"Ah there you are."
Hadley's booming voice shattered the tenuous spell that had been steadily winding its way around them and just like that, the sardonic glint came back into Tom's eyes.
"Hadley," he greeted the smaller man.
Hadley bowed to Tom and looked between the two. He remembered quite vividly being ousted from a dance with the Duchess of Hartridge once by the duke himself. He had no intentions of losing out on her sister to his cousin! All that money shouldn’t be confined to one family.
"Lady Caroline, may I request the honour of the first two dances?"
Swearing became even more attractive to Caroline but she merely smiled, thanked him for the honour, and consented. What else could she do?
"I'll leave you to it."
Tom's voice sounded cold and distant once again, and Caroline could not help but be saddened by it.
Still, she thought as Tom walked away and Hadley led her to the dance floor, it was better this way. If she softened toward him now and he turned insulting again, she did not think she would recover from it.
The festivities wore on and Tom's mood turned sourer with every dance, every bout of raucous laughter, and every glimpse of Caroline in the arms of another man.
He had promised Edward that he would be civil. But civility was difficult when faced with the knowledge that he still craved her as much as ever, and probably more so.
What was she doing, wasting her time with someone as utterly ridiculous as that dandy, Hadley?
Though he had to admit, she had not seemed overly pleased to have been claimed to dance by him.
Tom had been tempted, oh so tempted, to ask her to dance himself. But he held back. For one thing, he did not trust himself not to kiss her senseless the second he laid a finger on her. For another, he still could not work out how he felt about her and would do well to maintain a safe distance until he did.
Edward's assurances that Caroline was in the market for a husband had rankled more than he cared to admit.
Why should he bloody well care if she wanted to marry? He had given up on her the day she refused him and had stopped giving a damn soon after.
He winced as a high-pitched cackle assailed his ears. Dear God, someone needed to put whomever the lady was out of her misery.
He grimaced before swallowing the rest of his brandy in one gulp. Perhaps it was time for him to take his leave.
He had adhered to the obligatory social niceties — flirted with the married ladies, flirted a little less with the single ones lest they get any ideas, gamed with the gentlemen, and danced with Rebecca, among others. And all the while he'd watched her, dammit.
Tom knew that Edward and Rebecca, as well as Caroline herself, would notice that he had not asked her to dance. But a man could only take so much temptation before he did something about it. And since he spent half his time lusting after her and the other half fantasizing about ruining her, crushing her heart as she had his, it was best that he did not ask her. Mercifully nobody questioned or berated him for this minor social faux pas.
For her part, Caroline had stayed as far away from him as possible. Which did not prove too difficult since she'd been drowning in a sea of male humanity all evening.
Tom scowled. Edward was doing a terrible job of chaperoning his beautiful charge. So too was Rebecca, but then she could barely take responsibility for herself so it wasn't terribly fair to expect more from her.
And he was wasting far, far too much time worrying about the lady Caroline, he thought with a frown. It really was time to find Edward and take his leave.
He looked around the crowded ballroom but could see no sign of Edward or Rebecca. What a surprise.
His eyes continued to explore the outskirts of the dancing couples when his attention was caught, as it always was, by the golden bright presence of Caroline. He swore, not very softly, and was rewarded with an affronted glare from the mamma standing beside him, protecting her baby chicks.
Mamma was furious, but her innocent daughters were looking decidedly less than innocent in his direction. He grinned wickedly and favoured the ladies with a rakish wink before the mother hen bundled her charges away with much talk of evil men and the damage they did to impressionable young ladies.
Chuckling softly, Tom turned back to watch Caroline and was confused by her sudden disappearance. Where could she have gone? His frown deepened, she could not have vanished into thin air.
He was about to move off in search of her when he spotted a swirl of sky blue silk a little to his left.
Tom clenched his fists as a barrage of jealousy and rage assaulted him. She was going out into the darkened garden. And she wasn't alone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WAS BEING FUN and spontaneous supposed to make her feel so uncomfortable?
Caroline felt her companion's hand on the small of her back and she smiled a little nervously before moving slightly away.
Perhaps this had been a mistake.
Caroline had been smarting all evening from Tom's obvious dismissal of her.
Earlier in the evening it had seemed as though he was warming toward her again. Certainly the look in his eyes and his words had made her feel more than a trifle warm.
But since their brief, and strange, conversation he had avoided her completely. At first she had been excruciatingly embarrassed. She knew that people would notice the slight. However, she had reminded herself and Rebecca, who had subtly asked if she was hurt, that she was here to throw off the shackles of society rules and the new, fun loving Caroline would not give a fig that Mr. Crawdon had refused to stand up with her.
Instead she had danced with, flirted with, and been outrageously complimented by dozens of young men who had been vying entertainingly for her attention.
One in particular had caught her eye from the start. A Lord Stanley, cousin of Hadley. He was tall, dark, and whilst not as handsome as Tom or Edward (which wouldn't be a fair comparison anyway because, really, who was as handsome as those two?) he was very attractive. And if his eyes held a predatory gleam that made her feel a little wary, his charm more than compensated.
She was being silly, thinking him anything less than a gentleman. She just wasn't used to such forward behaviour, but perhaps her being more open meant that she was attracting a more open sort of man?
He had been extremely attentive and at first, it had made Caroline extremely uncomfortable and she had been politely but firmly rejecting his offers of air, dancing, and champagne at every turn.
But then she'd caught sight of Tom dancing with that awful Miss Sandson whose dress was astonishingly lower than her intelligence.
Caroline's temper had flared and she'd turned her most dazzling smile on Lord Stanley and accepted his offer of a turn around the gardens. She hadn't felt particularly overheated but anything was better than having to watch Tom fawn over that simpering dolt, Miss Sandson. It was bad enough that he had not asked her to dance, but to see him dance quite happily with such ladies as these made her furious and, quite honestly, desperately sad.
And so it was that she found herself out on a darkened balcony with this strange and slightly frightening man as company.
Caroline felt immediately that she had made a grave error. How could she have been so stupid as to step out alone with a virtual stranger?
She noticed, to her growing horror, that during her contemplation of Tom, and the extra limb he'd grown in the shape of Miss Sandson, Stanley had managed to manoeuvre her further down the balcony and they had lost what little light from the candlelit ballroom they had, pitching them into virtual darkness.
"Lord Stanley—" Caroline did her utmost not to show her fear— "I think it would be best if we were to return to the ballroom."
"But we only just got out here, my dear. I have been so looking forward to getting you alone."
His words, though dripping with charm, scared the wits out of her.
Caroline flinched as he stepped closer but stood her ground. "I hardly thin
k that is appropriate, my lord."
Stanley merely laughed and before Caroline knew what his intentions were he had grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against his body, his mouth descending toward hers.
Caroline struggled with all her might, pushing against his broad chest and kicking out to the best of her ability. She turned her face away from his kiss but it only made him concentrate his efforts on her neck.
She felt bile rise in her throat as his teeth bit into her soft flesh.
"Let me go or I shall scream," she threatened, all the while trying to push him away.
He merely laughed and his mockery made Caroline furious. She redoubled her efforts to push him off but it was no use.
He was too strong and too intent on his purpose.
Caroline was torn between wanting to be discovered and not. She would love nothing more than for someone to come to her aid. She had no idea how far the man meant to go and she was terrified of finding out.
On the other hand, unless by some miracle the only people to discover her were Rebecca and Edward, she would be ruined. Utterly and completely. For she would never consent to marry such a creature as Stanley and the alternative would be to live in disgrace.
Caroline felt herself grow weary from her struggles. She had managed to move away from him but little and her efforts only seemed to spur him on.
Now he had grabbed her chin painfully and was lowering his mouth once again toward hers.
The resounding slap she delivered to his cheek did not stop him at all, and now he had gripped both of her small hands in one of his, keeping them pinned behind her back.
"I shall scream!" she warned him frantically.
"And draw attention to yourself?" he mocked. "Besides, your brother-in-law seems to have disappeared and who else would come to your rescue?"
"I would."
Before Caroline knew what was happening, Stanley had been dragged away from her. Her eyes widened as Tom turned her attacker to face him before landing a blow on his face that made the smaller man stagger before hitting the ground with a loud thump.
Caroline felt a rush of relief so strong that it made her knees buckle. She was rendered completely still while Tom, with a look of fury such as she'd never seen before, bent to drag Lord Stanley to his feet before punching him again.
Caroline had the sudden thought, through the haze of shock, that Tom was very likely to kill the other man.
She rushed forward.
"Tom, please. Please don't."
Tom turned on her so ferociously that she stumbled away from him.
"You mean you wanted his attentions?"
"What? Of course not. Don't be so stupid." Her anger flared at his accusation. "Did I look as though I wanted them?"
Tom looked mildly appeased as he turned back to the man who was still flat on the ground and clutching his nose.
"You've broken my bloody nose," he said. The volume of blood trickling through his clasped hands confirmed his claim and Caroline felt her stomach roil at the sight of it.
She had never been very good with the sick or injured.
"I'll break more than that," growled Tom as he once again dragged Stanley to his feet, "if you so much as look in her direction again. Understood?"
Lord Stanley made no reply as Tom shoved him bodily through the doors. Just before letting him go Tom bent to utter menacingly in his ear, "If word of this gets around, I shall know who it has come from. And then I'm coming after you."
Caroline's knees were trembling quite violently by the time Tom returned to her side.
Her hair had come loose and, to her horror, she noticed there was a tear on the sleeve of her gown. She busied herself trying to fix both while she tried to get her breathing under control.
Tom appeared to be waiting for her to speak first, so releasing a calming breath she looked up to thank him.
And was met with that furious look again.
"Are you alright?" he bit out. He sounded furious, too.
"Y-yes. Thank you, Tom. I— that is to say, he—he wouldn't-"
"What in damnation were you thinking, Caroline?" Tom suddenly exploded, interrupting her stammering explanation.
His tone ignited her own temper. Which was odd since she had herculean strength when it came to controlling her emotions. But really, she'd just been attacked for heaven's sake! Why was he shouting at her?
"I beg your pardon?"
"Surely you're not so stupid as to be unaware of what a man like Stanley intended by bringing you onto the darkened veranda?"
"Don't you dare call me stupid. Are you seriously blaming me for being assaulted?"
"Of course not!" Tom shouted before dragging his hand through his hair and blowing out a frustrated breath. "But you're obviously far too innocent to be left to your own devices. Where the hell is Edward?"
"I have no idea. And I am not a child, Tom. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself."
He didn't say anything but the slight raise of a sceptical eyebrow spoke volumes.
"That is to say, usually I am fine in my own company. Granted, coming out here was probably not the best idea but—"
Tom let out a harsh laugh, though he sounded less than amused.
"Not the best idea? You, my dear, are blessed that I saw him drag you out here. What do you think would have happened had I arrived late? Or not arrived at all? Would you have been happy to be leg shackled to a bastard like that?"
He was so angry. Caroline swallowed nervously. She felt shame crawl through her at her own stupidity. She should have known that no respectable gentleman would have lured her away. But she had been so intent on ridding herself of her jealousy that she had thrown caution to the wind and look where she'd ended up.
Opening her mouth to apologise, she was brought up short by his next words.
"Or perhaps that was your intention? Stanley is well known for his predilection for innocent virgins and would be laughably unfaithful. But then, he has a title."
Caroline felt as though he'd slapped her. She felt the colour drain from her face.
"No," she whispered now and was alarmed to feel the tears filling her eyes, "that was not my intention."
Tom stared at her for what felt like forever, but which could not have been more than a moment or two, but Caroline refused to look away. She watched Tom as he watched the first of her tears trickle slowly down her cheek and his face suddenly tightened with some unidentifiable emotion before he swore softly and pulled her into his arms.
And then the tears really came. Because it felt so right that he should be holding her. His scent, the feel of his arms, his heart thudding against her ear; it felt perfect. Caroline wept. She wept for what she had given up. She wept for his pain and for hers. She wept for the choice she'd made two years ago, the biggest mistake she would ever make in her life.
"Caroline," he crooned and Caroline closed her eyes at the exquisite feel of his lips pressed against the top of her head, "please don't cry."
"I'm sorry," she sniffed and pulled away so that she could look at him. "I'm so sorry, Tom." They both knew her apology was for more than her tears.
Tom didn't speak. Slowly, he lifted his hand and gently wiped away a tear.
Caroline shuddered at the crash of desire that coursed through her body. Tom's hold seemed to change from comforting to seductive within the blink of an eye.
Caroline was suddenly desperate for him to kiss her. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything. Yearned for him. Needed to see if his kiss was as enchanting as she remembered, as she dreamed about constantly.
She knew the moment he decided he would kiss her. The light in his eyes changed to one of devilish desire and an answering want screamed through Caroline's blood.
He leaned slowly, so slowly toward her but when his mouth was mere inches from hers he stopped.
"Caroline, are you sure? What Stanley did — you must be scared, confused. I—"
Caroline did not give him a chance to fini
sh. Grasping the back of his neck, she pulled his head toward hers and finally closed the distance between them.
As their mouths fused, Caroline knew she'd finally come home.
Tom told himself he was all kinds of idiotic as his mouth found Caroline's in the sweetest kiss he'd ever tasted. He knew he should stop. Knew that nothing had changed, that he still wasn't good enough for her and never would be.
Yet here he stood, kissing her as if his life depended on it. And at that moment, he felt like it did.
He found, to his vast relief, that her kiss was as innocent as ever. Funny then that it should have more power over him than anything else he'd ever experienced.
Never before had Tom felt rage such as he'd felt when he'd walked out here and found that bastard attacking her. Only Caroline's interruption, and the horrifying thought that she wanted Stanley had stopped him from tearing the man limb from limb. He was furious that Stanley could treat Caroline in such a way. Jealous too that she had chosen to spend time alone with the cad.
He had wanted to remain angry with her, too. Of all the foolish things she could have done, coming out into the night alone with one as debauched as Stanley was pretty exceptional.
But she'd cried, for God's sake. And everyone knew Tom did not do well with crying women. At the sight of her first tear he had genuinely considered jumping over the balustrade to escape but had quickly dismissed the notion. One, because he didn't want to break anything and two, because it seemed rather ridiculously dramatic when he could just go back through the doors he'd used mere moments ago.
Then the strangest thing had happened. Her crying, whilst still scaring the wits out of him, had managed to infiltrate its way through the barricade surrounding his heart. He had felt, to his horror, a stirring of something he'd tried his best to bury. He found that instead of lashing out at her, he was gathering her to him. Fitting her beneath his chin, right where he'd once thought she belonged, he'd tried his hardest to make the tears stop.
So who was the idiot now?
Her scent had surrounded him. She smelled like a meadow in spring. Nobody else had ever smelled like her. Ever. Well, at least no other women. He'd never made a habit of sniffing men.
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