Earl of Scandal (London Lords) (9 page)

“Perhaps it would be amusing to play Cinderella,” she said thoughtfully. “I doubt that Mr. Faraday will pay much attention to us, despite his impassioned invitation. But we will have our own enjoyment planning the evening. Like the times when we put on plays as children.” A lump suddenly choked Merissa. Charles had enacted the male roles, portraying heroes and villains with dramatic flourish. Oh, how she missed those innocent days!

“Let’s go look in the trunk,” Elizabeth urged excitedly. “It’s been years since I’ve thought of it, but I remember that it held so many beautiful things.”

~ ~ ~

   Merissa stared at the image in the glass and brought a hand to her neck to arrange the lace collar.  Slowly, she turned her head, trying to get a glimpse of the back of her coiffure.  Elizabeth had arranged her hair in an upswept arrangement, with little tendrils hanging down around her face and silk flowers in the crown.  With the new gown, and her neck exposed and the hair off her forehead, she looked like someone else—someone sophisticated and exotic.

     She bit her lips to redden them, then made a pouting
moi
.  To enhance the effect, she tilted up her chin and lowered her eyelashes.

     Heavens!  When she did that, she appeared as a wanton, or, at least what she supposed a wanton looked like.  Perhaps she merely resembled the illustration in the eight-year-old copy of “Le Beau Monde” they had found in the attic. 

      She made a hideous face, then attempted the sultry expression again, fascinated by the transformation.

     “Admiring your beauty, are you?”  Elizabeth’s gentle voice broke into Merissa’s reverie.  “I must say, you look stunning.”  She wrapped her arms around Merissa’s shoulders and stood on tiptoe to kiss her sister’s cheek.

     “Oh, Elizabeth.”  Merissa fondly returned the embrace.  “You’ve done wonders.  The dress looks exactly like the picture, and my hair...”  She fingered the silk roses and gave a satisfied sigh.

     “I’m pleased you like it.”  Elizabeth stepped back and examined her critically.  “But I wish I could have found a lighter shade for the underskirt. I’m not certain the bright pink is all the thing.”

     “But the rest of it is perfect,” Merissa insisted.  “The high waist, the short puffed sleeves, the lace bodice.  And your dress...”  She nodded to Elizabeth’s attire, “although the design is simple, the green color makes your skin look like ivory and brings out the gold in your hair.”

     “You’re certain that the style is not scandalous?”  Elizabeth looked down at the square neckline that exposed her neck and shoulders. 

     “Nonsense.  It’s not as if the bodice is particularly low cut.  Why, in some of those pictures, the women look as if they might fall out of the gowns altogether!”  Merissa blushed. When she and her sister had first perused the magazine, she had briefly imagined herself in one of those outrageous styles, with her breasts half exposed to Christian Faraday’s eager examination.

     In the end she had selected something much more modest for Elizabeth to copy, with a high neck and demure lace bodice.

     “Well, I must pronounce myself quite pleased with the way we look,” Elizabeth said.  “While we may not be in the very height of fashion, we both appear very elegant.”

     “Have you heard if Richard will be there?”

     It was Elizabeth’s turn to blush.  “I don’t know, but it would be delightful if he did come.  At least then we would have someone to talk with.  I confess that I find the idea of entering a room full of strangers unsettling.  Of course,” she added quickly, “Lord Bedlington will be there. And we must remember what Papa has always told us, that a person’s worth cannot be measured by their clothes or other outward trappings.  When we are judged before God, it will be on the basis of our good works and what is in our hearts.”

     Merissa nodded.  “Indeed, we must not forget that truth.”

     Despite the reassuring words, she could not quite shake her own nervousness.  No matter how much she told herself that she did not care what the people at Darton Park thought of her, she knew that she did.  Tonight she was Cinderella, and she dreaded anything shattering her fantasy. “Is the brougham ready?” she asked.

     “Yes.  Bob has agreed to drive us so you needn’t worry about soiling your gloves.”

Merissa felt a twinge of irritation.  She hated the way Bob drove.  He was too slow, too cautious.  But Elizabeth did have a point. Ladies did not drive themselves.  If they were to carry off this masquerade successfully, she must keep to her role.

~ ~ ~

Lord and Lady Chester,” Ginter intoned as the middle-aged but still vigorous marquess and his petite, dark-haired wife entered the ballroom. Devon moved to greet his guests, but Christian remained by the punch bowl, nursing his brandy.

The arrival of the London crowd was making him decidedly edgy. Although he had encouraged this gathering, he now wondered at the soundness of the idea. Did he really want to be faced with these reminders of his past, especially with Merissa Cassell in attendance?

His uneasiness deepened as a statuesque blonde entered a step or two behind the Chesters. “Lady Diana Fortescue,” the butler announced. Christian saw Devon hesitate a second, then move to greet the new arrival.

As he leaned down to kiss the lady’s hand, she moved very close and whispered something in Devon’s ear. He straightened so quickly, Christian almost laughed aloud. Lady Diana was up to her old tricks. Did she really imagine that she could seduce happily married Devon?

Christian’s laughter died on his lips as Diana spied him across the room. She approached slowly, allowing him to take in the full impact of her extremely tight, very low-cut gown. Christian felt a chill down his spine. Good heavens, he was Diana’s target!

“My lord,” Diana gushed, “what a surprise to find you here. I hardly imagined to find someone like you at a quaint country party.”

“You know Devon and I are good friends. I’m simply visiting for a time.”

Diana’s delicate brows arched upward. “It’s not even hunting season. I cannot imagine what you’ve been doing with yourself” She leaned forward, offering Christian an eyeful of her décolletage. “I must say, I find the Northrups frightfully boring. I would never have consented to come if I hadn’t known you would be here.”

“Given your attitude, I’m surprised they invited you,” Christian said dryly.

Diana moved even closer, brushing her breasts against Christian’s arm. He could swear he felt one of her nipples through his coat sleeve, so thin was her gown. “In truth, they didn’t invite me. I simply came along with Lord and Lady Chester. I knew that Devon was much too well-bred to throw me out, even if he doesn’t want me here.”

“His wife may have less restraint,” Christian warned. For all her refined demeanor, Caroline

Langley had a passionate streak, particularly regarding her husband. He could well imagine her coldly ordering Diana to leave.

“Pooh, she won’t do anything. As long as she knows I’m not after her husband, she won’t have the nerve to make a scene. She’s merely a merchant’s daughter after all. She knows not to offend her betters.”

Christian raised his brows at this comment, but said nothing. Diana Fortescue was a force to be reckoned with in the ton. In truth, very few people were willing to scorn her to her face.

Diana surveyed the room with a bored expression and then said, “I can tell it’s going to be a frightfully dull evening.” She regarded him with slitted cat eyes. “Why don’t you and I slip away and find some other means of entertaining ourselves?”

“The party’s scarcely begun, Diana. It would be most improper.”

“Exactly.”

She laid a milk-white, bejeweled hand on his chest, and slowly trailed it downward. Christian caught her wrist as her teasing fingers reached the buttons of his light blue pantaloons. “You may not care whom you shock, but Devon’s a friend, and his opinion matters to me.”

Diana pulled her hand away. “Very well, but I shall expect you to make it up to me later. I would not have come if I had not heard some deliciously naughty tales regarding you and another lady.” She leaned over and gave his ear a little nip, then whispered, “Honoria sends her best.”

Diana sashayed off, laughing softly, and Christian breathed a sigh of relief. Thank heavens the Cassell sisters had not arrived while Diana was fondling him. In truth, he found her behavior most distasteful. He really had no desire to go to bed with someone who acted so crudely!

The thought surprised him. When had he become so fastidious about his bedpartners?

When you met Merissa Cassell
, was the answer that popped into mind. Since spending time with that bedeviling woman, he had begun to view the world altogether differently. Some of his old habits truly seemed disgusting.

She’s really wormed her way into your thoughts, Christian. Next thing you know, you’ll be asking her permission to place wagers!

Even as the nagging thought taunted him, the object of his mental turmoil entered the room.

“The Misses Cassell,” Ginter intoned. While Devon moved forward to meet his guests, Christian could only stare at the transformation. The Merissa Cassell he knew was pretty and appealing, but this woman was beautiful! The upswept coiffure revealed her long, elegant neck and the perfect oval of her face, while the combination of bright pink silk and creamy lace set off her rosy cheeks and dark hair.

And her gown! The bodice, although demurely high-necked, clung to Merissa’s breasts in a way that seemed infinitely more erotic to Christian than Diana Fortescue’s lewdly plunging neckline. His loins tightened and his mouth went dry as he recalled fondling those firm, enticing peaks. Fortunately, Merissa’s nervous, fawn-like expression snapped him from the vivid sexual fantasy and made him recall his duty to give her a proper greeting.

He crossed the room, feeling stiff and tongue-tied.

He bowed first to Elizabeth, noting that she also looked ravishing in a bottle green gown that gilded her hair golden and turned her blue eyes a startling turquoise shade. “Miss Cassell, I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you have come. How did you find the roads?”

“Bob drove us, and we had no trouble at all. It was really very kind of you to ask us. We’ve never been to a house party before,” she added, looking around the ballroom with wide eyes. “And such a beautiful home. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I’m certain His Lordship has stayed in much more lavish establishments,” Merissa said in a cool voice. “He probably thinks this is quite the humble little country gathering.”

Christian smiled as he grasped Merissa’s hand and bowed low before touching his lips to her cold fingers. Merissa had assumed her usual quelling manner. But he knew better than to believe it. He’d seen her face when she arrived; she was absolutely terrified.

“Miss Cassell,” he murmured, still holding her hand tightly. “You look... exquisite.” She colored and an uncertain, pleased look crossed her face. “That gown is most becoming.” He allowed his eyes to linger on the swell of her bosom, then raised his glance to hers. She easily caught the turn of his thoughts. Her color deepened even more and she took a quick, shaky breath. He stared at her plump mouth until she began to tremble, then took pity on her and turned back to Elizabeth.

“Come, you must meet our hostess,” he told her. He offered an arm to each of the sisters.

“Lord Northrup seemed rather stern and frightening when he greeted us,” Elizabeth whispered. “I hope his wife is a little friendlier.”

“Oh, that’s merely Devon’s habitual reserve. He doesn’t smile a great deal, but he is no ogre. You should see him playing on the floor with his baby son, acting an utter fool,” Christian told her. “You will find Lady Caroline more than makes up for his reticent nature.”

He led the sisters into a salon off the main ballroom where refreshments were set up. Caroline spied him and immediately left her other guests. -

“Christian, you must introduce me to your darling friends.” She grasped Merissa’s hand. “Devon and I are most beholden to you, not only for rescuing Christian after his accident, but also reminding him that not all women are inclined to swoon at his feet.” She smiled teasingly. “It’s not often that anyone gets the best of Christian. Did you really threaten to leave him to freeze on the road?”

“I would not really have done so,” Merissa answered in a breathless voice. “It was simply that... I lost my temper, you see, and when that happens, I do not always think before I speak.”

“None of us do.” Caroline patted her hand. “I meant my words sincerely. Christian is so easily bored. He needs someone to match wits with. I’m delighted he has found you.”

She turned to the other sister. “And you must be Elizabeth. Christian was quite charmed with you as well. When we first discussed this party, he said we must have you. I’ve also heard of your father, The Reverend Mr. Cassell. Quite a scholar he is.”

Elizabeth beamed at these words. “Truly, he is a most extraordinary man. I don’t think anyone realizes the true import of the issues he delves into. When his book on classical philosophy is published, they will finally understand his brilliance.”

“I’m certain they will,” Caroline said. “And you have a brother as well... Charles, is it? Is he still attending Cambridge?”

It was as if Caroline had poured a bucket of cold water over the Cassell sisters. Elizabeth looked distraught, and Merissa went rigid and pale, as though Caroline had said something that shocked her speechless.

Elizabeth recovered first. “Charles is... that is, we have not seen him recently. I cannot truly tell you his circumstances.”

“Of course. I apologize for prying.” Caroline’s smile never wavered as she took Merissa’s arm and led her to the punch table. “Would you like some raffia? Or, perhaps something stronger. It’s still cool out, and a little sherry would help warm you up. Just a touch, you know.”

Christian overheard Merissa’s murmured assent as he faced Elizabeth. “Would you like to partake of the refreshments?” he asked. “The Northrup cook makes a divine crab bisque, and there is ham and chicken as well.”