Once Upon a Scandal (12 page)
Yet it did matter. To be here at a ball with Olivia reminded Emma of happier times. No, not happier, for now she had Jenny and a deeper, richer meaning to her life. So what was the right word to describe herself at eighteen? Carefree … whimsical … naive. It was a time when she had been innocent of the realities of life.
The light from hundreds of candles in the crystal chandeliers cast a golden glow over the glittering scene. Emma controlled her queasiness about this, her first evening back in society. She and Olivia had walked on ahead of Lucas and Olivia’s husband, Hugh. Phoebe had stayed home since one of her children was ill, and Lucas’s mother had also pleaded an indisposition. Aware of an awkward silence now, Emma was about to suggest to Olivia that they take a stroll around the room when their host and hostess swooped down on them like twin birds of prey.
Emma’s skin crawled. She was not unnerved by an encounter with the snooty Lady Jasper. It was her stout husband who caused the tension in Emma. She had last seen Lord Jasper Putney over the smoking barrel of his pistol.
“Ah, my dear Olivia,” Lady Jasper Putney said, blinking her brown bug-eyes. “So pleased you could attend, considering your happy circumstances.” She glanced at Olivia’s gently rounded belly.
“I’m pleased to be here, though I believe I will sit out the dancing,” Olivia said with a smile. “Wortham has returned, you will have heard. Otherwise, Hugh and I would be rusticating in the country.”
“Then we have his long-absent lordship to thank. And this must be Lady Wortham.” One large eye magnified further by her quizzing glass, Lady Jasper subjected Emma to a keen
scrutiny as if she were a specimen in a museum. A rather nasty specimen. “I recollect your wedding, madam. You were rather pale that day. Too pale even for a bride.”
scrutiny as if she were a specimen in a museum. A rather nasty specimen. “I recollect your wedding, madam. You were rather pale that day. Too pale even for a bride.”
The innuendo hurt even though Emma had braced herself for sly comments. “How kind of you to remember me,” she said with studied cheer. “I’ve kept my dancing shoes polished, ready for another foray into your house.”
“But I don’t believe you’ve been here before.” Lady Jasper shook her wispy brown ringlets. “In truth, since we only just let the place two years ago, I’m certain you haven’t.”
Not to your knowledge at least
, Emma thought with silent mirth. Smiling was so much easier when she was privy to a private joke.
, Emma thought with silent mirth. Smiling was so much easier when she was privy to a private joke.
Olivia briefly slipped her arm through Emma’s. “My sister is looking the very height of fashion. Do you not think she is as pretty as ever?”
“Well, I …” Lady Jasper sputtered.
“I most certainly do,” rumbled Lord Jasper.
Baffled by Olivia’s defense of her, Emma reluctantly turned her gaze to her host. He was the picture of dissipation. His protruding belly strained the gold buttons of his maroon waistcoat. Spidery red veins webbed his cheeks and nose. He clutched a nearly empty glass in his beefy hand.
He thrust the glass at a passing servant. Then he bowed over Emma’s hand, and she controlled a shudder, glad for the shield of her long white gloves. Even so, she felt a bubble of laughter rise to her throat. By his idiot grin, he clearly had no clue as to her secret identity.
She couldn’t resist asking, “Are you not the hero who shot the infamous Bond Street Burglar?”
“’Deed so. He was a fierce villain, the stuff of nightmares. But I kept a clear head. I got out my pistol, took steady aim”—Putney sighted down the barrel of an imaginary gun—“and
pow
! Winged the fearsome blackguard.”
pow
! Winged the fearsome blackguard.”
Emma resisted the urge to rub her shoulder. “What a pity he got away, then.”
“Luck of the devil,” Putney grumbled.
“Unfortunately for us,” Olivia said darkly. “He stole into
my brother’s house a few nights ago. Dressed all in black like a demon. He frightened us out of our wits.”
my brother’s house a few nights ago. Dressed all in black like a demon. He frightened us out of our wits.”
“Boo,” said Lucas, coming up from behind them.
Emma jumped as her husband’s warm and heavy hand settled at the back of her waist. His presence coincided with a sudden weakness in her knees. She had the irritating impulse to lean against him for support. Instead, she stood ramrod straight, looking anywhere but at him.
Olivia’s husband chuckled. Slender and even-featured, Hugh gazed fondly at his wife. “If you’d awakened me, I would have been glad to defend you,” he said. “However, all’s well that ends well.”
“But the cunning criminal is still at large,” Lady Jasper said with a refined shiver. “One cannot feel safe these days, not even in one’s own home. Where will the Burglar strike next?”
While their hostess spoke, Lucas slid his hand up Emma’s spine to her shoulderblades. Starbursts of sensation marked the path of his touch. She felt her limbs dissolving as they had the night before. The cad. With the large potted plant behind them, she was certain no one could see him kneading the place where the bullet had exited.
“I’d venture to guess the Burglar has lost his nerve,” he told their hostess. “Getting caught in his last two robberies has surely taken a toll on his confidence.”
“And I helped put him out of commission,” boasted Lord Jasper. “Come along, Wortham, Hugh. We’ll have us a round or two of cards in the drawing room.”
“As you like. Unless my wife desires me”—Lucas paused a bare instant—“to dance.”
Emma looked sharply up at him, and her heart stumbled over a beat. Those golden eyes gleamed a dark promise in the candlelight. How dare he tease her in public—and question her confidence as the Burglar.
Playing the demure miss, she curtsied. “Do not let me keep you from your amusements, my lord.”
He lightly tapped the end of her nose. “Save a waltz for me.”
Lucas strolled away with the other two men as they headed into the drawing room. Emma’s skin burned where he had touched her. She didn’t like the sensation. No, she did not.
Lady Jasper and Olivia stood together, trading stories about the Burglar, but Emma had lost her taste for baiting them. It was just as well Lucas had left her. She had a mission tonight, a reason for coming here that no one else must guess. This was precisely the sort of event Lord Gerald Mannering might attend.
She excused herself from the ladies and struck off on her own. As she made her way through the throng of guests, she ignored the shocked glances, the whispers behind fluttering fans. Emma knew she looked stunning in her gown of clarence-blue silk with scalloped embroidery along the hem and sleeves, and her mother’s pearls gleaming at her throat. She had dressed soberly for so long, she had nearly forgotten how a fine appearance could lend power to a woman. She needed the extra edge. Suffering the arch looks of the ladies and the lusty leers of the gentlemen, she smiled coolly, nodding like a queen to those subjects she recognized.
It had been important to her at one time to have men fawning over her like so many butterflies around a bloom. But no more. Now she must concentrate on keeping Grandpapa out of debtor’s prison.
Where
was
Lord Gerald Mannering? Perhaps he had left town in the few days since milking her grandfather of five hundred pounds.
was
Lord Gerald Mannering? Perhaps he had left town in the few days since milking her grandfather of five hundred pounds.
Emma tempered that hope with reason. Surely he would not depart without collecting on his markers. And if she remembered him well enough, he wouldn’t miss a soiree like this one.
There was only one place left to look, the most logical place—and the most dangerous one. Keeping a smile firmly fixed on her face, she strolled through the crowded foyer and peeked into the drawing room.
The long chamber was elegantly appointed in mint-green with gilt cherubs grinning down from the ceiling. A number of guests, men and ladies alike, sat at the small tables that
had been set up for card playing. As she looked for Lord Gerald’s distinctive copper curls, she spied the dark hair of her husband instead. Her heart lurched. He sat with Hugh and Lord Jasper. At the moment Lucas was studying his cards, and she prayed he wouldn’t look up and wonder at her purpose.
had been set up for card playing. As she looked for Lord Gerald’s distinctive copper curls, she spied the dark hair of her husband instead. Her heart lurched. He sat with Hugh and Lord Jasper. At the moment Lucas was studying his cards, and she prayed he wouldn’t look up and wonder at her purpose.
“It must be my lucky night,” drawled a male voice in her ear. “To see my dearest Emma again.”
She whirled around and blinked at the object of her search. While she stood stupefied, Lord Gerald Mannering reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. In full view of the assembly of guests, he planted a lingering kiss in her gloved palm. His action jolted Emma to her senses.
She quickly drew him to the side of the doorway. Smiling brilliantly, she said, “I am Lady Wortham now.”
“To the wounded hearts of a score of gentlemen. I myself have been pining these past seven years.” He paused, a lusty slyness brightening his brown eyes. “Would you care for a stroll in the garden? The moon is lovely tonight.”
With an arrogance he wouldn’t have displayed before her fall from grace, he hauled Emma by the arm down the corridor leading toward the back of the house. Alarmed and incensed, she stopped by a large brass urn on a pedestal. They were still within sight of the other guests, and Lord Gerald scowled, apparently reluctant to drag her and cause a scene.
She mustered a flirtatious smile. “Oh, la, my lord. My husband is present. Pray keep in mind he is a very jealous man.”
“And your grandfather is a very indebted man,” Lord Gerald countered, while ogling her breasts. “I merely thought to suggest there are ways other than money to repay a debt.”
His blatant offer made Emma ill. She was tired of being presumed promiscuous, tired of feeling shame for the loss of her reputation. “What makes you think my husband will not repay the debt?”
“Because he told me so himself. Paid a call on me today at my club.”
Lucas
k
new?
And he had refused to save her grandfather from disgrace? Cold surprise shuddered through her. She ought to have expected as much from a man so changed. She ought to … and yet she hadn’t.
k
new?
And he had refused to save her grandfather from disgrace? Cold surprise shuddered through her. She ought to have expected as much from a man so changed. She ought to … and yet she hadn’t.
Smirking, Lord Gerald leaned closer and grasped her hand. A diamond stickpin winked in his cravat like a third eye. “Briggs has only a fortnight to pay up. So, my lady, perhaps you’ll think twice about my proposition. Answer quickly, for there’s Wortham now.”
Scanning the crowd, Lucas stood outside the drawing room. She knew the instant he spotted her. His gaze narrowed and his countenance seemed to darken. Then he strode toward them, his footsteps ringing like a death knell down the corridor.
Emma made a swift and rash decision. “Are you planning any parties at your house in the next fortnight?” she whispered to Lord Gerald.
“A ball next week. But that’s hardly the time for you and I—”
“Invite me,” she hissed. “And trust me, your debt shall be repaid in full.”
With the money from your own fenced jewels
, she thought.
Perhaps even that lovely stickpin … .
With the money from your own fenced jewels
, she thought.
Perhaps even that lovely stickpin … .
Not a moment later, Lucas’s fingers closed around her arm. A dark thrill quivered through her, and she turned with a gay, determined smile. The effort was lost on him, for he was glowering at her companion. “Mannering,” he said. “What an unpleasant surprise.”
“Wortham.” Lord Gerald bowed, the handsomeness of his face spoiled by his twisted smile. “I was just commenting on the danger of leaving such a lovely woman alone for so many years.”
“It’s nothing compared to the danger of touching my wife.”
The two men shared a long, hard look. Then Lord Gerald chuckled, stepping back from Emma. “She’s all yours, Wortham. Far be it from me to keep two cooing doves apart.”
“Have a care,” Lucas said. “Lest you find yourself challenged by a hawk, instead.” With that, he propelled her away from the party, through a glass-paned door at the rear of the house, and out into the chilly night.
Their footsteps scraped on the flagstone path of the garden. An occasional lantern cast a circle of light through the gloom, and large black lumps of shrubbery gave the small area an ominous aura. The pungent odor of the mews came from beyond the brick fence.
A gust of cold wind made Emma shiver. So did a glance upward to the cramped ledge along the top floor of the row of town houses. It was there, nearly six months earlier, that she had made her way, dazed and bleeding, narrowly escaping disaster.
“Why did you drag me out of the house?” she asked. “It can’t have been simply to ruin my evening.”
“I want some answers. Specifically, one answer.”
He spoke harshly, furiously. Her irritation at his high-handedness faltered beneath her budding alarm. A frisson of unease coursed over her skin. Music lilted from the ballroom, but they were alone out here in this intimate, enclosed garden.
She stopped by a small fountain that gurgled water from the mouth of a satyr. “Well,
I
want my pelisse,” she said, searching for an excuse to escape back indoors. “It’s chilly out here.”
I
want my pelisse,” she said, searching for an excuse to escape back indoors. “It’s chilly out here.”
“Take this, then.” He shrugged out of his coat and draped it around her shoulders.
Automatically she burrowed into the big garment. His body warmth wrapped around her like an embrace. “There was no need for you to make a scene in there,” she said. “I’ve done nothing wrong. Lord Gerald and I were merely renewing an old acquaintance.”
“Ah, so I was right,” Lucas said tersely. “You two have known each other for quite a long time.”
He loomed over her, and shadows shrouded his expression. She could hear him breathing in the darkness, could feel the pounding of her heart. Warmth pulsed in the depths
of her stomach. He knew of Grandpapa’s debt. Yet surely he couldn’t have guessed at her plan to play the Burglar again.
of her stomach. He knew of Grandpapa’s debt. Yet surely he couldn’t have guessed at her plan to play the Burglar again.
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