The Danger in Tempting an Earl

by Sophie Barnes

  “Truth be told, I didn’t know that he would be accompanying me this evening either. Not until a note arrived from him this afternoon, requesting the honor of offering me escort.” Katherine paused, hesitant of how much to share because of what the revelation might reveal about her problematic relationship with Lucien, but she eventually decided that if anyone deserved the truth, it was Louise. She’d become a dear friend during Lucien’s absence. “In fact, this is the first time I’m seeing him since his return.”

  “He didn’t call on you before?” Louise asked, sounding properly dismayed.

  Katherine shook her head, and they continued on in silence as they passed a few other ladies, nodding politely in greeting as they went. “You know what ­people will say about this, don’t you?” Louise continued when they were once again alone and with no chance of anyone overhearing them. “I mean, I hope that you are prepared, all things considered.”

  “I can’t imagine what you mean,” Katherine told her friend. They had reached a small alcove with a bench tucked away inside it, offering a bit of privacy from the rest of the guests. The ladies sat and immediately opened their fans.

  “Can’t you? Hmm . . . no, I suppose you wouldn’t have considered it, since you were away on your wedding trip at the time. But you see, the haste with which Roxberry departed England again following his return from the war has raised a multitude of questions that have since resulted in some very interesting theories,” Louise whispered. Hiding behind her fan, she leaned toward Katherine and added, “Theories that are likely to become more fascinating than the questions themselves, given that his first public appearance in what . . . four years or so . . . happens not only after you have been widowed but with you of all ­people on his arm.”

  “What exactly are you saying, Louise?” Katherine asked, not liking the implication of her friend’s words in the least.

  “Surely you must be aware of some of the notions that have flittered through every drawing room these past few years?” When Katherine numbly shook her head, Louise gave her a sympathetic look. “Well, if I may cut straight to the point, there are those who think him irrevocably in love with you. In fact, I daresay that this is the general consensus.”

  It was as if Katherine’s entire world skidded to a screeching halt. Lucien in love with her? Preposterous! Her heart thumped madly in her chest at the very thought of such a crack-brained notion while she gaped back at her friend. “But that’s ridiculous,” she eventually managed. “Lucien and I have always been close friends. It’s only fitting that he would escort me this evening.”

  Louise shrugged. “What can I say? I suppose there are always those who would like to turn the simplest thing into a complicated Banbury tale. Although . . .”

  The word trailed off into obscurity. With a sigh of resignation, Katherine accepted Louise’s bait and asked the question her friend so obviously intended for her to ask. “Although what?”

  “Well, if Roxberry is indeed in love with you, he couldn’t have arrived at a better time, considering that you are just now out of mourning and free to contemplate another gentleman in your life.”

  “Good heavens, but this is madness!” Katherine would rather eat poison than consider attaching herself to another gentleman, so the idea that this might be the consensus of the entire ton was horrifying. “They’re wrong, Louise. I’ve known Roxberry my entire life, and I’m telling you that he has never considered me as anything more than a friend.”

  Louise nodded. “Perhaps you’re right,” she said, patting Katherine’s arm as if to placate her. “After all, you do know him better than anyone else, so if you are certain in your assessment, then I have no choice but to trust your judgment.”

  “Thank you,” Katherine managed. She felt as if she’d just run a three-legged race.

  “However . . . ,” her friend added.

  Oh dear God, there was more.

  “From what I have heard, many believe that he quit England after the war because his heart had been so thoroughly broken by his unrequited love for you that he found it impossible to remain in your presence . . . let alone the same country. They say that this is the true reason why he left.” Louise wafted her fan back and forth with increased vigor.

  Katherine gritted her teeth and did her best to calm her quaking nerves. “And why exactly am I only hearing of this now, my dear friend?”

  Louise’s hand stilled, and she turned her head to look directly at Katherine. “First of all, it was such common knowledge that I thought you were aware—­why, even the society columns made a mention of it for a while. And second of all, I must confess I found it a bit of an awkward subject to broach when you were married to Crossby . . . more so once you were widowed.”

  Dear God.

  “They’re wrong,” Katherine repeated, desperate now to convince the world that it had made a serious error in judgment. “Lucien left because of the pain his brother’s death caused him and because he argued with his father, who was apparently quite determined to see his youngest son married in order to secure the line of succession. Lucien felt trapped, so he fled.”

  “Or,” Louise offered, her eyes appearing unnaturally large all of a sudden, “he did want to marry but could no longer have the woman he desired and decided not to marry at all.”

  Uncertainty pressed upon her, but Katherine urged it away. No, it wasn’t possible. She dismissed the notion with an awkward laugh. “Honestly, Louise! Have you been reading gothic novels again?”

  Louise swatted her arm. “I’m being perfectly serious.”

  Katherine sighed. “Lucien and I were neighbors growing up, and since I didn’t move farther away than Cresthaven after I married, we’ve pretty much remained so, but to make any more out of it than that would be ridiculous. You know that his sister and I are close in age and that we played together as children. Lucien was often there as well, no doubt to ensure that we didn’t get into too much trouble. He’s like a brother to me.”

  “Are you sure he feels the same way?”

  Following Louise’s gaze, Katherine found Lucien and Huntley striding toward them. Huntley’s gaze was fixed on Louise in a manner not entirely dissimilar to the way in which Lucien was regarding Katherine. She felt an odd fluttering sensation in the pit of her stomach, but she managed to give herself a mental kick. Surely she was imagining things. Yes, of course she was. Everything Louise had said had addled her brain. Why, the very idea that Lucien’s feelings for her ran deeper than friendship was pure nonsense. She straightened her back and rose to her feet alongside Louise, ready to meet the gentlemen. “Of course I am,” she quickly whispered, snapping her fan shut in irritation. She was suddenly annoyed that the ton would assume otherwise. It was outrageous, really.

  “You will be pleased to know that I have just danced a lovely quadrille with Lady Deerford, who, I must add, has recently added a new doll to her collection. When I mentioned you, Lady Crossby, and how much you’d like to give a doll to your daughter, she immediately offered to show you her favorite shops.”

  Katherine winced. She liked Lady Deerford and was terribly sad for her, especially now that she, like the older woman, was also a mother. It was heart-wrenching to imagine the pain of having your child snatched away from you and not knowing what had become of her, as was the case with the Deerfords, whose daughter had been kidnapped twenty years earlier. Still, the thought of shopping for dolls with the lady . . . “I never said that I was looking for a doll for Sophia,” she said, frowning at Lucien.

  “You didn’t?” he asked, looking properly confused. His eyes brightened a second later, and he smiled at her broadly. “Well, then I suppose I must have made a mistake.”

  Katherine’s eyes narrowed. “A mistake that’s about to get the better of you, since you have recently offered to take me shopping. We shall accompany Lady Deerford together at the first available opportunity.”

  To
her satisfaction, Lucien’s mouth dropped. A snicker brought her attention over to Louise, who was looking terribly amused. “Heavens,” she croaked in an attempt to contain her laughter. “For a ‘­couple’ who’s not a ‘­couple,’ you’re certainly having the most delightful quarrel.”

  Katherine bit her lip while a slow dread slipped along her limbs. If there was one subject she did not need her friend to broach at the moment, it was the one they had recently been discussing. Thankfully, Lucien appeared to have taken no heed of Louise’s blatant remark and surprised Katherine instead by saying, “All talk of the lovely Lady Deerford aside, I was wondering if you would do me the honor of partnering with me for the next set.”

  Tilting her head, Katherine studied him for a moment. Ordinarily, his question shouldn’t have given her pause, except that in all the years she’d known him, he’d never once asked her to dance. Louise must have registered the same thing, for she appeared to be holding her breath while her eyes seemed to say, I told you so.

  Katherine expelled a shuddering breath. She’d last danced with Charles at the Oakley Ball two years earlier, twirling around beneath the shimmering glow of chandeliers while he’d held her uncomfortably close. She forced away the unpleasant memory and focused on Louise. Her friend was clearly looking for something intriguing to fill her mind and had decided to turn Katherine’s and Lucien’s longtime friendship into something more. She felt inclined to refuse Lucien’s offer to dance on that basis alone. “Thank you,” she told him, “but I—­”

  “Please,” he implored as he extended his hand toward her. His deep brown eyes bored into her with such intensity that she could have sworn his gaze touched her soul.

  A shiver traced the length of Katherine’s spine. Swallowing, she pushed her reservations aside and placed her hand in his. “I’d be delighted to,” she said, offering Lucien her best smile.

  “It appears we’ve quite the audience,” Huntley said as the four of them took their places for a country dance. He smiled warmly at Katherine.

  “Do you suppose they think we might have forgotten how to proceed and that they’re expecting us to make a cake of ourselves?” Lucien asked as the music started.

  He winked toward Katherine, who was equally aware of all eyes being trained upon them. This was not good. Not in the least. Her stomach roiled, and she feared she might be ill.

  “No, my lord. I suspect they are far more interested in discovering why you would ask Lady Crossby to dance when you have never invited her to do so before,” Louise said, much to Katherine’s horror.

  The smile that had appeared on Lucien’s face didn’t falter as he happily responded with, “How do you know that I have never invited her to dance with me before? Perhaps I did and she declined. After all, it’s not as if she just dropped from the sky.”

  Louise chuckled, and Katherine felt her whole face grow warm. Was it really necessary for the two of them to jest like that at her expense? But before she could come up with a quick-witted remark, the music rose through the air and the first pair of dancers started along the colonnade.

  Pushing all feelings of discomfort aside with the hope of enjoying the dance, Katherine looked across at her partner. He hadn’t changed overly much since she’d last seen him four years earlier. His hair was still the same dark color it had been then, his eyes almost black beneath two distinguished eyebrows.

  Katherine’s gaze settled on his nose. It seemed a bit more crooked than she remembered, forcing her to wonder if he might have had an altercation with someone during which it had been broken.

  Louise stirred at Katherine’s side as she stepped forward to meet her husband. They turned about, a vague flurry of movement in the corner of Katherine’s eye as her gaze wandered down to Lucien’s mouth. It was a nice mouth, she decided, and she was immediately struck by the realization that this was the first time in all the years she’d known him that she’d actually spared it any thought at all. In fact, if someone had asked her yesterday if she could describe his features, she’d probably have gotten it all wrong.

  She frowned. Was it possible to know someone your whole life and only have a faint notion of what they actually looked like? She reprimanded herself for even considering such a possibility and more so for paying such close attention to what he looked like now. Once again, Louise’s words were having a most annoying effect. Yet in spite of her best efforts, Katherine found it impossible to ignore the observation that her mind had been struggling to resist since Lucien had arrived at Cresthaven earlier that evening—­that he was far more handsome in reality than he’d been in her remembrance of him. In fact, there was something hard and masculine about him that she’d overlooked in the past, perhaps because of how well she’d known him. Or perhaps the war had taken its toll on him and he’d changed. It was difficult to tell.

  An elbow nudged her waist, and she was shocked to discover that she’d missed her cue. With a muttered apology, she accepted the hand that Lucien offered and allowed him to turn her about. “You appeared to be deep in thought just now,” he said as they stepped closer to each other with both hands clasped together. “I hope nothing’s troubling you.”

  “Oh, not at all,” she said, hoping to dismiss the notion and hating how strangled her voice was sounding. Surely he would know she was lying, because really, what could be more troubling than discovering that she’d seen the man she was presently dancing with thousands of times before without really seeing him at all? She eyed him discreetly as they passed along the colonnade of dancers, noting how broad his shoulders appeared beneath the snug fit of his jacket.

  “Is something amiss with my attire?” he asked without so much as turning his head in her direction.

  Her eyes immediately jerked away. She looked straight ahead. “No,” she said. “Of course not.”

  “Then why do you continue to study me as if I’m some rare artifact that the Hunterian might consider putting on display?”

  She swallowed and took a breath. “It’s an age since I’ve seen you last, and the carriage was too dark for me to notice if you’ve changed much during your absence.”

  “And have I?” he asked as they turned about once more.

  “Actually . . . no, I don’t believe you have. In fact, you’re exactly how I remember you, though I think perhaps your nose is a bit more . . . notable than before.”

  They moved apart, taking up positions across from each other. Katherine looked toward the other dancers, determined not to meet Lucien’s gaze, which would allow him the chance to discover her lie. She still wasn’t sure of what her revelation meant or how to address it, but she suddenly knew one thing with startling clarity—­Lucien was a fine-looking man indeed, and there would be a multitude of young ladies eager to make him theirs now that he was not only back but also unmarried and in possession of a desirable title. She snuck a glance at him again and berated herself for not noticing before how handsome he looked.

  Good Lord, what was happening to her?

  She’d known the man her entire life, and not once before had she considered his appearance. She wasn’t quite sure if she ought to chastise herself for her negligence or applaud herself for not being shallow. The issue was most confusing, more so with Louise insisting that the ton would assume there might be more between them than mere friendship.

  It was her turn to dance with Huntley while Louise partnered with Lucien, crisscrossing between each other before being handed back to their rightful partners. “I broke it in a fight about a year ago,” Lucien said as they linked arms and spun about.

  “I thought you might have,” Katherine said. They returned to their places in the colonnade and waited while other ­couples danced along it. And then it was their turn again. They stepped toward each other and she put her hand upon his arm so he could guide her along while the other dancers watched.

  “By the way,” she said, ignoring the shyness that plagued her,
“I have to compliment you on your dancing. You haven’t stepped on my toes once. What a pity it is that we haven’t partnered before—­I quite enjoy it.” She looked up at him with a hesitant smile just as he turned his head to meet her gaze. The corner of his mouth tilted and a dimple formed. Katherine blinked. If this was how he looked at other women, it was a wonder he hadn’t yet married. Surely every unmarried lady must have had him on her mind at least once.

  “As do I,” he told her smoothly.

  There was a mischievous playfulness to the way he spoke that completely caught Katherine off guard, making it difficult for her to discern if he’d moved onto a different topic without her and had just referred to something else entirely. Not knowing how to respond, she kept quiet and focused on the dance, afraid that if she spoke, she’d sound like a girl straight out of the schoolroom. Her irritation grew. She didn’t like this effect he was having on her—­how uncomfortable he was making her feel, when she’d always been accustomed to an easy camaraderie between them. Perhaps his lengthy absence was to blame and they required more time in which to become properly reacquainted.

  Having completed their progress, they resumed their places in the colonnade while the music faded. He bowed and she curtsied. When he offered her his arm and asked if she would care for some refreshment, she accepted, then proceeded to ponder the awkwardness between them while she sipped her champagne.

  There was no doubt that she was a very different woman than the one he’d left behind, and since that was the case, he might be a very different man than the one she’d last seen. Four years could have a dramatic effect on a person, depending on their experiences during that time, and he had not only been to war but had lost his brother as well. It would have been ridiculous for either one of them to expect the other to have remained unchanged.