The Earl and the Wedding Crasher (The Brides of Elderglen #3)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

" I know what you are doing !"

Louisa Balfour froze a little at the hissed voice just behind her. "Everyone can see what I'm doing, Lexi. I am clearly getting more punch. That is why I have a glass in my hand and my steps are directed towards the punch bowl."

Her younger sister took her arm, grip tight in the soft white gloves she was wearing and green eyes flashing with annoyance. "Come walk with me, sister," she said loud enough to be heard by the passersby and Louisa let out a soft groan as she was led back towards where the guests of the ball were mingling and talking. Alexandra continued in a softer voice that drew no attention. "I refuse to allow you to ruin your reputation, Louisa. No more nonsense. I am not going to let you out of my sight for a second, I swear it."

Alexandra was a darling, but she was the most practical of the five of the sisters and she had never really understood the fierce need that lived in Louisa's heart to do something. Louisa placed a hand over Alexandra's own and gave it a little squeeze, wishing that they were not in such a crowded place.

"It's Evelina that you should be keeping so close to, Lexi," she said, in her best, most cajoling tone. "She will soon get worn out and need to find a seat as a young mother, and you know that we promised to keep close to her and cause her no bother."

"Exactly," Alexandra said, a smile on her face that did not reach her eyes. "I am performing the spirit of that agreement, sister dearest. We will be causing not a moment of bother to Evelina. We won't go running out into the middle of a rain storm to dance like a hellion, for instance."

"No one saw me and it was just one time ."

"What about that time the gardener very nearly caught you out of doors in a pair of trousers you stole from Papa's wardrobe?"

"Nearly is the word there, darling. Nearly! I was not caught and I have not been seen and my reputation is perfectly intact."

They had reached a little alcove and Alexandra finally let go of her tight grip on Louisa's arm to rub her hands together anxiously, a tiny frown marring her smooth forehead. "I cannot deal with the stress, Lou," she said softly. "Why must you insist on taking these chances when it can mean such disaster? Not just for you but for all of us! Evelina and Margaret would weather the storm but what might it mean for me and Penelope if you were to be ruined by gossip?"

Louisa bit her lip, turning to look out of the window next to them, out over the dark expanse of the estate where the light of the moon was glinting off the deep waters of the nearby lake. It was a cold beauty that called to her, like if she could somehow reach it, absorb it into herself she might feel more real. She hated the bustle of balls and social events. The noise and all the movement were nearly overwhelming and someone always wanted something, to talk or to dance .

"I'm careful," she said lowly. It hurt a little that Alexandra would doubt this, might question whether she would risk not only her own safety but that of her family. She knew that Alexandra did not approve of the secret little list of daring deeds she had made for herself, but she could not help that. She had sworn to herself a long time ago that she would achieve these things.

"I know you mean to be," Alexandra said, her lovely dark hair framing her soft heart-shaped face in a way that made her look older than Louisa, not younger by a year. "I certainly know you would never knowingly bring us harm. But it's so hard to believe you can indeed be circumspect when I also know that you attended the De Farney party last month where you drank enough that you were quite merry and gambled away your reticule."

"I wore a mask! Everyone wore a mask!"

"You know how I - you know how dangerous gambling can be," Alexandra said, her eyes darting away from Louisa and towards the cheerful ballroom crowd. "I don't know why you are so determined to finish this list, Lou. Especially considering the last item on it, you know how I feel about that."

"Lexi," Louisa lowered her voice, catching Alexandra by the hands. "You are worried about nothing. I am not going to kiss someone at the ball while Evelina is somewhere in the crowd. She would murder me in such a beautiful and elegant way that it would become an art work and gentlemen and ladies from around the globe would come to admire it."

Alexandra hid a laugh behind her fan, eyes sparkling. "Please come with me to check on her. We will have punch and talk about the children and whether or not she and Margaret married best friends on purpose so that they would be able to see each other all the time. I know that they both look mysterious on purpose whenever we bring it up, but I am certain that it must be so."

"Very well," Louisa said, squeezing her hands again. "Let me go and fix my toilette and I will help you to convince her to finally reveal her secrets."

Alexandra laughed again, though her eyes were still suspicious. "That is not your intention, Lou. We both know that."

Louisa bit her lip. "Do not say anything, Lexi, please."

"What if Evelina finds out? What if she asks where you are, or worse what if she sees you returning and wants to know why you are all wet??"

"Just pretend that you know nothing about it, please?"

Alexandra sighed heavily. "I know nothing about it, as usual. I am definitely not awaiting your return on pins and needles of anxiety that you might be caught and I won't be staring at the lake in anguish for the next half hour."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Louisa embraced her quickly and hurried away.

As Louisa made her way through the large old estate towards a door (any door) to the outside she wished with all her heart that Alexandra did not know about The List . It was something she had crafted for herself in secret and it would have stayed a secret from everyone, even her very dear sisters who knew most of her inner soul if she had been given any say in it.

However instead she had been caught, a little foolish thoughtlessness, a piece of paper left too obvious on her writing nook and naturally sharing her chamber with Alexandra meant it was the very most practical of all her sisters who now knew about her plan.

It was not even so very bad as all that! Alexandra was determined that it would ruin them all, but Louisa had managed three of the five items already and no one was the wiser.

To think that the wallflower, the quiet little sister of the Balfour girls who never spoke up or danced and was too shy to converse with strangers had already dared so much!

And now she was to do one more thing, the fourth on the list, leaving the most daring for last. She was going to swim in the lake. It was dark so it was not likely she would be spotted and she had brought an old dark gown that she would change into when she was safely out of sight. The party would have everyone's attention. No one would notice a dark figure in the water. Then she would be done with it and be back to drink punch and laugh with her sisters.

She had read about something exactly like it in one of her very favorite books. The heroine had to find a way to convince her father's friend from trying to marry her and she ran from a ball into a lake in her very best finery and swam right out to the very middle where she stayed until everyone had seen her wet and disheveled.

Everything on the list was from a book. The people she wanted to be like lived between pages and it was her own tiny little victory to emulate them in some small way. She might not be witty or able to hold some delightfully clever conversation, but she could dance in the rain like the gothic heroine from A Cursed Italian Heart . Admittedly said lady had lost her mind, but it was a scene that had stuck with her.

Louisa paused and looked around, completely lost. Which way was she going?

"My dear, you must take this to your grave . No one can ever find out that I told you this!"

The voice cut through the silence and Louisa stopped still, her breath catching and her heart beating fast in her chest. There were footsteps coming her way and there was absolutely no chance she would be able to convince strangers that she was going about perfectly normal business.

Louisa knew better. Her face always gave her away the second that she tried to lie.

In a moment she had darted into an adjoining room and settled herself on the sill of the window, closing the heavy draperies in front of her. All she needed was to wait for the two to pass on, they were clearly having quite the salacious conversation so they would naturally be looking for a private space of their own. Then she could resume her quest for the lake and the second to last item on her list.

The door creaked open and she heard voices, people entering the quiet little office area.

"This will do," the same woman said, her voice low and delightedly scandalized. "Pull me out a chair, my dear, please. I am tired beyond imagination from all the excitement. You must sit with me and I shall tell all, but do remember that I never told you so."

"Of course, of course," another woman said, breathy and eager. Chairs moved and creaked as the two ladies settled themselves. "I am all aquiver, Annabelle. Whatever could it be that has affected you so?"

"Oh you know how frail my nerves are, it is a wonder that I am ever out of Bath I am sure."

"You are an angel, you strive so hard against all your troubles," the breathy lady said, sounding a little bit impatient. "I am sure that I do not know how it is that you do it, but please. Your news!"

Louisa could feel her stomach tightening. It was the worst kind of gossip, the kind of rancid salacious stuff that made her feel a little ill, and worst of all it was not meant for her ears. But what could she do? She could hardly tell the women that she was hiding in the room so that she could go swim in the lake without anyone noticing. It was too late to reveal herself now.

"Of course," Annabelle said, far too eager to share her tale to be put out by being hurried. "You know of Lady Bettie Beaumont?"

"The fiancée to the Earl of St Vincent?" her friend asked, delighted already. "Of course I know her. She was the diamond of her season, was she not? And he is well known for being one of the most charming men in London!"

"Oh my dear you have no idea! He is such a delightful gentleman, and so handsome too! But I am distracted, I was calling on Lady Bettie the other day you see, and she happened to confide in me quite the little secret. Perhaps even a baby secret, one might say."

"My word! They are pregnant and before the wedding?" the friend sounded a little disappointed. "That is hardly done but I suppose should they marry fast they will hardly be found out."

"Oh no, no that is not it! Oh my dear, I did vow so very devoutly not to tell a soul about this, but you are my dearest friend…"

The two ladies giggled together. Louisa wondered if she would be able to open and jump out of the window without drawing attention. It would be far more pleasant than sitting in a room listening to any more of this gossip. Surely the fall would not be far, and it was grass which would soften the noise.

She had her hand on the latch when Annabelle spoke again.

"She is indeed pregnant," she said, gleeful with the pleasure of saying something so damning. "But the child is not that of Lord St Vincent."

"My dear !" her friend gasped, delighted at last.

Whatever they said next, Louisa could not hear them over the rushing in her ears. Lord St Vincent was a friend of Theodore Notley, Duke of Thornfield and her sister Margaret's husband. He had 'spoken of Cedric Pembroke to her sister before while she had been visiting. " Pembroke was with us again last night ," he had said dryly. " I'm surprised that he could find the time in amongst all the young ladies he has dangling after him at the moment. Do not fall for his charms, Louisa. He is handsome as the devil and just as dangerous."

But it was rather awful now. He was being fooled into marrying a woman who just wanted him to cover up her pregnancy with another man. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. He should get to choose something like that, not be tricked into thinking the baby was his!

Oh she would have to do something!

The door slamming broke her out of her stupor and she slid off the windowsill and slipped out of the room as quickly as she could. All thoughts of the lake and the swim that she had been planning for so long were driven from her mind. She had to get help from someone, tell someone about this, do something to stop it!

"There you are!" Her arm was caught and she found herself looking into the annoyed face of her eldest sister. Evelina, Duchess of Dunmore was as beautiful as ever in her gorgeous pale pink gown and even the frustration on her face couldn't detract from how well she looked. "What have you been doing, Louisa? I have told you before that you simply cannot run off in the middle of a ball, you will get a reputation my darling!"

Being with Evelina always made Louisa's heart hurt a little. Ever since the death of their mother it had been her who had held them when they were frightened, soothed fevered brows or solved girlish squabbles. She had organized everything that needed organizing so well that it had felt like the end of the world when she finally left.

It also felt just a little like a betrayal of their dearest mama to feel so strongly the need to cling to Evelina for comfort and sympathy. Perhaps there was something of this turmoil on her face, for Evelina's frustration faded away and was replaced by a soft look of concern and affection.

She tucked a strand of Louisa's hair into place with a gentle hand and drew her along with her, ignoring any attempts to stop her. "Now you are going to come with me and speak to Lord and Lady Mason and we are all going to have a lovely time, dearest, do you understand?"

Louisa closed her mouth on a protest as she was steered towards the kindly older couple, flushing at how disheveled and startled she must look. It was no use. She would not be able to explain herself, not now, not here. She would simply have to find another way.