Storm On The Horizon, a paranormal Regency romance novella (Vallen) (3 page)

It was exactly the right thing to say—and sparked its own little fire within Tatiana.

“But what am I doing? I beg your pardon! We have not been properly introduced,” he said, with sudden consternation. He looked about for a moment. “Is that your chaperone?” he said, indicating her grandmother just behind her.

“My grandmother,” Tatiana nodded.

The gentleman took a few steps over to Lady Ashurst and bowed. “I beg your pardon, madam. May I be so bold as to introduce myself?”

He waited a moment for her nod of approval and then continued. “I am Christopher Vallentyn. May I beg the honor of an introduction to your granddaughter?”

His name echoed in Tatiana’s mind.
Vallen
tyn? She couldn’t believe someone would be so bold as to take on such a name. Her grandmother must have had heard of his family, though, since she didn’t even blink at his odd name. In fact, she seemed quite pleased with his attention.

Tatiana watched with a little dismay as her grandmother turned toward the throng of gentlemen surrounding Trina, but Mr. Vallentyn stopped her.

“I meant your other granddaughter.” He nodded toward Tatiana.

Relief and happiness surged within her, and it was clear that her grandmother was even more pleased with Mr. Vallentyn when her smile broadened, deepening the creases in her soft cheeks.

“Oh! Naturally.” She turned toward Tatiana. “Mr. Vallentyn, Miss Tatiana Ashurst, the younger of my two granddaughters here tonight.”

Mr. Vallentyn bowed over Tatiana’s hand as she curtseyed. This time he didn’t kiss it, but instead kept his pale blue, smiling gaze steady on her own. “It is an honor to meet you, Miss Tatiana.”

“And you, sir,” Tatiana said, doing her best to keep her voice neutral and polite—when instead she was tugged by the urge to titter and giggle like an idiot. Never in her life had she felt this way. How ridiculous!

One small part of her heart rejoiced at having met such a charming man. Another part wept.

She could never have anything more than this extremely short time with him. On the other hand, she reminded herself, she had promised her sister that tonight she would dance and have as much fun as she possibly could. Here was opportunity smiling at her. So she gave her chin a lift and smiled right back.

Tatiana lost track of Trina after that. She was too busy being completely charmed by Mr. Vallentyn. After he had escorted her in to the light dinner provided and then had danced a second dance with her, he turned to her saying, “I must apologize, Miss Tatiana. If I continue to stay here I know I will do something frightful like ask you to dance a third time, or continue to hang about you in a most inappropriate manner. Do say that you’ll excuse me for the evening…and that you’ll meet me tomorrow—no, I beg your pardon, the day after tomorrow—in the park?”

Sad as she was to see him go, she understood his reasoning. He truly was a proper gentleman. “I would be most happy to meet you in the park, Mr. Vallentyn. Shall we say at one before the throng of society descends?”

“Excellent idea. I’ll see you there on Tuesday, at the main gate, at one.” He bowed and kissed her hand once again before turning and joining a man who was frowning hard at Tatiana.

Tatiana shrugged and turned back to her sister. Trina was accepting a glass of lemonade from one of her many admirers, while the next one hovered about waiting his turn to dance with her. Well, there was no doubt the night could be called a success.

She had two weeks, Tatiana reminded herself. Two weeks to spend with the charming Mr. Vallentyn.

She did her best to make her sigh as silent as possible.

“Christopher, remember what we were speaking of earlier this evening,” Lord Durrington said in a warning tone as Kit approached him.

He took his father’s arm and led him out of the ballroom. “I remember. I remember what you said earlier this evening, and yesterday evening, and the week before.”

“Don’t be rude,” his father snapped. “It doesn’t become you.”

Kit found it surprisingly easy to ignore his father’s anger. “What do you say to spending the rest of the evening at Brooke’s? I’m feeling lucky tonight, and I believe Browlington just got paid his quarterly allowance.”

“That boy has entirely too much money,” his father agreed reluctantly, as they headed out the door.

K
it popped his head into his father’s study. “I’m off, sir.” He backed right out again, hoping to be able to escape quickly.

“Christopher!” his father’s voice slipped through the closing door. Damn!

Kit put his head back into the room. If he walked in fully, he knew he would be caught.

“Where are you going?” his father asked, pointedly looking at the clock on the mantle. Twelve-thirty. Luckily, Kit had left plenty of time to get to his one o’clock appointment with Miss Tatiana—just in case his father had caught him.

“To the park. I should return within the hour.” He pulled out of the room again.

“Stop acting like a damned jack-in-the-box and come in here,” his father called out from his favorite chair by the fire.

Kit took a deep breath. No, there was no way out.

“Sir?” Kit asked, stepping into the room.

“If you are meeting that young lady you encountered the other night, you can stop wasting your time right now. I didn’t have a chance to tell you, but I’ve learned a few things about her —as well as the other one to whom I told you to introduce yourself.”

Kit came further into the room, curious despite himself. He did not like this room. The busts of the most influential politicians of the past fifty years lining the walls made him nervous. He felt as if he were being watched—and judged, and found seriously wanting. It was just a silly fear from his childhood, he knew; the busts were marble, they couldn’t do or think anything. But that didn’t stop his imagination from running rampant.

“You should have listened to me and introduced yourself to the popular girl. There were so many men around her for a reason.” His father paused, waiting for Kit to ask the requisite question.

Deliberately, Kit stayed silent.

Lord Durrington frowned, but went on. “That young lady is the daughter of Baron Ashurst, and he has bestowed in extremely generous marriage portion on her. The other one, with whom you wasted your time, is her younger sister—who will have nothing. Nothing! He’s not giving her a penny,” his father said with an odd air of satisfaction.

“But why would a man do that?” Kit asked. “They’re twins. Why wouldn’t he split the money equally between the two of them?”

His father shook his head. “It seems as if the younger has not actually been presented. She’s not making her come-out. Only the elder is doing so. There are whispers that the younger is either already engaged and only here to see her sister well-launched, or that her parents are in the expectation of an offer for her but refused hear it until the elder is settled.

“The point is, this young woman you’re so interested in is not only ineligible, she’s not even on the market for a husband. So stop wasting your time with her.”

Tatiana already had a beau? Kit thought back to the way she behaved the other night when her sister was receiving so much attention. No, it couldn’t be right. She hadn’t acted as if she was already engaged. She had been hurt at being cut by the gentlemen surrounding her sister. A woman who was secure in the affections of another wouldn’t have behaved that way, Kit was certain of it.

But then that still left the question—why would her parents allow one daughter to make her come-out and not the other? Perhaps he could find out this afternoon.

“You certainly found out a lot about these two girls in a very short time, sir.”

Lord Durrington frowned harder. “I needed to, since you are making absolutely no effort on your own behalf. I’ve gone from being an up-and-coming Member of Parliament to matchmaker.”

Kit stifled his laughter. “No need to be so, sir. Truly, I am more than happy to…”

“You are more than happy to waste your time chasing after ineligible… Ah, wait now. Are you… could you possibly be that intelligent?” There was clearly something odd going through his father’s mind, as he leaned back in his chair and put his hand to his chin.

“Sir?”

“You wouldn’t be deliberately becoming close to the younger so that you would stand a stronger chance at the elder, now, would you? No.” His father dropped his hand and sighed heavily. “No. You aren’t nearly that smart.”

Kit frowned. “I am not that devious.”

A smile lit up his father’s face at the thought. “But I am.” He waved his hand at Kit. “Go on then. Off to your assignation with young Miss Whatsername. But when it comes down to it, Kit, it’s the elder you are going to offer for.”

Kit just stood and watched his father chuckle at his own cleverness. But he wasn’t going to get caught up in his father’s scheme—it was just not right.

On the other hand, if this made it so that his father didn’t mind him spending time with Tatiana, he would hold on to it—for now. He gave a quick nod of his head and left his father’s study.

M
iss Tatiana, how lovely you look today,” Kit said, dismounting from his horse and handing the reins over to his groom. He hadn’t known whether Tatiana would be walking or riding, so he’d come prepared to do both. Now that it was clear that he wouldn’t need his horse, he signaled to the groom to take him home.

“Thank you, Mr. Vallentyn. You don’t mind walking, do you?” she asked, watching the animal being led away.

“Not at all. It is a fine day for a walk.” He could say that because he wore a thick wool coat with his leather breeches and riding boots. He just hoped that Tatiana would be as warm in her little spencer. The military-red short-waisted jacket didn’t look like it could keep very much of her warm, if at all. It was extremely becoming, though, showing off her fine figure.

“… If a bit chilly.” She laughed and nodded. “I’ll tell you a little secret.” She stepped closer to him so that only he could hear. Still, he had to bend down a touch to catch her words. “I’ve called upon a pocket of warm air to stay close so that I don’t feel the cold so severely.”

Kit chuckled. She was clearly very comfortable with her magic. He liked that. She wasn’t using her power to harm anyone, only to ensure her own comfort. There could be nothing wrong with that. He admired her pluck—she used her magic, but discreetly enough so no one would notice.

The other night, of course, had been a different situation. He’d had to stop her from using her magic against ordinary men. She’d clearly been furious, and rightly so, at getting snubbed. He was sure, however, that she wouldn’t use her magic against others for her own gain.

“And what about your sister?” he asked, noticing Ekaterina Ashurst standing not too far away, surrounded by a handful of gentlemen.

Tatiana glanced behind her. She turned back with a charmingly mischievous smile on her face. “She can feel no cold, not with all those men around her.”

Kit laughed and had to agree with her assessment.

Tatiana took the arm he offered, and they began to walk slowly down the lane. There were few riders out at this time—but they were more people who’d elected to ride through the park on their way somewhere, rather than members of the
ton
out to see and be seen. So the walk was pleasant and uninterrupted.

Kit debated taking a side path through one of the smaller gardens, but decided it would be best to stay to the main pathway. With Miss Ashurst so busy and having Tatiana all to himself, Kit delved right in to his plan to learn more about her situation.

“It is your grandmother who is sponsoring you and your sister? Do your parents not care for London?” he asked, beginning his campaign in a gentle way.

“Only Trina is being brought out. I honestly don’t know how my mother feels about town, but my father certainly does not enjoy it.” She turned toward him with a smile and a slight twinkle in her eye. “He always feels compelled to go to Parliament and then becomes upset at the goings-on there.”

Kit laughed. “My father is exactly the opposite. He loves being in town. Loves attending Parliament. He even insists that I go, even though I don’t have a seat.”