Sign of the Throne: Book One in the Solas Beir Trilogy (22 page)

The woman smiled. Her gaze was venomous.

Abby smiled back weakly. Yep, she was the jungle rodent all right. Jungle rodent toast. Completely lost for words, Abby looked away, her eyes finding David on the dance floor.

“You won’t win, you know.”

Abby turned back around. “Excuse me?”

Moira’s eyes grew dark, darker than Abby would have imagined possible. “He is already spoken for.” She nodded toward the beautiful pale-haired girl. “In a few days’ time, he will move to London with Amelia. It’s only a matter of time before they announce their engagement. So you see, my dear, you are wasting your time.” Moira smiled cruelly.

There was something about Moira’s eyes and the dripping, sweet poison in the woman’s tone that terrified Abby. Fear washed over her in a nauseating wave, disabling her mind, paralyzing her body. She had always suspected that Moira hated her, but she never thought there would be a confrontation like this.

The suddenness of the conversation and the potency of the woman’s hatred made Abby feel weak, like she was traveling down a dark, closing tunnel; she felt like she was about to faint. The music in the ballroom sounded far away. Abby could see little black dots appearing in front of her eyes, and she felt her guts clench up. She was going to be sick. Holding her stomach, Abby stumbled to her feet, her ankles buckling inward on her high heels, her thigh bumping the side of her chair and scooting it backward as she struggled to maintain her balance. “Excuse me,” she managed. “I need some air.”

When Abby escaped from the ballroom into the cool night air, the sick twisting in her stomach dissipated, and the spots cleared from her vision. She could hear again, and the sound of the waves on the beach below the ballroom’s flagstone patio was soothing, allowing her to slow her breathing and take in a deep drink of oxygen from the moist autumn air. She felt better, albeit a little astounded that the hatred of an old woman could produce such a physically draining effect.

One other time in her life, Abby had been caught off guard like this. She remembered her fifth grade teacher, a cranky crone with the temperament of a troll, screaming full tilt at her the one time she got caught not paying attention in class. Nasty banshee. The woman’s disciplinary method was arguably effective, however, because Abby was attentive in class from that point on.

That incident had made an impression, no doubt, but it was nothing compared to this. This was a complete emotional unraveling.

Abby walked across the patio and down the stone steps to the beach, thinking about what had happened with Moira and all the things she could have—should have—said. She started to get annoyed with herself. How could she have come undone so easily? Outside in the night air, it seemed pretty ridiculous.

As the song ended, David took his mother’s arm, escorting her back to the table. She was still beaming when he turned to leave.

“Where are you off to?” she asked, absently sipping her wine.

“I’m going to talk with Abby,” David replied.

“Who?”

“Abby Brown, Mother,” he said. “You met her several weeks ago. She was with Cassandra.”

“Oh. I did? Well, don’t stay away too long. The wolves are at the door.” Margaret Corbin tilted her wineglass toward the league of young men hovering around Amelia, who looked quite flattered by the attention.

David nodded. “So I see.”

He walked over to the Buchan table, surprised to find it empty except for Moira. “Hi, Aunt Moira. Have you seen Abby?”

“Hello, dearest,” Moira smiled. “Last I saw that young lady, she was dancing with her boyfriend.”

David chose to ignore that last part. “Are you sure? I could have sworn I saw her sitting here with you.”

“No, I’m afraid you are mistaken,” Moira said. “Why aren’t you dancing with Amelia? It’s rude to leave her alone.”

“I think Amelia is doing just fine on her own. She has plenty of people to keep her amused,” David said.

“Obviously,” Moira said. “What do you expect when you’re
still
chasing after that other girl? We talked about this, David. You need to remember who you are and all that your family has done for you before you go throwing it all away.”

David frowned. “I’m not throwing it all away.”

“Oh, but you are. You just won’t listen to reason, will you? And don’t you think it’s cruel to lead a young woman on when you’re about to leave the country with someone else? It’s not fair to her or Amelia. Really, David, I would have thought better of you.”

David felt anger blaze in his chest. He spoke slowly, in an effort to contain it. “Aunt Moira, I don’t know how to make this any clearer to you. I may be going to London, but I have absolutely no intention of being with Amelia.
It is not going to happen.
This conversation is over.” He walked away.

Moira’s mouth dropped open as David turned to leave, a storm raging in his pale blue eyes. David had never,
ever,
spoken like that. Not to her
.
It was that girl—she’d ignited a tiny spark that had somehow caught fire, and now look what had happened. Moira was going to have to manage the situation and quickly, before David did something foolish. She would get him back on track for his own good.

Abby sat on the stone steps and unbuckled the silver ankle straps of her peacock
blue satin shoes, sliding them off her feet and placing them beside her. The full skirt of her ball gown billowed around her, the hem grazing the sand, which soothed her bare feet. Abby wiggled her toes around, creating two shallow troughs, enjoying the cool feel of the sand against her skin.

A full moon illuminated the beach, casting a long beam of light across the water. In the moonlight, Abby could see small mounds of washed-up kelp littering the shore. Tiny crabs ducked and skittered under the cover of darkness from each pile of seaweed, avoiding the predatory shore birds patrolling the wet sand. A cool breeze caressed Abby’s bare shoulders, carrying away the last of her anxiety about the confrontation in the ballroom. The brightness of the moon was momentarily veiled by thin clouds caught by the wind. In the darkness, she could see faint flashes of pale green light in the crests of the breaking waves—blooming, bioluminescent algae glowing, agitated by the motion of the water.

“Is that seat taken?” a deep voice asked, interrupting her reverie. Abby looked up to see David coming down the steps above her, gesturing to the empty spot beside her. He was breathtakingly handsome in his tailored suit, his blue eyes as intense as ever, even in the dim moonlight.

“All yours,” she managed. It really wasn’t fair that he looked
that
good. How could she possibly hold an intelligent conversation with him when he looked like that? He sat down lightly beside her, with a grace that seemed at odds with his build.

“Beautiful night,” David said, smiling.

Abby returned his smile. “A perfect autumn night. Like there’s magic in the air.”

He raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Magic?”

Abby groaned inwardly.
Cheesy. That was so cheesy.
“Well, you know,” she laughed.

David had mercy on her. “It
is
magical,” he said. “This is one of my favorite places in the whole world. I used to come down here all the time before I left for school.”

They sat in silence for a moment, mesmerized by the peaceful, constant motion of the waves.

“So…” he began, as if searching for something to say. “Are you enjoying the Autumn Ball?”

Abby decided it was best not to mention the conversation with Moira. “Very much so. The inn looks beautiful tonight. It’s quite a party,” she replied.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

“Who,
Jon
?” Abby asked, surprised at the abruptness of his question. What was that in his voice? It couldn’t be jealousy. Could it? “Oh, I thought you knew—he’s not my boyfriend—just a good friend,” she said. “He
is
my date tonight, but he’s more like a brother. He’s actually interested in someone else, and I’m fine with that. Totally cool with that.”

“Aha.” David leaned back against the stone steps, seemingly satisfied by her answer.

Abby wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. “What about you? Where’s
your
date?” she asked.

David shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat, and then laughed. “Turnabout’s fair p
lay, I suppose. Amelia is…hmmm…you know, I don’t actually know where Amelia is at the moment.”

“She’s very beautiful,” Abby said.

David nodded. “She is. A fact not lost on the legions of young men vying for her attention. Last I saw her, she was surrounded by them, so I thought I’d take a walk.”

“Oh.” Abby didn’t know what to say.

He shrugged. “It’s fine, really. I invited her to satisfy my parents. Amelia is the daughter of one of my dad’s English business partners, a longtime friend of the family. Our parents have always seemed to think we’d make a good match, but neither of us agrees. We tried dating, but decided we’re better off as friends.”

“I’m sorry. Sounds awkward,” Abby said, placing her hand on top of his in sympathy. “So the other day at the Buchans’—that’s what Moira’s lecture was about?”

“I’m afraid so,” David said. He looked down at Abby’s hand on his and then turned toward her, taking her hand in his strong ones, placing her palm against his and holding it up as though he was studying how they fit together. Her hand was smaller and more slender than his, but it fit perfectly.

Abby watched him, fascinated. She didn’t dare speak, worried that if she said a wo
rd, he would stop touching her.

He looked up from their inter
twined hands and into her eyes.

Abby smiled.

David returned her smile and then shook his head. “What was I saying? Oh yeah, Moira’s lecture. Sorry—I got distracted.” He gave Abby’s hand a squeeze and let go. “So, my mom thought I was being rude to Amelia and somehow jeopardizing my future working in the London office because her father will be supervising me until I’m ready to take on more responsibility. Even though it’s my dad’s company, it’s good to play nice with his colleagues. In some ways, I’ll actually have to work harder
because
I’m his kid—everyone will second-guess me and think I only got the job because of my father. Anyway, suffice it to say, the talk with Moira was about my relationship with Amelia and a rather dated and not-so-gentle reminder that as a Corbin, I have a responsibility to associate with girls from similar social circles.” A dark look crossed over his face.

Wincing, Abby looked away. Obviously she was not from the same social circle as the Corbins and Aunt Moira. That must be why the wo
man despised her so vehemently.

Riotous laughter erupted from above them as a drunken couple burst through the French doors from the ballroom, leaving them propped open to the patio. Music wafted down to the beach.

“Would you like to dance?” David asked. Standing, he held out his hand, holding her eyes with his.

Absolutely!
Abby thought. “Sure,” she said nonchalantly.

Abby placed one hand in David’s and stood up, untangling the folds of her ball gown with her other hand. The dress unfurled gracefully around her, its hem sweeping the sand. Barefoot, she stepped toward him. He pulled her close, one hand still holding hers, the other on the small of her back, dangerously close, she noted, to the bare skin of her back and shoulders. She felt her skin tingle from her shoulder blades to the tips of her fingers. He was several inches taller than her,
a perfect fit for slow dancing.

David smiled, his eyes flashing a brilliant blue. Abby returned his gaze and smiled back, trying very hard to calm the mad galloping of her heart hammering in her chest. They shuffled around, dancing in a slow circle, listening to the music. He pulled her closer still. His embrace felt so perfect, like their bodies were two halves of a whole. She rested her head on his shoulder, her face nestled close to his neck. He smelled amazing; she could detect both the subtle musk of cologne and the scent of his skin. His jaw lightly brushed against her forehead.

“You look beautiful tonight, Abby,” David whispered.

The way he said her name sent a thrill of electricity coursing through her. Abby felt the Sign of the Throne pulsing against her skin, mirroring the rapid beat of her heart. She responded by holding David tighter. In that moment, no one else existed in the world. There was only the sound of their breathing, synchronized with the music an
d the waves.

The magic of the moment stretched to several so
ngs. David was completely happy holding Abby so close, his cheek pressed gently against the soft, warm skin of her forehead. And if he wasn’t mistaken, Abby was pretty content too, holding onto him just as tightly as he was holding her.