She gasped, then almost at once composed herself. She placed her hand in his. “It’s a pleasure to meet you at last, Sir.”
“The pleasure is entirely mine.” He chuckled. “Shall we dance, or would you prefer to seek a setting more private?”
“I’m not sure that is either wise or proper.”
“And yet tonight, no one would know who you are.”
A smile curved her lips. “I would.”
“If I recall, you were never overly concerned with propriety before.”
“That was a different time and I was a different person.” She shook her head. “Then I had nothing to lose.”
“Ah yes, you married a respectable man with wealth and position.”
Her smile tightened. “I did not marry my husband for his money or his name although I see nothing especially wrong with that. It’s the nature of the world.”
“Then why did you marry him?” He held his breath.
“The music has begun, Sir.” She nodded at her hand still in his. “Even a man completely unrecognizable and one of any number of courtesans here tonight would be commented upon if we continued to stand with my hand in yours.”
“Then a dance it shall be.” He took her in his arms and they started off to the tune of a sedate waltz, fortunately for him. He was not as accustomed to the wedges in his shoes as he had once been, and a livelier tune might have been his undoing. Still, they danced together well, but then they always did. She was, after all, his partner. He gazed down at her. “Have you thought of this, Eve? Of dancing together? Of being in my arms?”
“Would you prefer complete honesty, or shall I be polite?”
“There have never been secrets between us.” In spite of the kaleidoscope of dancers, of brightly colored silks and satins, swirling around them, it seemed as though they were quite alone. Caught up in their own world.
“No, I suppose there haven’t been.” She drew a deep breath. “There was a time when I thought of you a great deal.”
He nodded. “Our work, of course.”
“It had nothing to do with that. I will confess, I did once dream of dancing in your arms.”
“And of my lips pressing to yours?”
“I would be less than honest if I denied it. And yet ...” She shook her head. “Those thoughts ended the day I met my husband.”
“Was I so easy to forget?”
“Oh, I have never forgotten you. I daresay I never will.”
“Then ...” He tried to pull her a little closer but she gracefully resisted.
“You and the department were my life for five years. I could scarcely forget that.” Her smile returned. “It was a glorious adventure, a grand journey, and I am, oh, grateful, I suppose, to have experienced all that I did. However ...” A firm note sounded in her voice. “I am more grateful for what I have found now.”
He steered her through a turn, made somewhat more difficult by his shoes, but nearly perfect. Apparently, some skills were not entirely lost.
“But you haven’t answered my question.” Again he braced himself. “Why did you marry him?”
“It’s not an easy answer but I suppose things like this seldom are.” She fell silent for a long moment. “I wanted a man exactly like my husband. Someone solid and settled and respectable. An honorable man who cared about those things that seem ordinary—home and family and permanence. Apparently the answer is easy after all,” she said thoughtfully. “When I met Adrian, I realized I didn’t want a man exactly like him. I wanted him.” She cast him a brilliant smile and his breath caught. “And I still do.”
“And yet,” he said cautiously, “he is not here with you tonight.”
“He will be.” She sighed. “Sir, my husband is charming and intelligent. And yet, like any man, he can be an idiot as well. But make no mistake, he is my idiot and I love him with every fiber of my being.”
His heart thudded. “I understood you were no longer under the same roof.”
“Not for long.” Determination showed in the set of her chin.
“Oh, are you going to forgive his transgression then? Not that I know what it is,” he added quickly.
She laughed. “I’m surprised you don’t. I thought you knew everything.”
“I do try.” He shook his head in a mournful manner. “But I am sadly out of practice.”
“Oh dear, you shall shatter my illusions about you,” she teased.
“I would hate to do that.” He paused. He should stop this now. He knew what he needed to know. And yet ... “Do you love him enough to forgive him?”
“I love him too much not to. Besides ...” A thoughtful note sounded in her voice. “One could argue a great sin could be the result of great love.”
“Is that what you think? That you share a great love?”
“Not at all.” The smile on her face was that of a woman in love. With her husband. With him. What a fool he had been. “It’s what I know.”
“Then love is all, is it?”
“Oh my.” She studied him for a moment. “You’re one of those men, aren’t you?”
“What men?” he said cautiously.
“One of those men who proudly and arrogantly proclaim they have never been in love.” She leaned closer and spoke low into his ear. “Those are the ones who have the worst of it, you know, when it does happen.”
“Do they?” He bit back a smile.
“Mark my words, Sir.”
“Well, I am not one of those men. I have been in love but she loved someone else.” He held her a little tighter and this time she did not resist. But there was a distinct air of farewell in her manner. God, he was a lucky man.
“I see.” She nodded slowly. “I shall have to assume you are not speaking of me. Because if you aren’t, we shall both be terribly embarrassed that the thought even crossed my mind. If you are, well, then I should have to make certain you understand that your feelings are not returned.”
“Not even a little?”
She laughed. “Oh, certainly a little.” She shook her head. “But not enough.”
The last strains of the waltz ended and they drifted to a standstill. He released her with reluctance and slowly escorted her off the dance floor.
He drew a deep breath. “Thank you, Eve.”
“No, Sir, thank you. I have long felt you were a book whose ending I had failed to read. I have always hated not finishing a book.” She cast him a brilliant smile. “I can now close the book and set it away on a shelf with other books.”
He gasped in feigned dismay. “Left to the ravages of mold and rot and worms?”
“Not at all. Set carefully aside to be cherished and kept safe always.” She smiled in a wry manner. “But never to be read again.”
“You have no regrets at the turns your life has taken?”
“My life is as I always wished it would be. No, I said I would be honest and that isn’t entirely honest.” She paused. “In truth, Sir, my life is better than I ever imagined it could be, which has nothing to do with my husband’s money or position and everything to do with the kind of man he is. Good and kind and clever and amusing. And while he may not have your adventurous spirit, he is the most exciting man I have ever met. At least he is to me. He has my heart and I could not live my life without him.”
His heart twisted. “Then you have no regrets.” “Only a fool or someone quite perfect would have no regrets. I am not at all perfect, and I do hope I am not a fool. But my regrets are, for the most part, insignificant.” She smiled. “I do regret that the only true mystery of my life will never be solved. That I will never know who you are. That I will never know if you are someone I see frequently at events like this. If we have exchanged idle conversation perhaps. Or if you are someone I pass and nod a greeting to in the park. I regret that I will never know your face.”
“I could be dreadfully ugly, you know,” he warned.
She laughed. “I doubt that but it doesn’t matter.” She tilted her head and gazed up at him. “Will you grant me a fa
vor?”
“Anything.”
“Someday, when you are very old and gray and you know the end of your days is near, will you send me one last note? Will you solve that mystery for me?”
“I would be delighted.” He chuckled. “It will be something to look forward to in my declining years.”
“A very long time from now, I hope.”
“Still, one never knows how much time one has left.”
“No, we don’t, do we?” For a long moment she stared at him, then she smiled. “Farewell, Sir.”
“Farewell, my dear Eve.”
She turned and a moment later he had lost her in the crowd. But not for long.
She married him because she loved him. She may well think him an idiot, which admittedly he had been of late, and not adventurous and a man who cared about ordinary things, but she loved him and that was all that mattered.
He made his way through the throng to a side door, slipped out of the ballroom, and hurried to a salon he had found earlier in the evening where he had hidden what he would need to change from Sir. As he had the clothing he would wear to appear as Adrian on under the cloak, it was a simple enough matter. It would take him only a few minutes to discard this costume, change his shoes, and put on a different mask. Then he would return to his wife and take her in his arms.
And never let her go again.
She had to get home.
Evelyn hurried through the milling guests toward the exit. She had to see Adrian now, this very instant. She had wasted enough time allowing him to be foolish. And indeed, one never did know how much time one had left.
She asked a footman for her cloak and requested her carriage be sent for. It was odd to have at last met Sir, even if she had still not seen his face. Once she had longed for this, wanted him to say the sorts of things he had come perilously close to saying tonight. But now ... she shook her head. Now, it simply didn’t matter. And now, she had to admit, if only to herself, that some of her apprehension had been in part a fear that, upon meeting him, desires she had thought long gone would return. That they hadn’t was both a relief and an affirmation. She’d had no doubt about her love for her husband, but she had wondered if she might be tempted by a man she had once wanted but never had. Now, at last she knew.
Her carriage arrived quickly. She directed Davies to take her home, then settled back in her seat. She did hope Adrian wasn’t already on his way. She would hate to pass him on the streets.
There was nothing she had said to Sir about Adrian and her love for him that she hadn’t already known. But somehow, saying it all aloud, saying it to someone else, made her realize how very deep her love for him was. How much he really meant to her. And how lucky she truly was.
Adrian was the love of her life. Now she wondered if he understood that. All the things she had said to Sir, she should say to her husband as well. She always thought he knew how important he was to her but perhaps not. There was not now, nor would there ever be, any reason for jealousy or suspicion. He needed to know that.
And tonight she would make that very clear. Before she took him to his bed. Or perhaps, she smiled in a most wicked manner, afterward.
The carriage came to an abrupt stop. Davies’s raised voice could be heard along with at least one other. What on earth was going on? She huffed in impatience. She needed to get home as soon—
Without warning the carriage door jerked open. Before she knew what was happening, hands grabbed her and a gag muffled her screams. A rough sack was thrown over her head and pulled down over her shoulders, binding her arms against her. She caught no more than the briefest glimpse of men in masks. Men in masks were the bane of her existence tonight. She felt herself pulled out of the carriage and struggled all the while. It was futile and she knew it. Still the occasional grunts from her captors when her foot connected with some part of them, hopefully, extremely sensitive parts, was most gratifying. Within moments, she was transferred to another carriage and it took off at a surprisingly sedate pace. No doubt to avoid notice.
Fear threatened to overwhelm her but she pushed it aside. Now was not the time to become a fragile female. Besides, fear could be crippling and she needed her wits about her.
Obviously she was being kidnapped but to what end? Ransom? Adrian would certainly pay anything to ensure her safety. But there were other reasons for taking a woman against her will on the streets of London that were far more vile. Her jaw clenched. Those women were never heard from again.
It struck her that her captors were most efficient. They scarcely said a word. And when they did, they kept their words too low for her to make out what they said or recognize their voices. They were clever, these kidnappers of hers. They had obviously done this sort of thing before and were, just as obviously, well trained.
It seemed an endless time but it was surely not long at all before the carriage stopped. She was lifted out of the vehicle and carried for a brief time. It was useless to struggle. They were obviously much stronger than she. Her mind would be of greater use in terms of her escape.
Boards creaked with every footfall. There was a distinctive smell in the air and the sound of water slapping against wood. Of course, they were on the docks. She scoffed to herself. How very predictable. Unless they were taking her to a ship. Panic welled within her, and she fought against it. Admittedly, even as an agent, she had never been kidnapped, but she knew that neither fear nor panic would serve her now.
The thug carrying her stumbled and muttered an unintelligible curse. Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself flying through the air. She braced for impact and prayed she would not land in the water. In these skirts she would surely drown within moments and she would much prefer not to die that way. But she hit the dock with a jarring thud, her head smacking against something hard. And in the instant before blackness claimed her, the most absurd thought flashed through her mind.
This was not at all how she had planned to spend the rest of the evening.
Chapter 20
Damnation, where was she?
It had taken Adrian far longer to return to the ballroom than he had planned. Apparently, the secluded room he��d chosen to shed Sir’s costume appealed to more than men wishing to change from one persona to another. He’d almost been discovered by a couple seeking a spot for a private moment with barely enough time to dive behind a sofa. Damnation. He had once headed a clandestine organization. Now he was reduced to hiding behind furniture. Fortunately, the unidentified lovers—he never did get a look at their faces, and their voices were unfamiliar—did not linger. Apparently, they both had to return to their respective spouses.
Still, even with the delay, he was in high spirits. And why wouldn’t he be? All his doubts had vanished with Evie’s words.
Nearly an hour later, his mood had dimmed. Where was his blasted wife anyway? He was ready—no—eager to sweep her off her feet. And he was willing to wager he could do a far better job of it as himself than he had as Sir. If, of course, he put the same amount of effort into it. And from now on, he would. It had been rather fun really, attempting to lure his wife into seduction. He resolved to remember that.
He continued to circle the ballroom until he found himself near the main doors. It wasn’t easy. He swore there were more people here now than there were when he’d left the room as Sir. And somewhere in this crush was Evie. From here perhaps he could get an overview of the entire room.
“You look like a man who could use something more substantial than champagne,” a familiar voice said at his side. “But I fear this is all they are offering tonight.” Max handed him a glass.
“I’m surprised to see you here.” Adrian accepted the glass gratefully. His friend looked the perfect picture of a Venetian rake, Casanova perhaps, in a bronze-colored coat coupled with a heavily embroidered waistcoat, brown knee britches, and half mask. Adrian had thought his own costume with its blue coat, cream waistcoat, and dark britches to be very nearly too extreme, but next to his old frie
nd, he felt like a wren beside a peacock.
“Why wouldn’t I be here?” Indignation sounded in Max’s voice. “I am not an earl but I am still socially acceptable. Even, dare I say, in demand. I am considered a most eligible bachelor, you know.”
Adrian laughed. “How did you recognize me?”
“I have my ways.” Max grinned. “But I’m surprised to see you here as well. I thought you and Evelyn would be home by now.”
“We would be if I could find her.”
“Then all went according to plan tonight?”
Adrian grinned. “Better than I could have hoped for.”
“Excellent.” Max breathed a sigh of relief. “Although I am surprised you managed it without assistance. I expected to hear from you.”
“Nonsense. I had no problems at all. Not that I anticipated any.”
“Your confidence is most impressive.”
“And well deserved. You did lose your wager, by the way.” He chuckled. “Between the mask, hooded cloak, and wedges in my shoes, she had no idea it was me.”
“To my eternal regret.” He raised his glass to his friend. “And your eternal happiness.”
“You should find a good woman yourself, Max.”
“I believe I have,” Max said thoughtfully.
Adrian’s brow rose under his mask. “Have you?”
“That’s neither here nor there at the moment.” Max paused. “I must admit, even I had a few misgivings about tonight’s plan.”
“Why? I knew it would work.”
“Well, you did admit it was brilliant.”
“Simple, Max.” Adrian nodded sagely. “Simple and uncomplicated is always best.”
Max stared at him. “There was nothing simple about it. It required a fair amount of coordination.”
“Max.” Adrian shook his head in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“What are you talking about?” Max said cautiously.
“I’m talking about my plan to speak to Evelyn here tonight as Sir,” Adrian said sharply.
“Oh.” Max grimaced. “Am I to gather then that you didn’t get the message I had delivered to your house earlier this evening?”
My Wicked Little Lies Page 23