Chapter 5
What the devil had just happened?
Julian stared down the path where the woman had fled, torn between respecting her wishes and his desire to chase after her and demand that she tell him who she was.
For he wanted nothing more than to see her again.
But Eastclere found him first.
“Hartford, what are you doing out here?”
Had his disguise fooled no one?
“Taking in the fresh air.”
“Was anyone else out here with you?” Eastclere demanded.
“No,” Julian said in a far more measured tone.
“Did you see anyone? A woman?”
“I did not. Is there someone in particular you are looking for, Eastclere?” he asked with arrogance.
“Yes. The woman in purple. You must have seen her inside.”
“I did,” Julian said, setting his face in an indescribable mask. “You danced with her.”
“Yes, and then she disappeared,” Eastclere said, hands on his hips as he looked around, as though she would pop out of a bush at any moment. “I heard she might have come out here.”
“Well, as you can see, she is nowhere to be found.” Julian stepped closer, eyeing Eastclere. Perhaps he could be helpful. “Who is she?”
“Devil if I know,” Eastclere said, throwing his hands in the air as he turned around to return to the house. Julian decided to follow, for it didn’t seem like there was anything else to be accomplished out here. “Also, where is Ravenscar? He has also disappeared.”
“I find that unlikely, being that he is the host,” Julian returned.
“He was dancing with his wife, and then I couldn’t find him when the set concluded.”
“Hmm,” Julian said, even though he had a very good idea just where Asher would have gone after dancing with Evelyn. “I’m sure he will return in good time. Perhaps half an hour at most. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Eastclere eyed him as they stepped back into the house. “Yes, you can show me my diamond.”
“Oh, the Paragon?”
Eastclere lifted a brow. “Is there another diamond of my possession that Ravenscar might have?”
“Not that I know,” Julian said with a shrug. “I’m sure the duke has a plan.”
Asher did have a plan. One that required locating the diamond. Julian could only hope that Eastclere’s questions were stemming from impatience and curiosity and not because he had any idea of what had happened to the diamond.
As Eastclere shot him a look from beneath his own black mask, however, Julian suddenly wondered whether Eastclere knew more than he was letting on.
“I’d like to see it while I’m here.”
“If I see His Grace, I’ll be sure to pass along the message,” Julian returned. “If you’ll excuse me, my lord.”
Julian turned around just in time to run into his brother. Of all the luck. Sandwiched by marquesses he had no wish to see.
“James! Good to see you,” he said, causing his brother’s mouth to press into a tight line.
“We are in public, Lord Julian,” his brother said sternly.
“Oh, my apologies, Lord Archer,” he said, taking great joy when his brother’s nostrils flared. “And good evening, Lady Archer.”
“Lord Julian,” Mary greeted him. She was the perfect lady, their match one that had thrilled his parents.
She’d even already produced James with an heir and a spare and a little girl as well.
Just as she was supposed to.
“Mother is looking for you,” James said.
“How lovely,” responded Julian, already looking around—but not to find her. To escape her and whatever young lady she was preparing an introduction to him.
He did see Lady Donnelly over there. She was a widow he had bedded now and again, and by the saucy look she was giving him, he was sure she would be interested once more.
But, maddeningly, he had no interest, for his mind was caught on a certain blonde, purple-clad mystery woman.
“Mary,” he said suddenly, turning to his sister-in-law, “did you see the woman in purple tonight?”
“Purple?” she frowned. “There are a few women in purple.”
“The dress shimmered in the light. She had blonde hair, worn down around her shoulders.”
Mary frowned at that. “Why would she wear it like that? Is she a child?”
She was most certainly not a child. She was more feminine than anyone he had ever seen, and if he hadn’t promised respect, he would have taken the full display of her womanhood in his hands and felt them for himself.
But he couldn’t think about that. Not in front of his brother and his sister-in-law or he might get aroused all over again.
“Ah, there’s Asher. Excuse me a moment.”
He could hear James and Mary complaining about his lack of respect for titles as he walked away, but he could care less about what they thought.
He supposed he should try to keep the man who paid for his lifestyle happy, but James always did what he was supposed to do, and he was supposed to support his younger brother.
Leaving Julian to do as he wished.
“Asher, there you are.” Julian approached Asher and Evelyn, who had just appeared down the stairs, looking far more disheveled than they had earlier. Julian was proud of himself for being right about his whereabouts. “We have a bit of a problem.”
“I wish you wouldn’t say that?” Asher muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Eastclere is asking about the diamond. He wants to see it.”
“Why?”
“I suppose because it’s his.”
“That’s a matter of perspective.”
“Right. Well, I’ve done my duty, passed on the message. Oh, Evelyn,” he said, still focused on his own mission, one that took far more priority.
“Yes?”
“Do you know who the lady in purple is?”
The grin that crossed her face told him that she knew exactly who she was. Perfect.
“I do know most of our guests,” she said, evading answering him.
“The lady with the blonde hair, who stunned half the ballroom. Who is she?” he demanded.
“Did you speak to her?”
“Yes.”
“And she chose not to reveal her identity?”
Julian realized that he had gone about this all wrong, and now he was caught.
“It didn’t come up,” he said as nonchalantly as he could.
Evelyn smirked. “If she chose not to tell you who she was, then it is not for me to share.”
“Evelyn!” he said, his mouth dropping open. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are,” she said. “But I still do not share others’ secrets.”
“Asher,” he said, looking to his friend. “Please tell Evelyn to share who this woman is.”
Asher’s eyes widened nearly to the size of his mask holes. “Do you really think that would be in my best interest?”
“Why do you want to know?” Evelyn asked, and Asher hoped she was taking pity on him.
“Because she was captivating,” he said. “I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“And if you find out she’s an innocent lady, what would you do?” Asher demanded. “You avoid them all like the plague.”
“True,” Julian said, frowning as he considered it. Yet still, he couldn’t get her out of his head. “I’m not sure. I suppose it depends on who she is.”
Evelyn snorted. “You don’t deserve to know.”
“Evelyn!” he clutched his chest. “You wound me.”
“You’ve brought it on yourself,” she said. “Now, we need to come up with how to handle Eastclere. And we need to know why he’s questioning this now.”
For his friend’s sake, Julian truly hoped that the diamond was found.
But he cared more about making sure that the history behind the diamond—specifically the secrets it had been hiding—were not uncovered. Because that could mean all the difference for his family.
Speaking of.
The appearance of the mystery woman in purple had completely distracted him from his original quest—to find and charm Lady Verity to the point that she would let him see these letters she apparently held in her possession, in order to determine if there was anything incriminating within them.
But first, he had to find her.
He hadn’t been listening to Asher and Evelyn’s conversation, and he interrupted them now.
“Evelyn, have you seen Lady Verity?”
“Verity?” she repeated, that slow smile spreading across her face, although why, he had no idea. “Why are you looking for Verity?”
“There is something I must speak to her about.”
“I have not seen Lady Verity tonight, Julian. I’m sorry,” she said, although her lips remained curled at the corners, as though she had a secret she wasn’t sharing with him.
“Well, if you do, tell her I’m looking for her, please.”
“Of course.”
“Julian, there you are!” He cringed at his mother’s voice behind him. She had found him.
He looked at Evelyn and whispered, “Tell her I’m someone else.”
“I heard that,” his mother said, and he turned around very slowly to face her, as though if he took too long, she might become impatient and leave.
She was a tall, strong woman, one that most found formidable, although Julian knew that she hid her softness, which she didn’t often show.
“Do you truly think I wouldn’t know the build of my own son? ”
He shrugged. “One can hope.”
She gestured to the women standing beside her.
“Lord Julian, I would like to introduce you to Lady Aldridge and her daughter, Lady Chastity,” his mother said as the young lady and her mother curtsied to him.
He sighed inwardly as he fixed his practiced, charming smile.
“Lady Chastity, nice to meet you,” he said, considering that the girl was barely older than eighteen, although that was the case with most debutantes. Most of the women who were closer to his age had already been spoken for or were wallflowers or bluestockings.
She was dressed in white, her matching, feathered mask making her look practically angelic.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked with some resignation. A quadrille was just starting, so at least he would have plenty of opportunity to move about the room.
“I would love to,” she said with a soft, smitten smile, and Julian’s stomach dropped, wishing his mother wouldn’t put him in this situation, for all it accomplished was to raise the hopes of young ladies who would be better off finding men who were actually interested in a potential marriage.
He led her to the middle of the dance floor, and as the reel began, he followed the practiced footsteps, but his eyes were not on his partner.
No, they were circling the room, trying to find the woman who he knew was going to haunt his dreams, until he had the ability to see her again.
Every bit of purple floating around the room caught his eye until—there.
There she was, yet again, standing on the outskirts of the dance floor, on the arm of another man. Which was a problem because that man was not him.
Damon Ashby—Lord Greymoor—was one of his closest friends. They had grown up together, but since his accident, the man rarely ever ventured out of his hideaway.
Julian visited him now and again, but despite his best efforts, Damon refused to accept any of Julian’s invitations.
Until nights like tonight, when he could wear a mask to hide both his scar and his true self.
And now he was dancing with the mystery woman.
Julian wanted nothing more than to step away from Lady Chastity and hunt down the woman he had kissed, demanding that she reveal her identity.
But he knew that to do so would not only drive her away but would also cause ruin to Lady Chastity’s reputation. His mother would also likely never speak to him again.
Although that was not the worst idea.
He would just have to chase Lady Mystery off the dance floor once again after this set finished, he decided.
Surely, she couldn’t avoid him forever.
But when the dance finished, it was like she had vanished, as all he saw was Lord Greymoor walking off the dance floor, likely back to his hiding place.
Leaving Julian bereft once again.