The Third Son (14 page)

“His name was Ramon Estevez,” Raina continued. “Lord Ramon Estevez. He came to the market where I was selling my perfumes one day with
mama
. He came back every day that week to buy my soap.” Raina smiled, her eyes focused on some faraway place and time. “I knew that it wasn’t my soap he was interested in.”

“You had a romance with a Spanish lord?”

Raina nodded. “He was handsome and dashing and we were smitten from the beginning. But he was a member of the nobility and of course I was just a Gypsy dancer who sold soaps and jewelry.”

“Oh mother, you are much more than that! Surely he could see that?”

“Of course he did. It was just the reality of our situation. He was a part of a world in which I did not belong. Oh, he tried so hard to make it so. He lavished me with expensive clothes and gifts. He took me to the theaters, the balls, the dinner parties. We thought we would carry on that way forever until his father died. He was obligated to take a wife now that he was master of his father’s holdings. Marriage to me was, of course, out of the question.”

“So what happened? Did he not offer for you?”

“He would have if he had been able, but you have to understand the way of their world. His
mama
already had a bride in mind and Ramon really had no choice. We went our separate ways and I never saw him again. I recovered from my heartbreak and soon after I met your father.”

“So then you told me this to warn me? You think I should try to avoid any sort of relationship with Damien?” The story of Raina and Ramon had struck dread in her. Heartache was not something she had considered, yet it was almost a certainty. Damien was a prince and someday he would take a wife. The thought filled Esmeralda’s heart with anguish.

“I told you that story because even though I loved your father more than I could ever have loved Ramon, I would not have changed what happened for the world. It was an experience that shaped who I am today and it was well worth the small amount of pain I had to endure in the end. I do not know if you love your Damien, but I know that you could in time. You have suffered hurt at the hands of men and it is time you discovered that there is more to be found in the arms of a man than pain.”

Esmeralda studied
Raina
intently, seeing her as she never had before, as a woman. She knew her mother had felt the same flurry of emotion for Ramon that she felt now for Damien. Raina was right; Esmeralda did want to know the truth of what awaited her in Damien’s arms. Even if things did not end ideally for them, well then she would take with her every memory that they would share.

Desmond and Akira came down the stairs toting the massive trunk. “What’s this?” Esmeralda asked as Raina bent to open the trunk.

“Well you’ll need something to wear, won’t you?”

Esmeralda peered down into the trunk and gasped.
Raina
pulled gown after gown out of the trunk, laying them across various chairs. Beneath the dresses were slippers in a variety of colors, bonnets, gloves, fans, chemisettes, reticules, stockings and even a corset. Esmeralda lifted a soft pink day dress and matching spencer from the trunk, eyeing them with wonder.

“What is all this? Where did you get these?”

Raina smiled, lifting a pair of short, white lace gloves from the trunk. “These will go nicely with that dress.”

“Mother, where did all these things come from?”

“A gift from your father,” Akira said gleefully, lifting a small black box from the trunk. “Meant as a wedding trousseau.” Esmeralda’s puzzled expression caused Akira to chuckle as she handed her the box.

“Your father always hoped you would marry someone a little above our means,” Raina explained, matching a pair of slippers from the trunk to the pink dress. “He acquired these things for you over the last few years before he died. I think you have need of them a little early, though.”

Esmeralda studied the small collection of gowns. They were not all at the height of fashion, but they were beautifully made.

“You’ll find that they all fit nearly perfectly,” said Akira. “Raina gave your father your measurements.”

“And of course I can alter wherever needed,” added Raina.

Tears filled Esmeralda’s eyes as she opened the small black box to reveal a string of iridescent pearls. She wished her father were alive so that she could tell him how grateful she was for the beautiful gift. 

“So,” said Akira, a smile accentuating the lines around the corners of her mouth. “Any more objections?”

Chapter 8

Damien pulled the curtain back from the window of the carriage, hoping that the windows of Davina’s townhouse would be darkened, signaling that she had been too tired to wait up for him. No such luck. He could see the faint light of a lamp through Davina’s window, which faced the street. Damien sighed
,
no need postponing the inevitable. He wanted to be completely free to explore the burgeoning feelings he had for Esmeralda. 

Damien
let himself in with his key, making a mental note to give it back to her before he left. The servant’s would all be asleep by now, so he wasn’t expecting to see anyone as he made his way upstairs to Davina’s chambers. He tapped lightly on the door before entering. Davina lay sprawled across the bed on her stomach, wearing a red negligee and sheer red robe, flipping through a small stack of fashion plates. She looked up at him and smiled as he walked in. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming,” she purred, rising from the bed and dropping her robe to the floor. She approached Damien slowly, her hips swaying beneath the transparent wisp of material. She wrapped her arms around Damien’s neck and pressed herself against him. “You kept me waiting, but I’ll let you make it up to me.”

Damien struggled to grasp her bare arms and push her gently away. “Davina, I told you we needed to talk.”

She walked over to the bed and lay on her side in a seductive pose, allowing the slit in her gown to fall open and reveal a plump, creamy thigh. Annoyed with her for seeking to distract him, he took a chair and pulled it near the bed. Once Davina realized he would not be joining her in the bed she heaved a sigh of disgust and snatched her robe from the floor. She tied the sash with a jerk and sat on the edge of the bed facing him.

“You have been a part of my life for quite some time,” he began, trying as hard as possible to find the most delicate words. “I have enjoyed your company
a
nd though I am fond of you I think it’s time we ended our association.”

“What?!” she screeched, leaping from the bed, her face a twisted mask of fury. “You’re ending this?” 

Damien stood. “I think you and I both know that our relationship has run its course. Of course you may keep the townhouse. I’ve already had my solicitor change the deed over into your name, so it officially belongs to you.”

“It’s already done? How long have you been planning this?”

Davina began pacing, her hands clenched in tight fists at her sides, her face a mottled shade of red. Damien grasped her hand gently, hoping to soothe her dismay.

“That does not matter,” he said calmly.  

The tears he had been expecting finally came, as did the hysterics.
Davina
screamed. She kicked at him
and
called him every foul name she could think of. He withstood it for a full five minutes before he grew tired.

“Enough!” he bellowed, giving her a rough shake. “You’re acting like a child.”

Kohl ran down her cheeks in inky gray lines, smudged from her tears. Her cheeks were tinged pink from her exertions. She swiped a hand across her eyes, smudging the kohl even more and glared at him menacingly. “You are a bastard. You think you can just use me and then toss me aside so callously?”

“Now wait just one minute,” said Damien, fighting for control. He hadn’t intended for things to go this way, but now she was provoking his anger. “You and I never made each other any promises. You knew what being my mistress entailed from the beginning. I have lived up to my end for far longer than either of us anticipated. Did you honestly think this would not end?”

Davina folded her arms over her chest and stared at him a moment longer. She tossed her hair flippantly and forced a quavering smile. “You’re right,” she said, her voice shaking with barely controlled anger. “I was being foolish.”

“You may, of course, keep all of the clothing and gifts I have given you. And there is this.” He handed her a sealed envelope. She tore it open and removed a bank draft. Her jaw dropped when she saw the amount.

“This is very generous of you.” 

“You have been my mistress for well over a year. I think the amount is fitting considering the amount of time we spent together. You can live off of that for quite some time if you manage it well.”

She tucked the bank draft back into the envelope and dropped it on the bed. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek gently, feelings of guilt gnawing at him for not ending it sooner. He had known Davina was expecting more from him, but he thought she’d understood that their arrangement was not a permanent one.

“Goodbye Davina,” he said, pressing his key to the townhouse into her open palm. He left quietly, refusing to look back as he descended the stairs and walked out to his waiting carriage.

****

Esmeralda studied her reflection in her mother’s full-length mirror. She hardly recognized herself.
Raina
had hung up her new
clothes
overnight to let the wrinkles fall out. She was wearing the chosen pink muslin
dress
adorned with white lace. The gown had a high empire waist and short cap sleeves. A white sash tied below her bosom, trailing down to the hem of the gown in the back.  It was simple, but elegant and fashionable. She wore a simple pair of earrings that Raina had made for her with delicate pink stones. Akira had tamed most of her hair and pulled it back in a neat chignon at the back of her head. She had artfully arranged a few curls at her temple and a few had slipped free at the nape of her neck. A white bonnet with a few muslin pink roses pinned along the brim sat artfully atop her head, its pink ribbon tied at a saucy angle beneath her chin. Damien had sent a messenger with a note that morning and Esmeralda had immediately responded. His carriage would be arriving to take her to the palace shortly.

“You look beautiful,” Raina said, her voice strained with tears. “If only your father could have seen you in this gown.” Raina handed her a pair of short white gloves trimmed in lace and a fringed white shawl. “He always talked about a better life for you and wanted you to have these things so that you would feel worthy of a world better than ours. I think he was right,” she said touching Esmeralda’s face affectionately. Akira rubbed her hands together with undisguised excitement.

“You look like a gem,” she said, leading the way down the stairs to the sitting room. “You just remember to be yourself and those hoity toity nabobs won’t even notice you’re not one of them.” 

Esmeralda took a deep breath and pressed her hand to her stomach to still the nervous fluttering there. Despite her excitement, she was also nervous. How well could she fit into Damien’s world?

A knock sounded at the door and Raina opened it to admit Tristan, whose eyes smoldered like hot coals when he took in Esmeralda’s appearance.

“You look ravishing,” he said. Unmistakable desire threaded through his voice as he eyed Esmeralda’s breasts pressed upward at the top of her gown. “What’s the occasion?”

“I was invited to a picnic at Largess Hall.”

Esmeralda didn’t miss the dark scowl that crossed his handsome features. “I was looking for Desmond. It’s Monday and he usually comes by to borrow Storm.” Storm was Tristan’s gray stallion. “He usually comes in the morning, but I haven’t seen him today.”

“Oh, I guess he forgot to tell you,” said Raina. “Prince Damien gave him a job working as a groom at Largess Hall. He started this morning.”

If at all possible, Tristan’s scowl became even darker. “Well then I will see you this evening at the tavern, Esmeralda.” He turned abruptly and left, his angry footsteps drowned out by the sound of approaching carriage wheels. 

“He is so angry,” said Akira softly, shivering slightly.

****

Damien watched Esmeralda as she conversed easily with Serge, laughing with him over glasses of white wine. He’d known she would fit in seamlessly and seeing her here, dressed like a lady and mingling with the court only confirmed his calculations. She had told him tearfully in the carriage about her father’s gift and he had wiped the tears from her cheeks with his own hands and told her how beautiful she looked. 

She was refreshing, a wildflower blooming in the afternoon sun. The day had gone impeccably. Esmeralda had met several of his acquaintances as well as Serge and Nicolai, who had treated her politely as he’d known they would. He hadn’t disclosed Esmeralda’s background and no one seemed to recognize her as the Gypsy dancer who had entertained them not too long ago.

Damien looked out over the manicured lawn where at least fifty blankets had been spread, a full hamper beside each one. Members of the court sat eating on blankets, or standing about conversing. Liveried footmen walked through the crowd with glasses of white wine and Madeira. Damien procured a glass and walked back to the blanket where Esmeralda sat with Serge and Nicolai beneath the shade of an awning, eating the fruit lightly dusted with sugar that had been provided for dessert. He sank down beside her and plucked a juicy grape from the bunch she was holding.