A Simple Lady (24 page)

“Very well,” Elizabeth agreed with a happy sigh, unaware that the newly born confidence shining in her eyes was more intriguing than even the contrast of dark emeralds lying against her white skin. She turned from her mirror, her shoulders a little squarer than usual, her chin a bit higher. “I am ready,” she said, a tiny smile lighting her face.

* * *

Kenrick glanced into the drawing room mirror for perhaps the dozenth time while waiting to escort his wife and mother to the Elldon ball. Yes, his cravat was still perfect, his hair still in place, his jacket still unwrinkled. How he wished the ladies would hurry. He very much looked forward to spending the evening with Elizabeth. He was well aware that he had not regained her trust since his distressing behavior that morning beneath the willows at Oak Groves, despite being on his best behavior. He also feared that Gerald’s frequent visits were not helping his case. Gerald, he knew, would do him harm in any way possible.

Making a wry face at himself in the mirror, Kenrick silently cursed himself for his stupidity in refusing to allow Elizabeth to question him about Gerald. And since that morning, she had carefully avoided spending enough time alone with him to allow him an opportunity to raise the subject himself. Perhaps tonight after the ball he would go to her chamber. Not that he intended to force his attentions on a reluctant wife, of course, but perhaps he could convince her to confide in him, to tell him what Gerald had said about him. Perhaps, if he could allay her fears, they might even—

“We are ready, my dear.” Mary’s voice sounded from the doorway. Kenrick, smiling brightly, turned from his introspection to greet his mother and Elizabeth. His smile quickly faded while his breath caught in his throat as he gazed in bemusement at the vision his wife presented this evening.

Standing just inside the door, Elizabeth was gazing at him with large and luminous eyes that appeared to capture the thousands of sparkles thrown off by the Kenrick emeralds. And that necklace, the marquess could not help noting, was nestled on the whitest and most alluring bosom he had ever seen. Even as he gaped, he observed a new and somewhat formidable confidence in Elizabeth’s stance. In that instant, he understood that his wife had grown from an uncertain girl into an assured young woman, a young woman he very much hoped to impress that night. He gulped, took a deep breath, and assumed his most charming manners.

“Forgive me, lovely ladies. I should like nothing more than to serve as your escort tonight, but I have promised my wife and mother to— Oh, excuse me! You
are
my wife and mother. For a moment there, your combined beauty blinded me.”

Mary laughed. Elizabeth merely stared. Kenrick looked into Elizabeth’s eyes and lifted one eyebrow. “You question my sincerity, my dear? Very well. Only wait until we reach the duchess’s ballroom and the gentlemen begin swarming about you. Then you will see that my compliments are not empty.”

“I do not recall saying they were, my lord,” Elizabeth said solemnly. “Shall we go?”

“Certainly,” Kenrick murmured with a determinedly bright smile. What he was thinking was less jovial. He had just realized that his future happiness depended upon this adorable creature who was his wife, and he suddenly felt as unsure of his charms as a schoolboy.

* * *

She was failing miserably, Elizabeth conceded silently, in her efforts not to respond to her husband’s utterly charming smile as they waited in the receiving line on the steps leading to the Elldon’s ballroom. She smiled back while wishing those butterflies in her stomach had not suddenly and inexplicably decided to increase their fluttering to a truly frenzied pace.

“Will you please save the first waltz for me, my dear?”

Elizabeth dropped her gaze, even as she felt a blush creeping up from her throat to her cheeks. Kenrick had leaned down to whisper his request into her ear, his breath softly stirring wisps of hair around her temple and sending sparks of pure pleasure darting about on her spine.

“Very well,” she managed to say, somewhat breathlessly. She did not add that she could imagine nothing more wonderful than being twirled about the room in her husband’s arms.

“Wonderful.”

Elizabeth risked a quick glance into Kenrick’s eyes and was amazed by the tenderness she found reflected there. Bemused and uncertain, she quickly looked away.

There were, after all, many things to command her attention. Never would she have believed so many people could be crowded into a small entrance hall and onto a relatively narrow set of stairs. A few she recognized, but most were strangers—dazzling strangers, the ladies gowned in satins, crapes, silks, and muslins, while the men had turned out in their finest formal attire. Diamond stickpins glittered in numerous cravats, and intricate embroidery adorned most waistcoats. The men, Elizabeth decided, were just as beautiful as the ladies.

“Hello Aunt Mary, Elizabeth, Kenrick.”

Elizabeth could not imagine how Gerald, who had been nowhere in sight just moments before, had managed to push his way through the crowd and suddenly appear at her side. She flashed him one of her brightest smiles. After all, she could always count on Gerald treating her the same from one day to the next, unlike the gentleman at her other side who, she noted with a quick glance, was now scowling.

“Hello, dearest boy,” Mary said with a welcoming smile. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

“Quite a surprise,” Kenrick echoed. His gaze contained no hint of welcome. “I would have thought this sort of affair too tame for your taste.”

Gerald affected a deep sigh. “You malign me again, Cousin.” Then, with a rueful grin, “No, actually, that is not quite true. Ordinarily, I would avoid balls as I would the plague, but tonight I had a compelling reason to attend.” He turned to Elizabeth, admiration burning brightly in his eyes, even as he reached for her hand and clasped it tightly. “Tonight I have high hopes of soliciting your lovely wife’s hand for the first waltz so I might be the envy of every gentleman here.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened in surprise. Why was Gerald suddenly acting like the veriest flirt? She was much more accustomed to his behaving in a brotherly fashion, and his sudden change served to increase the unease she already felt. She opened her mouth to respond, but Kenrick forestalled her.

“That waltz is already taken, as well as the next. As Elizabeth’s husband, I believe I have the greater claim to enjoying her charms.”

Elizabeth could not prevent the small smile of pleasure that tilted her lips. Kenrick’s tone had been that of a jealous husband, and she was amazed to realize she could feel such delight at being the object of his possessiveness. Glancing up in an attempt to assure herself that he was serious, she bit back a gasp of dismay. Kenrick’s blistering gaze was locked onto Gerald’s, and some unspoken message was being transmitted between the two men, of that Elizabeth was certain. And, although she could not interpret their silent communication, she could feel its intensity and involuntarily shuddered.

Elizabeth’s tremor had been slight, and she was surprised when Kenrick noticed. He immediately looked down at her and smiled, banishing with obvious effort the dark anger that had filled his eyes. “Forgive me, Elizabeth,” he murmured, “but—”

Mary interrupted him. “Jeremy dear, we are impeding those behind us. Let us move on.”

There was no time for more conversation, for they had reached the entrance to the ballroom. Soon Elizabeth was too busy to worry about the silent but obviously hostile exchange between her husband and his cousin. Instead, she was being introduced to dozens of people. Between Mary and Kenrick, Elizabeth decided, there was not a single person attending this ball who was unknown to one or the other, and she soon despaired of remembering even one-tenth of the names.

Elizabeth was not sure whether to be relieved or anxious when it was time for the dancing to begin. She had never waltzed in public and to do so in her husband’s arms would be both unnerving and exhilarating. She had come to the realization that despite Gerald’s warnings, she was far from immune to her husband’s charms. The symptoms that occurred each time she was in his presence she had once attributed to unease. Of late, however, she had concluded that the dry mouth, accelerated pulse, and fluttery feeling in her stomach arose from another cause. She suspected she was falling in love with her husband and feared that path would lead only to heartache. Still, she couldn’t suppress a flicker of delightful anticipation when she envisioned being whirled about the ballroom in his arms.

“May I have this dance, my beautiful cousin?”

Elizabeth started and then blushed, suddenly aware that Gerald was standing before her, his gentle smile reflecting his fondness for her. Or was his expression merely the result of practiced charm? Elizabeth wished she were experienced enough to tell the difference.

“The first is to be a country dance or I would not dare ask,” Gerald continued, his smile now a bit self-deprecatory. “I confess to a healthy fear of jealous husbands, but Kenrick cannot claim you for every dance. It is simply not done.”

“He is correct, you know, my dear,” Mary said. “You and Jeremy must not appear to live in each other’s pockets.”

Glancing toward her husband, Elizabeth found that he had turned to his right and was conversing with a particularly beautiful brunette. “I would be pleased to dance with you, Gerald,” she said, forcing a smile as she placed her hand on his arm and allowed him to lead her into the set.

* * *

“She’s lovely, Jeremy,” Ann Vestron said, reclaiming Kenrick’s attention by tapping him lightly on the arm. Ann, now a renowned beauty, had grown up on an estate adjoining Aston Arbor and had been acquainted with Jeremy since the days when she was a pudgy little girl. She stared up into his eyes, a knowing expression in her gaze. “Unfortunately, I see that Gerald is ogling your wife with apparent devotion shining in his scheming blue eyes. Does he still covet everything that belongs to you?”

Smiling ruefully, Kenrick turned back to his former neighbor and longtime friend. “I had almost forgotten that you were always alert to Gerald’s tricks when we were youngsters, Ann. How he detested you! Does he still refer to you as ‘the chubby crow’?”

Ann threw back her head, crowned by a mass of shining black curls, and laughed merrily for several seconds. “Actually, he pretends to have forgotten me, which suits me very well.” She turned suddenly solemn. “But I have not forgotten him, nor his penchant for trying to destroy anything that belongs to you. Have a care, Jeremy.”

Kenrick looked into his friend’s serious gaze and nodded. “Thank you, Ann, for your concern. I learned long ago to guard what was mine from Gerald’s destructive grasp. And now, if you will excuse me, I must claim my wife’s hand for the first waltz of the evening.”

* * *

Elizabeth had responded with an automatic smile when Gerald thanked her for the dance that had just ended and excused himself. Her husband, she saw, was already approaching to claim his dance, his eyes bright with an emotion she could not identify. However, the smile on his face was definitely one of pleasant anticipation.

Unable to resist, Elizabeth returned his smile and stepped into his arms as the first strains of the waltz drifted across the ballroom floor. Suddenly she felt every bit as light, as carefree as the musical notes floating through the air. She forgot all of Gerald’s warnings, all of her own doubts. The only reality was the warmth of Kenrick’s hand on her waist, the inviting fragrance of his masculine scent filling her nostrils, the bewitchment of his smile taking her breath away. And the knowledge that no matter what his faults might be, she was definitely in love with her husband.

Four hours later, sitting beside Kenrick for the carriage ride home, Elizabeth could recall little of the evening beyond her two waltzes with her husband. Those had been the magical moments, the only ones worth storing up to replay in her mind.

But the present was promising to provide even more exciting memories, for Kenrick, noting that Mary had fallen into a light doze, had draped his arm around Elizabeth’s shoulder and was pulling her toward him. Suddenly he paused, for the coach had pulled to a stop in front of Kenrick House.

“What the devil?” Kenrick exclaimed, frowning as he glanced out to note that the front windows of the house were aglow with light. “There is no reason for the servants still to be up. I specifically instructed Larkman to go to bed and to leave only a single candle burning for us.”

“What to you suppose—?” Elizabeth began, her sudden unease burgeoning as she detected the terse concern in her husband’s voice.

But he had already jumped from the carriage without waiting for the steps to be let down.

Larkman had obviously been listening for their arrival. He immediately threw open the front door and hurried out onto the street. “My lord,” he said, his voice carrying clearly to Elizabeth, still seated in the carriage. “A messenger from Oak Groves arrived a few moments ago. I am sorry to inform you, my lord, but there has been more trouble at the estate. Five of the tenants’ cottages were set on fire, and one lad has been severely injured. Mr. Smithfield has asked that you come as soon as possible.”

Chapter Nineteen

Elizabeth dreamt that night that she was trapped in a circle of fire. Crimson and yellow flames towered above her, taking the shape of human forms with contorted faces and blistering tongues that flickered toward her, time and time again. She would leap back from the scorching flames and turn, only to find another tower of fire lurching toward her. When she finally awoke, her heart was pounding and her nightgown was drenched with perspiration. She flung back the covers and jumped from the bed.

Groggy and disoriented, she stood for long seconds sucking in deep breaths of the cool morning air. When her heart rate finally slowed, she noticed light beginning to filter through the curtains and she hurried to pull them back. Throwing open the window, she leaned out into the early dawn, welcoming the blast of chilly air on her face. Within seconds, however, she was shivering in her damp gown. Closing the window quietly so as not to wake others in the sleeping household, she rushed to wrap the warmth of her dressing gown about her.