“Ah, I see Lord Elbourne has wiggled off your hook in favor of your sister. Does she ever tire of stealing everyone else’s suitors, I wonder?”
“It’s not Kitty’s fault men are drawn to her.”
“Only because she’s a flirt. You were the belle of the ball until she took the floor with Lord Philip Butler and drew everyone’s attention to her.”
Juliet couldn’t deny that she had felt like the belle of the ball…for a little while, anyway. Nevertheless, she decided to change the subject before she gave voice to her feelings.
“Who is Lord Philip Butler?” she asked. “I noticed him dancing with Kitty, but we’ve not been introduced.”
“He’s Lord Elbourne’s younger brother, and therefore no one at all.”
“Pity. He’s dreadfully handsome.”
“I suppose so. He was besotted with me, but I discouraged his attentions.”
“Why?”
“He has no money to speak of. It’s his brother who is the prize.”
Juliet glanced at her friend. “You speak as if he’s sparked your interest.”
“Oh, no, I think of him only for you.”
Lord Elbourne and Kitty floated past on the dance floor. The elegant earl was seemingly transfixed by her beauty, and Juliet bit her lip in frustration.
Violet gave Juliet a sad smile. “I’m sorry.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lord Elbourne, of course. You and he danced so well together. Perhaps your sister will cast him off as she has every other eligible gentleman in London, and you may renew your acquaintance once more.”
A frown tugged at Juliet’s lips. I do love Kitty, but it’s so tiresome always taking crumbs from her table. Papa is right; if she were settled, I’d have no trouble at all catching a suitable beau for myself. Frustrated, she turned her back on the dancers.
“Violet, let’s get a cup of punch. I’m thirsty.”
When Kitty’s dance with Lord Elbourne came to an end, he escorted her off the floor and sketched a bow.
“I regret having to leave you for a little while, but I promised the next dance to my cousin Prudence.”
“Lady Prudence is a lovely girl, and quite talented with a knitting needle.”
“Really? I must ask her about that.”
Kitty was pleased when he signed her card for two more dances toward the end of the evening. He hurried away, and she was at loose ends once more. Although she glanced around for Lord Philip, he was nowhere to be found. To avoid scrutiny, she decided to wander the garden pathways for a little while. She made her way out of the house, down the steps, and into the cool of the night. Twenty paces later, she heard Lord Gryphon call her name.
“Miss Beaucroft! Please wait.”
Oh, dear. Her first instinct was to flee into the darkness as quickly as possible, but she was afraid of tripping on her gown and landing in a bed of thorns. She paused, and a few moments later, Gryphon joined her. Moonlight made his eyes glitter and his teeth gleam.
“Will you walk a bit with me?”
“No.” She glanced back toward the house to see if they were observed. “It’s not proper.”
“Please, Miss Beaucroft. Your father has given me his permission to speak with you.”
“Did he?” Ordinarily, Kitty would have dismissed the assertion as nonsense. Considering her father’s desire for her to secure Lord Gryphon, however, he might very well indeed have brushed propriety aside and given his permission. “All right, but just for a little while.”
They headed down the path. The farther they went from the house, the more uncomfortable Kitty became. Finally, she stopped and edged backward.
“It’s rather dark here. Perhaps we should turn around.”
He caught her hand so she couldn’t leave. “Forgive me for my earlier pique. I should not have spoken nor acted thusly. Please accept my apologies.”
“Such revenge was unworthy of you, especially since I’ve been trying to tender my most sincere apologies for having given offense.”
“I take it you’d like me to renew my offer?”
Her instinct was to tell him no in the loudest voice possible, but she hesitated. Her father’s admonitions echoed in the back of her mind. Surely when she told him about Lord Gryphon’s behavior, he wouldn’t blame her for her refusal.
Gryphon must have taken her silence for assent, because he stepped closer. His gaze went to her cleavage, and the tip of his tongue ran along his upper lip. “Your charms are on full display this evening.”
Kitty masked her revulsion. “Thank you. Let us take the shortest way back to the house.”
When she brushed past him, his hands shot out and she found herself pinned in a tight grip.
“Let go!”
“You’ve made a fool of me, Miss Beaucroft. Now I mean to sample your goods.”
As Philip and Kirkham sipped their glasses of wine at a back table in the banquet room, two young ladies entered and headed for the punch bowl.
“Oh, look…Miss Haver is here.” Kirkham scrunched up his face in mock terror. “I can’t believe you ever found her attractive. She encouraged you abominably, only to set you down. A streak of cruelty lays hidden behind her green eyes.”
“I was young, naïve, and impressionable at the time.”
“The girl accompanying Miss Haver has a sweet air about her. I wonder if she has any idea about her friend’s true nature?”
“Doubtless the poor girl will discover her mistake too late, like I did. I owe Miss Haver one debt of gratitude, however. I now have a goal for myself that doesn’t include marriage.”
“That’s right! Have you made any progress in your quest to secure Grovebrook?”
“Yes and no. My brother has endorsed the sale, but my father isn’t convinced. He wants me to settle down first.”
“Settle down?” Kirkham seemed confused. “So…you’re on the hunt for a wife?”
“Not hardly, but if Augustus tells Father I’m making an effort, I may yet prevail. That’s why I came with him to London.”
Kirkham laughed and held up his glass for a toast. “Here’s to matrimony.”
“Matrimony?” A sidelong glance. “You have your eye on a lady?”
“Alas, I’m smitten, but she’s far above me in every way. I’m only a penniless viscount and she’s the daughter of an exceedingly wealthy earl.”
“A Herculean task, then, I grant you. Might I ask the name of the lady who has captivated your fancy?”
“In fact, it’s your cousin Prudence.”
“Really? Does she return your affection?”
“We’ve not discussed our feelings openly, but I believe she may.” He sighed. “It’s a hopeless situation, I fear. Lord Trestlebury would certainly take a dim view of our courtship, if he knew.”
Philip didn’t want to dash his friend’s hopes, but he didn’t feel it was proper to encourage him overmuch in the face of impossible odds.
“You’re a worthy gentleman, Kirkham, but I’m afraid you’re right. Nevertheless, I’d like to see you happy. I wish you the best of luck.”
“Thank you. To paraphrase Virgil, may love conquer all!”
Kirkham strode from the banquet room, his shoulders squared as if going into battle. Philip finished his wine, and then wandered out a side door and onto the grounds. The darkness swallowed him whole, and he sank down on a cold granite bench in the garden to stare up at the stars. I’m too romantic, am I? He shrugged. Maybe so.
His thoughts turned to Miss Beaucroft. Despite their rather scandalous beginning—or perhaps because of it—he liked her. It was more than her considerable good looks that had attracted him. He found her indomitable spirit and plucky attitude very appealing. Her rejection of Gryphon meant she had good taste and judgment, too. Augustus had certainly made his interest obvious. Would his brother be the fortunate swain to finally capture her heart?
The sound of raised voices reached his ears and raised his hackles.
“You’ve no ri
ght to touch me that way!” a woman exclaimed.
A man’s voice replied, “If you don’t want to be my wife, perhaps you’d enjoy the role of mistress.”
“Let me pass, I beg you!”
“Relax, Miss Beaucroft. You might find you like it.”
Miss Beaucroft? Philip hastened toward the voices, finally spotting the couple struggling with one another next to a clump of rose bushes. He strode over.
“Gryphon, you’re not imposing yourself on respectable young ladies again, are you? I thought you’d given all that up.”
The man whirled around, clearly annoyed at the interruption. “Run along, Philip, and tilt at windmills.”
“Why don’t you slither underneath a rock first?” Philip shot back. “Step away from the lady before I’m forced to set you down.”
Miss Beaucroft’s hair was disheveled, and her gown had slipped off one shoulder.
“Lord Philip! Will you escort me back to the house?” The desperation in her voice was evident.
Philip maneuvered himself between Miss Beaucroft and her assailant. “Indeed, I would like nothing better.”
Undeterred, Gryphon bristled. “Leave now, if you value your skin.”
“Unlike you, I value honor and integrity more than my skin. You’re a bully, Gryphon. And if it weren’t for your father’s intervention, you would’ve been expelled from Oxford for being a cheat.”
“How dare you insult me!” The man’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll regret it, I promise you that.”
Philip took Miss Beaucroft by the hand and pulled her toward the house. They were almost to safety when she hesitated. “You go on ahead. I must compose myself or everyone will know something is wrong. I must avoid a scandal at all costs.”
“I can’t leave you alone out here.” He spied a gardener’s shed. “Come on.”
Although the spacious shed was dark and smelled like earth, it afforded Miss Beaucroft privacy. He turned his back while she adjusted her clothes and smoothed her hair.
“Do I look all right?” she asked finally.
The moonlight shining through the shed windows gave her the appearance of an angel, but he didn’t say so.
“Shipshape,” he said. “May I ask how you came to be alone with that scoundrel?”
“He followed me into the garden. I should have returned to the house right away, but he said my father gave him permission to speak with me. I thought if I refused, my father would be furious.”
“Why?”
“You wouldn’t understand. Your father has probably never asked you to do something you didn’t want to do.”
“You might be surprised. Try me.”
A sigh. “After I rejected Lord Gryphon’s proposal, my father threatened to send me to my grandmother’s house in the country. I’ve been labeled a flirt, you see, and my younger sister may be tainted by association.”
“We’ve just met, but I don’t think you’re a flirt.”
“Thank you. I’ve only ever wanted to marry a gentleman whom I cared for deeply. I haven’t met him yet, and now I’ve run out of time. I think I shall die cloistered so far away from London!”
“I understand a little more than you might think. You’re expected to sell yourself to the highest bidder, even if it’s a lout like Gryphon. As for me, my father has agreed to sell me some property, but only if I seem to be settling down. By some miracle I’m supposed to find a society girl who is desperate enough to marry the younger son of a marquess. These circumstances are not of our making, are they?”
“No. Perhaps you do understand me after all.”
“If you’re ready, we should go.” Philip ushered Miss Beaucroft from the shed. “Now, take this path back to the house, slip through a side door, and say nothing of this to anyone. I’ll return by way of the garden stairs.”
“You’re a true gentleman.”
After she gave him an impulsive kiss on the cheek—which he felt all the way to his toes—she hastened off. After he’d recovered from his surprise, he took a more circuitous route through the garden. When he was a few yards from the garden stairs, Gryphon and two of his friends hastened forward out of the shadows. Philip recognized the newcomers as Lord Groton and Mr. Miller, whom he knew to be arrogant and churlish.
An ugly frown distorted Gryphon’s features. “You’re going to pay for your interference.”
Philip chuckled. “Three against one? This just might be a fair fight.”
Chapter Three
Scurrilous Lies
KITTY ASSUMED A SERENE EXPRESSION before slipping through a side door and into the banquet room. The dancing had given way to the supper part of the evening, and tables were filled with guests. As she surveyed the crowd, looking for her parents or Juliet, a shout from the hallway caused an excited commotion. Although she tried to make out what was being said, the babble made no sense. Shortly thereafter, people began to rush from the room. She caught sight of Lord Elbourne as he brushed past.
“What is happening, milord?” she asked.
“There’s a brawl in the garden.”
“Oh, no!”
“Yes, and where there’s brawling, I’m fairly certain my brother must be in the midst of it. Excuse me, Miss Beaucroft, while I intervene.” He hastened off.
Kitty joined the exodus from the ballroom and pushed her way through the crowd. As she looked down into the garden from the railing, her worst fears were realized. Two men were holding Philip by either arm while Lord Gryphon was assaulting him with his fists.
“Stop that this instant!” she exclaimed.
Gryphon paused at the sound of her voice. A gentleman who’d just bounded down the stairs spun him around and clocked him with a punch to his mouth. Gryphon staggered to one side, but as he lunged forward again, Elbourne stepped in to block his momentum.
“That’s enough! This is over.”
Juliet arrived at Kitty’s elbow. “What on Earth is happening?”
The men holding Philip let him go, and he sank to his knees, dazed. Although he’d clearly received the worst of it, his assailants had bloodied noses and black eyes. Gryphon had also just sustained a freshly cut lip.
His knuckles bleeding, Philip’s defender knelt next to him. “Are you all right, Butler?”
“Thanks, Kirkham. I’m just a little winded,” Philip managed.
Elbourne pulled his brother to his feet.
“Kirkham, kindly help me take Philip to his room, please.”
“Of course.”
They each draped one of Philip’s arms across their shoulders, and as they assisted him into the house, the crowd parted to let them pass. Moments later, Lord Trestlebury arrived with a retinue of servants who whisked Gryphon and the other injured men away to tend to their wounds.
“I wonder why Lord Gryphon and Lord Philip were fighting?” Juliet asked.
“I-I don’t know, but everybody seems to be wondering the same thing,” Kitty replied.
The excitement over, the crowd filtered back into the banquet room, where Lady Trestlebury was wringing her hands and lamenting the ruination of her soirée. Although Kitty understood the woman’s distress, the guests appeared to be more vitalized than before the fight began. To her dismay, many whispers and sidelong looks seemed to be directed at Kitty. A self-conscious hand went to smooth her coiffeur. Is it because I shouted at Lord Gryphon or is my hair still mussed from his assault?
Her father approached, his eyes narrowed. “We’re leaving.”
Certainly Kitty felt no pressing need to remain at the ball, not since both Lord Elbourne and Lord Philip had so obviously retired for the night. For Juliet’s sake, however, she was surprised at her father’s dour attitude.
“Why?”
“Gossip has it Lord Gryphon and Lord Philip were engaging in fisticuffs over you.”
Kitty gulped, hoping guilt wasn’t written on her face. “How could anyone arrive at that conclusion?”
“Because your rejection of Lord Gryphon is well known, and you’re t
he only lady Lord Philip danced with tonight.”
As the Beaucroft carriage sped through the shadowy streets of London, the closed compartment made Kitty feel like a mouse in a matchbox.
“Why does scandal seem to follow wherever you go?” her father demanded.
“It’s just idle gossip.” Shame heated her face, and she was grateful for the concealing darkness.
“You mustn’t leap to conclusions, Papa,” Juliet said.
“Am I correct in assuming you did not mend your relationship with Lord Gryphon?” Beaucroft asked.
Kitty dared not tell him the complete truth of the matter. “I tried, but the man is contemptible. He insulted me in every possible way!”
Mrs. Beaucroft tried to keep the peace. “Lord Elbourne took notice of her, dearest. He’s to inherit the title of Marquess someday.”
“Yes, that’s no small victory,” Beaucroft admitted. “The earl’s younger brother, on the other hand, has a reputation as a ne’er do well and a ruffian.”
“Many society gentlemen have a reputation for wildness before they settle down,” Kitty said.
“He was brawling!”
Juliet cleared her throat. “As were Lord Gryphon, Lord Groton, and Mr. Miller. It seemed to me, however, Lord Philip was being beaten.”
“He was!” Kitty exclaimed. “Lord Philip and I got along famously earlier. I like him very much indeed.”
“You may as well forget about him,” Beaucroft said. “He’s unsuitable by any standard, and tonight’s debacle proves it.”
“There must have been a very good reason for his fight with Lord Gryphon,” Juliet said. “Perhaps there was some bad blood between them and it had nothing to do with Kitty whatsoever.”
“Be that as it may, tonight’s scandalous and public brawl has once again made our eldest daughter the focus of salacious gossip,” Beaucroft said.
“Exactly the opposite of everything we’re trying to achieve,” Mrs. Beaucroft added.
“The notion I had anything to do with it is absurd,” Kitty managed.
“Absurd or not, the damage is done,” Beaucroft said. “Due to Lord Elbourne’s marked interest in you this evening, however, I’ll allow three days for him to call. If he doesn’t, you’ll be packed off to my mother, forthwith.”
Ruse & Romance (The Beaucroft Girls Book 1) Page 3