by Aileen Fish
Pocketing the few coins he’d earned, he ducked behind a cluster of tall potted plants while he searched for another exit. There were only two—the one Markham had entered through, and one at the opposite end of the room from where Ringley stood. The marquess stood midway between the two, his hawkish gaze studying the room.
Had someone notified him that Ringley was there?
He chided himself. He was much less important than that to the marquess, surely.
Unable to gather any confidence from that logic, he skirted back the way he came, hoping to get past Markham without notice. He almost made it, too, when he was halted by a friend of his father’s. “Ringley, son, how fares your father?”
Flinching at the use of his title, he stole a glance at Markham, who didn’t appear to have heard. “He’s well, thank you. The country air is good for him.”
The old man ran through every pleasantry known to man before letting Ringley make his escape. Once in the hallway, he darted for the servants’ stairs to leave unseen.
He plowed directly into a soft, sweet obstruction that smelled of jasmine. He caught her shoulders before realizing who she was. “Lady Lavinia, what a pleasure. If you’re looking for you brother, I’ve just left him.”
“Why, no.” Her long black lashes fluttered and Ringley tensed. There were few stronger warning signs a single man feared. “I sought you.”
Blast! The marquess was using her to entrap Ringley. “And why is that?” He glanced toward the card room, certain he’d see Markham bearing down on them.
“Why—I, er, wished to dance with you, my lord. It’s been so long since we’ve stood up together.”
The only time he’d partnered with her was in the nursery of her father’s estate, when they were all the target of a stern-voiced dance tutor. Now he was even more certain why she was there. “I’d be delighted to under normal circumstances, but you find me on my way to another assembly. I’m expected there,” he lied. No one cared one way or another whether he accepted invitations to their events. They only invited him to make certain there were enough single gentlemen on hand. Apparently, there was some magic ratio of desirable to undesirable men that would improve their daughters’ chances of making an excellent match. Ringley helped flesh out the undesirable numbers.
And he was more than happy to remain in that group of gentlemen.
“Surely you have time for one set. It’s early still. They haven’t even served dinner yet.” Lady Lavinia was too comfortable in her pleading stance. How often did her wheedling work?
Her soft blue eyes studied him with no uncertainty. She was dangerous, and she had him trapped in full sight of the card room door. Taking her hand and tucking it to his side, he led her toward the ballroom. “As tempting as the offer is, I must let this one pass. You’ll give me another opportunity at a later date?”
Her lips pressed tightly together and her nostrils flared. “No, it must be tonight.”
Seeing a dark alcove, he drew her into the shadows. “Lady Lavinia, I know your brother has enlisted your aid in forcing me to repay my debt. However, I don’t have the funds with me tonight. I cannot remain here any longer.”
She peered into the lighted space outside the alcove. “You’re mistaken. If my brother saw me here, he’d punch you and drag me home. I’m not permitted to converse with his friends.”
The girl made no sense. “Why would he allow you to dance with me but not talk?” Ringley asked.
Leaning closer brought her jasmine scent to him again and he longed to inhale more of it. She whispered conspiratorially. “He mustn’t know. In truth, I have no desire to dance. I only want a kiss.”
Ringley nearly jumped back as if she were an ember shooting from the fireplace. “If you can’t talk to me without angering Markham, you see the flaw in your thinking, don’t you?”
“He can’t know if it, of course. No one can, except Lady Matilda, Lady Selena, and Lady Clara.” She growled softly in frustration. “Now I’ve said too much, I might as well explain the entire matter. You can appreciate a good wager, I know.”
She had him there. He folded his arms across his chest if for no other reason than it gave him a barrier from the temptation of her full lips. “I’m waiting…”
“Yes. You see, my friends and I drew names and I got yours. I have to kiss you to win.”
Torn between flattery and astonishment, it took him a few moments to find his voice. “I thought only men made such foolish wagers.”
“You have no sisters, my lord.” She fluttered those thick lashes again and he held back a groan.
“How do you learn to flirt like that without destroying your reputation?” He held up his hands. “Never mind. I cannot kiss you. Now, allow me to escort you back to the ballroom and I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait!” He small gloved hand rested on his sleeve.
He scanned the hallway for Markham, but for the moment he was safe.
“Please. I never lose a bet.”
“Find another target for your games, Lady Lavinia. I prefer not facing a pistol at dawn.” He again tried to lead her away.
Just before they cleared the shadows, she stepped in front of him and rose on her toes, placing the most delicate peck on his lips. As she pulled away, her eyes were wide. Ringley would love to consider his skill was the reason for her surprise, but it was over so quickly he hadn’t had the chance to even pucker.
“Drat!” She pressed her fingertips to her lips.
“Come now, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“I forgot the most important part. The kiss has to be seen.”
Chapter Five
Drat, double drat and triple drat! How could Lavinia have forgotten the most important requirement of the kiss? Mattie and the others were nowhere in sight. Tucked away as she and the viscount were in the alcove, no one could have seen them. There was nothing to it—she must kiss him again. “We have to kiss again.”
“Why, so Markham will see? I have no desire to be dead, and you can’t wish to trap me into marriage, so what’s the point?”
She must find a way to convince him. Batting her lashes hadn’t worked so far, so she ducked her head and offered him her sweetest smile. “Is it so difficult to believe I want to kiss you, my lord? You’re very handsome, you know. Many of the ladies think so.”
“I know my reputation. I’ve even encouraged most of the talk, but I won’t despoil you or any other young lady. What is this all about? Why would you wager on kisses, when any one of you merely has to look at a man to make him desire you?”
Her stomach fluttered and she grew suddenly warm. He desired her? As one of her brother’s friends he’d always been in that small group of men she could never think about marrying. That hadn’t stopped her from dreaming of him, though. Of all Markham’s friends. But mostly of Ringley’s copper and gold locks and hazel eyes. Precious metals and stone, a magical combination.
He’d been quick to make her laugh when she was young, and the only one of her brother’s friends to pay any attention to her, if one overlooked the pulling of pigtails.
And now she stood before him begging for a kiss. What had happened to her? When had desperation entered her being?
“I’m not asking for a scandalous seduction, my lord. Nor a passionate embrace. All I need is for one of my friends to see us kiss, and then I win my bet.”
His right eyebrow lifted just enough to almost go unnoticed. “And what do I get?”
That question was unexpected. “Why, you get to kiss me.”
He stepped so close her gown brushed against his waistcoat, and her heart raced. “As you’ve said, without passion or scandal. I repeat, what do I get for helping you win?”
Lord Ringley had no understanding of the female sex. The prize wasn’t the point of the challenge. “We’ve pooled a hat, a pair of half-boots, a reticule, and a silk shawl. Which would you prefer?”
Chuckling, he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. The familiarity of the touch gave he
r shivers. He studied her a moment and she would have given up all her winnings to know what he was thinking. “While my dance slippers are growing thin, I don’t believe your half-boots would fit.”
Had he always been so good natured? By the time she was old enough to notice him, he’d stopped visiting. Maybe trickery wasn’t the way to gain his assistance. “You’d have my eternal gratitude.”
Ringley lifted her hand to his lips. “As delightful as that sounds, even your gratitude wouldn’t save me from Markham’s wrath. I fear I must pass on your invitation.”
Unable to bear the idea she was losing, she stomped her foot. “Lord Ringley, no one says no to me!”
He squeezed the fingers he still held. “Perhaps someone should, lest you find yourself in a situation you cannot control.”
There must be something she could do to convince him to kiss her, and she had to find out what it was before he escaped. She chose the direct route. “What do you want to kiss me?”
His grin widened and he shook his head. “Lady Lavinia, this isn’t a game. Your brother will wish me dead soon enough, if he doesn’t already.”
That was clear enough. “Ah, gambling debts. I see.”
Ringley had the decency to look chagrined. “Exactly. Now, let me take you to the ballroom. Your mother must have noticed your absence by now.”
It was Lavinia’s turn to chuckle. “In all honesty, Mama is so desperate to see me married, she’s probably praying I’m caught in a scandal.”
Without comment, he held out his arm and they stepped from the shadows.
Directly in Markham’s path.
“Ringley!” Fire burned in her brother’s eyes. He yanked his friend’s arm and dragged him down the hall. “What are you up to?”
Lavinia rushed to keep up. “Markham, let him go. It’s not what you think.”
“Go find Mother. Now. I’ll deal with you later.” Markham pushed Ringley against a wall near the servants’ stairwell, not even glancing her way.
“Do as he says, Lady Lavinia.” Ringley was suddenly more demanding than her brother.
“I won’t, not until he understands you aren’t to blame for any of this mess.”
With Ringley’s cravat fisted in his hand, Markham held him pinned. “You’re my friend. You might gamble beyond your means, but you always honor your debts. Now you’re using blackmail to weasel out of it?”
Ringley clamped a hand around Markham’s wrist and eased him back. “I can explain myself much better if I can breathe. You know I’d never resort to blackmail. You’re making too much of this. I was merely explaining to your sister the foolishness of her scheme.”
Closing her eyes, Lavinia wished she’d taken Markham’s advice and left. “I told you, it’s not what you think.” He would lock her in her room until she was thirty, or forty if Papa found out what she’d done.
“What did you and your friends bet on now?” Her brother looked at her instead of Ringley, but grabbed the other man’s arm when he tried to leave. “I’m not done with you yet.”
Lavinia stepped closer so no one else could hear. “May I tell you at home? I don’t wish to make a scene.”
“It’s a bit late for that,” muttered Ringley. “It was harmless, but a bit foolish. I only wished to save her the embarrassment of being found out.”
Markham glanced from one to the other, his lips turned down sharply and his brow furled. “I can’t tell you how it feels to have this man—of all people—privy to your secrets.”
Chapter Six
“Why?” Between Lady Lavinia’s aggravating pursuit of a kiss and Ringley’s efforts to avoid Markham, he’d had enough for one night. “She’s known me most of her life. Am I truly such a scoundrel you’d keep your sister from speaking to me in a crowded assembly?”
Markham tipped his head in the direction of the noise spilling from the ballroom. “I’d prefer you weren’t so far from the crowd.”
Nodding, Ringley acknowledged his words. He wouldn’t want a sister of his slipping away to dark corners alone with a man, no matter how well he knew them.
“Can I trust her with you?”
That was the correct question—could she be trusted—even if it wasn’t the one Markham meant to ask. “You have my word.”
He smirked. “Let’s hope your word is worth more than your IOU. Lavinia, do not linger here. Finish your discussion quickly and return to Mother.”
This night grew stranger and stranger. Markham was leaving his sister alone with Ringley. And he hadn’t made any threats regarding the money he was owed.
Straightening his neckcloth, he watched the marquess walk away. “Now, will you let me take you into the ballroom?”
“We haven’t finished our discussion.” If Lady Lavinia continued to chew her lower lip, he’d lose all thought of restraining himself from another kiss.
“Your brother put a full stop to the end of that paragraph. No kiss.” For the first time that night, that fact disappointed him. He couldn’t allow such foolish ideas in his head. “Besides, none of your friends are here to witness.”
Blast it! He was a fool to encourage her. The wisest thing he could do was to leave Almack’s that moment.
“It doesn’t have to be tonight, unless one of them succeeds, and I honestly doubt any of them will be brave enough to try to kiss a man.”
There was his escape. “Excellent. We’ll make plans for another evening.” Before she could argue further, he took her arm and strode to the ballroom.
Only when she was safely at the duchess’s side, did he slow down enough for his thoughts to catch up with him. And her scent faded from the air around him. He’d never gotten so distracted over the way a young lady smelled. He’d never gotten so distracted by the sister of a close friend. There were too many unspoken rules where they were concerned.
Too many ways to ruin a friendship and leave all partied involved in misery.
Now that he didn’t need to worry about Markham finding him, Ringley returned to the card room and found a table with an empty chair. The third hand had just been dealt when Markham appeared, pulling up another chair. A cold sweat broke out on Ringley’s forehead. “Your sister has been returned to the duchess’s side. I’m no longer responsible for any scheme she becomes involved in.”
Shaking his head with a chuckle, the marquess said, “I wish she would marry. Then she would be some other man’s concern.”
“Watch yourself. Some rakehell like me might come into the picture.”
“At least you’d be able to keep her under control.” He shot a stern glare across the table. “Don’t take that as permission.”
Ringley leaned back in his chair as if Markham could hit him from that distance. “Don’t worry yourself on my part.” Don’t even think such things, he wanted to add.
He was so distracted, he tossed the wrong card into play. There was no help for it—if he continued to play with as jumbled as his thoughts were, he’d only increase his debts. He tossed down his hand. “That’s it for me, gentlemen. I wish you all bon chance.”
To add to the foolishness of the night, Ringley turned toward the ballroom, not the street exit. If Lady Lavinia and her friends continued to search out their innocent victims, it could prove quite entertaining.
As was his way, he stayed to the outside of the crush of people, as far from the dancers as possible. No one noticed him, so he could search for Lady Lavinia undistracted.
He saw Lady Selena first, flirting with Lord Dashworth. He must be her victim. Should Ringley warn him? It wasn’t worth the bother. As long as they remained in the sight of so many, the man was safe.
There were words he never thought he’d say. At least, he’d never think of a man being safe from a woman. The parson’s noose, perhaps, but not his honor.
While he observed the room he failed to notice he approached Her Grace, the Duchess of Carrolton—Lady Lavinia’s mother. She spied him, however. “Ringley! Over here. Come to me, my boy.”
Torn betwe
en feeling like a faithful puppy and a young rascal, he did so. “Your Grace, you’re a vision of beauty.”
“Save the pretty words for the young ladies, son. Do you dance tonight?”
“I’m afraid not. I’ve been in the card room all evening.” Where he was quite safe, praise the heavens. Coming into the ballroom was an imbecilic move.
“You’ve arrived just in time to stand up with Lavinia in the next set. You wouldn’t want her to be thought a wallflower.”
“Your daughter would never be considered thus. Do you think being seen with me would do more for her than remaining with you?”
The duchess’s eyes smiled from above her fluttering fan. “I believe she’ll be safe with you.”
If you only knew, madam, you’d take your daughter home as soon as the music ends.
There was one more dance in that set, more time for him to reflect on how mad he was. Now he’d locked himself into remaining, and to dance with Lady Lavinia. Why did the idea scare him so much less than when she’d first seen him in the hallway?
When she approached her mother on the arm of her dance partner, her face glowed with pleasure from the exertion of dancing. The effect was more than any amount of paint could give her. She was the most beautiful woman in the room, by far.
“Lord Ringley, I’m all astonishment. How lovely, and surprising, it is to see you in a ballroom.”
“I grew tired of cards and knew I couldn’t leave without dancing one set with the sister of my dearest friend.” Oh, Lud, he sounded like a lovesick pup.
Luckily, she laughed off his words. “Will you take me to the refreshment table? I’m in need of a drink to cool me.”
He led her away, noticing the jasmine scent was fading. As tempting as it was, he knew better than to nuzzle her curls and inhale it once more. “Are you enjoying yourself?”