Chapter 11 #3
Jane tilted her face upward, her eyes wide, reflecting the dazzling display. “It is like the stars have fallen,” she murmured.
Emelia, quieter in her pleasure, watched everything with a thoughtful gaze, an occasional delighted laugh escaping her.
Darcy had seen fireworks before, though never in such profusion, never in such splendor.
The colors seemed richer here, the sound deeper, as though the very air held the echo of each brilliant explosion.
Another flare burst overhead and scattered sparks that lingered for a breath before fading into darkness.
Darcy laughed freely and without restraint. For a moment, she forgot herself entirely, pushing aside every caution and the ladylike composure expected in the presence of an earl.
“Come,” the earl said after several minutes of watching the brilliant fireworks. “There is more yet to see.”
“Surely not,” Sarah exclaimed, a delighted laugh escaping her. “I cannot imagine what else there could be. This is already so absolutely wonderful!”
He guided them away from the throng gathered beneath the fireworks and along a side avenue, where the sounds of applause and lively exclamations grew stronger with each step.
The path opened onto a broad clearing, ringed with lanterns, where a crowd had gathered in a loose circle.
At its center, a rope had been stretched taut between two raised platforms. A tightrope walker moved upon it with astonishing grace, his steps measured and sure, his balance so precise it seemed almost effortless.
Below, another performer leaped and turned, his movements swift and fluid, drawing cries of delight and alarm from those who watched.
Sarah clutched Darcy’s arm. “He will fall,” she whispered, though she did not look away. “How can he twist himself so and go so high? He will surely fall and break his neck!”
“He will not,” Jane replied, though her own breath caught as the man paused mid-step and dipped precariously before righting himself.
Darcy leaned forward, her attention wholly captured. When the performer swayed again, her heart leaped into her throat. “Oh!” she cried, her hand rising instinctively as though she might steady him from afar.
The crowd erupted in applause as he regained his balance on the rope and continued, undeterred.
Darcy laughed then, the sound bright and breathless.
She did not at first notice the earl watching her.
Only when the sensation settled upon her, subtle yet unmistakable, did Darcy become aware of it.
His quiet, steady attention seemed to rest upon her alone, a sensation she recognized from the provocative regard he bestowed upon Red at Aphrodite.
A most peculiar thrill brushed over her skin and set her heart racing.
She boldly turned her head and found his gaze fixed upon her.
There was something in Lord Raine’s expression she did not recognize.
It was not the cool civility he had worn throughout the evening, nor the sharp amusement she had glimpsed before.
It was more intent, as though he studied her with a purpose she could not discern.
Darcy arranged her features into what she hoped was a suitably curious expression. “You stare, my lord.”
“You possess a most arresting laugh,” he said. “I had not expected to find the sound so lovely.”
Her heart faltered. Heat rose swiftly to her cheeks, her composure slipping in a way that felt both unfamiliar and entirely disconcerting. Darcy quickly turned her gaze away, though she was keenly aware of him still.
“Do not say such things, my lord,” she murmured, striving for lightness, though her voice lacked its usual steadiness. “You will make me quite vain.”
“Would a little vanity be such a failing?”
“I was not aware that self-conceit had ever been elevated to a virtue.”
“A little vanity, properly indulged and flattered, improves a lady’s spirits and a gentleman’s evening,” he said drily, a hint of mockery in his expression.
“I daresay the ladies of your acquaintance find such indulgence most agreeable. I cannot claim the same experience.”
Boredom reshaped his indolent expression. “How singularly… tiresome. I had hoped there might be a hint of wickedness beneath all that propriety.”
He thought her priggish. Darcy could not help but wonder what he might say or think if he ever discovered she was Red, a woman who had seen him with his cock in hand, stroking himself to pleasure.
As soon as the thought formed, Darcy knew with sudden certainty that the earl must never discover her identity. The certainty settled uneasily within her. Whenever his gaze fell upon her, it felt too searching, carrying an attention that unsettled her even without suspicion.
She wondered whether he might one day hear something familiar in her speech, despite how carefully she lowered and softened her voice at the pleasure palace, or recognize Red’s mouth as Darcy’s when she smiled.
She would have to be exceedingly careful, for something within her warned that if the truth were revealed, the consequences of her deception would not be easily borne.