Chapter Nine #2
Her heart was thumping. For heaven’s sake, be sensible, she warned herself.
But whatever her brain ordered her to do, her body seemed determined to do exactly the opposite, especially as she could already detect the subtle but intoxicating scent of the cologne he was wearing, which was pine-fresh, like the woods on a summer’s evening.
He bowed his head. ‘I apologise for being late, Miss Summerby. You see, I was…’
Suddenly his voice trailed away.
He is dismayed, thought Kate, by my dress. She forced a bright smile and said, ‘I can tell, my lord, that you are surprised by my attire.’
He shook his head. ‘On the contrary. I am most pleasantly surprised.’ He took her hand and she revelled in the firm pressure of his fingers as he added, ‘Miss Summerby, I shall be most honoured to escort you to the party.’
Dan had to admit that he’d been almost shocked into silence when she appeared, because she looked amazing.
The vivid green of that gown contrasted wonderfully with her creamy complexion, and its figure-hugging style showed him and everyone else that she was surprisingly curvaceous.
It took just one glance at the partly revealed swell of her breasts for him to experience a warning tingle of desire.
But he quickly suppressed it, because he needed to keep himself firmly under control tonight.
Maybe Miss Summerby had temporarily pushed aside her disapproval of his way of life, but there was no forgetting that they came from different backgrounds and lived by different rules.
He waited while she slipped a fringed ivory shawl over her shoulders, then he escorted her to his carriage and sat in silence opposite her as they drew away from her house.
But he wanted to speak. He wanted to tell her all kinds of things.
He wanted to tell her how moved he’d felt when she’d explained about the loss of her mother, shortly followed by her own awful illness.
She’d endured it all, and the ordeal of her Season; she possessed true courage, which was not a quality he came across often in the women he knew, who were more likely to plead helplessness.
Even Cecily hadn’t been above shedding tears to get her way.
But it was clear that Kate Summerby didn’t care what any man, including him, thought of her, so why had she dressed so well, and so unexpectedly?
She was looking out of the carriage window as if the view totally absorbed her, so he was able to assess her anew—not only her gown, but the way her hair was styled with those silver-gold locks piled to the crown of her head.
He liked too the long cream gloves that revealed just a tantalising few inches of her upper arms, and he liked the delicate pearl ear-drops and necklace she wore.
Everything added to her subtle but undeniable beauty and as for her eyes—how could he ever have thought her eyes merely ‘ordinary?’
The emerald green of her gown heightened their jewel-like quality, enhancing their colour and their sparkle.
They could express disdain, as he knew from experience, but he’d also known them to betray vulnerability, like on the night of the fireworks party when he had appeared in her garden.
And that same night, when she’d stumbled and he had steadied her, she had looked up at him almost as if she was waiting for his kiss—which he had been dangerously tempted to bestow.
Damn it, man. Pull yourself together.
He cleared his throat and said, ‘Miss Summerby. I’ve been thinking.’
She looked at him with wariness. ‘What about, my lord?’
Those eyes. Yes, they were wide and thick-lashed, glinting with gold now as well as green. Perfectly beautiful… He pressed on.
‘When we went to that recital—’ oh, those ear-shredding singers ‘—I had to ask you questions about what awaited me. On this occasion, if you wish to ask me anything about tonight, please do so.’
She hesitated then said, ‘I have been to parties, as I told you. During my Season.’
‘And they were not happy occasions, I gather?’
‘They were, I suppose, bearable. I even received the occasional offer. But then—well, something happened and I decided I’d had enough.’
‘Do you care to tell me about it?’
She met his gaze calmly, but he saw that her hands were now tightly clenched in her lap.
‘There was a Viscount’s son,’ she said. ‘He paid considerable attention to me, sitting by my side often during the dancing so I wasn’t alone.
He was attractive and kind, or so I thought at the time.
But then I realised he was only doing it to amuse himself and his friends.
After that, I refused to attend any more of the Season’s events. ’
‘I’m sorry. That must have been difficult.’
She smiled, but he could see the lingering hurt. ‘I coped,’ she answered.
Really? he thought.
For a moment all they could hear was the sound of the horses’ hooves and the carriage wheels rolling down the road.
But then she said, ‘Dealing with Society must be far easier for men, I’ve often thought.
You aren’t under the same pressure to be married.
You have time and freedom to make your choices. ’
‘I made a bad choice,’ he said. ‘I was engaged, as you’ve no doubt heard. But it was a mistake. Someday I’ll have to make a suitable marriage, but I’ve no intention of rushing into a long-term commitment for some time yet.’
‘So I’ve observed,’ she said softly.
‘You’re remembering that party in my garden?
’ He sighed. ‘I can see it will take a long time for your opinion of me to recover from the night of our first meeting. You think me hard-hearted, and it’s true that I haven’t an ounce of romance in me, nor false dreams of a happy-ever-after, not with my experience of life.
But believe me, I don’t intend to use anyone unkindly. ’
‘I can see,’ she said earnestly, ‘that your childhood didn’t encourage trust, what with a mother who left you and a father who found that his sons reminded him of her too painfully.
Together we are a fine pair, aren’t we? Here we are, on our way to a party, and we’re talking in tones of utmost gloom.
My lord, you did ask me if I had any questions, and I do.
It’s a long time since I’ve been to a large social gathering like this, so I wonder what they usually talk about, these friends of yours.
My chief fear is that I might find myself out of my depth. ’
‘Out of your depth, Miss Summerby?’ He said it lightly.
‘I very much doubt it. You’re more intelligent than many of them, and better read too, I suspect.
But you’ll probably find that the gentlemen talk about politics, or the latest news from the war in the Peninsula.
The ladies enjoy whispering about the Prince’s female companions, but best to avoid that topic, since many of his friends will be there. ’
‘My aunt went to Brighton parties occasionally. She told me that if there were local politicians attending, she would deliberately ask them awkward questions before departing.’
‘Good for her! She was certainly an exceptional lady, your aunt. She would have been very happy to see you now.’
Her eyebrows arched in mock surprise. ‘To see me going to this party? With you?’
He had to laugh. ‘That could be taken as an insult. No, I meant that she would, I think, have wanted you to enjoy yourself.’
‘Do you really?’
‘I do.’
For a moment she fiddled with her gloves then added more quietly, ‘We won’t have to stay there until the very end, will we?’
‘Of course not. I imagine we’ll have had enough after a couple of hours.’
She nodded but still looked uncertain. ‘Lord Rivington, I don’t wish to spoil your own enjoyment of tonight. I shall quite understand if you wish to ask other ladies to dance, since we are only going as friends, after all.’
‘My intention is to avoid other ladies. Remember? I’m quite happy to keep you company. And, Miss Summerby, one more thing. I don’t know who made your gown, but give them my congratulations. It suits you extremely well.’
She said very quietly, ‘You are not teasing me, are you?’
He shook his head. ‘Most definitely not.’
The thought of how she had been ostracized on account of her slight lameness made his blood boil. She had told him it was impossible for her to dance, but he wondered if maybe, during the years since her illness, she had just lost confidence in her own abilities.
His carriage was pulling to a halt, and after helping her down, he escorted her carefully up the wide steps to the house.
This is all for show, he reminded himself, and surely, she knows it.
But he needed to be careful because her heart, he guessed, was vulnerable still—although she would never truly want to be with a man like him, would she?
She deserved someone far, far better.
Kate was nervous, it was no good denying it. As a liveried footman led them towards the crowded ballroom, she felt the familiar panic descend: Please, please don’t let me trip or stumble. But then, she became aware of the Earl’s firm hand on her elbow.
‘I’m here,’ he murmured. ‘I’m staying by your side. Remember?’
That was the moment she realised that everything was different.
When he introduced her to their hosts, she received Roland Darrow’s welcome courteously and even smiled when his wife blurted out, ‘Why, Miss Summerby, you aren’t in the least what I expected!
People told me you were—oh!’ She clapped her hand over her mouth.
‘That I was a spinster? An oddity, perhaps?’
‘No, not at all! Well, maybe. But I knew you would be neither, because Dan has spoken most highly of you, and he is a perfectionist as far as his women are concerned!’
Her husband intervened. ‘My dear Rebecca, I hardly think you should refer to our guest as one of Dan’s women.’