Once Upon A Diamond (A sweet Regency Historical Romance) Page 16

  Chapter Eleven

  Kate stood on the edge of the ballroom floor, her gold slippers tapping beneath the hem of her matching gown. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceiling while the scent of French perfume permeated the air.

  She watched in amusement as the plump, gray-haired host, Viscount Rushting, greeted his guests at the bottom of the magnificent spiraled staircase. Although Lord Rushting had buried his second wife over a year ago, Kate noted that even the most fashionable young ladies were not deterred from the challenge of seizing the rich lord for themselves.

  As dancers glided across the floor for the cotillion, Kate recalled Tristan’s heart-pounding kiss. He could not kiss her like that and have no feelings for her, could he?

  “How do I look?” Charlotte asked hesitantly. She worried her bottom lip and glanced about nervously.

  Kate patted her cousin’s gloved hand. “Edward won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”

  “That’s my plan.” Charlotte giggled as she touched her chignon that was adorned with a gathering of silver ribbons.

  “Evening, ladies.”

  Kate turned as two well-dressed gentlemen approached.

  “Lady Charlotte,” the older man greeted, showing a gap between his two front teeth.

  Charlotte smiled as she introduced Lord Douberry and Mr. Manning.

  The corner of Kate’s mouth lifted as the baron, the man with the gap between his teeth, bowed and grabbed her hand, pressing his wet lips upon her glove. She thought Douberry quite forward. There were men like this in Boston, too, and Kate knew exactly how to handle them.

  Tristan entered the ballroom, dressed in black except for a crisp white shirt that sported a matching cravat adorned with a diamond-studded pin. Edward stood beside him, wearing a royal blue jacket, looking similar except for his cravat which was decorated with a small emerald stick pin.

  Though their entrance turned the heads of many ladies, Tristan searched for Kate and heard her lovely laugh above the crowd. He shifted his gaze across the dance floor. Immediately his eyes narrowed. She looked like an angel with a golden halo of ribbons adorning her porcelain face while that devil Douberry was kissing her hand!

  “Hell and spitfire,” he hissed. “The man’s slobbering all over her.” It took all his strength to stop himself from charging through the crowd like a raving maniac when the baron pulled Kate onto the dance floor.

  Edward elbowed his brother. “Keep it down. Do you want the entire ton to hear you?”

  Tristan shot his brother a cool glare. “I do believe Lady Charlotte is dancing with Manning, is she not?"

  “Manning?” Edward’s expression darkened as he shifted his gaze across the dance floor. “And a waltz at that!”

  Manning held Lady Charlotte in a more intimate embrace than needed and was skirting the lady toward the French doors, away from the crowd. Tristan could sympathize with the madness that swept through his brother when he detected Manning’s gaze roaming over other parts of Charlotte’s creamy white skin.

  “The cad has always had an eye for her,” Edward snapped. “Zeus. The loathsome snake. And look at his wandering hands.”

  “Snakes don’t have hands little brother,” Tristan snorted. “Not the last time I looked.”

  He grinned at Edward’s intent expression, almost forgetting about Kate, the diamond, and the baron. “Get a hold of yourself, man. Don’t make a fool of yourself.”

  “Me?” Edward grunted, curling his fingers into his palms. “Look at Charlotte.”

  “Oh, I’m looking.” Tristan still had his gaze attached to Kate and the baron.

  Edward watched Kate and the baron. “And you aren’t making a fool of yourself?”

  He turned his gaze back to Tristan, then abruptly lifted an amused brow. “I’ll be leaving you, because if my eyes do not deceive me, Lady Helen is coming your way, looking like a French cannon ready to fire.”

  Tristan’s face fell as he spun around. Thunderation. The slippery chit had cornered him again. He was not able to move a muscle except for the sickening curve of his lips. He cursed himself a thousand times for not skirting the line of fire. His eyes stared dead ahead at the batting eyelashes and fluttering fan directed his way.

  “Lord Lancewood, so wonderful to see you again.”

  As soon as Kate finished the dance with Lord Douberry, her heart dropped to the floor when she found Tristan standing arm and arm with Lady Helen. The lady’s hold on Tristan’s arm seemed very secure and very permanent.

  Kate’s cheeks burned with humiliation. So she had been played the fool. The kiss had meant nothing to him. The rake!

  She darted across the room to find Devin, but she stopped in mid-stride when she overheard an interesting conversation between two ladies in the crowd. She turned her ear, recalling meeting Louise Douberry and Alice Nelson in Hyde Park one day.

  The baron’s wife flipped her Oriental fan about her face, while her other hand held a delicate china cup that seemed to give off a pungent odor smelling very much like whiskey.

  “Gracious, Alice, I do believe Lady Helen has set her cap for Lancewood this Season. She’s bound and determined to marry him. Tell me if I’m not right. Her father’s up the river tick, he is.”

  Alice, her green turban slipping slightly forward, stood on tiptoes and peered across the room. “Ah yes, I can see them. She’s hanging on the man. His lordship wooed her last Season, you know. Of Course, that was when he wasn’t searching for that stupid diamond.”

  “Diamond’s cursed,” Louise Douberry replied. “Don’t you–” she hiccupped, “recall the circumstances of the late earl’s death? He died while searching for the gem. No one knows how the diamond disappeared. Still a mystery. That quest left the family fending for themselves for at least a decade. Some say he was crazy. And now the son is turning out the same way.”

  Alice giggled. “Lady Helen will have her hands full with that one. He’s a handsome devil. Those ebony locks are perfect for a woman’s hands. And he looks as strong as an ox. But I do hear he has a wretched temper.”

  “Do tell?” Louise commented. “Did you ever peer into those roguish green eyes of his? Something about them sends chills down my spine. Comely, and at the same time, dangerous. Lady Benson told me the earl never plans to marry. It looks as if the title will eventually fall to his brother’s son. If there ever is one."

  Kate’s throat thickened with emotion and she sank against the wall behind her. Never marry? What a sap she had been.

  Alice choked on a laugh. “Easy on the eyes though. If I were an unattached female, I wouldn't mind sharing his title and wealth and his, well, his attentions.” She giggled again. “Actually, as an attached female, I still wouldn’t mind. But then, he could be gone for as long as he wanted searching for that stupid gem of his, and I’d be content to spend his coin.”

  Louise frowned. “Detests his mother, you know.”

  Alice clapped her fan shut. “Dreadful, child. Does he ever see the poor thing? There are things I know about her that would turn your head.”

  “Oh, Alice, don’t exaggerate. But Lancewood must see her. Lady lives with him. Good heavens, look at that.” Louise Douberry raised her head and lowered her fan for a better view. “It’s her. Out of mourning already? Although I believe her husband was dead a good time before they heard the news. I suppose the family is using that as an excuse. Though I must say, not quite the thing.”

  “As long as her husband was on that obsessive quest, the countess has been in mourning for ten years anyway. Don’t think anyone’s going to put up a fuss. But a yellow plume? Going a bit too far, don’t you know. It don’t go with that blue she’s wearing. But then with her problems, I can’t blame her. Heard she has quite a bundle of vices...”

  Curious, Kate stood on her tiptoes to peer across the crowd. Standing beside Tristan’s brother and Charlotte, she caught sight of an older woman, garbed in a pale blue gown, her dark brown hair accented with a yellow plume.

  It was c
lear that the lady’s glum face could very well have depicted a life that had included a husband who ignored her, while he gallivanted around the world looking for a dumb diamond. And there was Tristan still attached to Lady Helen.

  Jealousy burned through Kate like a fiery sword.

  “Katherine, may I have this dance?”

  Kate turned to see Devin standing beside her. He was dressed in a dark jacket and matching breeches. He looked so wonderfully handsome, but all she felt for him was a brotherly affection. “I’d be delighted. A waltz?”

  She put out her hand, relieved to be rescued.

  Devin caught Tristan’s scowl and glanced down at her. “I do believe we have offended that green-eyed gentleman. I can feel his deadly gaze upon us at this very moment.”

  Kate pretended not to hear him and stared at the floor as they danced. She’d hoped she’d be spending a wonderful time at her first ball in England, but things were not going the way she’d planned. Though Aunt Georgiana had introduced her to many nice gentlemen, the evening seemed to be taking one disastrous turn after another. And Lady Helen irked Kate to no end.

  Looking up at Devin, she squeezed out a false smile. “What a wonderful ball.”

  “Don’t change the subject, my dear. You’re made of sterner stuff. I should know. And you don’t have to feel obliged to dance with Tristan. I’ll stand beside you.”

  “It’s best to get it over with, I suppose. I have no wish to make a scene."

  Devin smiled at her, as if knowing he had lost the race. “You do know that’s a facade. Tristan’s had a hard life. No one in his family showed him any love except Edward. Tristan wasn’t as fortunate as you and me to have had caring parents.”

  “I didn’t know.” Kate knew how blessed she was to have had loving parents. She could not imagine how her life would have been without her family. And she still had Matthew.

  Devin tilted his head toward Tristan. “That gentleman glowering at us has had to fight for almost everything he’s had in life. I can only suppose that’s the reason he still searches for that diamond.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard about the quest. But it seems rather odd.”

  “Well, I’m not in his shoes, so I can’t judge him. Tristan’s been my friend since childhood. I love him like a brother. I think in searching for the diamond, he feels he would eventually win both his mother’s love and his father’s respect in the process, even though the man is dead. But I fear it will never be. You can’t buy love, can you, Katherine?”

  Kate returned his knowing gaze. “No, not with me.”

  “I can wait,” Devin said, his eyes filling with concern. “Remember, I’m always here.”

  “Thank you. But I do love you, you know.” She squeezed his arm as he ushered her toward Tristan.

  He laughed. “Yes, I know, in a brotherly sort of way.”

  “I gather this is your dance,” Devin said, delivering Kate to Tristan’s side. “Lady Helen, may I?”

  Lady Helen had barely squeaked out a nod, when Devin directed her toward the dance floor.

  Kate cast a wary gaze toward Tristan’s chest, not able to look him in the eye. She was so mad she could spit. “Good evening, Lord Lancewood.”

  “Good evening, Miss Wilcox.” He paused and leaned toward her. “Kate,” he said in a husky voice that sent shivers down her arm. “This is our dance, I believe.”

  And before she knew what was happening, he had whisked her onto the dance floor, pressing her into another waltz.

  “I believe the viscount makes half of his dances waltzes,” Tristan said, smiling. “Makes his wooing for another wife much more palatable.”

  “It would seem, my lord.”

  Tristan pursed his lips, knowing he was going to set off a stream of gossip holding his partner so close, but he didn’t care. The lady would be his wife as soon as possible. “I had no idea you were going to address me so formally after our cozy outing yesterday," he said coolly.

  Kate peered up at him, her delicate brows arching.

  Tristan blew out a tired breath. “I know what you thought. You thought that Lady Helen and I were attached in some way."

  She drew back. “Why, yes. Attached is a good word for it."

  Tristan chuckled as he studied the fiery creature in his arms. Her skin was as smooth as silk. Her eyes were blazing with jealousy. Her lips were as sweet as honey. Her naive perception of the world worried him. Her unlady-like independence intrigued him. Her golden hair drove him mad. And her unbelievable courage attracted him the most.

  She had tried to save his life back at the inn, and she had also stood up to him. Not many men had the backbone to go against the Earl of Lancewood, but she had done it without any hesitation.

  “If you keep staring at me, Lord Lancewood, the entire dance floor will begin buzzing like bees."

  “Why, sweetheart, they may think I’m smitten with you.”

  Her cheeks turned an adoring red. “They may believe more than that!"

  “I look at it differently. You see, if everyone knows my intentions, then no man in his right mind will call on you.” He watched in amusement as her nose went up.

  “And pray tell, what are your intentions?"

  “Oh, I intend to marry you before the Season is over?” He swept her around the room, leaving her breathless.

  She pulled back, aghast. “I hardly know you."

  He leaned his chin toward the side of her head and brushed his lips across her ear. “You know me well enough to have been with me at an inn.”

  “But I will not hold you to that.”

  “Ah, but I’m an honorable man. If you’ve forgotten, I spent the entire night with you."

  “You don't have to marry me because of that,” she snapped, trying to keep her voice low. “You wouldn’t tell anyone about the inn, would you?"

  “I would, and I did. My brother and Devin know all about it. That’s why I was plowed in the jaw before our little shopping excursion.” He moved his jaw back and forth to show that it still hurt.

  She chuckled. “Oh, my. Devin?”

  “Yes, Devin.” He smiled at the gleam in her doe brown eyes. “So, you see, dear lady, my intentions are only honorable."

  “But you don’t love me.”

  “True,” he said without hesitation. “Yet I enjoy your company and know that you are not like the rest of the flighty women in the ton. Love has nothing to do with marriage. Especially our marriage. We complement each other perfectly. I would give you all that you asked for. And all in all, you would give me an heir to my title," he admitted freely.

  And a wonderful life, he thought, but didn’t say it.

  He felt her stiffen. “You shall have to try harder than that to woo me to be your wife. I want a man who loves me, not someone who only enjoys my company and wants an heir."

  The music stopped. She moved to leave, but Tristan held her, noting the hurt in her eyes. “You surprise me, Kate. However, by the end of the Season, we shall be man and wife.”

  It wasn’t a command; it was a fact.

  Kate avoided Tristan’s satisfied expression as she let him lead her through the French doors, away from the crowd. He would never love her, but wanted to marry her? Her stomach clenched at the thought of his indifference to love. Marriage to him was what marriage was to many others in the ton, one of convenience.

  They might complement each other, but to him, love wasn’t a part of marriage?

  Though her heart ached for his love, she realized he had locked that door to his heart long ago. She would not let her emotions get the best of her, not with a man who didn’t love her.

  She lifted her gaze, wanting to tell him she could never marry him. He would break her heart. But the second their eyes locked, she knew she would lose the fight. His smoldering grin speared her very soul. Alarmed at the effect this man had on her, she took a step back to leave. “I have to return to the ball.”

  “Ah, sweetheart,” he whispered, moving forward, his hands wrapping possessiv
ely around her waist. “Don’t leave me now.”

  Anticipation skittered along her skin as his fingers pressed against the hollow of her back. Kate hesitated. Devin’s words came back to haunt her. No one in his family showed him any love except Edward...wasn’t as fortunate as you and me to have had caring parents.

  Tristan needed her. She couldn’t dismiss her feelings for him any longer. She loved him. It wasn’t just his sweet kisses and handsome face. Somewhere there was a closed heart ready to be opened, if only he would let her, she could love him forever.

  “Kate, say you’ll marry me, sweetheart.” His words were smothered with a kiss. The velvety warmth of his lips was like sweet nectar, luring her in like a fly to sugar.

  She wanted to marry him. Wanted to say yes. But a small voice kept tugging at her conscience. He didn’t love her. He couldn’t love her. He wouldn’t love her. He would never love her. He loved that stupid diamond. Lifting her head, she pushed him away, hot color flooding her cheeks. “We have to go inside. People will talk.”

  He dropped his gaze, his strong hands holding her loosely about her hips. “Let them talk.” He smiled, dragging her toward him once again and lifting her off her feet.

  He trailed a whispering kiss down her ear.

  She shivered, not from cold, but from the passion lurking behind his words. Yet no matter how she tried to reason it out, she knew he didn’t love her. Her heart wept in pain. Oh, Tristan, how could you do this to me? She rested her face in his cravat. “I can’t marry you.”

  “Can’t is different than won’t, sweetheart.”

  Hiding her pain, she slowly pushed herself away from him. Again. “Aunt Georgiana will be looking for me. I have to return.”

  Masking her tears, she watched as his face broke into a contented grin. She moved back through the open doorway. She would teach him how to love. She could teach him. Couldn’t she?

  Frowning, she turned to her left and the hair on the nape of her neck stood on end. Someone was watching her. She whirled around, her face lighting up in relief.