Dancing at Midnight (37 page)

John shot her a look which said he didn't want to hear it.

"Look at it this way," Belle continued, fixing her skirts so they

wouldn't wrinkle as she sat down on the bed. "My parents are

still getting to know you. They'll be suspicious if we refuse to be seen

in public together. You don't want to be at odds with

your in-laws for the rest of your life, do you?"

"I don't want to be dead, either."

"That isn't even remotely funny, John. I wish you wouldn't joke about it."

John abandoned his cravat for a moment and turned around so that he

could look his wife in the eye. "I'm not joking, Belle.

It's going to be a madhouse tonight. I have no idea how I'm going to

keep either one of us safe."

Belle bit her lip. "Alex and Dunford will be there. I'm sure they'll be

a tremendous help."

"I'm sure they will. But that doesn't guarantee our safety. I don't see

why you didn't just tell your parents the truth."

"Oh, /that /would make a good impression," Belle said sarcastically.

"They'll just love you once they find out you've put my life

in danger." At John's scowl, she added, "Inadvertently, of course."

John finally gave up trying to arrange his cravat and yelled out,

"Wheatley!" Then he turned to Belle and said quickly,

"I value our lives more highly than your parents' opinions, and you'd do

well to remember that."

"John, I really think we'll be fine as long as we stay near Alex and

Dunford. Maybe we'll even have a chance to trap—oh,

hello Wheatley. His lordship seems to be having a bit of trouble with

his cravat. I'm afraid his foul mood has drained the

dexterity from his fingers. Do you suppose you could aid him in this

endeavor?"

John's countenance turned quite black.

Belle returned his scowl with a bright smile and stood up. "I'm going to

see if the carriage is ready."

"You do that."

Belle turned to the door and took a step forward.

John sucked in his breath. "Good God, woman, what are you wearing? Or

rather, what aren't you wearing?"

Belle smiled. She had donned the midnight blue velvet gown she had

bought a few weeks earlier when she was plotting to

seduce him. "Don't you like it?" she asked, keeping her back to him so

that he couldn't see her grin.

That was a mistake, for the dress had no back, or at least very little

of one. "It's indecent," John spat out.

"It is not," Belle said, unable to work her voice into a properly

protesting tone. "Lots of women wear gowns like this. Some

even wear light fabric and then damp it to make it transparent."

"I will not have other men looking at your back. And that is final!"

Belle decided she didn't half mind his possessiveness. "Well, if you put

it that way..." She darted from the room and made

her way to her own chamber, where Mary was waiting with another freshly

pressed gown. Belle had had a feeling she'd be changing her attire. But

she had accomplished her goal. She'd gotten John's mind off of Spencer

for a few minutes at least.

After changing, she headed downstairs, arriving just as the front door

opened to admit Alex, Emma, Dunford, and Persephone. The quartet was

chattering very loudly.

"What are you doing here?" Belle asked.

Emma looked behind her to ascertain that the front door was still open

and yelled, "WE'RE TAKING YOU TO THE BALL TONIGHT!"

"You are?"

"OH YES!"

"But why?"

Emma saw that the butler was about to close the door. "Don't shut that

yet," she hissed before turning to Belle and replying, "BECAUSE YOU

ASKED US TO!"

"Oh, of course. How silly of me."

Lady Worth wandered into the hall. "What on earth is all the commotion?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," Persephone muttered, shooting an odd look

at Emma.

"WE'RE TAKING BELLE AND JOHN TO THE BALL!" Emma bellowed.

"Fine. Be my guest, just stop shouting about it."

Alex shut the door quickly and said, "I've been urging her to get her

ears checked. She's been doing this for three days."

Emma took Belle aside and whispered, "I just wanted to let our, er,

enemy know that you're riding in our carriage tonight."

"So I gathered."

"He won't try anything with all of us in the carriage."

"He could always cut an axle or something like that. Then we'd all be in

trouble."

"I don't think so. Too much of a chance that John wouldn't be the one to

get hurt. He'll wait until later."

"What are you two whispering about?" Caroline demanded. "And what

happened to your earache, Emma? I thought you could only shout. Come

over here where it's lighter. I want to look in them myself. They

probably just need a good cleaning."

Emma grimaced but allowed herself to be led off to the next room.

"I think I'll follow along," Persephone said. "She's been acting

curiously all evening."

"Thank you," Belle said as soon as her mother was out of earshot.

"Don't mention it," Alex replied with a wave of his hand. "Although

we've been having a devil of a time keeping all this from Persephone."

"She's very bright."

"So I'm learning."

"She's not going to let you pack her off to Yorkshire after having so

much fun in London."

Alex shrugged his shoulders before turning to more pressing matters.

"Where is your husband?"

"Upstairs scowling."

"Trouble in paradise?" Dunford asked with a quirky grin.

"Don't even think of taking joy in my distress, you wretch."

"Consider it a compliment. Nobody else's distress causes me nearly as

much joy."

"I thrill for you, Dunford." She turned back to Alex. "He's a little

irritated at having to go tonight. He doesn't think it's safe."

"It's not. But you can't remain a prisoner here forever. The Tumbley

bash is probably the safest outing we could arrange. If Spencer tries

anything we'll have a hundred witnesses. It will be easy to put him away."

"I tried to explain that to him, but he wouldn't listen. I think he's

worried about me."

Alex smiled. "Husbands are supposed to worry about their wives. It's a

lesson I learned very quickly. There's nothing you

can do about it besides refrain from excessively stupid behavior, of

course. Now, when do you think he'll be down? We really should be on our

way."

"Any minute now, I should think."

As if on cue, John appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Oh good, there you are," Belle called out.

"Don't look so damned cheerful."

Belle offered her companions an apologetic look to try to make up for

her husband's surliness. The two men looked heartily amused, and so

Belle simply shook her head and waited for John to join them. Stairs

always slowed him down. Once he

reached the bottom, however, he moved across the hall with surprising

swiftness.

"Ashbourne. Dunford." He greeted his guests with a quick nod.

"We thought it might be safer for you to come with us tonight," Dunford

said.

"Good idea. Where's Emma? Isn't she coming?"

"She's off getting her ears checked," Belle replied.

"What?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm sure it is," he drawled.

Belle grabbed his hand and gave it a firm yank, pulling him to her side.

"I'm getting tired of your attitude, John."

"Don't expect me to be pleasant for at least a week," he hissed. "You

know how I feel about this."

Belle clamped her mouth shut into a resolute line and turned back to

Alex and Dunford. Alex was looking up at the ceiling

and whistling to himself. Dunford was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, shut up," she finally said.

"I didn't say a thing!" This came from both Dunford and John.

"Men. I'm sick of the lot of you. Emma! Emma! I need you! Now!"

Emma came tearing out into the hall with amazing speed. "So sorry, Aunt

Caroline!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Belle needs me." She didn't

stop moving until she nearly barreled into Belle's side. "Thank the good

Lord and you, too, Belle. I thought she

was going to kill me."

"Shall we be off?" Alex said smoothly. "Where is Persephone?"

"She decided to ride with Aunt Caroline and Uncle Henry," Emma replied,

taking her cousin's arm and leaving the men to fend

for themselves. "She poured something hideous down my ears," she

whispered. "Said they were filthy."

Belle smiled and shook her head. "She was just funning you. She hates it

when people keep secrets from her."

Emma allowed Alex to help her up into the carriage. "Lady Worth could

make Napoleon cry."

That comment elicited a loud grunt of agreement from John.

Belle shot him an irritated glance as she sat down next to Emma. John

slouched into the seat across from them, but Belle was

not fooled by his lazy posture. She could tell that every inch of him

was on alert, ready to spring into action should it be necessary. John's

vigilant attitude seeped into Alex and Dunford, and they, too, kept one

eye on the doors and the other on the ladies.

Belle tried to avoid looking at the men; they were making her nervous,

and despite the brave front she had put up for John, she was a little

apprehensive about the evening. Luckily, Emma kept up a constant stream

of conversation, and they chatted companionably as they rolled toward

their destination.

"And the morning sickness is gone completely," Emma was saying. "At

least I hope ifs gone. I haven't felt ill for a week."

"Thaf s good. Have you started to show?" Belle kept her voice low. The

conversation really wasn't suitable for mixed company.

"A little, but these styles hide it quite well. And of course one can't

see anything under this cloak, but—What on earth!"

The carriage lurched drunkenly to the right.

John was on top of Belle within seconds, moving instinctively to shield

her from harm. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice urgent.

"I'm fine. I'm fine, just—Oh!"

They teetered a bit and then tottered to the left.

"What the hell is going on?" Alex demanded, moving from his position in

front of Emma to the window.

"Alex, don't!" Emma cried out. "If we tip over, you'll be crushed!"

Alex reluctantly drew back inside. It didn't feel as if they were in

extreme danger. The carriage was rocking and tipping, but in a manner

which could almost be described as gentle. Finally, as if heaving a

great sigh of relief, the carriage let out a loud creak

and then fell toward the left, settling down at a slant that sent

everyone tumbling toward the wall.

When it finally became apparent that they weren't moving anywhere else,

Belle sent up a silent prayer of thanks that she had ended up at the top

of the pile and set about unwrapping her arm from Alex's neck. "It

appears," she said, crawling to the

window, "that we've settled against a tree. That's why we haven't tipped

completely over."

"Ouch!" Emma groaned. "You've bloody sharp knees, Belle. Watch where

you're going."

"So sorry. It is rather close in here. Is everyone all right?" She

looked beneath her. "Where's Dunford?"

"Mmmph grhrsmp."

Belle's eyes widened. Underneath all four of them? That couldn't be

comfortable. "I, er, I'll get off right away. I think we're

going to have to go out the top door. If we open this one, we'll all

tumble out and hit our heads." She looked back out the window.

"Actually, I don't think the door will even open wide enough to let us

out. The tree's blocking the way."

"Just do it, Belle," Alex ground out.

"John, are you all right? You haven't said anything."

"I'm fine, Belle, just a trifle uncomfortable. There are three people

above me."

"Brmmph thmgish/' came Dunford's elegant retort.

Belle glanced down nervously at the tangled pile of angry bodies and

crawled in the other direction, ignoring Emma's frequent grunts of pain

and outrage. Her skirts kept tangling around her, so she finally gave up

all pretense of modesty and hitched them

up past her knees, inching her way up the slanted carriage seat until

she could grasp the door handle.

"I've almost got it—there! Now if I can just swing the door out..."

Belle turned the handle and gave the door a shove. But

gravity was working against her and winning. Every time, the door swung

back at her. "I'm terribly sorry, but I need better leverage. I'm going

to have to stand."

She moved off the carriage seat and set her right foot down on the

nearest object, which happened to be Alex's head. Emma

let out a little giggle, which caused Belle to turn back. "Is something

wrong?"

"Nothing." This came from Alex, in a tone that clearly said, "Get back

to work."

Belle turned the handle again and pushed the door with all her might.

This time, it passed the critical point and swung open.

She let out a little cheer and scrambled back up the carriage seat so

that she could poke her head out the opening.

"Oh, hello, Bottomley," she chirped, recognizing Alex and Emma's driver.

"What's going on?"

"Wheel came right off, milady. Got no idea what happened."