The Sweet and Spicy Regency Collection (83 page)

When newly out of the schoolroom, she’d enjoyed archery matches, mainly because her skills were unmatched with the neighboring ladies. But despite the pleasant weather and the excitement of the friendly competition, she found it nearly impossible to enjoy herself. She toyed with the long wooden bow in her hand, plucking the taut string while her thoughts tumbled through the morning’s events and her shocking confession to Lord Edgeware about her unhappy marriage. Part of her was mortified and wished she could take back her words. Another part of her wished she had told him the full truth of her marriage. Edgeware had made her feel safe. Confiding her secrets had been easy. Perhaps too easy.

“Elly, pray pay attention. We are all waiting for you to take your shot,” Olivia said and pointed toward the round, straw-stuffed target.

The young ladies were watching her. Their elder chaperones had also turned their heads to watch from the wicker chairs that had been set off to one side. They were all looking at her…and a few were smiling.

Lauretta, Elsbeth noticed, was standing next to Lady Cowper, and the two women were chatting amicably. Only Lady Dashborough and her younger daughter, Lady Constance, appeared less than pleased with Elsbeth’s presence on the archery field.

Elsbeth drew an arrow from a leather quiver hanging on a wooded stake. She stroked the feathered end before setting it on the bow. The target had been placed at a distance generally reserved for the gentlemen. As a result, several of the ladies’ arrows had fallen short and stuck out of the ground like pins in a cushion. The few that had struck their goal had completely missed the center of the target.

As she drew back the string, the ladies all grew silent save for a giggle here and there. Though such consideration hadn’t been given to any of the other participants, Elsbeth wasn’t surprised. She understood only too well how closely her every action was being watched and judged. Because of that, she took her time as she aimed—praying that time hadn’t erased her abilities. She raised the bow higher to compensate for the longer distance. Holding her breath, she released the string.

With a thunk her arrow pierced the target very close to the center. Not a heartbeat later a second arrow sailed past her so closely that its breeze teased the ribbons on her bonnet. That errant arrow landed with an even louder thunk as it pierced the center of the target, hugging the spot Elsbeth’s arrow had already taken.

The ladies cheered with delight.

Elsbeth blinked, unable to take her eyes off that second arrow. She certainly wasn’t cheering when she turned around to see which young lady had played such a reckless trick. She hoped their hostess, Lady Waver, would have some stern words with whoever the young lady turned out to be.

Their hostess had risen from her wicker chair, but her mood was as bright as the sky. She was clapping and beaming a smile as genteel as the rest of the matrons. Elsbeth’s searching gaze quickly brought her face-to-face with the cause for their excitement.

Edgeware leaned upon his bow as if it were a fashionable walking stick. The smug expression on his lips told her all she needed to know—he’d purposefully sent his arrow whizzing past her and was confoundingly proud of himself for it, too.

“Ladies, I see the archery competition has been a resounding success,” he said. His rich voice hummed through Elsbeth’s body as if it were an intimate caress. Her cursed knees were on the verge of turning to jelly. “Naturally, I come prepared to present a reward to the victor.”

He produced a simple white daisy. Holding the bloom out toward Elsbeth, he went down onto one knee, making him look as valiant as the Robin Hood his green riding jacket had made him resemble.

“For your favor, my lady,” he said softly.

The ladies on the field all sighed with delight. Elsbeth couldn’t seem to breathe as she accepted the prize. She lifted the soft bloom to her nose and drank in its mild, sweet scent.

“And a stroll,” he said. That wolfish gleam returned to darken his eyes.

“A stroll?” She didn’t want to be alone with him, not with her heart all twisted up with no small measure of confusion.

“In the gardens.” He rose to his feet and offered his arm.

“I am sorry, but I cannot,” she said, backing away. Why in blazes was he trying to get her alone again?

“My lord, if Lady Mercer is unable, I will gladly take her place,” Lady Constance said as she rushed over to them, stopping just short of latching onto his arm. She, too, must have sensed the spark of disapproval in him. After taking a long look at his stony expression and raised brow, her coy smile froze on her lips.

“I have a duty as chaperone to my cousins, sir. I cannot leave them,” Elsbeth quickly explained, hoping to soothe his bruised pride.

He shook his head. “I am sorry, my lady, but the prize must go to the victor.” With delicate grace, he lifted the daisy she was in danger of crushing between her fingers and threaded its stem through the ribbon of her bonnet. “Lady Waver,” he called without looking away. Those hard, hungry eyes gnawed at her resolve. But how could she survive spending any time alone with him after having confessed to him her deepest shame?

“Yes, Edgeware?” Lady Waver called back.

“Would you be so kind to watch over Lady Mercer’s charges for half an hour while she strolls the gardens with me?”

“Of course, Lord Edgeware. Baneshire’s daughters are such lovely company, it would be a pleasure.”

He held out his arm again. “Any other objections, my lady?”

With her chin raised and her lips held firmly in place, she accepted his arm. A walk in the gardens wouldn’t be a terrible thing, she told herself. His manner reminded her of a playful pup’s. Certainly, her confession hadn’t shocked him. Certainly, he hadn’t sought her out just to scold her or condemn her for not having loved her husband. Still, she was uncertain.

What was a lady to do when one of the most elusive bachelors of the
beau monde
showed an interest in her, romantically tucking ribbons into her bonnet? What defense could a lady possibly use to guard her heart against such a man? A man who now knew her deepest secret? She couldn’t seem to stop her heart from racing as he led her through the arched entranceway that led into a tidy, privet-hedge labyrinth.

“There is a surprise at the center,” he promised, his voice deepening a degree.

“I won’t kiss you again,” she said a bit too tartly.

“As I have said before—” he patted her hand “—I won’t press you to do anything you don’t wish to do. I won’t even mention a certain matter that might cause you pain.”

“You won’t?” she asked, suddenly wishing she hadn’t renewed her vow not to kiss him.

“I don’t want you to get the wrong impression or to think of me as the worst sort of cad, Elsbeth. I want you to feel completely safe around me. I want you to trust me.”

He stopped in the middle of the path. “You may not believe this, but I do need you to know that Dionysus has never done anything to purposefully harm you.” He pressed a finger against her lips when she started to argue. “What appears to be his plotting against you were, both times, situations that were beyond his control. In fact, it tears at his heart to think that he has caused you harm. You must believe that.”

“I believe you plan to do everything in your power to protect me,” she said, for Edgeware did truly appear to be a good man. Perhaps, like herself, he was too trusting, blindly believing Dionysus’s lies.

“Good,” he said. “I am glad.”

“But I will never again trust Dionysus, and neither should you.”

“I assure you, I trust him no more than I trust myself, which sometimes isn’t very much.” He smiled ruefully when she backed away from him. “Don’t be alarmed, dove. You’re safe with me.” He led her down a twisting path through the labyrinth. The hedge walls extended several feet over her head and were so thick that she could barely see daylight through them. She glanced around, realizing just how isolated they were. Such a vulnerable situation should have left her trembling.

Oddly, she felt safe. And it was the dark lord’s doing.

He’d been so careful as he eased his way past her defenses. She closed her eyes and lost herself for a moment in the feelings of longing swelling deep within her.

She wanted to trust him completely. She truly did. She wanted to love—

“Please,” she said, and opened her eyes. Very slowly she reached out to him and slipped her hand into his. It was a heady feeling to have her hand nestled within his strong grasp and her fingers entwined with his.

“About misplaced trust,” he said as they strolled. “I have had some stern words with my cousin, Mr. Purbeck. He will no longer treat you with disrespect.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Nor will I treat you shabbily. My initial intention for the week had been to seduce you. I had thought I would use my charms to distract you from searching for Dionysus.”

“I know,” she said, unable to think of any other way to respond to such a bald declaration.

“You do?”

She nodded. “I’m not an innocent taking her first turn on the Marriage Mart. I do know something of men and their intentions.”

“I suppose you must.” He sighed. “I had planned to…but after that kiss this morning, and our…um…discussion this afternoon, I have changed my mind. Seducing you in order to bend your will would prove too complicated. There is a strong attraction between us, pulling at us. I know you feel it.

“And the last thing I want to do is violate your trust. So know this, Elsbeth, if I am lucky enough to succeed in seducing you, it will be for one singular reason. I will do it solely because I want you to be with me.” He paused long enough for Elsbeth to catch her breath. “Ah, we have reached the center of the labyrinth. I’ve been told that this was my father’s favorite place.”

At the center of the maze was a round clearing. A smooth marble urn seated in an oval fountain sprayed water up at least ten feet into the air. Edgeware lingered there, watching the water dance in the sunlight.

“The secret—” he said, directing Elsbeth toward a second path on the other side of the clearing. Unlike the rest of the hedge-lined trail, the path was straight and short. Within a few short steps, she found herself in the middle of an open, geometric garden from which the manor house and archery field could be easily reached. “—is revealed. We spiraled around and around to find the prize when we might have taken a short, direct route instead. But tell me, if we had taken the easier path, would finding the hidden jewel have been as satisfying?”

She wanted to touch him. Even now, even after he’d declared his intention of seducing her, she wasn’t frightened…she was fascinated.

He was a mystery, a puzzle as complicated as one of Dionysus’s paintings with layer upon layer of depth waiting to be discovered—a secret prize she ached to unravel.

“Tonight is the ball,” he reminded her, lifting her hand and placing a reverent kiss on the top of her knuckles. “Perhaps you will save me a dance? Perhaps a waltz?”

Ninny, that her soft heart was turning her into, had her nodding her agreement and eagerly looking forward to the coming evening and the prospect of losing herself all over again to his seductive spell.

Chapter Eleven

“Lauretta, why ever aren’t you dressed?” Olivia scolded. She sounded surprisingly like Elsbeth, even to Elsbeth’s ears. But she ruined the stern image when she impatiently stomped her pretty foot. “Lord Edgeware’s ball is starting. I can already hear the guests arriving downstairs.”

Lauretta, dressed in the same gown she’d worn that afternoon, slumped on her bed, her chin cradled in her hands. “I have one of Elsbeth’s famous headaches.”

“Oh, pooh! Papa would never permit this. Elly, you aren’t going to allow her to hide up here, are you?”

Elsbeth emerged from the dressing room where Molly, her lady’s maid, had been fussing over her. She’d listened to her two cousins with only half an ear as she’d gazed at herself in the mirror. The gown, made from the sheerest pale purple muslin she’d ever seen, was cut very low. Nearly indecently so. Surely the modiste had made a mistake.

“Oh, Elly,” Olivia exclaimed, “you look ever so lovely. That gown is so much more fashionable than the ones you ordered for the season. It fits you much better too.”

“I feel like I am in danger of falling out of it,” Elsbeth muttered.

“You do look lovely,” Lauretta said rather sedately.

“Why, thank you.” She frowned at the long face Lauretta wore. “But you, my dear cousin, will not look lovely coming to the ball in that gown. You need to make a grand appearance, dazzling everyone present. You need to show Sir Donald—and everyone else—his actions have not affected you in the least.”

Lauretta gave Elsbeth a desperate look.

“It needn’t be true,” she said as she selected a white gown for her cousin to wear. “It simply needs to be believed.” She took Lauretta’s hands in her own. “Trust me, this is for the best.”

With Molly and Olivia’s help, it didn’t take long for Elsbeth to tuck Lauretta into her gown, fix up her hair, and lure her to the ball.

The guests, dressed in their most fashionable attire, lined the sides of the ballroom, chatting animatedly. Edgeware had reportedly invited gentry from as far away as a quarter day’s ride to Purbeck. Elsbeth guessed further by the number who had already arrived.

Shiny silk ribbons dyed to represent Edgeware’s family colors, dark green and rich lavender, floated across the ceiling and spiraled toward the grand chandelier in the center of the room. Matching drapes billowed in the breeze in front of the half-dozen arching double doors that had been opened to keep the room from becoming overheated. Palms potted in ceramic urns overflowing with exotic orchids marked the edges of the dance floor. Musicians dressed all in white stood at the ready on the far end of the room.

“For a man who has never hosted a ball, the Marquess certainly knows how to create a fairytale scene,” Olivia said.

Elsbeth nodded in agreement. The decorations made her feel slightly unhinged, almost as if she’d stumbled into one of Dionysus’s colorful paintings. “I have never seen such a wondrous spectacle. And look, there’s a miniature fountain at the edge of the dance floor.”