Wicked Seduction (15 page)

Chapter 13

For the rest of her life, Maddy would never forget the look on Kit’s face when he first opened the carriage door. She and Rose had arrived at his rather shabby address. Rose had been busy exclaiming over her pirate love’s reduced circumstances when the coachman opened the door and Kit popped his head inside.

His eyes lit on Rose first. The girl had positioned herself closest to the door in the exact place where one first looked when entering a carriage. She said she always caught a person’s most honest expression in that moment, be it joy, envy, or anger. Maddy did not put nearly as much credence in the moment as her cousin did, but she nevertheless watched Mr. Frazier’s expression closely.

He looked joyful. That was her first thought as he pulled open the carriage door. His eyes were lit from the sunlight and his lips were curved in a smile of welcome. But then his gaze took in Rose first, Maddy second, and his eyebrows raised in surprise while the rest of his expression carefully blanked to polite interest.

“Hello, Mr. Frazier,” Rose said in her high, sweet voice. “I’m so touched that you invited me to accompany you on this most difficult mission. But never fear, I shall make sure to keep everything light and delightful.”

Maddy hadn’t exactly said that Kit had requested Rose’s presence. She had, in fact, suggested that Kit would likely be surprised by her presence. But somehow her cousin had twisted that around to her own liking and was now grinning happily as Kit maneuvered himself inside. He had to sit next to Rose, of course, as she had layered the blankets and reticules in the space beside Maddy.

Meanwhile, Kit nodded politely to Rose. “Then I shall rely on you,” he said, but his gaze traveled to Maddy’s with a questioning lift to his eyebrow.

“As you know,” she said, answering his unspoken question, “a lady cannot travel unescorted. It wouldn’t be proper.”

“But a maid is so boring,” inserted Rose. “And I was so in need of a diversion. This shall be just the thing!”

“Of course,” he said, his gaze enigmatic. “I am pleased that you could come.”

Was there a hint of sarcasm in his voice? She wasn’t sure, and Rose certainly didn’t think so as she dimpled prettily. In any event, it didn’t matter. Maddy was here with him, as she’d promised, and she’d done it in a way that was eminently respectable.

And yet, she couldn’t shake the memory of his first look as he opened the carriage door. Joy. Excitement. Happiness. It had all been in his face as he looked for her. And it was all gone now that Rose was here.

“You look quite handsome in that outfit,” Maddy abruptly said. “The darker colors suit you.” He was in a smoky gray in a severe style. His cravat was simple, and the fine white lawn of his shirt contrasted sharply with the golden tan of his skin. In truth, he looked like a savage suited up as a man, and yet the appearance was devastatingly handsome. Especially when he smiled. Were he to wear that at a ball, every young miss would swoon in delight.

“It is quite lovely,” said Rose. “Don’t worry. It will only take some practice—or a good valet—and you shall master the cravat in no time.”

He arched a brow at Rose in surprise. “Do you not like the simplicity of the Maharata knot? I remember spending hours on the exact fall of a cravat before, but now . . .” He shook his head. “I cannot seem to find the need.”

“Oh, but you must!” countered Rose. “It is the only way a man can wear lace, you know, or something like lace. Like a waterfall of fabric, right under the chin. It’s most stylish. Very popular.”

Mr. Frazier’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. He had probably spent a great deal of the last seven years squinting against a very bright sun. “I can certainly tell that you like lace and flounces, Lady Rose,” he said. “Have you been trying to create a waterfall in your gowns?”

Rose clapped her gloved hands in delight. “You noticed! I knew you would. You are a man who has suffered a great deal, and they are always the most perceptive. Almost makes me wish I could be captured by pirates!”

Maddy winced, her eyes darting to Kit. Rose sounded as if she were praising horrible years as a slave so that he could notice her flounces. To trivialize what he had experienced was beyond tactless, and yet, he simply smiled warmly.

“Nonsense, Lady Rose, I find you eminently perceptive just as you are. For example, I find it especially perceptive of you to force your cousin to wear your cast-off gowns. She cannot look half as good as you do in those dresses as it is clearly not her style. Thus, you appear generous in giving up your gowns and yet ensure that she is in her worst looks. Very clever, Lady Rose. Very clever.”

Rose pursed her lips in clear dismay. “But . . . but that is so unkind, sir. I think Maddy is lovely! And she is so tall that she gets to add an
extra
flounce!”

For her part, Maddy wanted to run outside and hide. She had no idea what Kit meant by tweaking Rose. How dare he accuse the girl of being unkind! The truth was that Rose just assumed everyone looked lovely in a dozen layers of lace.

“Really, Mr. Frazier,” Maddy began. “This is most improper.”

Kit raised his eyebrows. “On the contrary, nothing could be more proper than to discuss fashion ad nauseam. Do you know, I find lace and flounces most lovely on you Lady Rose. But as you can see, Maddy is older than you. To put her in such a young, sweet style only emphasizes how young she is
not
.”

Rose frowned. “Oh. Well, that is true, I suppose. But I had hoped to disguise that fact. It is hard for an ape leader to find a husband.”

Maddy stiffened. “I am
not
an ape leader! Such a woman is twenty-nine or thirty. I am years away from that.” She was, in fact, less than six months away from twenty-nine. But some facts she kept to herself.

“An excellent age. I myself am in my thirties,” Kit said, his gaze falling steady on hers. She found herself staring back, losing herself in the very steady, very silent presence of his gaze. Which was extremely odd as the man was
not
being silent and was certainly
not
steady.

Then he turned back to Rose. “But you know how trying to hide something merely makes everyone notice it all the more.”

“Well, that’s certainly true. Like poor Baron Halperin and his bald head. The more he combs his hair over the top, the more everyone notices it.”

“Exactly!” he crowed. “See, I knew you were smart. So you are just the person, I think, to do a daring experiment. Though I must warn you,” he added, lowering his voice. “It might be a bit scandalous.”

Rose tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with interest. There was nothing she liked more than a bit of daring, and that was a dangerous thing.

“Mr. Frazier,” Maddy said repressively, “I find I like my dresses quite well enough, thank you.” It was a lie. She
hated
her dresses, which he no doubt knew. But there was no money to pay for new ones, so stirring up Rose was to no point. Her uncle would not free up money to pay for new gowns.

“Well, of course you do,” he said sweetly. “They were a gift from your generous cousin, and you must appreciate them and her because of it.”

Maddy sighed. “She has given me her dresses to wear, her home to live in, and her food to eat. I would not dream of asking for anything else.”

“Of course you wouldn’t, Maddy,” cried Rose, clearly getting into the spirit of whatever Kit intended. “Having grown up in the country, you are most grateful for
everything
.”

She made it sound like Maddy had been raised in a cave. “My home was quite lovely—”

“Tell me more of this bold experiment, Mr. Frazier,” Rose interrupted.

Kit grinned. “Well, you know how you have been working to hide Miss Wilson’s age? Dressing her young like you?”

“Yes. I thought it was the wisest choice.”

“It was the
only
choice, Mr. Frazier,” Maddy put in darkly. It had no effect whatsoever.

“What if we dressed her differently?” he asked Rose. “What if we boldly accented her fatal flaw, so to speak.”

Rose wrinkled her nose. “Accent her age?” she asked dubiously. “But whatever for?”

“Well, what would you think if Baron Halperin suddenly stopped trying to comb his hair over his bald spot? What if he simply cut his hair and showed the world his bald pate?”

“I would think it most sensible of him,” Rose returned logically. “After all, he wasn’t fooling anyone.”

“Exactly!” Kit crowed. “And so we shall dress Maddy in mature styles to fit her age. And not just her age, you know. The dresses must emphasize her other flaws—her height and her full bosom.”

“Mr. Frazier!” Maddy snapped, her face flaming.

“Come, come,” he returned. “We are making a bold experiment here. If you were to emphasize your flaws, then perhaps . . .” He glanced at Rose.

“They would fade away as if nothing! Just like the baron’s bald head! Oh, Mr. Frazier, I think it is a capital idea! After all, we are fooling no one. They all know she is old and tall and poor.”

Maddy’s eyes burned with tears. They were itemizing every aspect of her person that she had spent years trying to hide. “Shall I also draw red circles around my spots so that everyone can notice them too?”

“But you don’t have spots,” said Rose.

Well, at least they hadn’t noticed them as she covered them carefully with her makeup pot. Though, thankfully, she didn’t have to do it often.

“What do you think, Rose?” inserted Kit. “Are you brave enough to embark on a great experiment with me?”

“Oh yes!” cried Rose. “I think it a marvelous idea.”

Of course she did, thought Maddy sourly. Rose also thought that the Irish had fairies called brownies who cleaned their homes. The girl had heard it from the cook and had expressly asked Maddy to acquire an Irish fairy instead of a new maid.

Maddy sniffed. “It’s all well and good for you two to talk of experimenting, but I am not a doll for you to dress.”

“Oh, Maddy, don’t be like that,” wheedled Rose.

“I cannot pay for new gowns,” she hissed, furious that she had to blink back her tears. Damn him for bringing up her dreams like this, even getting Rose to crow about it like it was possible. “Do you not think I would like new clothes?” she snapped, glaring at Kit. “Don’t you know that I wish to be beautiful like everyone else? Well, I am not, and I never will be!” She twisted then to stare out the window, mortification making her back prickle. How dare they do this to her?

Rose’s voice, soft and very young, pierced her misery. “But you are not ugly, Maddy. How could you think that?”

“It is because she had been dressing wrong, Lady Rose,” answered Kit when Maddy could not force herself to turn around. “Trying to hide things that everyone knows anyway.”

Maddy let her forehead drop against the cold glass of the window. It was ninety minutes to Lady Blackstone’s home, and they had barely gone twenty of it. “I am quite content with my wardrobe,” she said miserably, though now even Rose knew she lied. “Can we please discuss something else?”

“No,” said Rose stubbornly. “No, we cannot. I won’t have you thinking you are ugly! You are just not quite the thing.”

“But if we attempted this bold experiment,” inserted Kit, “then perhaps that will change. Perhaps she will become just the thing. And you, Lady Rose, will be the leader! You will begin to dictate what is fashionable and what is not. Imagine it!”

Maddy fell back in her seat with a groan. She did not have to see Rose’s face to know the girl was imagining just that: Lady Rose as the fashionable leader of the
ton
. But, of course, it would be Maddy standing there in all her old, tall, and poor proportions.

“There is no money, Rose,” she said clearly. “I have no money.”

“But your uncle does,” inserted Mr. Frazier. “Rose, does your father perhaps pay your milliners bill? Does he ever question you about it?”

Rose shook her head. “Never. But Maddy doesn’t go to Madame Celeste. She’s much too expensive.”

“But what if Maddy did?” inserted Kit. “What if you told your father that you needed a few more gowns.”

“Oh! But I have already told him that. My ball gown isn’t quite right—”

“Excellent. What if, instead of a gown for yourself, you commissioned new gowns for your cousin instead? Your father would pay the bill without even knowing it.”

Maddy folded her arms across her apparently massive bosom. “He would notice it if I suddenly appeared in new clothing.”

“Ah, but you can merely say that you have been saving up from the household accounts.”

“Then he will cut the household accounts!”

Kit pursed his lips. “Really? Is he truly that stingy that he will not pay for meals on the table? A valet to care for his clothes, a maid to dress your hair?”

“Oh, Papa doesn’t care about those things,” inserted Rose blithely. “And he said I could buy whatever gowns I need for my Season.”

“Perfect!” exclaimed Kit. “So buy your cousin new gowns instead! You shall become a great fashion leader within a few days!”

Maddy sighed. “The earl pays closer attention than you think, Rose. He will notice.”

“But by then the deed will be done,” returned Kit.

“That is not the way to act, Mr. Frazier.” Why didn’t he understand? Rose was already too prone to act without thinking, to blithely believe that the ends justified the means. By encouraging this one flight, who knew what Rose was likely to do in the future? Maddy shot a stern look at her cousin. “Besides, I believe your father said you could buy
one
new ball gown. Only one.”

Rose flushed and looked down at her hands. “Oh. Well, yes. Perhaps I overstated a bit. But truly, my father is the most generous of men.”

“One
elaborate
ball gown could buy two or three new gowns of the kind I think would suit Miss Wilson,” said Kit encouragingly.

“But then Rose would have to give up her new ball gown.” Maddy looked hard at Rose, seeing that the girl indeed had not realized that Kit’s idea meant that she would have to forego her treat. “Rose has been looking at fashion plates for weeks, drawing them on every piece of paper she can find. She has dreamed of this new gown. I couldn’t take it from her.” After all, it was Rose’s money. Maddy was only there as charity.