The Wedding Runaway (37 page)

How could she convince her brother she was engaged to Victor
,
without him confronting Victor and demanding the truth from him.

"
Well?
"

"
But he cannot acknowledge his intentions because he is in first mourning for his wife. It would create a huge scandal
,
especially since I was until a few minutes ago still engaged to Mr. Sullivan.
"

"
Then as Father
'
s representative
,
I expect he will make a formal application to me for your hand no later than the end of next week.
"

Fiddlesticks and banjo picks! She had ten days. Oh, lord
,
what had she done? Victor would be furious
,
James would be furious
,
and her life would be over....
"
Of course
,
he will.
"

~*~

Lydia sat at the dressing table in her bedroom at Sophie and Keene
'
s house and rolled on her stockings. What would her brothers say when they saw her healing shoulder? Her scars were not horrendous
,
and she suspected they would be inconspicuous in a year or so
,
but they had not completely healed. The best she could hope was that a dusting of rice powder would temper the appearance of the scabs.

Tonight was the Sheridans
'
dinner party and ball
,
the start of the season
,
and nearly the end for Lydia.

A soft tap on her door prompted her to bid the tapper to enter. Jenny was due to help her dress any minute.

Sophie swung around the door.
"
Are you excited? Lud
,
I swear I am all aflutter and I am not even hosting this event and I have been through quite a few seasons now. But the first real ball is always a lark.
"

Lydia nodded. Sophie did not require much participation from others to keep a conversation going.

"
I came to talk to you about dancing. Or, well
,
specifically the waltz.
"
Sophie plopped on the bed beside Lydia
'
s new dress.
"
I was already married when I first came to London
,
so I never had to worry about it. But if we are to take you to Almack
'
s
,
you must not waltz until you have approval by the lady patronesses.
"

"
I
'
m sure it will not matter.
"
Lydia would not be around long enough to go to Almack
'
s if they even would let her.

"
Of course it will. I know that you are not newly out
,
but we have a peck of silly rules we must follow in London society. An unmarried young lady must behave with the utmost propriety. No more than two dances with any gentleman or you will be thought fast. I should have Amelia talk to you about the rules. She is much better than I am with them
,
and she
,
of course
,
was presented to the old queen and had a season before she married George.
"
Sophie clapped her fingers to her lips.
"
Oh, Lud
,
I do not believe we told her about you.
"

Another tap was followed by Jenny swinging around the door in flurry.
"
Oh
,
miss
,
I did not mean to be late
,
but Mr. Millars just dropped this off for you.
"

Lydia looked at the large pasteboard box with trepidation.

"
Oh, open it
,
do.
"
Sophie clapped her hands together like a child.

Jenny glanced at Lydia, set the box on the bed and pulled off the top. Sophie leaned over and folded back the tissue.

"
Oooo
,
look at that
,"
said Jenny.

Yards and yards of white silk draped with Brussels lace and swags of tulle gathered with embroidered forget-me-nots met Lydia
'
s watery gaze. Jenny pulled up the bodice. There were tiny capped sleeves and an inverted heart neckline banded at the top by a diamond studded collar of lace.

"
Oh, what an interesting neckline
,"
said Sophie.

Interesting
,
yes
,
especially if a woman liked her breasts exposed
,
but oddly enough, the collared band around the neck gave the gown shoulders
,
unlike most ball gowns that had completely open necklines. More important, the material would cover her injuries.
"
I cannot wear that.
"

The gown was beautiful and far more expensive than the ball gown she and Sophie had ordered at a fashionable modiste and Lydia had paid for herself.

"
Jenny
,
would you see if my maid has my gown pressed?
"
said Sophie.

When they were alone, Sophie said
,
"
He does not mean it like you think.
"

"
Yes
,
he does
,"
said Lydia, bending down to fasten her garter over her pink silk stocking. Her stomach felt unsteady.
"
Even in America
,
men do not buy a woman clothing unless they mean to keep her as their mistress.
"

"
Did he make you his mistress when you were staying in his home?
"

"
No
,
but—
"

"
He would have
,
if that was all he wanted from you.
"
Sophie suddenly looked mature and thoughtful.
"
Wear the dress and make him pay. Men can be so ridiculous when it comes to such matters. I had to seduce Keene before he could figure it out
,
and
we were married.
"

Yes
,
but Victor did not intend to marry her.

Sophie reached over and squeezed Lydia
'
s hand.
"
Victor has been through many painful experiences. Give him time.
"

Time was one thing Lydia did not have.

Sophie bounced to her feet and held out the dress.
"
Oh
,
Ludcakes
,
you shall be unable to wear a shift underneath. You should tell him that
,
it will make him mad with desire.
"

Chapter Sixteen

It did not look as if she would be able to tell Victor anything
,
thought Lydia as she sank down in one of the chairs lining the ballroom.

Two beautiful women flanked him at dinner. One was a redheaded beauty with skin like alabaster and emerald green eyes that had hardly wavered from Victor. The other was a slender woman
,
with hair so dark it reflected blue and skin so translucent that one could see how very blue her blood really was. She kept touching her gloved hand to Victor
'
s sleeve. Lydia would not have been surprised to learn other touches occurred below the tablecloth.

Lydia imagined the press of a knee
,
the accidental brush of a shoulder. Victor had seemed totally absorbed in the attentions of both women
,
although he never offered either a smile
,
at least not in the time Lydia watched
,
but then the red-haired lady looked down the table several times and Lydia concentrated on her dinner
,
rather than being caught staring.

Lydia had tried not to slouch to compensate for the very short stature of the man seated to her left and worried too much about spilling anything on her beautiful gown. And even though Sophie had made her twist
,
shake
,
and hunch her shoulders while bending over without accident
,
Lydia still felt as if she might spill out of her low-cut neckline. A more generously proportioned woman would have looked like a tart
,
and Lydia wondered if that had been the message she was to convey.

Instead, James blinked as if he had never seen her before
,
Oscar actually looked at her when he complimented her appearance and Trevor had said she looked too grown-up. Even Keene had given her a second look before he said to his wife
,
"
How could we have ever believed she was a boy?
"

Trevor sat down beside her.
"
Are you enjoying yourself?
"

The question sounded like an accusation, so Lydia answered
,
"
Tremendously. London does not agree with you?
"

Trevor snorted and sprawled in his chair
,
in the manner she had tried so hard to emulate as Leonard. He glared across the ballroom and Lydia followed the line of his sight to Victor.

He had the redhead on his arm
,
but it seemed he had been passed between the brunette and the redhead with Sophie
,
Amelia, and Felicity all taking a turn about the floor with him in between. Not that Lydia had been shy of partners. Sophie and Felicity showed up at her elbow with introductions to a new gentleman anytime she stood alone for more than half a second.

But the musicians were beginning a waltz. Not that she was heeding Sophie
'
s advice that she should sit out the waltzes
,
but she was tired and her shoulder ached. She studied Trevor
'
s gaze and it did not waver as Victor led the redhead onto the floor.

"
Do you know who that is, dancing with Lord Wedmont?
"

"
Lady Helena
,"
said Trevor, the name coming out on a sigh. He looked away.

"
Do you know her well? She is quite beautiful.
"

Trevor looked sharply at Lydia. He leaned forward and spoke in a low voice
,
"
As well as any common man could know her
,
but I am not good enough for her.
"

The low fury radiating from Trevor
'
s voice surprised Lydia.
"
Don
'
t say that.
"

"
It
'
s true. They make a handsome couple, do they not? Lady Helena and Lord Wedmont. Their breeding is on par. They would make lovely little lords and ladies together.
"

Did he suspect Victor would marry Lady Helena? Did Trevor know something?
"
What...what are you trying to say
,
Trevor?
"

"
She would never marry me in a thousand years. People of their rank don
'
t marry outside of it. She won
'
t and he won
'
t. The sooner you realize that
,
the less heartache you
'
ll suffer. Oscar has his faults
,
but he does care for you and will not marry you with a mistress already in mind.
"

Lydia swallowed hard. Victor had never promised her marriage
,
but would he marry one of the women of his world and expect Lydia to be there on the side? That is, if she accepted his offer to be his mistress.

"
We have the blood of savages in our veins
,
good red Indian blood
,
and the smell of trade on our skin. We will never be good enough to marry the cream of the ton. We
'
d be lucky if the dregs of society considered us worthwhile. Although they will include us in their amusements. I suppose because we entertain them with our views on equality and liberty for all men.
"

"
You met her when you were here five years ago
,"
Lydia said. Lady Helena must be the woman who had broken Trevor
'
s heart. Up until this moment
,
she had seemed a vague thing
,
hardly real
,
but Lady Helena was real
,
flesh and blood and dancing with Victor.

"
Why are we here
,
Lydia
,
and how long are we staying? I
'
ve asked James but he keeps putting me off.
"

"
You are in love with her
,"
whispered Lydia.

Trevor closed his eyes
,
and she put a hand on his shoulder and leaned toward him. When Lady Helena had looked down the table several times during dinner, she must have been watching Trevor. As Lydia looked across the dance floor
,
Lady Helena
'
s gaze was on Trevor. She was not indifferent.

"
What are we staying for
,
Lydia?
"
he asked.

"
Funny
,
I thought I was the only one who sought solution in running away from my problems.
"

~*~

Victor was having a hell of a time. When he first saw Lydia in the ballgown he
'
d had made for her
,
he nearly came unhinged. He wanted to scoop her up and carry her to a dark corner and inch down that delicious neckline that barely left her decent and lave her nipples until she begged for more
,
then kiss her senseless and then...he had to stop thinking of her in his arms
,
in his bed
,
making love to him. He could not steal her virtue
,
he could not destroy her like that.