The Debutante Is Mine (12 page)

S
tanding between two pilasters and slightly behind a potted palm, Lilah opened her dance card and smiled. Four names in various scrawls stared back at her. Four! Among those was Lord Ellery’s, and what’s more, he’d remembered her name. In fact, each gentleman had remembered. She could scarcely believe it.

A little overwhelmed, she took a breath. Closing the card, she tucked it inside her elbow-length glove. Earlier, she’d worried that Juliet had planned to cover her with pearls. Yet that hadn’t been the case at all.

This evening, Lilah’s hair was pinned in place with a pearl comb, her face powdered with pearl dust, and a single pearl sewn into the center of her bodice, anchored by delicate silver threading. Since her gown was ivory satin, the pearl was hardly noticeable. However, Juliet said that true beauty was never obvious. Which was an odd thing to hear from the most beautiful woman Lilah had ever seen. Nevertheless, the end result left Lilah somewhat relieved. She didn’t have to worry about feeling like a fraud. At least, not too much of one.

“I do not see what all this fuss is about.” Lilah heard the words from a young woman passing by. When she saw that it was Miss Leeds—talking to Miss Ashbury, no less—she stilled and hoped they would not see her. “There is nothing at all uncommon about her.”

Lilah cringed. The words struck her as similar to the worried thoughts inside her own mind. She only hoped that Miss Leeds wasn’t speaking about her. A part of her held onto doubt that this plan would work. Part believed she wasn’t pretty. Of course, the note she’d received from Mother today hadn’t helped either. This transformation was still new and fragile. She was still learning.

She felt as if she were held together only by a fine silver web. One misstep, and she might begin to unravel.

“And there is nothing remarkable in her wardrobe either,” Miss Ashbury remarked. “Of course, how can you improve such a plump figure?”

“My father told me that they are hoping to lure her cousin to marry her. Can you imagine?” Miss Leeds giggled. “She’s so undesirable that even Lord Haggerty would have to be forced.”

Lilah swallowed down a rise of bile up the back of her throat. They were speaking of her. And they knew about her father’s will. What they’d heard was not accurate—but it was close enough to ruin her chances. It was all too much. Her brief moment of euphoria sputtered out like a taper at the end of a night.

“Oh, Miss Appleton,” Miss Ashbury began, lifting her hand to her mouth and affecting a look of innocence. “We didn’t see you there.”

“Dear, you really should try to do something to draw attention to yourself,” Miss Leeds added with a smile.

Lilah expected to feel small and worthless as one of her worries came to fruition. Instead, she was shocked by the amount of anger she felt. Not on her own behalf but for Juliet, who’d sacrificed her time and treasures for Lilah’s benefit. And perhaps there was a small amount of anger for herself because . . . well . . . how dare they try to belittle and demean her. Hadn’t she suffered enough of that at home?

Abandoning the principle of
grace in the face of adversity
, she opened her mouth to offer a scathing response in return. Then, suddenly, another young woman came along and bumped into Miss Leeds, albeit gracefully, sort of like a carefully choreographed push.

“Oh, do forgive me. I didn’t see you there,” said the young woman, who Lilah only now recognized as Lady Piper Laurent, the Earl of Dovermere’s eldest daughter. She and Lady Piper had met at the Duke of Vale’s Christmas party. What Lilah had not known at the time was how similar her coloring was to Jack’s. Like her half-brother, her hair was the shade of winter wheat, and her speckled brown eyes gleamed with challenge.

“How dare—”
Miss Leeds began in outrage before she turned to see who had bumped into her. Then, abruptly, the simpering began. “Oh! Think nothing of it, Lady Piper. We had merely paused for a moment. How fortunate for us that you happened along to join—”

“How clever you are, Miss Leeds,” Lady Piper said, cutting her off, “to blend into the walls so well.”

Miss Leeds’s lips parted as she glanced down at her gown and then to the ivory pilasters. Before she could comment, Lady Piper continued. “And Miss Ashbury, how sweet you look this evening. I believe my youngest sister has a gown just like that for one of her dolls.”

Lady Piper grinned rather mischievously at Miss Leeds and Miss Ashbury and then slid a look to Lilah. It became instantly apparent that Lady Piper had heard the exchange. A giggle escaped Lilah as she realized what was happening. Jack’s sister was quite clever and sly in her wit.

Miss Leeds and Miss Ashbury squinted their eyes in unison.

“What a pleasure it was to see you both again,” Lady Piper said to the pair, essentially dismissing them from her presence.

As it appeared many guests were beginning to leave the great hall and traverse the golden-lit gallery toward the ballroom, neither Miss Leeds nor Miss Ashbury offered a comment. Instead, they turned on their heels and walked off in a huff. Battle lines had been drawn.

“I cannot thank you enough, Lady Piper,” Lilah said. “I was quite at a loss for words. At least, any proper words.”

“Please, you must call me Piper.” With an easy smile, she splayed her gloved fingers beneath her throat. “As the eldest girl of eight, I’m hardly ever at a loss for words. And most likely to my younger siblings’ regrets. Besides, this is my first official ball, and I want it to be fun, without any stuffy formality or odious persons.” She slid a perturbed glance to the retreating pair. “Father has been restricting my exposure to society through dinner parties alone. Though I believe the truth of the matter is that he finds balls rather dull and chooses only the invitations that appeal to him.”

Lilah seconded the need for informality between them. “And I have the opposite problem. Last year my aunt typically accepted more than one invitation per night. The memory of that entire Season is now a blur of turbans and feathers.”

“I hope to have such a memory,” she said with a laugh. Then, as her father neared their party by the potted palm, she raised her voice. “So far, all I’ve seen are a bunch of old men sitting around their drawing rooms, speaking of antiquities. Ghastly dull.”

The Earl of Dovermere cleared his throat, and Piper’s gleam of mischief returned once more. “Sorry, Father, I meant to say
elderly
gentlemen instead of
old
. Forgive me?” She squeezed his forearm and rose up on her toes to peck him on the cheek.

“Many of those gentlemen are younger than I am,” Dovermere said, his tone eerily recognizable, though with less of an edge than that of his son’s.

“Well, that makes
all
the difference.” Piper turned her head to make a comical face before addressing her father once more. “I should amend my declaration by describing the lot of you as
stately
.”

“Hmm . . . ”

“Distinguished?”

“Better,” the earl said with a nod. “Now, behave yourself and introduce your friend, or I shall demand reimbursement from your decorum instructor.”

“Do forgive my father, Miss Appleton. I have heard that a man’s memory starts to fail him when he reaches a certain age,” she said in a stage whisper, cupping her hand next to her mouth. Then to her father, she added, “This is Lilah Appleton. We met her at Vale’s Christmas party.”

“Miss Appleton, a pleasure.” He inclined his head. “I recall our introduction perfectly now. Lady Cosgrove is your aunt, and Lady Granworth is your cousin.” Then he lifted his eyebrows in a familiarly challenging way to Piper, earning a small laugh.

“It is a pleasure to meet you again, Lord Dovermere.” Lilah dipped into a curtsy.

When she rose, however, she caught sight of an unmistakable pair of broad shoulders and blond head at the opposite end of the room. Her breath caught.

Jack Marlowe was striding through the massive doors of the hall. He looked dashing in his black evening attire and snowy cravat, his hair brushed back from his forehead to reveal those chiseled features. Her lips tingled at the memory of his mouth on hers. Then, when his gaze met hers and he grinned, a warm ache filled her, making her long for another stolen moment in the garden . . . or anywhere. She just wanted to be in his arms again.

It wasn’t until Lilah heard Piper speaking to her father about a dinner party and adding Lilah to the guest list that she realized calamity was about to ensue.

From their position near the fronds of the potted palm trees, it was likely that Jack couldn’t see those with whom she stood. Even if she were determined to risk rudeness, there wouldn’t be time for her to abandon her party in order to intercept Jack before it was too late.

To him, she offered a discreet shake of her head in warning. But with his long strides, he was already to her.

“Miss Appleton,” he began, in his typical fashion of focusing solely on her without paying attention to those around her. “You are indeed looking lovely this evening, as promised.”

It was up to her to warn him, but when she saw the heat in his gaze, every sensible thought vanished. She blushed and tried to think of a bland response. Tried to pretend that she had no idea what it felt like to have his tongue in her mouth and that she wasn’t thinking about that right this moment. “Mr. Marlowe, you flatter me. At the moment, however—”

“Jack!” Piper said with a burst of enthusiasm, stepping into view. She reached out and gave a brief squeeze to his forearm, much the same way she had with her father. “How wonderful that you are here! The last time Father and I dropped in on you, you declared never to attend a societal function, but now, here you are.”

Jack stiffened, his easy manner turning to granite. “Piper.” He inclined his head. “Dovermere.”

“How fortunate that our earlier engagement ended, and we were able to attend this party,” Dovermere began, clearly having noticed Jack’s reaction. “And what a coincidence that you are acquainted with Miss Appleton. Piper was just testing my memory. Now, I seem to recall that Miss Appleton is particular friend of Vale’s new bride. Is that correct, Miss Appleton?”

“I am, my lord,” Lilah affirmed, not understanding the knowing, smug grin Dovermere passed to Jack, nor the glower Jack passed back to his father. Well, perhaps she understood the glower. Nevertheless, all at once the entire hall had gone silent. Even those in the gallery paused to cast discreet glances over their shoulders.

“Miss Appleton, did you know that Jack and Vale met at Eton and that the two of them competed for highest marks?” The pride in Dovermere’s voice and in his expression was unmistakable.

Even so, she swallowed, nervous that the remark was made in such a nonchalant fashion. It was almost as if Dovermere suspected that she and Jack were more than casually acquainted. Then again, her rush of nerves could simply be her worrying self catching up with her.

“I did not, my lord, though it is easy to imagine.” It was only when Dovermere’s gaze sharpened that she realized what she’d said. To compliment a gentleman in the presence of his family was to indicate interest or a reciprocation thereof. “That is to say . . . he
appears
to be a competent individual, though I have no way of knowing.”

Oh, but those words weren’t any better. Now, because of their association, it sounded as if she meant to slight Jack, effectively labeling him a simpleton.

Jack shifted beside her, a nearly imperceptible movement of his shoe on the polished floor, but she guessed he wasn’t pleased. She could sense the tension rolling off him. Yet when she chanced a sideways glance, his expression surprised her. He was smirking at her. It was a small lift of one corner of his incredibly talented mouth, but it was still a smirk all the same. Knowing him, he was enjoying watching her discomfort.

“Appearances are often misleading, Miss Appleton,” Jack said, his gaze dipping to her lips for one hot second. How dare he make her blush again and leave her no way to scold him for it!

“A circumstance only remedied upon further acquaintance,” the earl interjected. “Surely you would consider that an accurate statement, Jack?”

In turn, Jack’s nod was more of wariness than agreement. Even Lilah felt a sense of apprehension. Piper, however, nodded vigorously, as if she knew exactly what was about to be said.

“Good. Then it is settled. You will both attend the dinner party that Gayle has arranged. Four days should give you ample time to come up with a plausible excuse for your absence, Jack.” Dovermere’s words were said more in challenge than invitation. Yet because his fondness was clearly evident, Lilah nearly found herself hoping that this method worked in his favor.

Piper chimed in, turning her full attention to her half-brother. “But you wouldn’t do that to us again, would you? After all, it will only be a dinner and then a small gathering in the music room for entertainment. I play the pianoforte, and I should like you to hear it.”

While there were definite similarities between father and son, there was also a measure of hardness in the latter that was missing in the former. Which made it all the more startling when Jack’s stiffness suddenly left him.

He lifted his brows, glancing at Lilah before responding to Piper. “By any chance, would you happen to have a harp?”

A
fter an hour had passed, Jack wasn’t sure why he was still at the Corbett Ball. It helped, he supposed, that Dovermere had kept a discreet distance after their initial encounter. However, that did not stop the constant curious glances from the guests in his direction, the whispers behind fans, or even the blatant comments made within earshot.

Jack had learned a lot about people in his life and his business dealings. Even when he was a boy, he’d realized that people were all the same. At one point or another, they either wanted to buy something or sell something. They wanted to believe they weren’t paying too much for what they wanted or receiving too little for what they were parting with. And most of all, both buyer and seller wanted to believe they were in complete control of any negotiation.