Dare To Love (15 page)

Amy turned red, flustered and grabbed at
Gwendolyn’s arm, “Oh please, you mustn’t say anything. Why if
Katrina knew, she would tease me till the end of days.”

Gwendolyn giggled and held her hand over
Amy’s, “Your secret’s safe with me Amy, I mean you no harm.”

“Thank you Gwendolyn.”

“How long have you,” Gwendolyn stopped and
eyed Lord Hale again, “Been infatuated with him?”

Amy began fanning herself, “Since I can
remember, actually,” she cut short, trying not to look his way,
“When I came out in my first season, Lord Hale chaperoned Katrina
and Henry escorted me; all of us on familiar terms. We were a happy
foursome and at times I thought the four of us would marry, until
the Duke appeared.”

Gwendolyn’s mouth suddenly became very dry. A
confidence, she thought. Another secret was about to be revealed.
“Thomas”

“Yes,” Amy quietly exposed, “He was the most
sought after bachelor in London and he showed interest in Katrina.
She dropped her acquaintance with my brother and clapped eyes on
the Duke. His Grace has the greater title than my brother,
obviously, and well, Henry was so heartbroken, and I do not think
he will ever get over her.”

Gwendolyn gulped and turned away. Thomas
stole Katrina away from Henry? Unbelievable…looking around at all
the dancing couples, she spotted Thomas with Katrina in the
distance. He had not noticed her concentration of his locale, but
Amy did.

“Does it hurt you to see him with another
woman?”

Gwendolyn sharply turned around, that was
very fearless of her to ask. She searched her eyes for compassion
and found it in abundance. “Hurt me?”

“Yes, does it distress you to see him with
her?” Amy asked again, squinting her eyes at Katrina’s boast of
accolade. “Because if I were in your position and my marriage to an
unequalled man was securely mine, I would not allow anyone to
breach it.”

“May I have this dance, Lady Hollinger?”
Henry asked, bowing down to her.

Gwendolyn blinked out of her incertitude and
noted Henry’s composed manner. “Why certainly, Lord Barton.”

He winked at his sister who smiled up at him.
Offering his elbow to Gwendolyn, she grabbed his arm and was
proudly escorted to the line of couples already in precession.

Henry was not nearly as tall as Thomas or
Devin, but he was striking just the same. There was also something
else about him, engaging, that Gwendolyn could not help but stare.
His poise and quiet manner gave him an air of intelligence mixed
with anonymity. He was all businesslike the other day, but she did
detect a sense of suffering. Unlike the other gentlemen here this
evening, Henry was not a showy fellow. No, Henry Barton carried a
burden so deep; it surfaced on his face when you were lucky enough
to get close to him. He seemed uncomfortable by her inspection
though, and purposely gazed away at nearby couples completing their
waltz.

When Gwendolyn caught him finally looking her
way, she expressed, “Are you enjoying yourself this evening Lord
Barton?”

Henry grabbed hold of her soft shoulder as he
spun her form around. “I am ecstatic if you must know.”

Gwendolyn thought that was a nice choice of
words for one so obviously disturbed. “I can see that,” she
quipped, “You are practically dancing on the ceiling.”

A smile escaped his lips, “That obvious?”

“Yes, do perk up Lord Barton.”

Henry smirked, giving Gwendolyn her answer
and then voiced, “I am surprised to see you here.”

“Oh no—not you too,” Gwendolyn snorted, being
twirled around more so than she was supposed to. She was surprised
to see the apprehension shift.

Henry caught Gwendolyn’s backside and pulled
her in intimately so that he could whisper in her ear. “Be
careful,” he quietly voiced while drawing away.

Gwendolyn stared into his hazel eyes once
again. His shyness disappeared and self-assurance emerged. He was
not flirting with her, oh no, this was something else entirely. His
‘be careful’ had been anchored with some hidden meaning: Careful of
whom…or of what? Gwendolyn expected she knew the resolve, why she
was here in the first place and why she was one determined fool. To
get close to Thomas, to still see if she could grab his attention
away. That sole concentration of his, even from his own engagement
party and fortune hungry fiancée. Was Henry here for the same
selfish reasons? She would stake her life on it. Oh yes, they were
two peas in the same cramped pod, Gwendolyn affirmed; under the
same cruel hell. It must be very challenging to watch the person
you love, fall in love with someone else and then marry them right
in front of your very nose.

“Why are you worried?”

Henry shrugged his shoulders, “May I be
frank?”

“If you feel you must.”

Henry grinned at her openness, “I have the
distinct feeling we are both on the same mission.”

Gwendolyn guffawed and threw her head back.
Bulls-eye! “How true.”

Henry gazed deep into her eyes. “I do not
wish to see you hurt as well.”

Henry Barton shrieked loyalty, Gwendolyn
thought, and then snickered, “A lost cause? You think we are
glutton for punishment?”

Henry laughed aloud, more so than he should
for other couples around them began eyeing the two of them
together. “Oh, it has been predestined,” he expressed, bowing to
her at the recession of the waltz. “You are quite humorous; I can
see why he likes you.”

“Ah, a compliment, thank you Lord
Barton.”

“You are something else.”

Gwendolyn rolled her eyes, “And criticism as
well, how fortunate for me.”

“Oh, please accept my apologies, my tongue
sometimes,” Henry swallowed, regretting he opened his big fat
mouth. “You are quite different.”

Gwendolyn laughed aloud bringing more
attention to her. “What, pray tell, did everyone think I would be
like?”

“Like Katrina, I suppose.”

“And we are that distinct?”

“Very much so, in fact,” Henry breathed,
pulling her body into his again and whispering into her ear, “You
are so dissimilar, I am starting to believe that Thomas will make
the right decision.”

Gwendolyn languidly leaned away; his breath
on her neck was making her tingle. Whispering back, she voiced,
“And this makes you happy, why?”

Henry looked intently into her eyes, “Because
I might gain from his failure to appreciate what he has.”

Gwendolyn said she was not going to attend,
so Thomas did not bother to search for her presence. But most of
his guests were pointing now, some of them even making outrageous
observations. At what… or at whom? A couple out on the dance floor,
he realized. Curiosity got the best of him and his eyes caught hold
of the lustrous jade dress spinning around in the vastness; it was
Henry and Gwendolyn…and then Gwendolyn alone, as he brought to
focus the zenith to his ultimate doom. Gwendolyn bestowed vivacity,
her copper hair set in bangles about her face, the dress
exquisitely adapted to her form. Just as he imagined in doing so,
he stood motionless in awe of the illusion before him; a panorama
of a long ago hallucination rapidly appeased.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Walking outside in the moonlight, Gwendolyn
suddenly stopped on a hill just above the ballroom and soaked in
the captivating violins that echoed up the embankment. Nearby
crickets added to the romantic music as she transfixed on the
waltzing couples. His engagement party, she thought dejectedly.
Gwendolyn didn’t know what to feel at this point, Amy only
contributing to the assumption she held towards Katrina, that
Thomas’ so-called fiancée was nothing more than a social climber.
What about Thomas? She could not allow him to throw himself into
another impulsive wreck. She had to warn him. Had to tell him
somehow, but why? Why does she feel the need to rescue him? They
were no longer close—he had another confidante, and why does
everyone keep asking if it troubled her to see him with another
woman? She was so drawn to him and was so afraid of what to
feel…but yes, yes! It did bother her. She longed to be by his side,
moped around because she could not.

Her gaze halted at the sight of Thomas now
dancing with Katrina; him, in his fancy togs, her, in a picturesque
ball gown of light pink spinning in motion. Thomas looked so
handsome gazing down at her with affection, clearly appreciating
what he had. A familiar pang pierced through her heart at that
moment. A shooting pain every time she thought about them together.
Were they compatible? Does she make him laugh? She wondered what
ensued within their first conversation, what they speak about now,
and what he felt when he kissed her. They do kiss…he’s had to have
kissed her, probably even…oh God, Gwendolyn thought while closing
her eyes feeling that proverbial ache inside her heart, and they
probably do it often…A passionate man like Thomas would not want to
wait for his wedding night and would not pause to seduce his
fiancée. Katrina said as much, that she and him…that, they…oh God!
She had to stop imagining them both together!

A crunch of leaves at the rear startled
Gwendolyn. Straining to see in the darkness she fathomed Lord Hale
heading towards the tree she rested upon.

“There you are Lady Hollinger, why are you
hiding out here in the dark?”

“With so much to comprehend Lord Hale, I felt
the need for some fresh air. Why are you here?”

“Because you are,” he voiced huskily.

Gwendolyn’s pulse began to race. That was
quite scandalous. The moon was also quite dangerous that evening as
Gwendolyn could not help but stare into his azure eyes dancing in
the moonlight. Gad, he was handsome! Dirty blonde hair combed
flawlessly around his collar, a sporty physique as well as
fashionable, the type of man you just couldn’t help but stare at
for his sheer symmetry. Devin Hale was to be avoided at all costs.
Katrina said that Lord Hale and Thomas had been close friends for
years now; she could only imagine the kinds of mischief the best
friends let loose on London. Diverse from Thomas in every way,
Devin was sunbeams across the horizon, compared to Thomas’ alluring
obscurity and Gwendolyn felt a little odd feeling so envious of
their close friendship. “You like to shock me.”

He laughed and gazed over at the windows
beyond. “No, just my nature, I guess. I like to see how far I can
push a person.”

Gwendolyn snorted, “And such candor.”

“May I have the pleasure of a dance, Lady
Hollinger?” “A postponement, Lord Hale?”

“Call me Devin.”

“Only if you call me Gwendolyn.”

Devin let go a roguish grin,
“Unquestionably.”

“Would you mind accompany me on a
stroll?”

Devin extended out his arm as Gwendolyn
gently seized it. She felt comfortable with him for some reason and
felt her body more relaxed.

“I could not help but notice you are without
your companion,” he teased, trying to meet her stride. “No one has
informed you of my disreputable reputation?”

Gwendolyn smiled inwardly, “You are trying to
distress me again, Devin. Unlucky for me, Phyllis likes to drink
her spirits alone and sleeps ‘til sunrise.”

“How promising for me,” Devin smiled
devilishly.

“Devin, you simply must cease and
desist.”

“Why?”

“Well…because for one thing, I am
engaged.”

“I find that challenging,” he retorted,
brushing his hand over hers on his forearm.

Gwendolyn rolled her eyes and proceeded down
the hill. Another man who loved challenges…oh, she would have to
keep her eyes open with this one. “I am curious, what do you find
intriguing about me?”

Devin let go a daring grin, “You are not a
young innocent, and yet I find you virtuous. You contain a certain
gracefulness, and I find that to be fascinating.”

Gwendolyn blushed, and then thought about
Amy. “What kind of woman attracts Lord Devin Hale?”

“And you are also forthright,” he teased,
shaking his finger at her. “I find that welcoming.”

“You are avoiding an inquisition Lord
Hale.”

He gazed out in front of him and replied,
“Besides the attributes I just described, she has to be brunette.
There is nothing like a female with dark, mysterious allure…She has
to be about your height, around your built, with your charming
qualities.”

Gwendolyn cleared her throat…his
straightforward charisma was out of the ordinary, she even felt her
blood beginning to boil. She had to change the subject, and fast.
“The ball is lovely, does Thomas have them often?”

“Frequently, a few years back. He always
tried to keep his mind busy. Long days at port, continuously away
on business…did I embarrass you?”

Gwendolyn smiled, “Huh—I think I will keep
you guessing. How long have you known him?”

“Thomas? Exactly seven years. When he arrived
in London, I aided him with his company.”