Nicola Cornick (25 page)

Captain Wickford had also been looking in the direction of Lady Dawe and the Marquis. He had been Corinna Dawe’s lover a couple of years before and admired her very much, but she could never give him what Alicia could. He leant forward until his breath stirred the copper tendrils of hair by Alicia’s ear.

‘Camilla Bennett is surely in the right of it, Lady Carberry! Corinna Dawe’s a very attractive woman, but she cannot compare to you. For you are truly beautiful…all ice where she is fire, maybe—but underneath the ice I think there lurks the passion they all believe you lack.’

His hand moved to cover hers on the table. Alicia looked at him. He was very close, those brilliant blue eyes holding an expression which Alicia recognised quite easily as genuine desire. The Captain might covet her fortune, but he also had no objection to her personally. But he was taking a grave risk—Alicia had always behaved with such unimpeachable virtue that she might not be very receptive to such flagrant flattery. Yet tonight, in that incredible dress, she seemed quite different. Intrigued, Wickford waited for her reaction.

Alicia smiled at him. It was exciting to allow herself the luxury of
a flirtation just for once. At first she had been obliged to behave with propriety to regain Society’s good opinion; then it had become a habit, and no one had ruffled the surface of her calm. Now the Marquis of Mullineaux had thrown a stone into that serene pool and stirred up old emotions and feelings. Looking at her with renewed interest, Patrick Wickford realised that his words had been closer to the mark than he had imagined. Lady Carberry’s serenely cool exterior concealed enough passion to burn a man down.

Neither of them noticed the presence of the Marquis of Mullineaux himself, who had come across to claim Alicia for the first dance after supper. His shadow fell across them, and both looked up from their preoccupation, the Captain’s eyes bright with challenge and amusement. James gave him a nod that was barely civil and Wickford pressed a leisurely kiss on Alicia’s hand before letting it go.

James was looking very forbidding. ‘I believe that this is my waltz, madam.’

Alicia got to her feet with every appearance of surprise and reluctance. ‘Good gracious, has the dancing started again already? I had not even noticed!’

James’s gaze moved from her innocent face to Patrick Wickford and back again. ‘No, indeed, I can well believe that you were too engrossed to realise!’ He stood back to let her pass and Alicia, with a sudden frisson of anticipation, allowed him to escort her out of the supper-room.

It would have had to be the waltz, Alicia thought savagely, feeling her treacherous body respond immediately to James’s proximity as he took her in his arms. Compared to the earthquake that shook her now, flirtation with Wickford was shallow and empty, exciting in a certain way, but superficial in its effects. This was real and therefore infinitely more disturbing to the senses. But he need not think that she was willing to join the ranks of his conquests, Alicia thought resentfully. Let him practise his charms on Lady Dawe—she was made of sterner stuff!

The struggle Alicia had to master her feelings against the unsettling attraction James held for her was quite enough to keep her silent for two circuits of the floor and it was eventually James who spoke first, slanting a glance down at her face.

‘I see that you are determined to be displeased with me, Lady Carberry, for you have not said a word! May I enquire what I have done to incur your wrath?’

Alicia tried to give him a repressive look, which was difficult when
she was so distracted by her awareness of him. Knowing him well enough to guess that he was perfectly capable of referring to their last, incendiary encounter at Chartley Church, she made haste to deny him the opportunity.

‘You mistake me, Lord Mullineaux! I am simply at pains to quell any gossip by conducting our dance with decorum!’

‘Indeed!’ James raised a mocking eyebrow. ‘You were not so scrupulous a little while ago when you gave such blatant encouragement to your military admirer!’

‘I!’ Alicia had risen to that before she had time to subdue her temper. ‘It is you, my lord, who has been setting the tongues wagging with your attentions to Lady Corinna! Not,’ she added hastily, reading his look of amused comprehension, ‘that it is of the least consequence to me if you choose such company!’

James absorbed this evidently untruthful set-down without the smile leaving his eyes.

‘I see. But are we not both just amusing ourselves—I with the delightful Lady Corinna and you with the gallant Captain?’

Alicia had herself back in hand now and refused to be provoked by that. ‘Certainly I find Captain Wickford to be charming company,’ she said coolly.

‘He is most accomplished in his gallantry,’ James agreed with a smooth sarcasm. ‘I see that he even manages to remove his gaze from your necklace long enough to look meaningfully into your eyes!’

Alicia gritted her teeth, all too aware that surrounding couples were straining to hear their conversation and that she could not afford to let her mask slip. She smiled at him sweetly.

‘You seem quite certain that you have discerned Captain Wickford’s motives, my lord! I should say that yours towards Lady Corinna are equally transparent!’

James gave a genuine smile at that. ‘
Touché
, my lady! But do you not mean Lady Corinna’s intentions towards me rather than the reverse? She seems to be a lady who knows her own mind!’

‘Oh, I am sure I shall see you fighting her off!’ Alicia snapped, abandoning restraint. ‘And at least you may be flattered by the knowledge that she is not seeking you out for your fortune!’

Their dancing feet moved on smoothly enough, but neither of them was paying any attention to the music any more.

‘Oh, I did not mean to imply that Wickford is attracted by your fortune alone,’ James said affably. ‘This evening—and in that dress
particularly—you seem to have forsaken your severe image in favour of something entirely more exciting. I am disposed to test whether it is genuine or just for show!’

Alicia gasped and tried to pull away from him, but he was holding her far closer than convention dictated and she could not move. The heat of his touch seared through the clinging silk of the gold dress. She might have been naked for all the protection it afforded her. She could feel the hard length of his body against hers and shivered convulsively at the undeniable reaction between them. Once again, the memory of his kiss invaded her thoughts and she felt herself tremble in response.

‘You are the most insufferable man—’ Alicia began hotly, aware that her cheeks were suddenly suffused with colour and that many interested observers were watching avidly.

James only laughed. ‘Admit that you were playing up to Wickford only to provoke me and I may consider letting you go,’ he said softly in her ear.

Alicia shot him a furious glance. How dared James assume that she would pay attention to Wickford only in order to engage his interest? ‘I shall do no such thing! Your arrogance, my lord, is beyond belief!’

‘Then I shall have to prove it to you,’ James observed, still very quietly. He glanced about them. ‘Not here, perhaps, although it’s tempting to do so! Are you prepared to accept that challenge, my lady?’

‘No, I am not!’ Alicia struggled to free herself as unobtrusively as possible and was completely unsuccessful. ‘Your behaviour is intolerable, sir—’

‘Ah, there speaks the virtuous and respectable widow, not the provocative seductress who chose that dress and whom I held in my arms not so very long ago! Do you remember, Alicia?’ His voice had dropped several tones. ‘You were not so cold to me then. In fact, I could have sworn that you wanted me as much as I wanted you!’ He spoke in her ear, so softly she could scarcely hear, so sensuously that she felt she might melt on the spot. She could not believe that he was doing this in the Bingleys’ ballroom, with a very interested audience only a few feet away.

‘You were very soft and sweet in my arms that day at Chartley,’ James’s voice continued, barely above a whisper, ‘and your mouth tasted like honey. I wanted to take so very much more, Alicia…’

She felt his lips graze her neck with the lightest of touches and she thought that she would gasp aloud. At some point she had closed her eyes, and only the fact that James held her had enabled her to carry on
moving to the music whilst her mind was a million miles away. Alicia, whatever are you doing? her inner voice prompted her. She knew the answer. She was permitting James Mullineaux to make love to her in front of three hundred people. She had broken all her resolutions.

Alicia opened her eyes and interrupted firmly before it was too late. ‘Have a care, sir! Do you forget that you are indeed addressing a virtuous and respectable widow? Such comments may well do for Lady Corinna, but not for me!’

She looked up into his face and saw the derisive glint in his eyes.

‘Oh, I have heard tell that you are a model of virtue, madam, and I do not doubt the truth of it! What I do doubt is the universal belief that the lovely Lady Carberry is as cold as the driven snow, which I have just proved to you is false, have I not? Be honest and admit that there is enough intensity of feeling between us to outrage these good matrons if they only suspected one tenth of it!’

James had spoken more fiercely than he had intended. Tonight, when he had seen Alicia with Wickford, he could gladly have run the man through on the spot, fortune-hunter that he was. It had made matters infinitely worse that Alicia was not indifferent to him and clearly relished his admiration. For once James was on the defensive, suddenly aware that any intentions
he
might have towards Alicia could also be construed as seeking fortune on the part of one whose estates needed an injection of hard cash. The irony of it, when he had once accused her of jilting him for a fortune!

And that was not all. Alicia might well be almost overwhelmed by the onslaught on her senses, but she had just demonstrated that she did not intend to succumb if she could help it. She was not going to make matters easy for him. Clearly the situation called for tact and patience, and James smiled to himself. He would win the game in the long run and enjoy the challenge in the meantime. For now, though, his current strategy had succeeded only in infuriating her ladyship, who, now that she had regained her composure, looked as though she would like to drill the heel of her dainty slippers into his foot.

Alicia, fortunately unaware of his thoughts, gave him a cool smile. ‘Your observations on my character and our relationship, whilst fascinating, my lord, are scarcely appropriate for such a public place!’

‘Then grant me leave to address them to you in private!’ James said promptly, and encountered such a glare that he almost burst out laughing. Yes, he would enjoy this battle of wills.

‘If you do not wish to have the distinction of being left standing
alone on the dance floor, I suggest that you pursue a different line of conversation!’ Alicia somehow managed to get the words out through gritted teeth whilst preserving a spurious social smile for the benefit of Mrs Eddington-Buck who was deliberately circling near them.

There was a flash of amused admiration in James’s eyes. ‘Egad, and you would do it too, wouldn’t you? I beg your pardon, Lady Carberry.’ There was no trace of apology in his tone. ‘I will leave this discussion to a more suitable occasion!’

There were plenty who had viewed this encounter with varying degrees of interest, cynicism and jealousy. Patrick Wickford, watching with a smile of amused regret, turned his attention away from the dancing couple as a voice he recognised purred in his ear.

‘Patrick, darling! I need you to do me some small…service…’

Wickford’s lips twitched as he looked down into the entirely enchanting face of Lady Corinna Dawe. These days he was all but immune to her charms, but could still appreciate that she was a lusciously attractive woman. He gave her a smile and allowed her to draw him away from the throng to a quiet alcove. He already knew what she was going to ask him.

Lady Corinna was watching the dancers, a petulant frown on her pretty face. ‘I need you to keep that little milksop, Alicia Carberry, occupied for a few weeks,’ she began, without preamble. ‘I don’t want her getting in my way! Judging by the manner in which you were panting over her tonight, you shouldn’t find the task too difficult. Do it for me, Patrick, please!’

Captain Wickford’s smile grew. How interesting! He had once believed Lady Corinna far too clever in her pursuit of the opposite sex ever to make a mistake. Now he realised she had met her nemesis.

Very deliberately he allowed himself to consider the figures of Alicia Carberry and James Mullineaux as they still circled the room in the waltz. They were not speaking now, but there was a dreamy smile on Alicia’s face and James’s dark head was bent very close to hers. Lady Corinna was almost scowling as she followed his gaze.

‘And what would be my reward for helping you out, Corinna, my love?’ he asked gently.

Lady Corinna made an effort to tear her gaze away from James Mullineaux and smiled up at him. ‘I’m sure I’ll think of something,’ she promised huskily, the sultry look in her dark eyes hinting at all sorts of delights to come.

Wickford did not trouble to tell her that she was wasting her time.
He was willing to take her commission just for the amusement, but he felt she had gravely miscalculated. James Mullineaux was not the sort of man to fall at her feet just because she gave him the nod. She had become too spoiled, too used to conquest. Nor was Mullineaux’s relationship with Lady Carberry so easy to dismiss. In the moment that Mullineaux had come to claim Alicia for the waltz, Wickford had sensed all kinds of complicated factors at work.