Elegance and Grace

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Elegance and Grace Page 20

by Soliman, Wendy


  No, not her equal, Ros conceded, but a more sophisticated and contained improvement. There was something about a beautiful woman who was unconscious of her beauty that Ros found truly captivating, mainly because he had met so few of them. But despite her aura of self-assurance, the confident tilt of her chin and the suggestion of a smile gracing her plump lips, Ros surmised that Jemima was quaking with nerves and probably wished that she could have brought her rubber ball with her as a comfort. He was suddenly afraid about what might happen to her that evening. She wasn’t nearly as worldly as she liked to think, and a man of Quinn’s ilk would make short work of undermining her simply because he could. He would find it amusing but Ros was not a great supporter of blood sports and vowed to ensure that she was not placed in that position.

  ‘There you are.’ Jake’s smile was exclusively for his countess, who also looked radiant in midnight blue extravagantly trimmed with silver lace. Ros recalled his wandering attention and smiled at Jemima.

  ‘Delectable,’ he said, taking her gloved hand and kissing the back of it. ‘You never cease to amaze me.’

  ‘You can thank Olivia’s servants. It seems they do not have enough to do with their time and insisted upon turning me out so well that I scarcely know myself.’

  ‘Perhaps this is who you are supposed to be.’

  ‘Where is Papa?’ she asked, glancing around the room as though she expected to find him lurking in the wainscoting.

  ‘Delayed.’ Jemima rolled her eyes and said nothing. ‘He will be here for the party, but I am afraid you’re stuck with me as a dinner partner.’

  ‘How tiresome,’ she said with a careless little laugh that didn’t entirely conceal her disappointment. She needed her father’s support at such a time, damn it, yet he probably hadn’t spared her plight a single thought.

  Parker announced dinner and the four of them went through. Ros noticed how little Jemima ate, thinking it must be nerves that prevented her, but when he quizzed her on the subject she admitted in a quiet aside that her corset was too tight to allow for the ingestion of food. ‘I had no idea quite how much suffering ladies willingly put themselves through in the pursuit of the best possible figure,’ she said.

  ‘And you didn’t need to find out,’ he replied in an undertone. ‘There is no improving perfection.’

  ‘Goodness.’ She blinked up at him, startled, and he liked to think just a little gratified by the compliment. ‘I am surprised that with manners as exquisite as yours, you have not been snapped up by one of the matrons with daughters to marry off.’

  ‘I have become adept at avoiding their machinations,’ he told her, smiling.

  ‘I don’t doubt it in the least.’

  ‘How is your sister?’

  ‘In denial,’ Jemima said with a heavy sigh. ‘She refuses to believe that Quinn toyed with her or is responsible for anything that happened to her. He is the hero of the hour who saved her from being abducted by brigands on the heath and no one will convince her otherwise.’ Jemima waved her fork about in some agitation. ‘Certainly not me, whom she thinks of as a jealous harpy.’

  ‘I know there must be a reason why I found it so easy to resist her charms.’

  ‘She is desperate to see Quinn, convinced that everything will be explained as soon as she does and that all objections to their union will magically disappear.’

  ‘I am sure she does.’ Ros gave a sympathetic smile. ‘She is unaware that he will be here this evening?’

  ‘She is, and her door is locked with a footman posted outside of it to prevent him from gaining access to her, just in case. But she knows about this party and wanted to come down anyway.’ She smiled at Ros’s look of astonishment. ‘Needless to say, she was told it’s out of the question.’ Jemima sent him a mischievous sideways glance. ‘She was heartbroken when she heard that you would be in attendance and she would not be given the opportunity to flaunt herself in front of you.’ She shook her head, her eyes brimming with laughter. ‘Despite the fact that she has convinced herself that it was you who abducted her from Highgate.’

  ‘I did?’

  ‘Well of course you did! You are besotted with her, but managed to keep your feelings under guard at my mother’s soiree so that only she who noticed them. Then you discovered her living under Quinn’s protection in Highgate—’

  ‘Discovered how?’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know and I am sure Annabel doesn’t either. She is quick to make up stories in which she is seen in the best possible light but seldom troubles herself with facts to lend them authenticity.’

  Ros quirked a brow. ‘Evidently.’

  ‘Anyway, you discovered where she was and with whom, were overcome with jealousy and so took her from the house because you wanted her for yourself.’

  ‘And poisoned her because…’

  ‘Oh, I didn’t bother to ask. Because she repelled your advances, probably. You had help with that, obviously, and then came in at the eleventh hour and rescued her so that you would be seen as a hero in her eyes.’

  ‘Even though I had abducted her and been repelled?’ Ros chuckled. ‘How gratifying.’

  ‘You must think me very disloyal,’ Jemima said. ‘To denigrate my sister’s character in such a fashion to you, a comparative stranger.’

  ‘Firstly I don’t think any such thing, and secondly, if you look upon me as a stranger, I hope you will give me the opportunity to rectify that situation.’

  She glanced up at him from beneath lowered lashes. ‘What do you mean by that?’

  ‘Now is not the time.’

  Ross regretted the impulse that had made him start a conversation that had no place at Jake’s dining table. A conversation that would be completely inappropriate no matter where it took place, since it would be impossible for him to deliver on his promises, much though he might wish to. Jemima, he was obliged to remind himself, was an innocent. Alluring, unusual, challenging, but an innocent none the less. Besides, they were not alone, which was probably just as well. Jemima’s newfound purpose stirred something deep inside of him, making him forget the rules of conduct that any man in his situation would be unwise to ignore. Show too much interest in an unmarried woman and it caused expectations that he was not in a position to fulfil. Did not want to fulfil.

  Did he?

  ‘Then why raise the subject? I wish you would not speak to me in riddles, Lord Glynde. I find it most disconcerting.’

  ‘I am waiting for you to confide in me, Miss Aitken.’

  She sent him a puzzled look. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I think you know very well.’

  ‘I would not ask you if I did.’

  He sent her a speculative look. ‘Very well then. I hoped you would tell me what happened to set you and your sister at odds with one another. It is not, I’ll wager, a recent development.’

  She tossed her head, setting curls dancing around her face. He was fascinated by the manner in which the candlelight reflected in her turquoise eyes, making them sparkle with vibrancy. ‘And it is none of your affair.’

  ‘Only because you will not permit me to make it so.’

  ‘You really are most annoyingly persistent,’ she said with an indignant huff.

  He treated her to a searing look. ‘I really am. When there is something I specifically want to know, then I seldom give up until I find the answer.’

  ‘How distracting that must be for you.’

  He thought it high time that this engaging young woman really enjoyed herself, forgot about the earlier warnings he had issued to himself, and made his smile deliberately flirtatious. ‘Has it occurred to you that I might enjoy this particular distraction?’

  ‘Behave yourself and save your flirting for those who appreciate it. We have more important matters to put our minds to this evening.’ A small smile slipped past her guard as she issued the reprimand. ‘Have you thought of a way to draw Quinn out and make him admit to his misdeeds?’


  ‘There has been no communication from my agents in Boston, unfortunately.’ Ros’s smile faded. ‘We shall just have to take satisfaction from his seeing you and your father behaving as though nothing untoward has happened. He will know Annabel is still in the house, of course, and it will frustrate him not to be able to speak with her and discover what she remembers about her ordeal. And more importantly, what she has passed on about it. It’s vital that we do not mention her name if we fall into conversation with him.’

  ‘Which we shall.’

  ‘I shall. You would be better advised to avoid him.’

  ‘Why? I am not my sister and will not be taken in by a silver-tongued seducer. I cannot be duped into believing I am irresistible, I do assure you.’ This time her smile was playfully enticing. ‘I should have thought that you would know that much about me by now.’

  ‘Wench!’

  Jake and Lady Torbay, previously engaged in their own private discourse on the other side of the table, returned their attention to Ros and Jemima and the conversation became more general. When the meal ended there was no time for port, since the guests were due imminently. Ros helped Jemima with her chair and walked with her into the drawing room.

  ‘Do not attempt to draw Quinn out yourself, Jemima,’ he said, his tone deadly serious. ‘I would not have you think that I doubt your intelligence, since I most emphatically do not. You are one of the cleverest, most tantalising, challenging and annoyingly contrary females it has ever been my pleasure to meet.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She swallowed. ‘I think.’

  Ros didn’t smile at her attempt to lighten his serious mood. ‘You are all the things I just described, and more besides, but what you are not is a match for a man of Quinn’s ilk. A man passionate about a cause that is more complex than any of us can begin to imagine. He cannot have risen so rapidly to the position he now occupies without the backing of powerful men. Men who will not be gainsaid. Only look at the manner in which Quinn manipulated your sister, almost murdered her, without a second thought. That ought to set you straight if you still doubt his determination.’

  She swallowed. ‘I know that very well, but—’

  ‘He might have been attracted to Annabel,’ he added, holding up a hand to cut off Jemima’s interruption,’ but will find you ten times more alluring, and ten times more challenging simply because you will not simper and hang on his every word.’

  ‘I can simper if needs be!’ she cried indignantly. ‘Probably.’

  ‘Well don’t attempt it. It won’t suit you, nor will it fool anyone.’

  ‘What precisely do you imagine he will do to me, even supposing he can separate me from my father?’

  ‘Your father is not the only one who will be keeping a watchful eye on you this evening, and I will be a good deal more vigilant.’

  ‘You have not answered my question.’

  ‘That’s because I don’t know how to.’ He briefly squeezed her left hand, gently but with enough force to communicate his unease. ‘All I know is that Quinn must be desperate. His best efforts to rally the Irish tenants to his cause have failed, as did his attempts to remove your father from office and simultaneously deal mine a deadly blow.’

  ‘True,’ she conceded.

  ‘I cannot prove it, but I think he has offered his backers some sort of guarantee that their investment in him will bear fruit in the immediate future. He has carved out a very privileged existence for himself in Boston, and probably has lofty ambitions for a position of significance in an independent Ireland. He will not allow anything to stand in his way. He knows he has failed with Annabel, and he might see you as an opportunity to make amends.’

  Jemima smiled. ‘He can hardly spirit me away from Lord Torbay’s mansion.’

  ‘No, but seeing you will come as a shock to him, as I very much doubt if he knows of your existence. You seldom show yourself in society and Annabel would certainly not have enlightened him. Annabel’s survival has caused him a considerable setback and he needs to recover lost ground quickly.’

  Jemima conceded the point with a wry smile. ‘That much is certainly true.’

  ‘When he sees you, he will be filled with the need for revenge upon your family and will not have time to plan anything as carefully as he did when he cultivated Annabel. If he has boxed himself into a corner insofar as his supporters’ expectations are concerned, then there is no saying what new stratagem he might contrive on the hoof, so to speak.’

  *

  Jemima was a little taken aback by the forcefulness of Ros’s scolding. The cloud of anxiety that turned his eyes a burnished brown convinced her that he was seriously concerned about Quinn’s next move. She had naively supposed that having failed with Annabel he would slink away and lick his wounds. She had not stopped to consider that the expectations of others, promises he had yet to deliver upon, rested on his shoulders, and that he might revert to less covert forms of violence in order to achieve his end. Careless people made mistakes and his desperation might prove to be his undoing.

  But equally, it could be Jemima’s.

  She shuddered at the prospect, annoyed with herself for showing a momentary weakness that would not have escaped Ros’s attention.

  ‘With you, my father and Lord Torbay watching out for my interests, I am sure nothing untoward will happen to me tonight,’ she said casually. ‘But you have my word that I will not act recklessly.’

  He gave a sigh of capitulation. ‘Which would gratify me, but for the fact that I suspect your idea of reckless behaviour and mine bear little in common.’

  She briefly wondered why her wellbeing meant so much to him. Could it be that he admired her? Her heart momentarily swelled at the possibility, until she realised he must be thinking only of his father’s situation and didn’t want Quinn to do anything that would weaken his family’s position. Such sobering thoughts saw common sense reassert itself. She liked and admired Ros Glynde and sensed that those feelings were reciprocated.

  Those and nothing more.

  Jemima smiled up at him but further private conversation between them became impossible when the first of the elegantly-attired guests drifted into the drawing room. Ros appeared to know them all. Jemima was unacquainted with the vast majority. He remained at her side, making introductions and skilfully avoiding the best efforts of matrons with daughters in tow and ambitious young women in their own right to separate them. Only when her father appeared, just when Jemima was beginning to think that he had forgotten all about the party, did Ros cede his place at her side with apparent reluctance.

  ‘I must circulate,’ he said in an undertone, ‘but I will be watching you.’

  ‘Quinn isn’t here so you have no need to worry. Go and enjoy the smiles of your admirers.’

  Jemima could have bitten her tongue out when the words slipped out unbidden.

  ‘Jealous?’ he asked with a flirtatious lift of one brow.

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’

  Ros’s laughter quickly faded when he glanced towards the doorway. ‘Quinn is here now,’ he said, his expression tight with suppressed hatred.

  Jemima followed the direction of Ros’s gaze and saw Lord Riley walk into the room, followed by a portly gentleman whom she assumed must be his father, Lord Chichester. And at his side was a handsome man who moved with a confident swagger. A sweep of black hair fell across vivid green eyes and a charming smile illuminated his rugged features. She would have known who he was even if Ros had not pointed him out. He seemed to dominate the room with no apparent effort, drawing almost every eye in it towards him.

  Conversations fell away as his presence was noticed, then an excited buzz broke out and he was almost immediately swamped by people wanting to speak with him. As she continued to watch him, Jemima noticed Quinn looking over the heads of those who surrounded him, still talking animatedly as he scanned the room. His gaze fell upon Jemima’s father but stalled when it reached Jemima herself. A frown briefly crea
sed his brow and for a fleeting moment Jemima was pleased to have been momentarily mistaken for her sister.

  She turned away without letting him see that she had noticed him and was glad when Olivia joined her, anxious to introduce her to her good friend, Lady Isaac Arnold.

  ‘Is that the villain of the piece?’ Eva Arnold asked, nodding in Quinn’s direction. ‘My husband and Jake are very close,’ she added when Jemima frowned, surprised that she knew the particulars of Annabel’s difficulties. ‘We have no secrets. I myself was rescued from a brutal first marriage by Jake and Isaac. Isaac is now my husband, and is making a name for himself as a barrister.’

  ‘Ah yes.’ Jemima relaxed. ‘I have heard his name.’

  ‘Isaac hears all the latest political gossip in and around the Old Bailey, and it’s usually surprisingly accurate. Jake consulted him about Quinn yesterday. Isaac was frustrated not to be able to help him because he has heard absolutely nothing of value, which in itself is suspicious.’

  ‘He is very handsome,’ Olivia said, making it sound like an accusation. ‘I can see why your sister fell for his charm. Have a care, my dear. I dare say he will try to single you out.’

  That is the idea. ‘Don’t worry, Olivia. I am not susceptible to flattery.’

  Olivia’s attention was taken up by one of her guests and Eva was claimed by her husband, to whom Jemima was introduced. She enjoyed a few moments of conversation with them before they too were claimed by others. Ros had drifted away from her, swallowed up by the crowd, and her father had become embroiled in a heated political discussion with some of the other gentlemen. The room was now crowded, but Jemima was conscious of Quinn watching her like a predatory cat and felt a chill run down her spine. This was the man, so popular and outwardly charming, who had ruthlessly despoiled her sister, poisoned her and left her for dead in another man’s bed. And yet these elegant socialites, unaware of his true character, were treating him like the next Messiah.

 

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