by Gaelen Foley
So let Derek Knight mock her, then, if he was cad enough to be so ungallant. He with his countless advantages, his wealthy family and powerful connections, his training, his talents, the whole male-ruled world at his feet. Fortune and glory, indeed.
But—if he dared utter one uncivil word to her again, Lily vowed, she would give him a tongue-lashing he would never forget, and she didn’t care who heard.
With that, she banished Derek Knight from her mind and focused her efforts on Edward.
She was quite impressed with her beau so far tonight. Edward was on his best behavior since their host of the evening was Lord Fallow, his longtime patron.
Edward was looking smart in a luxurious plum tailcoat and cream-colored breeches. He was as elegant as Lily had ever seen him. He fidgeted uncomfortably—perhaps his valet had put too much starch in his cravat—but all in all, Lily was pleased and could not help patting herself on the back for the visible improvement in his demeanor. Clearly, she had been a good influence on him.
A courting couple, they promenaded through the statuary hall, where the checkerboard marble floor stretched on for miles beneath the soaring arches above the white colonnade. The architectural lines of the grand hall were crisp and clean, the walls a soft gray-blue, a quiet background for the dark, heroic bronzes that posed dramatically among the guests while ancient alabaster busts of Greek philosophers peered out from their niches in the walls.
The statuary hall opened onto the formal garden in a large, square courtyard around which the house was built. Knee-high parterres were sculpted into intricate designs with abundant flowers and topiaries. Twilight had come, but delicate lanterns strung across the garden illuminated the place where the pianist and his accompanists would soon perform beneath the stars. The grand pianoforte had been stationed in the center of the garden, the paper lanterns reflecting on its shiny angled top.
For now, a harpist played in the statuary hall, creating a serene and elegant mood for the evening. The guests mingled quietly, taking wine and light refreshments ahead of the private concert.
Lily pulled Edward aside to admire a mosaic table by the wall. Under glass, the tabletop was inlaid with the fading but still colorful fragments of ancient Roman tiles. Lily gasped when Edward started to set his wineglass on it, but he stopped and looked at her with a twinkle in his hazel eyes that confessed he was only teasing.
“Don’t scare me like that!” she whispered with a chiding smile, pressing her hand to her heart.
He turned away with a chuckle. “Ah, finally, there’s someone I know!” he said, squinting toward the ballroom’s distant entrance.
Lily followed his glance, but when she saw the person Edward was referring to, her whole body tensed.
It was Derek Knight…with yet another woman.
He was not in uniform, but had donned sleek finery of formal black and white. She stared at his wild, black mane, which he had worn unbound tonight, all at odds with his evening attire, a clash of elegance and savagery.
His long hair, shiny and thick, spilled to his massive shoulders. It made him look completely uncivilized, and for the life of her, Lily could not tear her gaze off the man.
Oblivious to her agitation, Edward waved the handsome scoundrel over with a hearty laugh.
Lily glanced at Edward in dismay, but she supposed she shouldn’t object too much. Derek Knight was one of the few men connected to London’s best families who seemed genuinely to accept Edward. Their affinity was no doubt based on their common ties to the army in India.
For her part, she could only wonder whether the major would acknowledge her or snub her with a cut after their private tiff at Hyde Park. Then Lily’s gaze wandered to the formidable beauty he escorted this evening, a sultry brunette garbed in deep purple satin trimmed with black lace—half mourning. Another well-heeled widow, it would seem. But, of course. How convenient for him that so many beautiful brides of the ton had been married off to gouty old men.
An elaborate amethyst necklace dripped across her white chest. The lady, too, had loosed her mahogany hair, apparently joining the major in setting this new, uncivilized trend. The beautiful pair seemed to savor their shared rebellion.
Lily looked away, wishing she hadn’t noticed the glow of recent sex in the woman’s cheeks. For all she knew, that beast might have ravished her in the carriage on the way over here. Humph. When a twinge of envy struck, she dropped her gaze, cursing all men and Derek Knight and herself most of all, for her distressing failure to remain indifferent to him.
Walking into the earl’s home with his latest companion, Derek saw Ed Lundy wave to him and returned the distant salutation, but he tensed when he spotted Miss Balfour standing by him, trying to look nonchalant.
He would not have admitted it for a maharajah’s ransom, but after several days away from her, the sight of Lily Balfour roused the most curious reaction in the region of his solar plexus. It constricted his lungs and set his idiotic heart to pounding, much to his annoyance. What is this? he thought impatiently, confused and a bit disgusted with himself. I don’t even like her, the little hussy.
Of course, for a man of such vaunted honesty, this was a bold-faced lie, but then again, he had some skill in ignoring facts regarding his own emotions. All he would admit to was a begrudging admiration of her beauty.
The girl looked good.
Good enough to eat.
A wistful ache of longing pulsed through him at the sight of her simple loveliness, so different from that of the dangerous seductress on his arm.
Miss Balfour was dressed in light blue silk, a jaunty toque with a white ostrich plume curling over her head. Flaxen spiral curls peeked out from beneath her little hat. Her pale satin gloves gapped beneath her elbow, a tempting spot for a man to slip his finger.
Derek routed a fleeting mental image of the girl wearing nothing but her dashed diamond earrings and reminded himself briskly that the little harpy had impugned his honor, not to mention insulted his military service.
Mercenary, indeed, he thought with a low snort, the memory of their verbal duel in Hyde Park still fresh in his mind. Unfortunately, their mutual business with her suitor meant their paths were bound to cross again.
It seemed they would be forced to play nice together—at least in front of Society. Unlike her suitor, after all, they were two people of excellent breeding.
For his part, Derek was sure he could be civil to her, at least on the surface. In truth, he had been looking forward to this for the past several days, a new chance to taunt her, albeit politely—an amusing opportunity to make her squirm a bit, the little liar.
No doubt she was still scared to death that he might tell her precious Edward about their wild kiss on the night of the masked ball.
Alas, Derek thought of it often. Even now, desire whispered through his senses, but he refused to admit to any low impulse of envy toward her clod of a beau.
If, by contrast, Miss Balfour betrayed signs of jealousy toward the curvaceous goddess on his arm, well, Derek thought with a bland smile, he believed he’d quite enjoy that.
Masking his eagerness to spar with her again, he gave his new paramour an artificial smile as he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and escorted her toward the happy couple.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Lily studied the ceiling medallions and waved her fan, affecting boredom, as the stud of the Season joined them with his latest plaything hanging on his side.
He nodded when he saw her and his eyes, pale steel blue, locked on hers in chilly recognition. Cynical amusement glinted in their depths. “Miss Balfour,” he said ever so politely.
She held her breath and forced out, “Major.”
He did the introductions then, presenting his lady friend to her and Edward as one Mrs. Frances Coates.
Edward did his best not to gawk and stammer in the gorgeous creature’s presence. Meanwhile, Lily noticed several women around the marble hall glaring at the new arrivals, including the
patrician blonde who had been by the major’s side at the masked ball and had interrupted their tryst at the garden folly.
Poor woman, Lily thought. Just another unfortunate thrall he had left in his wake. I am so glad I have more sense than these women. Mother was right. Rich and stupid was the way to go, and her Edward was the best of both worlds. He wasn’t stupid in business, otherwise he would not have grown so rich, but in truth, he was really rather dense when it came to women, and far from being jealous of his dazed staring at Mrs. Frances Coates, Lily was beginning to see how his awkwardness with females could work to her advantage.
In any case, she could not have borne it if he were as suave and sly as his new friend. For that matter, she sincerely hoped Derek Knight did not become a bad influence on her beau.
Mrs. Clearwell had now noted the arrival of her favorite and flew over from where she had been conversing with some of her acquaintances, exclaiming over the exotic major and making much of him, like a dashed mother hen.
“My dear boy! How charming to see you again!”
“Mrs. Clearwell.” He bent and gave her a quick, filial kiss on her offered cheek. “I see you are in need of more wine, madam. Red or white?”
“Champagne punch, if you are offering!”
He asked his companion, too, what she would like to drink, but when he took leave of them to fetch their beverages, Mrs. Clearwell invited herself to go along with him.
Lily tensed in private alarm as she watched her chaperone go bustling off into the crowd with the major. Oh, dear. Heaven only knew what her godmother might say to him about her. Meanwhile, the gorgeous Mrs. Coates remained with Edward and Lily. She watched her lover walk away with a savoring stare.
Enjoy it while it lasts, Lily thought irreverently, looking askance at the woman. After you, he’ll be on to the next.
“So.” The sophisticated widow turned to them with a dazed smile. “How do you all know Derek?”
Lily flinched slightly at the lascivious way his name dripped off the woman’s tongue, but Edward quickly explained their acquaintance through his important committee post. It seemed he could not resist adding that, like the glamorous major, he, too, had served in India.
“Really?” Mrs. Coates echoed, looking at him with new interest.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered gravely.
Lily could tell her suitor was thrilled by the elegant beauty’s attention, a fact that, strangely, amused more than irritated her.
“I imagine it’s very exotic,” Mrs. Coates said breathlessly.
“Mainly, ma’am, it’s hot,” Edward said in his blunt way. “At least the part where I was.”
“Hm.” Mrs. Coates twirled a lock of her dark hair around her finger and tilted her head with a curious frown. “You know, I never understood how the whole thing works—how it is that you brave fellows manage to come back from India with such kingly fortunes.”
Edward laughed. “Well, I can explain it to you, Mrs. Coates! It’s the same idea as how the Royal Navy compensates its men in addition to their wages, which the whole world knows are very small.”
“Yes?”
“When an enemy ship is taken, you see, both officers and men are rewarded with a set percentage of the value of the prize ship taken—the spoils of war. Likewise in India; for every victory attained, the booty is doled out from the treasure of our vanquished foes.”
“Quite right,” Derek Knight agreed as he rejoined them and handed Mrs. Coates her sparkling goblet of champagne punch.
The woman beamed at him.
Lily looked away.
“The reward system attracts talent and keeps morale high,” the major explained, continuing where Edward left off.
“Sounds to me like it merely creates an incentive to engage in bloodshed,” Lily said under her breath.
The others turned and stared at her in surprise, but Derek Knight smiled uncomfortably. “There’s more to it than that, Miss Balfour.”
Realizing her unguarded comment had been overheard, Lily shrugged. Though coloring a bit, she held her ground. “If you look at it logically, this reward system you describe encourages violence, even in cases where perhaps it is not warranted. All I mean to say is that there must be better ways to make a living.”
“To be sure,” Derek replied with a smooth laugh. “It would certainly make my life easier simply to snare a rich wife to keep me in the style that I’m accustomed to.” He snaked his arm around Mrs. Coates’s slim waist and gave her a squeeze. “What do you say, my little honeycomb?” he drawled. “Why don’t you sign your fortune over to me in holy matrimony?”
“Fat chance,” she replied in worldly amusement. “You have no idea what I had to go through to get it.”
The woman’s droll riposte broke the awkward tension that Lily’s stern opinions had created, but the sharp light in Derek’s eyes when he glanced over at her made it clear to her alone that of course she was the intended target of his jest. And then, to make matters even more unpleasant, Bess Kingsley intruded, as usual. “Eddie! Look at you, lookin’ all handsome! Where’s your mother tonight?”
“Er, she weren’t invited.”
Bess let out a thunderous gasp. “You’re funning me!”
“No.”
“And who is this fine young lady?” the major inquired, passing a quizzical glance over the boisterous, chunky hoyden.
Oh, Lord, Lily thought. Not her, too! Surely even a prowling tomcat like Derek Knight had better taste than that.
Edward hastened to make the major and the loud heiress known to each other while Lily looked on, privately aghast.
After all, if Derek’s words of a moment ago were no jest, if he really was looking for a rich female to wed to obtain a life of ease, then he could hope for no more convenient a find than the wealthy she-barbarian, Miss Kingsley. A charming, smooth-talking scoundrel like him could have twisted a simple-minded hoyden like Bess Kingsley easily around his little finger.
“We were just talking about how things work in India,” Edward informed her.
“No!” Bess declared.
“What?”
“Surely you couldn’t be so cruel, Eddie, you stupid oaf!”
“Uh, pardon?”
“You wouldn’t speak of such things in front of Miss Balfour! You couldn’t!”
“Why not?” Derek asked.
“Because her father died there,” Bess announced before Lily could stop her, “trying to restore the family fortunes.”
The girl’s bald declaration of her family’s circumstances rendered Lily speechless, breathless, and more than slightly humiliated.
“Poor dear,” Bess added, with a pitying smile on her lips and cruelty in her eyes. “Everyone knows Langdon Balfour died penniless in that godforsaken place. Tsk, tsk. Eddie, you were awfully mean to talk about it here.”
With an awkward mumble, Edward stammered a belated and quite needless apology for his insensitive choice of conversational topics, but Derek Knight said nothing, holding Lily in a steady gaze. Then he glanced at Bess.
“How thoughtful of you to bring all this to our attention, Miss Kingsley,” he said in a low, velvet tone edged with menace.
“I am sorry for your loss,” Mrs. Coates offered with an elegant nod, which Lily returned.
“Thank you. It was a long time ago.” She cast about for an excuse to flee, could not find one. “Would you all excuse me? I have to…” Her voice trailed off, but she did not stay to try to find an explanation.
“Lily?” Mrs. Clearwell asked softly as she began walking away.
“I’m going to fetch a glass of punch before the—concert starts.”
“Shall I—” Edward started.
“No,” she said brightly. “I’ll be right back.”
Derek Knight’s stare intensified, still fixed on her, unnoticed by the others. But Lily could not bear to meet his searching gaze. She turned and walked away.
Her misfortune was none of his business. Her great Balfour pride would no
t tolerate one iota of pity from him or from anyone else. She kept her shoulders squared and her chin high as she went toward the refreshment table, but in truth, she could have wept.
It was all such a waste.
The most wonderful man she’d ever known had died on a distant continent, all for naught. And though the charming major might believe that he, too, was invincible, someday he’d probably share her father’s fate.
Soon the music started.
Derek was confused. He had come here tonight still irked at Lily Balfour, prepared to be offended by nearly anything the woman said.
He had not anticipated this tug on his heartstrings.
Of course, he had had no idea that she had lost her father to the vagaries of India, but it wasn’t hard to guess that his death was what had led to her family’s hard times and precipitated her scheme, in turn, to marry a rich man. Certainly, it accounted for her harsh opinions of Englishmen who went to India to seek their fortune.
It’s not me you’re angry at, is it, Lily? he mused, watching her as the concert unfolded. It’s your father.
Going off to India, leaving you behind. Leaving you to fix the problems he failed to solve.
Now that he had a clearer picture of her situation, he felt like a damned heel for chiding her about her fortune-hunting quest. He still didn’t like her plan about marrying Ed Lundy, but she was right—he’d had no right to judge her before he knew the facts.
He couldn’t stop staring at her during the concert, studying her delicate profile while the tender music played. He ached as he gazed at her gloved hands, so sweetly folded on her lap. The diamond in her earlobe winked like a star in the candlelight, reminding him of the secret they shared. God help him, he wanted more.
He would handle it much differently if only he could be alone with her again. He would be gentler with her, for as he watched her, he realized she really was a very gentle person. Even with Lundy, she was kinder than she had to be.