Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
M ichael belatedly realized that he should have warned Adelaide about Lord St. James. He knew she was not the most conventional of women, but even she wouldn’t have suspected a night like tonight. The only reason that Lord St. James got away with this was because his parties were usually masquerades. Masks always seemed to cause the ton to forgive whatever happened behind them.
The first room they entered was dark, candles lit on either side of the path leading them into what must have been the ballroom beyond.
“This is all rather odd,” Adelaide whispered to Michael. “Is this typical of ton events?”
“Not at all,” he said, shaking his head. “Lord St. James is eccentric and rather wicked. His parties are known for their debauchery. Let us say that Edward would never be found here.”
“I understand,” Adelaide said, having spent enough time with Michael’s brother to know precisely what he meant by that. “Is there anything I should be watchful for?”
He met her eyes through their masks. “Everything.”
They entered the ballroom, which was only dimly lit by a few wall sconces and candles within the chandelier above them. It was rather macabre with the white flowers in their funeral arrangements, which was apparently the theme this evening.
“Will we be able to find Lord Gregory?” she asked, to which Michael nodded grimly.
“Lord Gregory always draws attention to himself,” he drawled. “Nothing to worry about in that regard. If I know him, I would guess that he will enter the ballroom after everyone else, just before his brother, to make a grand entrance. Would you like a drink while we watch for him?”
“I would love one,” she said, deciding that she might need more than one to get through this evening, although she could not overdo it. That would only lead to disaster for both of them.
They walked through the crowd, who curiously eyed Michael and Adelaide, finding drinks before Michael led her over to the card room to see if Lord Gregory might be hiding there for the time being. They found only a couple of players at this early juncture of the night, and the money exchanging hands all appeared to be verifiable, at least from what Michael could see.
“We will return later,” he said in her ear as he led her from the door. “But I will need you as my good luck charm if you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” she said with a small smile, which he hoped meant she liked that idea.
They had just walked into the ballroom when Adelaide was jostled by a woman stepping backward, and Michael caught her with ease just as the woman turned around.
“My apologies—oh, Mr. Redgrave!”
It took Michael a moment to realize to whom he was speaking. She looked familiar, but then, most of the women here did.
He took in the blond curls artfully piled on her head in what he could only describe as a bird’s nest, down the purple mask to the pink dress beneath, one that just barely held in her ample bosom.
Oh, yes, he remembered her now. Lady Johnson, a bored widow. He instantly wished she hadn’t addressed him when he was with Adelaide.
She ignored Adelaide altogether now as she leaned in closer to him, so close that he worried her breasts would pop right out of her dress.
“It has been so long. I wondered when we might see you again.”
“Yes, I have taken a break from most social engagements,” he said.
“I heard rumors,” she said, her voice a loud whisper as Adelaide crossed her arms over her chest and Michael clenched his jaw. He knew that look in Adelaide’s eyes, and if this continued, they would not stay undetected for very long.
“Rumors which were likely true,” he said, causing the woman to gasp as Adelaide’s eyes widened. “Did you hear that I had a child?”
“Well, yes,” she said, looking from side to side. “I was appalled. You always take such precautions!”
Adelaide’s swift intake of breath was the only sign that she was affected by the reminder that Michael used to have his fair share of lovers.
“Well,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “Sometimes, when one finds the right woman, he becomes overwhelmed in the throes of passion. You are right. That has never happened to me before. But this time, with this woman, it did.”
Lady Johnson blinked at him in confusion as she realized he was insinuating an offence but hadn’t figured out what that was. She had never been the most intelligent of women, but that was not why he had selected them. Not in the past.
It wasn’t until her friend leaned in and whispered in her ear that she gasped.
“Mr. Redgrave!”
“Apologies, Lady Johnson,” he said with a shrug. Widows had been his preference in the past, but no more. He no longer cared if they did not feel special. That distinction belonged to only one woman.
Suddenly, Lady Johnson turned her attention toward Adelaide as though realizing for the first time that the woman in her presence, the one who she had ignored, just might be the one who had caught Michael’s attention.
“Is this?—”
“I hear a waltz beginning,” he said, not wanting to draw attention to Adelaide, for he assumed that was the last thing she would want. “Shall we?” he asked her, holding out his hand, and she nodded in thanks, although he didn’t miss the large grin she sent toward Lady Johnson, who gasped once more.
“If that woman continues to breathe so desperately, she’s likely to pass out,” Adelaide said as Michael took her onto the dark dance floor.
He laughed loudly as he twirled her in his arms. He loved that it was dark, that here, they were all supposed to be anonymous, despite knowing one another well enough to guess each other’s identities beneath the masks that covered half of their faces.
“Michael, I’m afraid that I do not know how to dance — at least, not this kind of dance.”
“Never mind that,” he said confidently. “It’s a waltz. Just shift your feet from side to side and follow me. I’ll do the rest.”
He took a chance and tugged Adelaide slightly closer toward him, bringing his lips just next to her ear.
“Do you see anyone you know?”
“No,” she said. “But then, I do not know these people as you do.”
“You can thank God for that,” he said. “Not many of them are worth knowing.”
“It seems you know some of them rather intimately,” she quipped, and he pulled back slightly to look at her.
“Why, Adelaide, are you jealous?”
“Of course not,” she said, lifting her chin. “I have no reason to be.”
The stiffness of her body told a different story, and despite Michael enjoying that she cared, he wanted her to return to the joyful woman she could be.
Just when he opened his mouth to tell her a joke, there was a commotion at the door to the ballroom, and a black-cloaked man, his entire face covered in a gold mask, entered the room.
“My goodness,” Adelaide said. “He looks like the angel of death.”
“And that,” Michael said, “would be Lord Gregory.”
“At least he will be easy to follow,” she murmured. “Why would he call such attention to himself if he is committing a crime?”
“That is exactly what a man like him would do,” Michael said. “Hide what he is doing in plain sight of everyone.”
“Interesting,” she murmured.
“That he is,” Michael said. “If you have your eyes on him, tell me what he is doing, and I will do the same if he is on the other side of us.”
“Very well,” she said. “At the moment, he is walking around the room, speaking to guests.”
Michael nodded. “He probably won’t try anything until he reaches the card room. Do you notice anything else out of the ordinary?”
“That might be a better question for you, as everything I see here is out of the ordinary.”
Michael chuckled. “I can see why you would say that. I do not think anyone else here appears suspicious. I wonder if Lord St. James is part of this or is oblivious to his brother’s misdeeds?”
“Would he be willing to risk his reputation?”
“That would depend on Lord Gregory’s motivations.”
Michael had to hide his smile that Adelaide seemed to be drawing closer to him as they danced. She likely didn’t even realize what she was doing, but now he could feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek, and he closed his eyes as he relished in their closeness. Her soft, subtle scent was becoming his main focus over the suffocating perfumes around them.
It could very well be because he was the only thing familiar in a place of unknowns, but he would accept it for what it was.
They danced twice. Michael wasn’t sure if Adelaide knew the social conventions or if she would even care. It didn’t matter to him, for not only were they masked, but he would have danced with her all night if he could.
But they had other matters of concern.
Michael would like to have said that he kept his head, but he was so lost in Adelaide that she was the one who alerted him to the fact that they had to go.
“Michael, he’s leaving the room.”
“Who?”
“Lord Gregory,” she slightly pinched him. “Who else?”
“Of course,” he said, stepping back and taking her hand as he led her off of the dance floor.
“Well, what do you say?” he asked. “Are you up for a game of chance?”
“My life has been a game of chance,” she said grimly. “Lead the way.”