Lady Revealed (6 page)

He glanced across the room to Carlo, who had often stared at them throughout the meal. He could also give her more than any dancer.

Though they had not agreed to meet, Acker was waiting at the corner by the dance school for Juliette to be done with her day. He watched and waited as the students left and when no one else emerged from the building he ventured up the steps. Hopefully she would still be in the classroom and they could continue where they had left off yesterday.

Before he reached the door it opened and Juliette stepped out into the bright sunlight. A smile lifted when she recognized him.

“I had hoped for another waltz.”

She laughed. “It is much too beautiful a day to remain inside.” She stepped out and closed the doors behind her.

Acker buried the disappointment of not being given the opportunity to seduce her. “Yet, it could rain again.” There were grey clouds gathering and would soon block the sun.

Juliette glanced to the sky and frowned. “Shall we enjoy it while we can?” She asked brightly.

As much as Acker wanted to haul her upstairs and finally make love to her, it was impossible to deny Juliette anything when her green eyes sparkled with happiness.

He offered his arm and she slipped her hand into its crook and together they strolled down the ancient streets of Milan. At her touch, contentment settled around Acker. Whenever he was with her, all was right and he wanted nothing else. Was this how it felt to be in love?

Love? He didn’t know her well enough to be in love. Lust, yes. That was a perfectly acceptable emotion to feel for a woman he had known for such a short time. Not love.

“Are you looking forward to your next production?”

“Yes,” she answered happily, a smile upon her face. “Though I will miss this ballet when it ends, I am also ready for something new and exciting.”

He hoped the new and exciting was him, and not
Promethius
, which she would be dancing with Carlo. “Will Carlo also partner you in
Promethius
?”

Juliette frowned and thought for a bit. “I am not sure. I don’t even know what part I will be dancing, if I am chosen.”

“Surely you will dance the lead,” Acker insisted.

She laughed. “There are other ballerinas in the company with equal and even more talent, Lord Acker.”

“Drake.”

Juliette looked up at him. “Pardon?”

“My name is Drake and I wish you would call me by it.”

A blush stained her cheeks. “Very well, Drake.”

The sound of his name coming from her lips stilled his heart for a moment before warmth spread through him. How could something so simple have such meaning?

“I’ve seen the other dancers,” he reminded her. “They are not nearly as talented or as graceful as you.”

The color in her cheeks brightened. “Thank you.” She couldn’t meet his eyes and Acker wondered if Juliette had been complimented so little it made her uncomfortable. Surely her dance masters and those in the troupe shared their admiration. Unless they were jealous.

“Have you and Carlo danced often together?” Why did he ask and why torture himself? Was this jealousy? He had never experienced the emotion before, yet he disliked the dancer. Carlo was with Juliette each night, his hands on her waist and arms, dancing from one end of the stage to the other, holding her when she collapsed and died at the end. He was her onstage lover and Acker feared Carlo wanted to be her partner off stage as well.

“We first began dancing together two years ago.”

He nodded. This was worse than he thought.

Clouds moved to block the sun. Juliette glanced up and frowned. “I so hoped they would go away.”

A drop of rain landed on her nose and it took everything in Acker not to lick it off. Instead, he tugged her onto a narrow street and beneath a balcony. The rain let loose the moment they stepped beneath the shelter. Juliette laughed and leaned against the wall. “I should have heeded your suggestion and returned to the classroom.” She looked around the small space that sheltered them. “We can’t even waltz here.”

“But there are other activities we could do to pass the time.” Acker slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body before lowering his lips to hers. There was no hesitation and Juliette’s arms slid about his neck and returned his kiss with as much passion, if not more, than she had the day before.

Acker groaned and pulled her as close to his body as physically possible. Why hadn’t he insisted they remain indoors? If he had, they could be lying on the settee right now, possibly divesting each other of clothing and making love.

Juliette let her head fall back when Acker moved his lips to her neck and lifted her perfect breast in his hand. What he wouldn’t give to taste them. Were her nipples dark or light? He brushed his thumb back and forth; it was hard and pebbled beneath her clothing.

Juliette stiffened and dropped her hands to his shoulders before she pushed him away. “We should not.”

Acker had trouble finding his focus for a moment. “I need you.”

“We are outside,” she hissed.

Had he really been seducing her against the wall of an ancient street? What was wrong with him? Juliette wasn’t a common whore but a woman he wanted to pamper. The first time they were together should be in a large, comfortable bed, or the settee in her classroom. It all depended on how well he could control himself until that moment came.

“Others will see,” she reminded him.

There was a flash of pain in her eyes. What had he done?

He knew the answer before the question finished forming in his mind. He shouldn’t have taken such advantage of her when anyone could come across them. No woman wished to be treated in this manner.

“And it is no longer raining.”

Acker looked toward the street. The sun was shining again and people were walking and going about their business. Bloody hell, he had been so taken with passion that he had completely blocked out his surroundings. Juliette must think he was the worst of cads.

“I need to return home.”

“So soon?” They had only been together a short time.

“I need to rest for tonight.” She pulled away.

What had he done? Was it because he lost his head for a few moments? “Juliette, wait.” She turned and looked at him; concern marred her brow as if troubled.

“What is wrong?”

“This is wrong.” She gestured to where they had stood.

“I am sorry. I could not help myself.”

She studied him for a moment, biting her bottom lip before she gave a quick nod of understanding. “I really must return home before my mother wonders what became of me.”

“Let me drive you,” Acker insisted.

She shook her head and pulled away, but not before Acker saw what he thought were a glimmer of tears in her eyes. What had he done except try to love her? Was it because he made advances on a road so narrow it might as well be an alley?

Juliette started down the street and he rushed after her. “Please let me see you home.”

“It is not possible. Maman will know.”

Acker wasn’t about to let her leave so quickly. “I will walk with you part of the way.”

“That is not necessary, Lord Acker.”

“Drake, I asked you to call me by my given name.”

She shook her head. “I do not think that is wise.”

Damn and blast. Why had he let his lust take control? Somehow he had managed to push her away when all he wanted was Juliette to be closer, to want him as much as he wanted her. To be willing to travel with him until they discovered how their relationship would develop.

She said nothing else, but continued to walk briskly toward the direction of her home. When they came to the corner of the block she lived on, Juliette stopped. “Please don’t go any further. I don’t wish Maman to learn we have met.”

Acker grasped her hand. “Will I see you tonight, after the performance?”

Juliette looked away from him. “I am not sure that is wise.”

Surely she wasn’t dismissing him. Could one little mistake on his part drive her away completely? His heart constricted. He couldn’t lose her. Not now.

*

Juliette hurried away from Acker and up the steps to her home. Her heart pounded as if she had run for miles and pressure built inside her head. Little black spots were in her peripheral vision and her chest grew tight until it seemed almost impossible to breath. She slammed the door behind her and leaned against it, taking deep gulps of air and trying to control her racing heart.

How could she have been such a fool? She thought she had forgotten but the moment Acker brushed his thumb back and forth across her nipple she was transported back to her childhood, watching her mother on the stairs being fondled in the same manner before she took the soldier to her room and closed the door. It was the night maman became a courtesan with a reputation that rivaled great grandmothers in her earlier days.

Was that all she was to Acker? He wanted her as his whore and she had been a fool to think he could consider her as anything more than a lover to be used and discarded when he tired of her.

“What is wrong?” Genviève demanded.

Juliette looked up at her sister, concern marred her brow. Hélène came forward and placed an arm about Juliette’s waist and led her into the drawing room. Thank goodness mother was not in here because Juliette wasn’t certain she could explain what had happened or the memories that flooded her mind.

“Tell us,” Genviève insisted. “What did Lord Acker do?”

Juliette stilled and looked at her sister. How did she know she was with Acker?

“Carlo told us he found the two of you together at the school,” Hélène said.

Juliette closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose. This was worse than she thought. If her sisters knew, nothing was stopping them or Carlo from telling Maman and she promised her mother not to meet with Acker. Oh how she wished she would have heeded her advice.

Yet, she couldn’t tell her sisters what had happened or the realization she made when Acker rubbed his thumb across her nipple. “Lord Acker did nothing,” she finally answered. “I am simply not feeling feel.” It was too humiliating and she was such a fool to think he cared deeper than simply bedding her. She could never tell them the truth.

“Are you sure he didn’t try to take liberties with your person?” Genviève questioned, scrutinizing Juliette as if waiting to catch her in a lie.

“No.”

The sisters shared a look and Hélène sighed. “We saw him take you beneath the balcony today, just as it started to rain.”

Oh dear, what else had they seen? “We simply wished to escape the elements.”

Genviève snorted and Hélène nudged her sister with her elbow. “We saw him kiss you.”

Juliette hadn’t believed she could be any more mortified, but she was. Perhaps they didn’t see everything, where he had touched her.

“We didn’t stay but sought shelter,” Hélène added. “Should we have come to your rescue?”

Hélène’s eyes were so warm, caring and understanding and Juliette wanted to pour everything out to her, but she didn’t dare. At least they didn’t know the truth. That Acker wished to make her his whore.

The front door slammed and the sisters turned to see who had entered. Their mother marched in the room, her arms loaded with more newssheets, which Juliette could only assume were from London.

“Who was that gentleman?” Maman demanded.

Juliette gaped at her. Oh dear, had she seen her walking with Lord Acker? This day had gone from bad to worse.

“Which gentleman?” Hélène asked.

Maman narrowed her eyes on Juliette. “You know very well which gentleman I speak of.” She strode further into the room and set the newssheets on the table. “He walked you home. Was it Lord Acker?”

Juliette’s face grew cold. What would happen if she answered truthfully? She had never seen her mother so angry before.

Maman pulled off her gloves and tossed them in a chair. “Don’t answer. I know it was him.”

She quickly looked over at her sisters. Had they told Maman of the suppers and about Acker visiting her at the theatre? Did Carlo mention the school?

“He looks just like his father at that age.”

“What?” the three sisters cried in unison.

Her mother dismissed them with a wave of her hand. “It was long ago, when I lived in England.” She narrowed her eyes and looked at Juliette. “And precisely why I did not want you to meet that particular gentleman, yet you defied me anyway.”

“I am sorry Maman.” And she truly was. If only she would have listened then she would not be hurting as she was now.

Maria, one of the downstairs maids, entered and placed the tea service in the center of the table.

“Pour me a cup of tea, Hélène,” her mother ordered and Juliette sat still, waiting to see if her mother would demand answers, scold her or question the time she had spent with Acker. Silence reigned in the room while Hélène poured a cup of tea for each of them, adding in the right amount of sugar and milk they each preferred.

Her mother took a sip, staring at Juliette over the rim of her glass. “What are his intentions?”