Chapter 2
Two
“Icannot just stand here while she sells our little sister like livestock.” Ailee paced back and forth angrily in her simple chambers as Fiona sat on the edge of her bed.
“What else can we do?” her sister asked with the same look of defeat from earlier in the day.
Glancing to the side, Ailee could feel her pulse racing from anger.
How dare she do this to us?
She thought of the smugness in her aunt’s expression when Bonnie had been ushered down the stairs in a fine dress. She grew even more irate as she thought of the fear in her sister’s eyes. “I will go to the ball and stop this madness!”
“What do you plan on doing once you are there?” Fiona’s voice was filled with concern as she chewed the inside of her cheek. She had come straight to Ailee’s chambers almost as soon as the carriage had left for the ball.
“I will improvise; perhaps I can convince the baron to marry me instead of Bonnie. I will convince him that marrying the eldest daughter is far more advantageous than marrying a younger sister,” she said, determinedly, and hurriedly looked around her chambers.
Clothes lay strewn around the once-neat room, but none of them seemed fashionable enough to wear to a ball. New dresses and the latest fashions were less of a necessity when one had to worry about a place to live.
Her mind instantly went to the bundle of old dresses that a maid had carried to Bonnie’s chambers earlier in the evening. “I’ve got it.” She snapped her fingers and brightened as she hurried from the room, gesturing for Fiona to follow.
They hurried down the hall and entered Bonnie’s even smaller chambers, where a maid was neatly packing them away.
“I need one of the dresses,” Ailee said hurriedly and took a dark green dress from the top of the pile hanging over the back of a chair.
“But miss …” the blonde maid with pale skin looked at her with wide eyes.
“There is no time to explain now. Lady Devron is expecting me, but I am late.” She instantly came up with a lie. She hated being dishonest, but time was against her, and she couldn’t have the maid stopping her or running to tell the butler.
Nodding hurriedly, the maid came forward and helped Ailee out of her simple brown dress. The green dress with puffed sleeves and capped shoulders fit like a glove, accentuating her curves and chest with a swooping neckline.
“Ailee, ye look bonnie!” Fiona breathed, stepping back just as Ailee caught sight of herself in the mirror.
Her pale skin stood out against the dark green of the satin, making her eyes more prominent. Her auburn hair fell in waves down to her waist, but she would borrow a few pins to tame it before she left.
“Aye, I can’t remember the last time I wore anything as fine as this, but there isn’t any time for sentimentality right now. Bonnie needs me.” She took a deep breath and began to pull her hair back as Fiona rushed forward to help her.
Wait for me, sister, I am on my way.
Gerard Sherwood, the Duke of Brunswick, leaned closer to the lady on the terrace as he inhaled the strong scent of her floral perfume.
“You must not be so forward, Your Grace. Someone could see us out here.” The Dowager Baroness of Stafford giggled but made no attempt to push him away.
The sounds of distant chatter coming from the ballroom did little to deter him as his lips tilted into a smirk.
“I care not if anyone sees us, my lady. Have you not already heard the rumors concerning me? I could eat you alive.” His broad frame covered hers as he placed one hand on the pillar over her head and smiled down at her.
The petite lady with blonde hair and just a touch of grey at her roots, giggled again, placing both her palms against his chest now. “You mustn’t tease me so, Your Grace. You know it hasn’t been very long since my husband passed.” She tilted her head to the side, angling her face toward his.
Growling deeply, Gerard placed his free hand on her hip.
“Yet you are back to colors already. Perhaps you are not as sad as you would like everyone to think?” His eyes swept over her yellow dress, taking in the low neckline that hid her small breasts.
He usually preferred his ladies curvier, but he wasn’t about to deny the dowager when she had started flirting with him at the start of the evening.
“Let us not talk about my late husband, Your Grace. Aren’t there more important matters for us to attend to?” Her lips came closer to his, practically begging him to kiss her when she gripped his lapels and pulled him closer.
Blowing lightly on her lips, he watched as her eyes fluttered shut. “Do you know which carriage is mine?” he asked her, smiling as her eyes shot open in confusion.
“I … I think I do, Your Grace?” She looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“It’s the large one with four horses parked near the stables.
The Brunswick family crest is on the door.
You can’t miss it. Meet me there in a few moments.
” He tilted his head to the side and blew on her neck, enjoying the light layer of bumps that spread over her skin.
He pulled back to see the look of realization spreading across the woman’s face.
“You are a very naughty man, Your Grace.” She drawled seductively, dragging the tips of her fingers across his chest as she drew her lower lip between her teeth and moved away.
Waiting for her to disappear, Gerard gave it a few seconds, checking his reflection in a polished window. His dark brown hair was still smoothed back. His deep blue eyes stared back at him for just a moment before he fixed the lapels of his jacket and stepped inside the crowded ballroom.
He managed to slip past most of the guests without attracting any attention as he made his way to the front doors.
He nodded greetings to everyone who passed him, stepping out into the crisp evening air.
He was about to head in the direction of the stables when a commotion to the side caught his attention.
“I keep telling you that I am with someone important. I have to be let in at once!” A fiery young woman in a dark green dress glared at the footman as she stood her ground. Her dress was plain and out of fashion, while her auburn hair was messily pinned to the back of her head.
“Who is this important person, madam? I cannot take your word for it unless I have a name.” The footman in blue livery answered stiffly, refusing to let her pass.
Shrugging the encounter off as someone wanting to take a chance, Gerard turned his back.
“The Duke of Brunswick!”
The words made him stop in his tracks as he pivoted to look at the woman.
She straightened her shoulders a little and lifted her chin as she glared at the footman. “Perhaps you have heard of him?”
He looked at her more closely now, noting how beautiful she was with elegant curves, soft skin, fiery hair, and just a hint of Scottish in her accent.
A spy?
His pulse suddenly began to race as he wondered if one of his enemies had sent someone to see if the rumors regarding his personal life were true.
The footman shook his head. “I am sorry, madam, but I cannot let you pass unless the Duke of Brunswick himself tells me that you are with him.”
“You can’t just …” The woman began to protest when the footman stepped closer to her.
“She’s telling the truth. She’s with me!” Gerard’s voice carried over the distance between them, making the footman stop in his tracks as his eyes widened.
“Your Grace!” The man began to bow in quick succession as he backed away. “I am sorry, Your Grace. If I had known the young woman …”
Gerard dismissed him with a flick of his hand, his eyes locking on that of the young woman who had been pretending to know him.
Something strange and hard to place flickered in her eyes. The lack of fear intrigued him while the flecks of brown in her brilliant green eyes elevated her beauty.
He closed the distance between them, waiting for a response as he held her gaze.
All of the other guests seemed to have arrived as they stood silently to the side of the entrance.
“Thank you for coming to my rescue, Your Grace. Now, if you would excuse me, I must go inside.” She lifted the hem of her slightly out-of-date dress and attempted to push past him.
His arm shot out and blocked her path as the tips of his fingers touched the outer wall of the house.
“I am afraid I cannot let you go, miss …” He searched her face, enjoying the flicker of annoyance in her eyes.
Most women swooned under his gaze, yet this one in particular didn’t seem to be affected.
Taking a step back, she glared at him. “I am afraid that I do not have time for these kinds of pleasantries, Your Grace.”
He smirked at her. “Have it your way, but I’m afraid I cannot let you wander about the ball. I let you in, so it is my responsibility to ensure that you do not ruin the occasion.” His eyes swept over her body again, landing on her full breasts as a shiver of attraction spread through his body.
Now that is how you wear a dress. It did not matter to him if the dress was a year or two out of fashion. Her body was tantalizing all the same.
His eyes lifted hungrily to the fullness of her lips.
The feistiness in her voice made him snap out of his thoughts. “I do not care about some pretentious ball, Your Grace. My mission is far greater than mere reputations and frivolity.”
“You do not seem like a lady of any kind. May I ask how a Scottish woman in England has come to know my name?” He pressed his weight into his fingertips, leaning against the wall as he crossed his boots at the ankle, further blocking her path.
Her face stiffened into a look of anger that only made him admire her more.
“I beg your pardon, Your Grace, but it is quite presumptuous of you to think that I am not a lady. Furthermore, the only reason that I know your name is that you are engaged to marry my cousin. I do not care about you or your title beyond those facts.” She narrowed her eyes, her nostrils flaring slightly.
His lips quirked upward in a smile. If she truly believed he was engaged to marry anyone, then she was ill-informed. “You are either quite brave or lacking common sense to speak to me in such a manner.” He leaned closer, feeling the heat of her stare move down his body.
“Are you usually this arrogant, Your Grace? Or is this a special side of you that you present to others when the occasion arises?” She cocked up an eyebrow, refusing to back down.
Reaching up with his free hand, he touched a loose lock of hair hanging over her shoulder and twirled it around his fingers, smirking at her despite his annoyance. “You know, in all my years as the Duke of Brunswick, I have never had anyone speak to me like this.”
“Then perhaps you should keep better company, Your Grace. I find that one’s friends can greatly improve one’s bearing.” Her lips parted slightly with a silent gasp when the back of his fingers brushed the milky skin just below her collarbone.
His lips moved closer to hers, wanting to sample the fire spurting between them. “Perhaps I should …” His words were cut short when the sound of approaching footsteps broke the spell.
“Good evening.” Gerard turned just in time to greet an earl and his wife in passing. He waited until they had entered the house before turning back to his mysterious guest, only to be met with empty space.
Where did she go?
He looked around quickly, realizing that she must have slipped inside.
Little minx.
He smiled, intrigued by her feistiness. He was about to turn toward the stables where his carriage was parked when he decided to follow the Scottish beauty instead.