Forbidden (Scandalous Sirens) (33 page)

“After you, my dear,” Vaughn said, motioning toward the steps and the manor’s front door.

They began the long walk and Elisa kept her gaze firmly on the doors, not willing to test her resolve a second time by watching people’s reactions to her appearance on Vaughn’s arm.

Then they were inside and a butler was standing by while Vaughn helped her take off her cloak.

Elisa could feel tension tighten even more inside her, because until this moment, Vaughn had not seen her in the dress he had acquired for her. She had insisted upon it, hoping to give him a small pleasurable surprise here at the manor amongst what might be larger, less enjoyable shocks. Now she worried that if her appearance was not to his taste, then she would simply be adding to his burdens this evening.

She turned to face him and found Vaughn was standing quite still with her cloak in his hands. The butler had his arms raised, ready to take the cloak, but Vaughn was too busy staring at her to notice.

She smoothed the silk at her waist. “What is it? Is something wrong?” she whispered.

Then behind her, she heard a gasp, echoed swiftly by another and the run of murmured gossip that she remembered so well from times past. She had been noticed. But she spared no attention for anyone else except Vaughn.

“Vaughn? Is it…wrong?”

The ball gown was indeed fit for a queen and Elisa had been extremely nervous about wearing something so beautiful and so daring in cut and styling. The woman for whom the dress had originally been made had a wider waist and smaller breasts. Elisa had spent two days taking the waist of the gown in with delicate stitches that would not mar the beautiful golden cream silk, but she could do nothing about the shaping for the breasts. She had tried it on with the help of the innkeeper’s wife, and found that she could not possibly wear it without a corset to help hold up the almost indecently cut bodice. Her breasts now pushed against the top of the bodice, swelling against the silk. The bodice was tight, cinching in her waist and falling to a point at the front. The sleeves were giant puffs of silk, ending at her elbows with ruffles of pleated chiffon edged with satin ribbon and finished off with satin bows.

The skirt was attached to the bodice with hundreds of tiny pin-tucked pleats, which allowed the skirt to fall into a full, flattering bell shape over the top of many layers of starched petticoats, making her waist appear even smaller. Across the bodice and sweeping up the sides of the skirt in a pattern of points were delicate German lace pieces adorned with beads and bows to resemble sprays of flowers, in the same golden cream color as the silk they were attached to.

Elisa had studied her reflection in the small mirror the innkeeper’s wife had produced when she’d tried the dress on, while the woman had sighed. “Madam, with your coloring, your golden hair and your beautiful skin, you look like you are lit from within. With candlelight reflecting on you, your gentleman would be a fool if he thought there was another woman there to match your beauty.”

“Thank you, Mary,” Elisa had murmured then, a little reassured by the woman’s fulsome praise. But now she held her hand against her bodice, staring at Vaughn, for he still had not spoken. Her heart was racing.

Finally, Vaughn shook his head a little, then smiled, the smile slowly growing wider. “Elisa, you are truly stunning,” he said, handing the restless butler the forgotten cloak. Then he shocked her a little by stepping forward, sliding his hand about her waist and kissing her on the lips.

She was not the only person to feel that shock. She plainly heard the indrawn breaths and gasps about the hallway, where people were climbing up and down the sweeping stairs and were lingering at the second floor balconies and about the lower floor where the ballroom doors were. There were perhaps fifty people in the hall—all of them must have seen his kiss, to judge by the buzzing conversations starting up around them.

Vaughn stepped back, touched her lips with his finger. “Remember,” he murmured and held out his arm to escort her to the ballroom.

The ballroom was near to bursting with people. Pausing at the top of the stairs, she glanced at Vaughn. He squeezed her hand and with a smile that melted her heart, he took the first step down.

She would follow wherever he led her. The destination did not matter, nor did any challenges along the way so long as he was with her.

While Vaughn looked about for a pair of vacant straight-backed chairs, Elisa watched the crowd slowly become aware of them. It began as a pinpoint of realization, when a man quite close to them turned and recognized Vaughn, then looked at Elisa and widened his eyes almost comically.

She stared back at him calmly.
 
He turned back to his companions with a whisper. Slowly the realization rippled outwards across the room. One by one the crowd turned toward them, their faces showing their astonishment at seeing the two of them together at such a public place.

Perhaps sensing her need to turn and run, Vaughn pulled her tightly to him and whispered in her ear, “Tonight we speak our minds. Tonight we put the past behind us and start anew.”

She tried to smile at him, but knew that even this tiny intimate exchange was being noted by everyone who watched them. It would be torn apart and examined in conversation for weeks to come. Did she really let him kiss her? They spoke to each other like they had known each other for years—perhaps they have! Every little movement they made tonight would generate endless speculation and gossip.

But Vaughn’s smile did not falter and she felt her fear slip away as she stared into his eyes. The side of his mouth quirked a little. “It will all be over soon.”

Elisa turned back to face the room. She lifted her chin and forced a smile to her lips.

“Here comes Caroline,” Vaughn warned her under his breath, his hand on the back of her waist, a silent signal of support.

Caroline approached them, her fan waving furiously. “Elisa, how…interesting it is that you join us tonight.”

The thick group of guests on her left, huddled about the chairs by the ballroom entryway, tittered behind their fans and hands. Elisa felt their hate all the way to her bones.

Vaughn’s shoulder edged between her and Caroline. “Caroline, Baroness Munroe,” he said, holding out his hand so that she was forced to give her his and allow him to bow over it. “I was most flattered by your invitation to tonight’s affair. I have been looking forward to the opportunity it has presented me since I received the invitation. I must thank you for providing me this chance.”

Caroline’s eyes narrowed as she looked up at Vaughn, studying him. She did not absorb what he was saying, for her mind was fully occupied on her own concerns. “We heard that Rufus has not been well lately and we have wondered what happened to you both.”

“As you can see, we are both in excellent health,” Vaughn replied.

Elisa wondered why he was playing with Caroline when they had agreed that they would not descend to the level of petty, veiled insults that society seemed to use to keep each other in their appropriate places. Then she saw the look on Vaughn’s face, and realized he was not playing at all. His tone was flat. Blunt. There was no lingering trace of a smile on his face. No hint of poorly hidden amusement. He had truly discarded the shield of facile charm. Vaughn stood with her hand tucked firmly in his arm, defying everyone in the room simply by wielding the truth.

Pride swelled in her and she suddenly knew that Vaughn had been right: this was what they must do to preserve any sort of a life for themselves.

She lifted her chin and stared at Caroline, who was quivering with indignant anger, yet was incapable of speaking it aloud.

“Rufus has remained silent on the subject of your whereabouts, although your presence tonight affirms rumors I have heard—whispers only, that you are, that you two…” She could not finish the sentence.

“We are to be married,” Vaughn said flatly.

This time, Elisa had no difficulty hearing the collective gasp of shock emanating around the room. Truly, every pair of eyes and ears must be trained upon them by now, although the musicians continued to play, the waltz echoing horribly around the room now that no dancers moved to its beat.

Caroline’s jaw unhinged a little, her lips parting. But her eyes narrowed, glittering with repressed emotion.

“You cad!” she cried. “You are courting our daughter!” And she lifted her hand to slap Vaughn across the face.

He caught Caroline’s gloved wrist well before her hand made contact with his face, and held it in mid-air. “For any hurt I have delivered upon your daughter’s feelings, you have my apologies.”

“Perhaps you should address those apologies to me,” William said, hurrying down the steps to get to his wife. Elisa saw that he was not as angry as Caroline and his tone sounded much more reasonable. She had often noticed a bond between men that allowed more forgiveness. Vaughn nodded to William. “I initiated the courtship because I was attempting to smooth things over and maintain a peace that did not suit me. But no longer will I be a party to a mockery that covers up lies, sins and pure evil.”

“Sins in plenty, it appears,” Caroline spat.

“Evil? That’s a bit strong, isn’t it?” William said.

Caroline looked down her nose at Elisa. “Had I any idea of your past, I would never have befriended you.”

The words wounded her despite being braced for such attacks. She flinched at the fury in Caroline’s eyes. Before she could find words to respond, Vaughn remarked, “I know of a married gentleman who had a mistress. She was a beauty, a stage actress who had men vying for her attention, but she adored her lover. He agonized over his relationship with the actress and when he got her pregnant with a son, he thought he would lose everything…for his family would not accept a bastard as heir—”

“Say no more,” Caroline replied, her face as white as a sheet. Elisa realized with growing wonder that the man Vaughn referred to could only be William and that Caroline was aware of her husband’s sordid past.

“You knew!” Elisa breathed.

Caroline glanced at her and Elisa saw real pain in her face.

“And you condoned it? What of the child? Did you not think—”

“Enough!” William declared, his voice low. “This is not the place for such a discussion.”

“You chose the place, William,” Vaughn replied evenly. “And it’s high time truth was aired in these halls. Burying it has encouraged the roots of this country to rot away beneath the surface.” He looked at Caroline. “His son went to school with me. He’s a good man, though he despises his father for abandoning his mother.” Vaughn tilted his head slightly. “So you see, Lady Munroe, everyone has a secret and everyone has a past. If you can forgive your husband for the greatest betrayal of all, certainly you can forgive a friend the injustices she’s been dealt since she took Roger as a husband at the age of sixteen.”

Caroline abruptly snapped her fan shut and leveled Vaughn with a daunting stare. “You will leave my home at once,” she declared.

“With all due respect, Lady Munroe, I will leave once I have spoken with your daughter and apologize for the deception I involved her in.”

“Not while I draw breath,” Caroline declared.

“And I must also speak with Rufus,” Vaughn said as if she had not spoken at all.

“Your father is ill enough without—” Caroline began.

“He is not my father.”

This time her lips parted fully and her eyes widened and kept widening as the implications of his simple declaration made themselves clear.

But Elisa found her attention was drawn to the middle of the ballroom floor, where Natasha, the Belle of the Ball, stood surrounded by beaus, yet stared at Vaughn with a hurt, bewildered expression.

Elisa tugged on Vaughn’s arm, drawing his attention to the young woman.

She looked lovely, her dark hair piled up in curls on top of her head, making her look older. Her dress was a deep purple watermarked taffeta, which made her blue eyes darker and set off the fine, youthful skin. Altogether, Natasha was a prize and it was easy to understand why so many men were vying for her attention.

She wondered if Vaughn had any regrets.

He turned to Elisa, picked up her hand from his elbow and kissed it. “I must leave you here, Elisa. I will be but a moment,” he told her.

“I will be fine, now,” she assured him.

Vaughn stepped around William and Caroline, who seemed dazed by the rapid presentation of indigestible truths and walked over to their daughter. The men around her bristled protectively, but Natasha stepped forward, away from them and toward Vaughn.

He bowed over her hand and spoke to her quietly.

Elisa realized that the music had halted and now even the musicians were watching the drama unfolding in the middle of the ballroom with undisguised curiosity.

After a moment of looking at Vaughn steadily, Natasha finally dropped her chin and nodded. Vaughn patted her cheek as one might a child and she glanced up at him once more before he turned and headed back to where Elisa stood before Caroline and William. Elisa could see tears sparkling in her eyes, when Natasha glanced at her. But there was not enmity there. No anger.

After a moment, Natasha turned and made her way to the back entrance of the ballroom. The door there led to the service rooms and the servants staircase leading to the private rooms on the next floor. She was making her escape.