“David, let’s stop here. We must have a funnel cake. Get the large one, and we’ll share it.”
David smiled and stepped forward to place his order. He couldn’t help but catch the flush of peaches in her creamy complexion. She was beautiful in her mint-green sundress and white wide-brim floppy hat.
She took the cake from him and broke off a piece to feed him. “What do you think?”
“Umm… it’s delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever had this before.”
“That’s the fun of it—trying new things. Funnel cakes are a Southern specialty.” She broke off a few more pieces and gave them to him, but she ate most of it herself.
She pulled him along to almost every food vender there, trying Gator on a Stick, shrimp, and many other selections, but he drew the line when she offered crawfish.
“David, won’t you at least try it? You might like them.”
“First of all, they are bottom feeders, and I don’t eat them. In Britain, they are called crayfish, and they are an endangered species. You have them if you like, but to me, there is just something wrong with eating such a thing.”
“Well, we have plenty of them here, so Britain is welcome to some of ours.” She looked down at her plate and picked one up. “If you don’t want any, then that leaves more for me.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Lawton, if you keep eating like this, you’re going to get fat, and then I’ll have to trade you in for another Carolina Belle who doesn’t eat as much.”
She licked her fingers and wiped them on her napkin and then playfully smacked his arm. “Trade me in, indeed! I’m not yours to trade. And besides, I don’t eat like this every day. In fact, it’s probably only once a year that I do.”
David chuckled. “Perhaps you’re not mine to trade, but you are mine for the weekend, just the same.”
He smacked her bum as they walked towards the classic rock stage where Foreigner was playing. Stepping back, he watched as Cecilia swayed to the beat of the music. While he listened to the songs, his mind focused on the woman before him. He realized that with very little effort she could make him reconsider his dedication to bachelorhood. …Cecilia Lawton, he inwardly groaned …What are you doing to me? He sighed as he reached to put his arm around her. Pulling her a little closer, he wondered if she could ever love a man like him.
How long they stood there, he couldn’t tell. Foreigner had finished and Creedence was wrapping up when Cecilia grabbed his attention once more.
“David, it’s time for the Belle and Beau Contest. Let’s go over to the pageant stage and see who’s competing this year.” She smiled, tugging him along, talking as they went. “They have three categories. The first is for girls and boys ages six to eight. The second is for ages nine to thirteen, and the last is from fourteen to eighteen. Come on, or we’ll miss the first category. Look,” she pointed toward the platform. “Do you see that little girl on stage with the long blonde ringlets? She looks like I did when I was her age. My mother entered me in the pageant when I was six. I was mortified.”
David laughed. “Why? I’m sure you were beautiful. I’ve seen your baby pictures. Remember?”
“I was three in those pictures, but that’s beside the point. I was a tomboy, and my mother was always trying to make a little lady out of me. She fixed my hair like that little girl’s, except I had this huge purple bow attached to the back of my head, and she had me dressed in a purple silk dress with a cancan slip. I felt so humiliated. My father even laughed. He called me a grape lollipop. But later he told me that I was his little lollipop. Needless to say I didn’t win, but the next time, when I was older, I did.”
David laughed out loud. “A grape lollipop. That has interesting possibilities.”
“David Darcy, you get your mind out of the gutter. This is a beauty contest, not a porn show.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking? Besides, when I’m with you, you’re the only thing on my mind.”
He hooked her chin and lifted her head to give her an affectionate kiss as she closed her eyes and gently kissed him back. They stayed for all three contests before returning to the Lawton to prepare for the ball. Cecilia complained that the girl who won the third contest wasn’t the most beautiful, but David hadn’t noticed. To him, Cecilia was the best looking of them all.
When she was dressed, she came out and asked, “David, how do I look?”
His eyes traversed her figure from her hair to her toes and back. “Do you even have to ask? You’ll be the prettiest belle of the ball.” It was the absolute truth. Her white gown trimmed in black hugged her figure to the waist and then flared to an elegant floor-length drape, falling gracefully about her hips. David wore black trousers and a white dinner jacket with a black silk bow tie and matching cummerbund. Together he thought they made a striking couple.
Walking into the ballroom, Cecilia complimented her staff. The arrangements were lovely. The food was beautifully laid out on tables lining the near wall. Tastefully arranged among the food items were pink magnolia blossoms floating in crystal dishes, interspersed with sweetly scented candles. Garlands of pink and white flowers woven together with glossy magnolia leaves hung above the platform where an orchestra sat warming up. As she canvassed the room, well pleased with all that she saw, she didn’t notice the man standing in the corner sulking.
“Keeler, go over to Cecilia and tell her I want to see her, immediately.”
“What about Amelia? She’ll be furious if you approach Cecilia while you’re with her. Do you want to start a hell-cat fight? You know how those two are!”
“I don’t give a damn. I’ve about had enough of her naggin’. Fetch Cecilia.”
Cameron knew Cecilia had a date for the Magnolia Festival, but he had not thought it would be the Englishman she sometimes dated. It never occurred to him someone would come all the way from England to be with Cecilia. He snarled and breathed noisily. That Brit was beginning to annoy him.
“All right, but I don’t think this is smart,” Keeler said as he turned to walk in the direction of Cecilia and her date. When he approached them, he said, “Cecilia, I am sorry to disturb you, but I’ve been sent to escort you to someone who wishes to see you.”
“Who?” She raised one brow and cocked her head.
He motioned in Cameron’s direction. Cecilia’s eyes burned white hot. “Excuse me, David. I’ll only be a minute,” she calmly said as she stomped across the floor to where Cameron stood.
“What the hell do you want?!”
“What the hell do you think I want? What are you doin’ inviting him to our society functions?!” He pointed in David’s direction.
“He’s my friend, and I’ll invite whomever I damn well please. Look, Cameron, I’ve about had enough of you, and if you don’t want a scene, you’ll leave me alone.”
“You never were afraid of makin’ an ass out of yourself—”
“And you sure as hell don’t mind showing yours now, do you?! I don’t have to put up with this, and I’m not going to.” She turned on her heel to leave, but he grabbed her arm and spun her around.
“Just don’t forget who you’ll be spendin’ the rest of your life with—and it’s not with him.”
“Let go of me!” The warning in her voice was clear as she jerked loose from his grip.
David carefully observed the far end of the room, wondering if he should intervene when he saw Cecilia jerk away. If the man hadn’t let go of her at that instant, David was sure there would have been a fight, because he wouldn’t stand for a man treating Cecilia that way.
When she reached him, he asked, “Who was that? I don’t like the way he handled you.”
“He’s nobody. Just a bad dream, that’s all.”
“No, Cecilia, he’s somebody, and I want to know who he is.”
Cecilia was about to speak when the master of ceremonies interrupted to announce that the ball would be opened by this year’s Belles and Beaus and by all Belles and Beaus from the preceding years, s
omething that had never been done before, but was a special request from a former Beau. David saw the burning anger in Cecilia’s eyes as the man from across the room approached to claim his dance. All David could do was stand back and watch.
While David watched the dance floor, a beautiful blonde in a red strapless gown approached.
“Care to dance, Brit?” she scowled.
“Who are you?”
“His date. Come on,” she said, dragging David onto the dance floor.
As a slow song played, David found himself in the tight embrace of a woman he’d never seen before while Cecilia looked on, clearly distressed. To David’s utter shock, the woman reached behind and pulled him against her as she pressed a hot kiss upon his very shocked lips. It was too much. He broke the embrace and stalked across the dance floor, snatching Cecilia out of Cameron’s arms.
“Cecilia, come with me. I need to talk to you.”
“Who do you think you are, Brit?”
David turned a formidable Darcy gaze upon Cameron and spoke coldly. “I have a name. It’s David Darcy, and Miss Lawton is my date.” He looked down at Cecilia, and then gestured with his head at the lady in red. “That over there is yours. I suggest you reclaim her—and don’t push me, or you’ll have a nice crimson stain on your pristine white tux to match your date’s dress.” David warned as Cameron backed away.
“Come on,” David commanded, taking Cecilia by the hand and leading her off the dance floor.
“David, I can’t believe he did this to me. He paid the MC to arrange that dance. Please, take me upstairs. I need a minute to get myself together. I’m so humiliated.”
“I certainly will not. You are hosting this ball with me as your guest, and we’re staying. I’ve never given a damn what people think of me in London society, and I sure as bloody hell don’t here!”
Looking up at him, she nodded her head and slowly grinned. “You’re right. I don’t give a damn, either. You’re my kind of man, Darcy.” She took him by the hand and escorted him back to the center of the dance floor. Turning, she circled her arms around his neck. “If we’re going to cause a scene, let’s give them something to really talk about—something that will amaze the whole room,” she said, pulling him into a deep kiss while everyone stared, including Cameron. Breaking the kiss, she nuzzled his nose. “Let’s dance, Darcy.”
David laughed and gathered her in his arms for the waltz while the orchestra played on. “Lawton, you’re my kind of woman.” He tipped her chin, “and we’re too much alike for our own good. Let’s dance.” Neither cared who stared, nor did they acknowledge the looks people gave them—some approving and some not, but most behaved as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
~*~
Later that night, after making love, David held her close and asked, “Are you going to tell me what that was all about in the ballroom? I want to know who that bloke is, and why he treated you the way he did.”
“I’d rather not. I’m very tired. Let’s just go to sleep.”
“And I would rather you did. Who is he, Cecilia?” David hooked her chin, bringing her eyes to his.
She released a heavy sigh. “David, I don’t want him to come between us.” She glanced down for a second and then met his intense gaze. “He’s someone I used to date a long time ago. We’ve begun dating again recently, and I … I thought maybe we could … David, there are things about me you can’t understand—things about our culture and my responsibilities. All I know at this moment is that, for now, I have you, and I want to cherish this moment we have together. I like you.”
“Why don’t you tell me, and let me judge for myself as to whether or not I can understand?”
She tenderly stroked his face, gazing into his questioning eyes. “All right then. David, we’ve always been honest with one another, but this is complicated.” She dropped her gaze and gently shook her head, her voice laden with sadness. “Someday, I have to marry. I have no brothers or sisters, no cousins, and no aunts or uncles. I am the last of my family line. Cameron Taylor, that’s his name, wants to marry me. He owns Taylor Shipping, and a marriage between us would be a prudent merger. I have to consider that. I don’t have the freedom you or others have.” She buried her face in the curve of his neck.
David sighed, tightness constricting his chest. “Cecilia, I do understand.” He caught her chin once more, raising her eyes to meet his. “I face the same thing with my family—only I have an older brother and a younger sister, as well as many cousins, but my father has expectations, too. Are you going to marry him? I have to know.”
“I don’t know,” she softly said.
He drew in a long steady breath. “Do you love him?”
“No, that much I do know.” She shook her head. “David, I don’t know what love is. I know what I’ve read and what people say it is, but I’ve never experienced it. My father never found it. My mother didn’t love him, and it killed him.” She hesitated. “Please, David, I can’t talk about this anymore. I just can’t.” She began to cry.
He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Don’t cry, love. Shh…don’t cry. It’s all right. I do understand.”
He pulled her closer and kissed her brow as she snuggled into his embrace. The thought of her marrying the man he’d met tonight sickened him. He knew that man would break her spirit, leaving her a shell of the person he’d come to know…and love. Did he just think that? He sighed and gently shook his head. There was no denying it anymore. He instinctively knew what this feeling was. He loved her.
David had been thinking about it all day. He could offer her another choice. He wasn’t sure he was ready for marriage, but the thought of Cecilia married to someone else tore at his heart. After a long silence, David summoned the courage to speak again. “What if you had another choice?”
“Umm… what do you mean… another choice?” She blinked her tears away.
“I mean, what if you could choose between him and someone else?”
She thought about it a moment. “I’d analyze my choices and choose, just as I do with any decision.” She stretched out and snuggled a little closer. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. Let’s go to sleep, David. I’m exhausted.”
He reached over and pecked her lips. “All right, love. Goodnight.”
He inwardly groaned. Analyze and choose. That was not the answer he wanted to hear. If she was willing to marry one man without love, would she marry another? Was marriage nothing more than a business contract—a merger of two empires? Would she choose the highest bidder? Did he even have anything to offer her other than himself? Pemberley was Fitzwilliam’s inheritance, not his. He came from one of the wealthiest families in the United Kingdom and was featured in tabloids everywhere as one of the most eligible men in Britain, and yet, none of that mattered. He pulled her a little closer.
He felt a strange urge to protect her, and he knew why. It was obvious. He was in love with her, but after growing up in a home where there was unrequited love, he was not willing to enter such an arrangement of his own making. Apparently, her parents had not shared reciprocated love, either.
Again, he faced a calculated risk. The choice before him now was would he risk his heart and try to win her love, or let it go? This he would consider. Marriage was a frightening prospect in the best of times, and there was no way he would even consider it without her love. Until he heard her utter those three words he now longed to hear, he would neither give her his heart nor declare his love—not until he was sure of hers. That much he knew with certainty.
He reached over and gently kissed the top of her head. She wiggled and clung to him a little tighter, softly breathing and sleeping soundly. Looking down at the woman by his side with tenderness, he thought …after all these years it’s just like me to fall in love with a woman who is untouchable.
She would never know it, but her words had cut him like a knife. This would be the last time he would sleep with her—the last time he would make love to her. He was alr
eady in over his head. One more encounter, and she would hold the advantage. As it stood now, he felt he could still walk away if he had to. It would be painful, but he could do it.
He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. Tomorrow he had to leave for a global marketing convention in Atlanta. He’d think about it then. Gathering her close one last time, he held her until he too, fell asleep.
Chapter Thirty-four
…when a man loves a woman, he gives her the power to bring him down …
As Fitzwilliam sat in on a meeting with the department head for the History and Classical Studies Department, he felt his mobile vibrate. Unable to take the call, he reached into his pocket and switched it off. Since Elizabeth had not been feeling well, he hoped it was her informing him she had decided to see a doctor that afternoon.
Once he was free of the meeting, he pulled out his phone and chuckled as he checked the message. It was from his wife. “Fitzwilliam, you win. I have an appointment with Dr. Griffin this afternoon. I need to get some relief from this pollen. If I’m not back before you, go ahead and start dinner. I left a casserole in the refrigerator to put in the oven. Set it for 350º. I’ll see you when I get there.”
A wide smile crossed his face as he sent her a text message, telling her he had gotten her message and that dinner would be ready when she came home.
~*~
Annoyed, Elizabeth exited the doctor’s office. Spending two hours sitting in a lobby listening to crying babies and watching the Jerry Springer show was not her idea of a good way to spend an afternoon. Looking at her watch, she realized Fitzwilliam had been home for over an hour. She shook her head as she headed towards her car. Pulling out her cell phone, she quickly located his number. “Fitzwilliam, I’m sorry I’m running late. It took longer than I had anticipated. It seems that a lot of people are sick. How is dinner coming along?”
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