Tammy Falkner - [Faerie 02] (6 page)

“Or what?” she taunted.

The carriage rolled to a stop, and a footman opened the door and lowered the step. “Or you might find yourself in a similar situation.”

“Take me with you tomorrow?” she insisted. She didn’t want him going to a den of iniquity alone. Or with any other woman.

“No.”

She would just have to change his mind.

Finn dressed with great care the next night, making sure his cravat was folded to perfection, and the pin that winked from the center of it matched his eyes perfectly. He let Simmons apply scented shaving soap when he shaved off his evening stubble. He looked presentable, he assumed. He tugged at the length of his jacket. Despite the debauchery that would be present, he knew this would be a formal ball.

Simmons bent and wiped an imaginary spot from the toe of Finn’s boot. He stood up and surveyed Finn with a critical eye. “I believe you are presentable, my lord,” Simmons said.

He was more than presentable. Presentable was a Christmas goose. He was the blasted chandelier in the middle of the ballroom, alight with a thousand flaming candles.

Finn hated these gatherings. He would rather stay at home. If he stayed home, he could go and find Claire and entice her to talk to him. She’d been surprisingly absent all day. Finn had even gone to search her out at one point during the day, worried for her, but was informed by Wilkins that she had gone out to visit the apothecary with her new maid.

What on earth might she need from the apothecary? And with what did she purchase it?

“I gave her some of the household funds,” Wilkins had informed him. “I believe His Grace would have wanted me to do so.”

Finn should have thought of her need for money and given her some of her own. He had plenty to spare.

He looked once more in the looking glass, content with what he saw. He would go quickly to Ackley’s ball and find Katherine, and then ask her that fateful question. The question that could change the course of his life.

He highly doubted that the child was his. But one could not be certain of such matters. The thought of having a child didn’t frighten him. The thought of having a child with Katherine did.

Finn shrugged into his coat, took his walking stick and hat from Wilkins, and started for the front door. He’d called for a carriage before he came downstairs, and the staff at the Hall was nothing if not efficient. Wilkins opened the door, and Finn stepped out into the night. He turned back to look at the upstairs window. He very nearly turned around and went back inside when he saw a figure standing in the window upstairs, watching him leave. He couldn’t see her face, but he had no doubt it was Claire. He tipped his hat at her, and she raised her hand and waved.

The footman opened the carriage door and Finn stepped inside. He leaned back heavily against the squabs. He didn’t relish this night, not in the least. He wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation with Katherine. He wasn’t even looking forward to the debauchery. He had only one woman on his mind, and she’d been on his mind for months. And now she was in his house. And he was gone. He sighed heavily.

From the darkness on the other side of the coach, a throaty laugh erupted. Finn jumped and reached for the lamp. As he did, the person on the darkened side of the carriage came to sit beside him. He looked her up and down.

“Who the devil are you?” he asked.

“I can be whoever you want me to be,” she purred. She wore a black silk mask that tied behind her head. Her hair was a riot of black curls atop her head, held back by shimmering diamond hair clips.

The scent of her reached up to tickle his nose. It was the soft smell of lemons and summer. He would know that smell anywhere. In fact, it invaded his dreams most nights, wrapping around his manhood and squeezing. Much like it was doing now. “Claire?” he asked.

She laughed and tugged the mask from her face. “I thought it would take you longer.” Her lips formed a pout. And he immediately wanted to kiss her.

Finn moved to tap the roof so he could call the coachman to turn around and take her back. But she reached over and covered his hand with hers, drawing it down into her lap. “Claire,” he warned. “You have to go back to the Hall.”

“I’ll do no such thing.”

***

Claire didn’t like the idea of him going to a den of iniquity. Not at all. And she was bound and determined that he would not go without her. She’d spent the entire day preparing for the ball. She’d even paid a visit to the apothecary to get tint for her hair. Her normal blond locks were now a sooty black. Her face was painted and her eyes lined lightly with kohl. She even had a tiny beauty mark on her left cheek.

She looked up at Finn, prepared to explain her actions. But his eyes were riveted to her breasts. She looked down and tugged at the bodice of her gown, trying to bring it a little higher, but it was no use. Instead, she straightened her spine and stared back at him.

“That dress is positively indecent. Where did you obtain it?”

“I paid a visit to your Colette and told her what I needed.”

Finn groaned. “What possessed you to do such a thing? Are you mad? She’ll tell everyone!”

“She had no idea who I was. I went after I’d tinted my hair and painted my face. She thinks I am a newcomer to town and that my name is Mrs. Abercrombie.”

“And she’s not my Colette,” he grumbled.

“She would like to be.” It was amazing the things women would say when they didn’t assume you were an innocent. “She was rather envious that I had been invited to this particular ball.” But that was neither here nor there. She took a deep breath and pushed on. “Tell me what tonight’s mission is. So I can prepare myself.”

“You will wait in the carriage, Claire. I will not take you into Ackley’s ball. There are things there that someone of your sort should never see. You’d be scarred for life.”

“Public beheading?” Claire gasped, teasing him.

“More like public intercourse,” he said, raising a brow at her.

Claire’s heart stuttered. “You mean… two people…” She let her words trail off.

“Or three or four,” he corrected. “This is not your typical soiree.”

“I can overlook the public intercourse.” She tapped his leg, and he scooted it away from her. “What’s wrong?”

“I will not take you to this party. I’d take you home if I didn’t think this would take no more than a moment.” He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I just need to find someone and ask some questions.” He looked down at her dress again. Then back up to her hair. “What did you put on your hair?” He pulled one of her curls until the curl straightened, and then let it slip from his fingers to curl back up at the base of her neck. Claire shivered lightly.

“Don’t worry. I used a little faerie dust in my hair, so it will wash out tonight.”

“You look beautiful,” he said, his voice suddenly raspier than usual. “But I like your real hair color more. I miss it.”

“Thank you.” Her heart was beating so strongly that he could probably hear it.

The carriage began to slow. “You will remain in the carriage,” he warned. She wouldn’t, but she would let him go inside before he figured that out. She could be a help to him in his mission, whatever it was. He just didn’t know that yet.

She nodded at him and heaved a sigh. “I will remain in the carriage. Though I’d hoped for at least a dance.”

“We can dance when we get back to the Hall,” he said. He pointed a finger at her and shook it. “Do not get out of the carriage.”

He spoke briefly to the footmen who remained with the carriage, and one of them looked through the window into the coach, surprised to see her there. “Who is she, my lord?” one of them asked.

“Just an acquaintance of mine,” he said. “Do not let her out of the coach.”

“You can count on us, my lord,” the footman said. Then he leaned against the door and sealed her in. She could get out. She was a faerie after all. But she couldn’t shrink and fly away in this dress. Definitely not. She’d need her fae clothing for that. But she would find a way. She would not let Finn attend this party without her.

***

Finn stepped through the entrance and stopped at the door, observing the room. From behind his mask, he could still see everything clearly, and he wasn’t terribly impressed with the goings-on. This portion of the party was moderately respectable, and the part that was much less respectable was farther toward the interior.

“Lord Phineas,” a cool voice said at the door.

“Good evening,” he replied. He walked through the crush of people, scanning the crowd quickly. Some of his men were here. He’d seen to it himself. He felt much more at ease knowing his men were in place. He was tempted to send one of them out to watch over Claire. But she had two strapping footmen watching her. She would be fine. This wouldn’t take long.

Finn strode toward the back of the manor. There would be more going on back there, and that was where he would surely find Katherine. She lived for events such as this.

He finally saw Katherine at the back of the billiards room, draped over the arm of her new protector. Finn was surprised to find that he didn’t feel a single bit of jealousy. Mayden could have her. But he couldn’t have a child that might possibly be Finn’s.

Finn motioned toward one of his men, who stalked over toward the pair. He asked Katherine to dance. It was Lord Mayden’s turn at billiards, so he let her go with no qualms. Finn’s man swept Katherine onto the floor, holding her much too close, but that was probably as much Katherine’s doing as his detective’s. The man maneuvered her expertly around the room, toward a set of open doors on the terrace.

Finn started in that direction as soon as they crossed the threshold. He slipped out into the night, gave his man a nod, and stepped into place beside Katherine. “Finn,” she said, startling a bit.

“Katherine,” he said crisply. “I hope you are well.”

Katherine’s hand lifted toward her cheek. He could see the telltale shadows of a bruise there and another at her hairline. He took her hand in his and forced her to lift her arm. She had a ring of fingerprints on the back of her arm as well. They were well hidden by a shawl, but she couldn’t hide from him. “Don’t,” she protested, as he let his fingers graze the marks on her arm.

“Why him, Katherine?” Finn asked. He hadn’t seen her even once since the letter from her had arrived, notifying him of her choice of protectors. That he was no longer needed.

“He seemed the thing at the time,” she said. Her voice cracked.

“Are you happy?” he asked. He eyed her bruises, and she flushed under his frank appraisal.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “I needed to talk with you.”

“I heard,” he said with a nod. “Is it true?”

Her eyebrows pushed together. “Is what true?”

“Are you increasing? And is it mine?”

Finn heard a gasp from behind him and turned to find Claire standing outside the doorway, merely a few feet from where they stood. Claire clutched at her heart, laying her hand flat over her chest like she needed a moment to collect herself. “Blast and damn,” he gritted out. “What are you doing here?”

***

The woman dressed in blue sapphire was expecting a baby, and it was Finn’s. Goodness, what a muddle. Two women expecting at the same time. Claire absently wondered how many more there were as she pushed through the crowd and back toward the front door. Finn called for her to wait. But if she waited, she would break. She would rip into a million pieces. She would shatter. And he would see her.

Already tears pricked at the backs of her lashes. She ran through an open doorway and down a long corridor. At the end, she opened the first door she found and stumbled into the middle of someone’s interlude. Heavy grunts bumped the walls and the desk upon which the thrusting was centered shifted to rub heavily against the floor. Claire spun and fled. Laughter followed in her wake.

She sighted a stairwell at the other end of the corridor and ran in that direction. When she got to the top, she hid in the curtains that lined the railing. But from behind them, she could see that the area where she stood looked down upon the ballroom. She stood still, hiding the folds of her red gown within the curtains.

She didn’t think he could break her heart. He was just a man she’d spent a single night with. And not even a whole night. Merely a few hours. But she was suffering the consequences of her actions. And he had another woman who was doing the same. Damn him!

“Claire,” a voice hissed from outside the curtains. She wiped her nose instead of sniffling as she truly needed to do. “Claire,” he hissed again. This time, she couldn’t keep from sniffling. The curtains parted and he stepped into the darkness with her. “Damn it, Claire, what are you doing here?”

“Not watching you with your paramour,” she said. She crossed her arms beneath her breasts.

“Former paramour,” he said quietly. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” she said. Then she steeled herself. “You should have told me that you had a child on the way.”

“Why the devil would I do that?” he asked. He had a point. Why would he do that? She was nothing to him.

“That’s what you came here to ask her about?” She wiped her hand beneath her nose. She hated that he got even a hint of her tears. Absolutely loathed it. And herself for getting into this situation.

“Yes, that’s what I needed to ask about.” He reached for her, his hand cupping her neck as he tilted her head back with his thumb. “But tell me why that bothers you.”

“It doesn’t.”

His eyes narrowed; she could see them even in the darkness. “The truth, Claire.”

She couldn’t tell him about her own condition. He was already dealing with one lady who was expecting his child. The man would be bound for Bedlam if he found out about Claire. Goodness, what a mess.

“Did you think you were the only one I’d ever had relations with?” The corners of his lips tipped up ever so slightly.

“Your list of conquests is probably long and varied.” She bit out through gritted teeth, “And I hate that I’m on it.”

“Is that what’s bothered you? That you weren’t my first? Come on, Claire. I can’t undo my past. Don’t ask it of me because it’s not fair.” He groaned and touched his forehead to hers. “You weren’t one of a list of women, Claire,” he tried. But he sounded like an idiot.

“I was one night,” she said. Her voice was not much more than a reluctant grunt.

“Did you want it to be more than that?” He looked into her eyes.

Did she? She was expecting his child. It couldn’t be more, however, because he was not of her world. “I don’t know,” she whispered.