The Diabolical Baron (4 page)

“As ready as I’ll ever be, Gina. You look quite de
lightful, and of course Gideon Fallsworthy will be
there. He has never missed an occasion when he knew
you would be present, and I don’t believe he will start
tonight. I certainly wish I could share your enthusiasm
for this evening’s treats.”

“I will never get over enjoying Almack’s. I still can’t
believe that Mama managed to procure vouchers for
the most exclusive gatherings in the fashionable
world. I expect it was because your mother was re
lated to two of the patronesses, and they had to take
me along with you,” Gina said shrewdly.

Caroline nodded agreement; the first Lady
Hanscombe was much better connected than the sec
ond. Louisa Hicks was thought to have made a good
catch when she persuaded Sir Alfred Hanscombe to let
her soothe his broken heart after his first wife’s death. Critics said he had let himself be soothed with inde
cent speed.

The two young ladies left Caroline’s room and
headed down the stairs where Lady Hanscombe
waited. Her ladyship nodded in approval of their ap
pearances; quite right that her own daughter outshone
her half-sister.

Louisa Hanscombe was not actively
hostile to Caroline and would have indignantly re
jected any suggestion that she had not done her duty by her stepdaughter. Still, there was her own hopeful brood of three daughters and two sons to be provided
for, and she wanted Caroline taken care of in a way
that would not reduce her own children’s prospects.

“Come along now, we don’t want to keep the horses
waiting,” she boomed in a voice ill-suited to a drawing
room.

A tall, heavyset woman with iron-gray curls,
Lady Hanscombe possessed of a limited under
standing that kept her from any appreciation of her
stepdaughter’s talents or sensitivities. Their relation
ship was based on duty; without love it didn’t prosper.
Caroline’s dreamy absentmindedness drove Louisa to
distraction, while the older woman’s abrasive voice
and criticisms reduced the girl to silence or fearful
stammering.

Gina could cheerfully ignore her mother’s dogmatic
opinions, or bellow back if needful; Caroline coped by
disappearing until the storms subsided. Unfortunately
it was harder to hide in London. With the younger
children home in Wiltshire, Lady Hanscombe was free
to concentrate on making sure the girls didn’t waste
their social opportunities.

The Hanscombes’ rental town house was on Adam
Street—not the first stare of fashion, but a respectable-
enough address, and only a short ride to King Street.

The small party entered Almack’s at the perfect time—
not so early as to appear anxious, nor so late as to ap
pear blasé. The vast entry hall was clearly designed to
impress on the fainthearted that the pinnacle of Polite
Society had been attained. Since most guests were sen
sible of the honor of receiving vouchers to the subscription balls, the patronesses felt it unnecessary to
waste money on high-quality refreshments or musi
cians. The stale cakes and insipid drinks were notori
ous, and the orchestra occasionally made Caroline
shudder—one of the violinists seemed incapable of
keeping his instruments in tune.

This evening started like the half-dozen other assemblies they had attended here: dowagers and un
claimed young ladies chatting in chairs around the
walls of the main salon, couples dancing, and dozens
of sharp eyes watching to see what interesting connections might occur.

Also on schedule, Gideon Fallsworthy hurried up to claim Gina’s hand for the country dance now forming,
and to beg the honor of a waltz later in the evening.
Since he would be allowed only two dances with the
lady of his choice, he definitely wanted one to be the exciting and erotic new Austrian dance that had taken
London by storm. Traditionalists considered the waltz
very daring, but young lovers were delighted to hold
each other close in public.

“You are in rare good looks this evening, Miss Gina. Will you join me for this dance? And pray save a dance for me, Miss Hanscombe,” he added to Caroline with a
friendly smile.

Gideon was a pleasant-looking young
man with a slight tendency to beefiness. His intelli
gence was not profound, but he had a kind heart and a
smile of great sweetness. He had endeared himself to
Gina by his obvious belief that she was the hand
somest and most amusing female he had ever met, and
to Lady Hanscombe by being heir to a fine property in
Lincolnshire. The match might not be a brilliant one
but it was respectable, and her ladyship daily expected Gideon to call on Sir Alfred to request Gina’s hand.

As the happy couple moved onto the floor, Caroline sat next to Lady Hanscombe and absently watched the
elegantly garbed people dipping and turning in the
figures of the dance. She could amuse herself indefi
nitely this way, withdrawing into the world of her
imagination and mentally playing variations on the
music.

With her highly developed talent for invisibil
ity, she should be left alone most of the evening. She
had been very successful at discouraging possible suit
ors; the few men who asked her to dance seldom trou
bled to do so a second time.

There had been one
regrettable young man with rabbity front teeth who
had been disposed to admire her, but she had discour
aged him with references to her father’s violent tem
per and his oft-expressed wish to keep his eldest daughter as a Comfort in his Old Age, a view that
would have much surprised that gentleman, since he
barely troubled to tell his daughters apart and fre
quently said he looked forward to getting them off his
hands.

The evening was well advanced when she noticed
purposeful movement in her direction. She recognized
George Fitzwilliam, who had partnered her on several
occasions when hostesses prevailed on him to help
with the wallflowers. George was pleasant, unthreate
ning company, but she frowned slightly at the sight of
his companion, a tall, darkly impressive man who ra
diated arrogance and power.

Mr. Fitzwilliam arrived and swept his most graceful
bow. “Lady Hanscombe, Miss Hanscombe, my friend
Lord Radford has begged me for the pleasure of an in
troduction to you.”

Lady Hanscombe bridled happily. “The pleasure is
ours, Lord Radford. My other daughter is about, and
I’m sure she would also be delighted to make your ac
quaintance.”

While Lady Hanscombe and the Honorable George
exchanged polite nothings, Caroline looked up at his
lordship’s dark eyes and froze under his piercing gaze. This must be how a rabbit feels while it waits for a fer
ret to strike, she thought wildly. She had no idea what
he was looking for, but the dark stare under the fero
cious brows was anything but casual.

“Will you do me the honor of accepting this dance,
Miss Hanscombe?” His deep voice was abrupt, projecting the same sense of power that his appearance
did.

Caroline nodded mutely; what else could she do?
She rose and went onto the floor with him. Unfortu
nately the orchestra was striking up the first notes of a
waltz. “Have you been given permission to dance the
waltz here, Miss Hanscombe? No? Then it’s time you did
.”

Looking across the room, Radford caught the roving
eye of Lady Jersey. He gestured expressively at his partner, Lady Jersey nodded, and then Caroline was swept into his arms.

he was startled at his speed of
action. Her lack of permission to dance the waltz
would have been a good excuse to cry off from the
dance, but before she could even voice her thought, the ob
jection had been overcome.

Looking down at the fair curly head, Jason didn’t
know whether to be amused or irritated at her shy
ness. Certainly there was no lack of maidenly modesty.
Pity she wasn’t taller; she seemed determined to spend
the dance examining the buttons on his waistcoat
rather than strain her neck to look in his face.

The chit
wasn’t at all bad-looking, he decided. Dress her prop
erly, get her hair out of her face, and he would not be
ashamed to have her by his side.

For her part, Caroline felt like she was in a particu
larly bad dream. She didn’t know that Radford’s appearance at Almack’s was so unusual as to be note
worthy, but she felt instinctively that eyes all over the room were watching them.

She concentrated on dancing presentably since her only previous waltz experi
ence had been with her brothers and the dancing
master. Being held so close by a man of rather over
powering masculinity was quite a different matter.

Why on earth had he asked her? There was no social
connection between them, and there could be nothing
in her appearance to attract a fashionable gentleman who could have his choice of partners anywhere he
went.

“What do you think of your first London Sea
son, Miss Hanscombe?” Radford asked urbanely.

“It is very ... interesting, my lord.” The words were
muffled by the downturned head.

“Has Almack’s lived up to your expectations? Some find the reality a letdown from its reputation,” he con
tinued.

“I had no expectations, my lord.”

Fitzwilliam certainly hadn’t exaggerated about her
lack of conversation. Still, Jason persevered with polite
commonplaces. It was heavy going, but a gentleman
known for his address could converse well enough for
two. As he returned her to Lady Hanscombe, he said,
“I hope you would not object to my calling on you
soon, Miss Hanscombe.”

She stared at him blankly for a moment, then murmured almost inaudibly, “Of course not, my lord.”

Lord Radford moved away, pleased that his cam
paign was under way. Complicated tactics should not
be required; the mother had clearly been dazzled to
have the chit distinguished by his attention. Lady
Hanscombe seemed to be a bit of a toadeater, but that
would work in his favor.

Now that they had been for
mally introduced, he could call on the girl and further
the acquaintance. He would not rush things by danc
ing with her again tonight; that he had singled her out
was enough. It was just a matter of time. Boringly easy,
really.

* * * *

While Lord Radford was searching for his friend Mr.
Fitzwilliam to call this portion of the evening to an
end, Caroline was being interrogated by Lady
Hanscombe. Unsure whether to be pleased that Caro
line had been sought out, or insulted that Lord Rad
ford had no interest in meeting Gina, her ladyship was relentlessly extracting every iota of information.

“And then what did he say?. .. And you
replied? ... And I myself heard him say he wished to
call on you. Straighten up, Caroline, don’t slouch! Perhaps he has decided it is time to start hanging out for a
wife. Past time, really, the man has been on the town this age! Well, I’m very sure he must be pleased with
you, there is no substitute for breeding and manners,
and you are a very pretty-behaved girl.”

Her ladyship interrupted her mono
logue to look dubiously at Caroline. While the girl had
a well-bred air, it was difficult to imagine why someone like Radford would pay such distinguishing atten
tion.

Well, if he did call, it would give him a chance to
meet Gina and note her superior charms. If his lord
ship was ready for a wife, Gina was just as well-bred,
and more attractive as well.

Lady Hanscombe
conveniently forgot that her own forebears could in no
way compare with those of Caroline’s mother. At least,
not in the eyes of those who used the same standards
for judging people as they used for horseflesh.

Gina’s enthusiasm was more generous but no easier
to bear. Throughout the ride home she talked cease
lessly about Lord Radford’s darkly handsome counte
nance, his superb tailoring, and his well-known
fortune. “They say, Caro, that he never comes to Al
mack’s, or dances with girls making their come-out. They say he has kept some of the most dashing high
fliers—!”