Forbidden (Scandalous Sirens) (17 page)

She must remember Raymond. The comfort she wished to convince herself she would find in Vaughn was a momentary one only. The consequences of giving in to him were not worth the price, no matter how much she craved the luxury.

She had to go through this alone.

A solitary, bitter tear splattered her starched pillow.

* * * * *

Her wish that she could meld into a number of guests and effectively disappear from general notice was a fool’s hope, as she quickly discovered the next day.

Elisa sat at a table with five other women of varying ages, sipping tea, playing cards and trying to pretend they were not snubbing her. Caroline was too caught up playing hostess to give her any mind and Natasha kept watching the door, no doubt hoping to catch Vaughn the moment he walked into the manor.

How Elisa wished she could allow herself the same distraction!

As Natasha’s attention was called back to her hand yet again, Caroline smiled indulgently.

“Natasha can hardly wait to visit her aunt in London. We’re hoping Lord Vaughn will be gracious enough to escort her.”

All eyes turned to Elisa. Obviously they waited for her to express her enthusiasm at the idea.

She swallowed.

Natasha was watching her without blinking, her expression hopeful.

“Vaughn is his own man, I am afraid. He does not share his agenda with me.”

Natasha’s shoulders slumped and Caroline’s smile tightened.

Elisa couldn’t imagine Caroline being so desperate as to hand her unmarried daughter over to a young man for a five-hour ride to London without a chaperone. Obviously Natasha’s father planned on being in London to meet them…with a shotgun.

“Speak of the devil,” Lady Frederickson said in an undertone, motioning toward the door.

“Vaughn, come in, my dear.” Caroline all but purred.

Elisa’s pulse jumped and she sat up straighter, resisting the need to turn toward the door. She was morbidly aware of being monitored by the woman—were they watching her for any signs of a breakout of her rumored whorish ways? Perhaps they were afraid her evil influence would rub off on them. She had to appear totally disinterested in Vaughn.

She was mildly amused at the way most of the other women preened at his arrival.

“Good morning, ladies,” Vaughn said from the door. “Lady Winridge, you must surely have arranged this collection of beauties to satisfy my eye.”

There was subtle straightening of shoulders, unconscious patting at hair. The more timid of the women grew rosy cheeked and flustered. The card game came to a complete halt.

Vaughn stepped into Elisa’s range of vision. Her heart fluttered at his appearance. His dark morning suit outlined the broad shoulders and emphasized his trim hips. His hair was pulled back in a queue and his green eyes danced with devilment. He commanded attention—his stature and his attitude, the way he seemed to prowl about the room, intent on mischief.

All of the woman, married or not, were responding to his overtly sensual smile, brooding eyes and experienced air. It took effort to remember how young he really was, for he seemed to ooze confident charm befitting a far older man.

A cat amongst pigeons, indeed.

And it is me he wants
. The sinfully proud thought made Elisa’s heart race and something low in her belly turn slowly over, sending a warm wave of longing through her. For a brief moment, the women’s snubs and the exclusion she had experienced that morning mattered not a damn.

Until Natasha stood and went to Vaughn, a radiant smile on her face.

Elisa’s warm feelings congealed and she looked at her lap, heedless of what they might think of such a telling action.

“I would not want to interrupt your card game, Natasha. Ladies, please forgive me the intrusion,” he said.

The ladies in the group laughed and smiled, instantly forgiving him. He came closer, his footsteps sounding heavy to Elisa. Reaching for her cup with a trembling hand, she took a sip and set it back down before turning her attention to the only man in the room.

Vaughn looked right at her, his smile wide and inviting. “I am pleased to see you and Father made it, Elisa. Did you sleep well?”

He took the seat beside her, not breaking eye contact for a second.

Elisa could feel the women avidly soaking up this spectacle, storing away the details to bring out and discuss at length at a later time—perhaps to live again the thrill of observing a scandalous woman in action.

She swallowed and forced a polite, completely emotionless smile. She knew Vaughn was careless about his own reputation, but he had less to prove than she.

“Yes, I slept well. And you?” Her voice broke and she shifted in her seat, ignoring how the side of his mouth lifted just the slightest bit.

“Very well, thank you,” he replied. He turned to Caroline. “Your home is very comfortable, Lady Munroe.”

Elisa’s heart turned to ice. Vaughn had been here last evening? Where? Why had she not seen him? And…Natasha had not been at the dinner table.

She recalled the radiant smile on Natasha’s face a moment ago, when she had approached Vaughn.

A hot sickness washed through her, making her head spin and flood with a coppery taste she thought might be the flavor of disgust. She almost moaned with it. Had Vaughn been with Natasha last night? Had he found Elisa’s unwillingness to accommodate his desire finally too much for his impetuousness and moved on?

“I’m glad you’re pleased with your room,” Caroline was rattling on. “Natasha made sure everything was perfect in your quarters.” She beamed as she squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Natasha wanted you to have a view of the hillside.”

The woman were gobbling up this intimate little setting. A romance in their midst. They would dine on the details for a month.

“The heather is in bloom and ever so fragrant,” Natasha blurted, her hands folded together. The picture of complete innocence.

Vaughn finally shifted his attention to the young woman who sat on the very edge of her seat. “Thank you, sweet Natasha, for seeing to my needs so thoughtfully.”

Sighs filled the room.

Vaughn sat forward, poured himself a cup of tea and sat back.

Elisa was more than aware of the bare inches that separated them. Every eye was on him and she wondered if they thought his behavior odd. Did they wonder why he sat by her, his soon-to-be stepmother, when there was a spot beside Natasha and another across the room by Lady Farrow? Or was she just being paranoid?

He finished the drink in a few swallows, set the cup down and turned to Elisa. “Would you like to take a stroll in the gardens with me?”

Horror swept through her. Surely he would not insist she make such a spectacle of herself…?

He didn’t give her time to respond. Instead, he stood, then pulled her to her feet. He turned and bowed to the other ladies.

“Elisa has the most beautiful garden, does she not, Lady Munroe?” He turned to Caroline, who merely nodded, her disappointment obvious as she sat her cup down noisily.

“Lady Munroe has some roses the most wonderful shade of purple that I really must show Elisa. Please excuse us, ladies.”

Elisa could have melted into the ground right there and then, for rather than offering her his arm as a proper gentleman would, he kept her hand captive in his big, warm one. She did not dare look to confirm the women were all watching and remembering the shocking fact.

Elisa waited until they were outside the manor to pull her hand from his.

“Vaughn, for goodness sake…have you no decency, no sense of propriety? Are you trying to ruin me?”

He looked completely innocent. “What do you mean?”

“You interrupt our game, then you proceed to sit by me amongst those women who scarce acknowledge me, then ask me to take a walk. Holding my hand! Do you know that mere moments before you arrived they were talking about you escorting Natasha to London? I have little doubt what they must be thinking now.”

His air of innocence fell away. She saw his jaw ripple, as if he had clenched his teeth and his brow furrowed. “And what are they thinking, Elisa? That I wanted to take time to be with my future stepmother. They would object to such a simple entertainment as inspecting Lady Munroe’s ailing roses?”

The tone of his voice made her feel very small and self-absorbed. Perhaps she was being somewhat obsessive. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she once again opened them, he had taken a step closer.

“I missed you yesterday.” His voice was low.

And I you
. Elisa held back the response. His nearness, his size, the way he made her feel very small were provoking her memories of the other evening. She glanced at the thick lock of hair that had escaped from the queue. That silky lock had been caressing her flesh as his mouth roamed her body.

A shiver wracked her, sending her arms into goose bumps, even as her body tightened in response to the images.

Remember Raymond.

She did her best to look him in the eye and give nothing of her feelings away. “Vaughn, you must cease this pursuit. Especially here, amongst so many people. Rufus already knows you have less than honorable intentions. All he needs is evidence to call you out. And here, in this place…here…” She couldn’t give voice to the wretchedness she had been suffering and how much worse it would be if anyone even suspected their relationship was not what it seemed.

Vaughn’s eyes narrowed. “Elisa, hush,” he said gently.

Nervously she moistened her dry lips.

“This is something you have not come to understand about me yet, sweet Elisa. I have been playing these games with these people and others of their ilk since childhood. It is as second nature to me as riding a horse. I know exactly how much I can dare under their noses and walk away with my reputation unscathed. I know to the inch. You must trust me in this.”

She looked down at her toes.

“Elisa, look at me,” he said, his voice low. “I cannot lift your chin for myself when every biddy in that conservatory is probably glued to the window, watching us.”

His insight made her smile a little and she looked up at him as requested.

There was not a hint of amusement on his face, however. “Understand this, my precious beauty. I would sooner shoot myself through the heart than risk you or your reputation. And I will take on any man who does.”

“Then you must take on the world.”

“Willingly,” he answered without hesitation. And he did not smile.

Her heart seemed to freeze for a tiny, shocked moment. She stared at him, unable to assemble
a suitable response into words.

Then, finally, he smiled. “Come, we should start walking, or run the risk of shocking our audience.”

Elisa knew he was right. The conservatory jutted out into the garden and gave an all-round view of every path and bed. If they lingered too long in one spot or showed too much interest in each other and not enough for the beds and borders, it would be noted.

They had just stepped onto the cobblestone path when Natasha walked out onto the terrace with Elisa’s shawl draped over her arm.

“How convenient,” Elisa said under her breath.

Vaughn hissed under his breath. “No doubt her mother felt you would need your shawl, since it is the warmest day of the season.”

They both laughed and met Natasha with a smile. The younger woman’s cheeks were stained a bright pink. “Madam, my mother thought you would need this.”

How Elisa hated hearing the word madam from one so young. It made her feel ancient. “Thank you, Natasha.” She took the shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders, despite the fact she was not in the least cold. Natasha curtsied, then turned back toward the manor.

“Why don’t you be our guide?” Elisa suggested with a smile, ignoring the sidelong glance Vaughn threw her. “That is if you don’t mind…”

“I would love to!” Natasha exclaimed, with a glowing smile. The girl really was beautiful, Elisa thought with honest acknowledgement. Her skin was flawless, her features almost angelic. Truly, she and Vaughn were perfect for each other. They were equals in every way. Both young, both the offspring of the aristocracy and both with a physical beauty that bordered on breathtaking.