Stroke of Genius (12 page)

She was flawless, his creation of creamy ivory. Too fine a thing for a mortal to crave. Too delectable for him not to.

Crispin paced the sidewalk outside Almack’s assembly room. He’d upgraded his usual walking stick to an ebony-headed one inlaid with jade in deference to the more formal occasion. Its rosewood length was burnished to a sheen and hid a thin rapier within a secret hollow space.

Not that Crispin expected to need protection in this most respectable of neighborhoods.

Unless I insult Grace again.

He grimaced at his shadow on the pavers. What he’d said was unconscionable. Unforgivable. He’d all but called her a whore. Even now, he had no idea why he’d become so momentarily insane.

Perhaps there was madness in his lineage.

He had no way to know.

But he did know there was no other way into Almack’s assembly room except up an interminable stairway. He weighed his need to see Grace as soon as her carriage arrived against his desire not to fight those long stairs before her pitying gaze.

Or maybe she’d laugh at him now instead of feeling sympathy. He rather thought he’d prefer her laughter. The last thing he needed was for her to see him as some pathetic cripple.

Either way, damn me, if I don’t deserve her scorn.

He decided to go in and wait for her at the top of the stairwell. If she was going to cut him, it may as well be where there was space for him to fall.

As he hauled himself up the steps, he realized she’d do no such thing. He was, for all intents and purposes, her sponsor this night. His word in one of the patronesses’ ears was responsible for the voucher he held in his waistcoat pocket for her. He was about to make her fashionable. Her bold-colored gown would soon be all the rage. She’d never publicly disparage him.

She wouldn’t do it in private either, he admitted with a grunt. He could almost always rely upon other people to be a better person than he was.

Grace qualified as a member of a much better species.

The steps were narrow, designed for much smaller feet than his, and required his complete concentration. At least the railing was solid and he was able to bear much of his weight on his well-developed left arm.

“I say, do you mind?” came a supercilious voice behind him. Crispin recognized the speaker as Grace’s cousin.

“Ah, Lord Wash…burn, I believe,” he said, deciding he needed to be on his best behavior this night if he was going to make things up to Grace. Even if it meant being pleasant to a loathsome toad like her cousin the baron. It was really a pity, too. “Lord Washbucket” was so deserving of his wit. “Good evening to you.”

Washburn mumbled something in return.

Crispin was halfway to the top, but he stopped and pressed his spine to the railing so Washburn and his sister could mount the steps around him more easily. Crispin doffed his hat.

“Good evening, Mr. Hawke,” Mary said softly as the couple moved past him up the staircase.

“You’re looking lovely this evening, Miss Washburn,” Crispin said with a pleasant smile. In truth, Mary’s gown looked a tad threadbare. The silk was a bit too shiny in spots and her dull jewels were undoubtedly paste, but she smiled her thanks.

Washburn had turned himself out with all the bells and whistles required for gentlemen by Almack’s strict dress code. Even though knee britches and stockings were dreadfully last century, the patronesses demanded men wear them with tailed coats for admittance to their hallowed assemblies.

Crispin grinned after him. Washburn was spindleshanked and his legs showed to horrible disadvantage in the calf-hugging stockings. Crispin itched to say,
“By Jove, Washburn. Are those your legs or are you riding a chicken?
” But Grace wouldn’t be inclined to forgive him if he added to his sins by insulting her cousin, so he clamped his lips together until they were out of earshot.

“Perhaps the patronesses aren’t so daft, after all,” Crispin murmured as he continued to climb. The archaic dress code meant a man had to show himself for what he was. At least so far as his legs were concerned.

When Crispin reached the top, Miss Washburn had already entered the assembly rooms, but her brother was shifting his weight from one foot to the other outside the door.

“Wouldn’t let you in, eh? Bad luck, old chap!”

The baron puffed up like an offended wren. “I’m waiting for my cousins, if you must know.”

“You surprise me, Washburn.” Crispin shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d allow your sister to wander unprotected through that maze of slavering demons.”

Lord Washburn glared at him. “Nonsense. Only gentlemen are allowed in Almack’s.”

“My point exactly,” Crispin said. “Wasn’t Lucifer the brightest being in the heavens? And yet look how low he fell. Stands to reason that the deepest depravity may be found in the hearts of men with dazzling titles before their names and demitasse cups in their hands.”

A bright blotch of red bloomed on the man’s jaw. “I’m frankly shocked that you expect to be admitted, Hawke. Surely a
craftsman
ranks even lower than a tradesman in the grand scheme of things.”

Crispin decided he could be nice to the man after Grace arrived. “Well, you’ve not tainted yourself with trade one jot, have you, Washburn?”

“Of course not.”

“Hence your empty pockets and your sister’s ancient ball gown.” Crispin could buy all Lord Washburn’s holdings and still have plenty in his Bank of England account. And his wealth was the product of his own sweat. Why the aristocracy viewed industry with such disdain was a puzzlement to him.

Lord Washburn tried to look down his nose at Crispin but since he topped the lordling by a good head, the effect was comical instead of haughty.

“A gentleman is born, sir,” Washburn said with a superior sneer. “Not made.”

“So are geniuses, I’m told,” Crispin said. “Where do they fall in the grand scheme, I wonder?” He snapped his fingers as if the idea had just occurred to him. “Perhaps that’s why the patronesses
invited
me to their assembly, instead of waiting till I petitioned for admittance.”

“I will not suffer such insolence,” the baron said through clenched teeth. “You may have fooled a few weak-minded women, but you don’t fool me. For all your fleeting acclaim, you will never be what I am.”

“Ridiculously pompous?”

Lord Washburn’s eyes bulged. “No, sir. A well-bred
gentleman. A man with a lineage of which he can be proud. I can trace my ancestors back to the days of William the Conqueror.”

“Can you?” Crispin shrugged. “Everyone should have a hobby, I suppose. Rest assured, Lord Washburn, if ever I feel myself in need of a pedigree, I’ll purchase a blooded hound.”

The sound of voices traveled up the stairwell. Crispin recognized Horace Makepeace’s booming tones.

“Unless my ears deceive me, our favorite ‘tradesman’ is on his way up,” Crispin said as he pulled out three vouchers from his waistcoat pocket. “Good thing I was able to use my ‘fleeting acclaim’ to have him and his family admitted.”

When Grace reached the top of the stairs, Washburn was quick to push himself forward to welcome her.

Overcame his distaste for trade with astonishing speed,
Crispin thought.

Grace looked beautiful but pale, and when her gaze flitted over Crispin, there was a glint of terror in her eyes. Washburn claimed her hand and tucked it into his elbow but was forced to stop before they reached the door.

He turned and glared at Crispin.

Crispin waggled the tickets before him for a moment. “Oh, yes, you’ll need these, won’t you? Mrs. Makepeace, here’s your voucher. And, sir, this one is for you.” He handed the coveted tickets to Grace’s parents, but held hers back. “A word before you go in, Miss Makepeace.”

“We’ll meet you inside, dear,” Minerva said and clutched her cousin the baron’s arm. “Come along, Jasper. Oh, isn’t this exciting, Horace?”

“Like a three-day bellyache,” came the grumbling reply from Grace’s father.

Crispin watched with amusement as Lord Washburn
was swept along in Minerva’s inexorable tide. Crispin couldn’t have managed matters better if he’d arranged them himself.

“Well done, Mrs. Makepeace,” Crispin murmured before turning to Grace. “Someday, I’m going to have to kiss your mother right on the mouth.”

“And you’re conceited enough to believe she’ll think that a good thing.” Grace folded her arms beneath her breasts and tapped her toe. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to be sure you were aware of our strategy before we go in.”

“Strategy, of course. How silly of me.” She laughed mirthlessly. “I thought you called me aside because you wanted to apologize like a normal person.”

“Would it do any good if I did?”

“No,” she whispered furiously. “What you said was unforgivable.”

He nodded. “As I thought. Then it would be foolish to waste time on an apology, wouldn’t it? Now, Grace, when you—”

“You are impossible,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

She balled her gloved fingers into fists at her side. Her gaze darted at the other well-garbed people pouring up the staircase. If they’d been alone, Crispin suspected she’d have beaned him right on the nose with one of those curled fists.

He took one of her hands and worked her fingers straight. She was wearing a lovely pair of lace gloves that suited her long fingers perfectly. “Now, now. Your hands are your ticket to success this night as surely as this voucher in my pocket. They’ve acquired a reputation for otherworldly beauty.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she said. “You’ve already informed me they aren’t my best feature.”

She certainly had a long memory for his casually expressed observations. He’d have to bear that in mind in the future.

“By and large, people see what they expect to see,” Crispin said. “The gossips have proclaimed your hands exquisite. People will find them beautiful.”

“Unfortunately they are attached to the rest of me,” she muttered, the spark of terror returning to her amber eyes.

“Which is their great good fortune, Grace,” he said. “Here’s what I want you to do. Be yourself. Say whatever you like. Dance with whomever the patronesses assign to you, but keep moving. Don’t speak with one gentleman to the exclusion of all others.”

“I only hope I don’t trip on the dance floor.”

“No danger of that. This night you are a goddess and goddesses float.”

She laughed. “I suppose goddesses don’t ever spill tea on themselves either.”

“No indeed, especially since you’ll want to pass on the tea in any case. You may try the punch, but only if you’re absolutely parched. The refreshments here are so execrable their very awfulness is the stuff of legends.”

She smirked at him. “Good thing I ate at home, then.”

“Quite. And for heaven’s sake, stay as far away from your family as possible.”

“There is nothing wrong with my family.” She glowered up at him.

Good. A bit of spirit was much better than showing fear. And it gave her a fiery glow as surely as if she’d been thoroughly kissed. The thought of kissing her made his soft palate ache to taste her lips again, but he shoved it aside. There’d be time enough for that once
she was a full-fledged member of his Unhappy Wives of Inattentive Husbands Club.

“By family, I mean your cousin the baron,” he said. “I’m your beater, remember. We’re hunting only the big game this night.”

She bristled at him. “I’m not hunting. I’m flirting.
Politely
flirting. Hopefully, with the man who will one day be my husband and the father of my children. I will not let you cheapen this night for me.”

For one heartbeat, he almost wished she were flirting with him. Politely or otherwise.

“I’m not trying to cheapen anything. My goal is to see you get exactly what you want.” Crispin raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “What you deserve.”

Mollified, she took his arm when he offered it. “Thank you, Crispin.”

Her eyes widened as she looked up at him and he felt himself sinking into their depths.

“This night wouldn’t be possible without you,” she whispered.

“On the contrary, this night is your doing, Grace.” He restrained himself from reaching out to cup her cheek, but it required serious effort. “I wish you could see yourself as I see you right now. If you did, you’d stop being afraid you’ll trip or spill something. You’d never slump again. I wish you had the slightest notion how lovely you are.”

“You’re only saying that to make me feel better.”

“Grace, in the time that you’ve known me, have I ever said or done anything with another person’s feelings in mind?”

“Good point.” Her smile was genuine now.

He started walking her toward the entrance, holding out their voucher to the patroness minding the door.
Grace was given her dance card, prefilled with all the dance partners Crispin had arranged for her in consultation with Lady Hepplewhite.

Once inside the great hall, Grace tightened her grip on his arm. He’d never thought of Almack’s as especially thrilling. In fact, the assemblies were known for their respectability and general dullness, but he felt Grace’s excitement in the pressure of her fingertips.

The assembly room was awash in a swirl of color. Gentlemen and ladies were executing an intricate quadrille, a flash of stylized courtship, an orgy of civilized coupling. Crispin suddenly wished he could dance with Grace, that he could guide her around the room on the wings of music and feel her heart hammering when his hand brushed her ribs.

He leaned toward her. “I apologize.”

Her mouth twitched. “You’re still not forgiven, Crispin.”

“Then I’ll have to try harder.”

“A genius forced to work at something? I should be able to charge admission to that,” she murmured while her smile stayed firmly in place.

“Agreed, but only if you’ll do impressions of your mother as a sideshow.”

A laugh exploded from her lips. “In that case, Crispin, I’m forced to forgive you.”

Her first dance partner appeared and whisked her away. Crispin watched with only a smidgeon of resentment in his chest as they took the floor.