minutes later. She finally took a sip of her now cold tea—and promptly spit the sickeningly sweet brew right into Ellie’s face.
“Oh, my dear, I am so sorry!” Aurora scrambled to her feet to help her friend and tripped again but this time over her own feet. She landed at Ellie’s feet and burst into tears.
Miss Ellison stood and sighed, handing her young friend a handkerchief. “I will just go and change, Rory dear. That will give you time to compose yourself.”
Aurora nodded her head. She stayed on the floor, snuffling into the handkerchief.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She hadn’t suffered from clumsiness since she was a child. How could a charming smile and eyes the color of warm chocolate rob her of her composure?
That was how Verena and Bri found her. Sitting on the floor, crying dismally.
“Rory, whatever is the matter, dear?” Verena asked in concern. She rushed over and helped her friend to rise and sit back in the chair she had so recently occupied.
Bri seated herself next to the distressed young woman and took her hand, patting it gently. Verena sat on the other side of her friend.
“Where is Miss Ellison?” Bri asked when she was sure Aurora could answer.
Aurora looked into the countess’s emerald eyes and felt a smile tugging at her lips. She glanced at Verena’s concerned face and her grin appeared in full force. She tried not to laugh.
“I inadvertently spit tea in her face,” Aurora said very quietly. Then she laughed. Oh, her day had been horrible but now it was all so very funny. She went on to explain all about her clumsy day and soon all three ladies were in stitches.
“I shall have bruises for months, I am afraid,” Aurora giggled.
“No doubt,” Lady Connor concurred. “Now, I really feel I should tell you why we are here.” She paused and studied her friend’s face. “It is of a personal nature and rather impertinent, I am sorry to say.”