The Wedding Runaway (41 page)

"
I am afraid I sent my carriage home only to return for me after midnight. Didn
'
t want my horses standing about
,"
Victor answered.

Helena moved forward to take her mother
'
s arm from Trevor.
"
Shall we find you a chair
,
Mother?
"

"
Whatever were you doing behind the tree
,
Wedmont?
"
asked Lady Caine.

"
Avoiding the company
,
my lady.
"

She glared at him. Trevor glared at him
,
Keene looked at him rather enigmatically
,
Lydia wouldn
'
t look at him at all and Lady Helena kept looking between her mother and Trevor. How had Lady Caine come to be practically carried out of the ballroom by Trevor
,
a person she would probably give the cut direct if he spoke to her?

"
Not yourself or your lovely daughter
,
of course. You do know my American friends
,
do you not
,
Lady Caine? Miss Lydia Hamilton and Mr. Trevor Hamilton
,"
asked Victor.

"
I know Mr. Hamilton
,"
said Lady Caine in such a way as it was clear she wished she did not know him.
"
We met years ago. How nice that you have brought your sister to London this time.
"
She nodded her head toward Lydia.
"
Miss Hamilton.
"

She did not even look long enough to see if Lydia acknowledged her greeting.

"
My carriage is close at hand
,"
said Keene
,
stepping forward.
"
We arrived early and are first at the corner. If you please
,
my lady
,
I would be honored to see you home.
"

"
You are the Baron of Whitley
'
s oldest son
,
are you not?
"
Lady Caine asked Keene.

"
I daresay. His only son now
,"
Keene answered and gestured toward the stairs.
"
If you please.
"

Lady Caine moved to the stairs with her daughter at her side. At the top she gripped the banister and hesitated. Then she swayed and moaned a little. Trevor, with one last glare over his shoulder
,
scooped up the countess and carried her down the three flights of stairs.

Victor reached out and took Lydia
'
s hand.
"
Are you all right?
"
he asked.

She looked at him and gave a slight shake of her head.
"
I am fine. Is Lady Caine ill?
"

"
I would say so
,"
said Victor, dismissing the sight from his head.

"
How odd. Being sick seems such a common thing to do.
"

His lips twitched.
"
Although she is mighty high in the instep
,
alas, we are all but flesh and blood.
"

Lydia flashed him a look that wiped away his amusement and flooded him with yearning. Bloody hell
,
he had been about to lower her dress in a passageway where anyone might have chanced by. How much had her brother seen?

Too much
,
if Trevor
'
s expression meant anything. Victor tugged Lydia toward the ballroom. Too much time alone with her and he would ruin her. If he seduced her
,
he surely would kill any of her dreams for a life of independence. A fallen woman would never be taken seriously in the business world. A moral woman would have enough trouble. He would reduce her options to the seamy role of mistress or courtesan. Yet
,
in so many ways she was still an innocent.

All right
,
she no longer kissed like an innocent. She kissed like a siren
,
and he would willingly drown in her arms. The only problem was he would take her down to the murky depths at the bottom of the sea with him and drown her too.

He tugged her along until he found Sophie
,
and told her that Keene had left to escort Lady Caine and her daughter home. Then Lady Beauly latched onto his arm and with her main rival gone
,
she monopolized him for the rest of the evening. The only silver lining in that cloud was that Lydia
'
s brother never approached.

Lydia hardly spared him a glance. Sophie deftly kept her circulating among the available men.

A while after supper
,
Sophie approached Victor.
"
Have you seen Keene?
"

"
No.
"

"
He has not returned.
"
She stifled a yawn.
"
And Lydia and I are ready to return home.
"

Victor looked across the room at Trevor.
"
Perhaps Lydia
'
s brothers could—
"

Sophie rapped him on the arm with her fan.
"
They came in a hack. Besides, if Keene does not arrive home soon
,
I would have you go look for him.
"

"
Very well
,
I shall call for my carriage.
"
His coachman should have arrived by now.

"
Thank you
,"
said Sophie.
"
We
'
ll take our leave of Felicity and meet you downstairs.
"

Lydia studiously looked away from him and Lady Beauly hung on to him as if she would never let him go.

"
Must you leave?
"
said Lady Beauly
,
leaning her breast against his arm.

He felt nothing. He knew that even if she invited him to partake of her charms
,
he would be wasting his time. The only woman whose charms he wanted to partake of was off limits.

"
I am afraid so
,"
said Victor. He would be glad to be rid of Penelope
,
but he had in mind that staying away from Lydia might be their best course. To complete their passion would be ruin for her.

But how much could go wrong in a carriage with both Sophie and Lydia? Except when they arrived at the Davies
'
townhouse
,
Sophie insisted he come inside and wait for Keene.

She led them into the library.
"
The fire will still be banked in here
,"
Sophie said as she opened the door to the soft glow from the fireplace.

While a footman lit a lamp for them
,
Lydia drifted off to the bookshelves and removed a book.

"
I cannot imagine what is keeping Keene. I am starting to get worried.
"
Sophie moved over to the brandy decanters and lifted a glass from the tray.

"
You were not worried before?
"
Victor brushed off his sleeve and wondered if he could rid himself of the cloying scent of Lady Beauly
'
s perfume. Had he ever found her attractive? She was thought a diamond of the first water during her first season
,
but he
'
d been married then and had hardly paid her any attention.

"
Oh, you know I seldom worry about anything.
"
She handed him a glass of brandy.
"
Poor Victor
,
you are the prize for all the matchmaking mamas this season
,
are you not?
"

"
Apparently not just the mamas
,"
answered Victor.
"
For God
'
s sake
,
Sophie, put out the word that I never mean to marry again.
"

Lydia stiffened. He could see it in her ramrod straight spine. She flipped a page in her book. What had it been like for her to see all the women tripping over themselves to be his bride?

He had title
,
wealth
,
moderate youth and was not fubsy-faced; what more could an aspiring young gentlewoman want? Too bad none of them wanted him for himself. He sighed. He supposed one ought to be glad to be valued for any reason.

"
I was surprised at Lady Helena.
"
Sophie looked over at her houseguest.

Victor took a sip of his brandy and avoided comment.

"
All the royal dukes are married now
,
and she has been out five seasons.
"
Sophie flounced onto a wing chair.
"
Besides, she may
need
to get married
,
now.
"

Victor looked askew at Sophie and moved closer to her. What did she know?

Sophie kicked off her slippers and with inimitable Sophie style curled up in the chair
,
her head against the side.
"
I do wish Keene would hurry.
"

"
I should leave.
"
Victor bowed. Why he bothered when Sophie
'
s eyes were closed and Lydia had her back to him
,
was beyond him.

"
No
,
sit
,"
said Sophie
,
blinking at him. She looked about two seconds from falling asleep.
"
I am not used to these late hours yet. Our Lydia seems to be holding up well. How was your evening
,
Lydia? Come tell us your impression of our hedonistic world.
"

"
Sophie
,"
objected Victor.
"
You are her chaperone.
"
Was everyone out to corrupt Lydia? Did no one but him see what a disastrous path she was on with him? Would no one save her from the ruin he could create for her?

"
Lud
,
whosoever thinks it behooves a woman to be ignorant of the ways of the world
,
does us no favors. I would have been in much better stead if I had been less innocent when I married Keene. It only made trouble between us.
"

Lydia glanced over her shoulder and he was lost
,
snared. Her blue eyes and the soft blond curls beckoned him. He had to touch her
,
feel the curves of her hips
,
taste her ambrosia skin. He closed his eyes and was flooded with images of her naked legs in his bed. Bloody hell
,
he never should have undressed her
,
because he knew how perfect she was.

He sat down hard on the sofa cattycorner to where Sophie sat
,
and took a big swig of brandy
,
while praying for Keene to return home
,
quickly. How long could he be?

Lydia closed the book and drifted closer. The way the skirt of her dress outlined her form as she walked mesmerized him. All she had to do now was stand in front of the fire. Which was exactly where she stopped.

"
I thought Lady Helena quite beautiful
,"
said Lydia.

Victor swallowed hard, trying not to look at Lydia
'
s silhouette
,
back-lighted by the fire. But he found looking elsewhere impossible.
"
I find her personality flat.
"

"
I think she is just very circumspect. I do not believe any of us really know her
,"
said Sophie with a yawn.

"
I would say our company is too fast for her
,"
Victor said.

"
Oh
,
I would not be so sure of that
,"
said Sophie.

Lydia inched closer her gaze alternating between Sophie and him.

Victor tossed back the last of his brandy
,
feeling the burn of the alcohol sliding down his throat. Heat rose inside him and he watched Lydia, no longer trying to contain his desire. He tossed his arm along the back of the sofa and set his brandy on the side table.

"
Still waters run deep.
"
Sophie slurred her words.
"
Saw her at the midwife
'
s house...trouble.
"

"
What?
"
asked Lydia sharply.

Sophie blinked
,
clearly hanging onto the waking world by nothing but a thread.
"
She
'
s not a good liar.
"

Lydia bit her lip.
"
You suspect she is with child?
"

"
Why else would she see a midwi...?
"
murmured Sophie
,
just before she slipped into sleep.

Lydia sank down on the sofa beside Victor. Why was she concerned if Lady Helena was with child? He traced his fingers up her bare arm to the tiny cap sleeve and back down. Shivers ran up his spine as if she had touched him in the same way.

"
You should consider that a cautionary tale
,"
he warned.
Where the hell was Keene?

She turned toward him and gathered his hands in hers.
"
Come with me
,
I have something to give you.
"
Her blue eyes met his with guileless beauty.

He rose and followed her out of the room. Just watching her walk in front of him
,
her hand extended back to him
,
was gift enough. When they started up the second flight of stairs
,
beyond the public rooms
,
he asked
,
"
What do you mean to give me
,
pet?
"