Her Notorious Viscount (21 page)

“Let’s start with this and see what happens,” he murmured before he leaned down and kissed her.

For the first time in nearly a year, she was at a ball as a guest, not a servant.

Lady Ridgefield patted her arm and leaned closer. “Once again, my dear, I must say how lovely you look.”

Jane blushed. “Thank you, my lady. It is all your doing and the others.”

“No.” Lady Ridgefield turned toward her and looked at her head on. “It is more than the dress or the style of your hair. There is something different about you tonight, actually it has been there for a few days now. A light from within you. A sparkle in your eyes. Like you have some kind of delightful secret.”

Jane sucked in a breath and tried to keep her face placid. If she had been lit from the inside as of late, it was because she
did
have a secret. And wonderful memories of the night she had spent in Nicholas’s arms. Those memories were with her all the time now, vivid and wonderful.

She hoped they never lost their freshness since that night could never be repeated.

Lady Ridgefield turned away. “I want to apologize to you, my dear.”

Jane was pulled from her fantasies in an instant. Lady Ridgefield was so flighty and silly it was rare for her to ever sound serious. But now she sounded dejected.

“Apologize? Whatever for?”

Her employer…
former
employer gave her a sheepish side glance. “I never even thought of bringing you out into Society until Lady Bledsoe brought the subject up. I merely kept you as my companion because I thought it was right, that I was helping you. But seeing you so happy as you make your return…it makes me realize just how selfish I was.”

“My dearest Lady Ridgefield, how can you say that?” Jane caught her hand and drew the other woman away from the crowd. “You have been the kindest, most wonderful friend and employer I ever could have dreamed of having. I came to you with no references, no experience, and you took me on with naught but faith to go upon. I came to
you
.” Jane blinked as tears stung her eyes.

Lady Ridgefield shifted, almost as if she were uncomfortable. “Yes. But you were not unhappy with me?”

“Of course not.” Jane squeezed her hands. “And I never expected anyone to help me return to Society. I was not pining for it. I promise you.”

That seemed to brighten the other woman, for she smiled. “Good. I admit that has been weighing on me the past few days. But now we are here and I vow you will be the center of all attention before this night is through. Or at least until Lord Stoneworth appears and takes it all.”

Jane stiffened at the mention of Nicholas’s name. They had not spoken since she slipped from his bed early the morning before. And yet he had been on her mind ever since. As the ball grew nearer, so did her anticipation. She would see him again. He had not yet arrived, but she was counting the moments.

“Will he be here tonight?” she asked, doing her best to appear innocent when she was desperate for any word of him.

Lady Ridgefield nodded. “I can only hope this reintroduction into Society will go better than the last. But his dear mother seems to think it will be well.”

Before Jane could dig for more information, a voice cut through the crowed. “Why, is that Jane Fenton?”

She looked up to see Georgiana Mortimer making her way through the groups of people toward her. They had come out into Society the same year and had even been friends. But Georgiana had not spoken, nor even looked at Jane since her father died. And now she was Countess St. James, married to a powerful and much older man.

Jane braced herself for the encounter.

“My dear, don’t you look lovely? It is so nice to see you back at these events,” her former friend said before she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to each of Jane’s cheeks.

Jane stood in stunned silence for a moment, then briefly pondered reminding Georgiana that she
had
been at virtually every event the other woman had attended during the past year, but held her tongue.

Her silence didn’t seem to affect Georgiana in the least, for she was already greeting Lady Ridgefield and babbling on about gowns or something equally frivolous.

“Do you remember Elizabeth and Hermione from our old group?” Georgiana continued, squeezing Jane’s hands gently.

“Y-yes,” she finally stammered.

Georgiana flashed a brilliant grin. “They are here tonight, as well. Elizabeth married a duke, you know. Or…he will be a duke once his father is dead. Poor Hermione is still unmarried, but I hear Marquis Waterbury is interested in her, though I seem to recall he danced with
you
a few times when we all came out. At any rate, we would love if you would come and talk to us. We’re just over by the terrace doors there.”

She motioned across the room to indicate where the other girls stood. Jane smiled, and the two waved simultaneously.

“I…” She hesitated.

Lady Ridgefield smiled. “Of course she will. What a wonderful chance to reacquaint yourselves.”

“Excellent. I’ll see you in just a moment, Jane. And good evening, Lady Ridgefield,” Georgiana said before she swept off into the crowd.

Jane stared after her. When the young woman was out of earshot, she turned back to Lady Ridgefield in astonishment.

“None of them have even looked at me since…I cannot remember when. In fact, I think Hermione may have given me the cut direct right after my brother was declared dead and I told my cousin I would not take his money. Why would they—”

“You have powerful friends now,” Lady Ridgefield said with a smile. “Lady Bledsoe, especially, has been praising you to the heavens. She is paving your way, my dear. And you should accept her help, for she has far more influence than I. Now go be with your friends and enjoy yourself. I shall come and do my chaperone duties later.”

Jane nodded as her former employer gave her a little shove toward the women across the room. As Jane dutifully made her way to them, her mind spun. It was somewhat humiliating that her acceptance was born from the praise of other women. And as she looked around the room, acknowledging unexpected hellos and smiles from those around her, Jane was surprised to find that she didn’t feel like she belonged here anymore.

She didn’t belong in either the servant world or the one she had been raised in. Just like Nicholas. He said over and over that he didn’t belong in this world, although he had been willing to sacrifice everything he enjoyed and held dear to make the effort to fit in.

“There she is,” Georgiana said, motioning Jane into her group. “You remember everyone, don’t you?”

Jane nodded as the other women said hello and exchanged awkward hugs. Even though they were welcoming her, she couldn’t help but feel a distance from them. After all, these women had all but forgotten she existed when she fell onto harder times. None had reached out to her or even given her common courtesy. Even now, she could see their friendliness was only caused by a desire to impress Jane’s influential sponsors.

“I believe that is the prettiest dress in the room,” Elizabeth, now Lady Comnouck, said with a smile that was almost sincere. “That color complements your eyes very nicely. But you were always one of the prettier girls in our set.”

Jane glanced down at the dark blue dress she wore. Although she would never admit it, she had spent a good deal of time staring at herself in the mirror tonight after she had been dressed. It was like looking at a stranger. A princess.

“Thank you,” she said with a blush. “It is a lovely gown.”

“Indeed,” Hermione said with a quick glance up and down Jane’s frame. “I suppose Lady Ridgefield and Lady Bledsoe’s money
can
do wonders.”

Jane frowned at the catty remark and the other women quickly changed the subject as Hermione sipped her drink and stared off into the crowd with disinterest. Again their talk turned to frivolous things. Clothing and who was marrying whom. Jane had begun to allow her mind to drift off when a buzz in the crowd drew her attention.

“There he is,” Elizabeth whispered, though her tone was anything but soft. “Is it a wager?”

“Who?” Jane asked, but already she knew why the crowd had begun to shift and move. An electric energy had entered the air, an awareness throughout her every pore that could only signal the arrival of one person.

Nicholas.

She craned her neck to see, and suddenly the crowd parted and there he was. She smiled as she thought of how much this was like the first time she saw him. And how little.

That night he had been feral, dark, dangerous. And he was still all those things, but he was dressed impeccably, he was shaved neatly, and his dangerous nature was tamed to the extent that most people would not even notice it because they were drawn to his other good qualities.

“It’s Nicholas Stoneworth, your patron’s son,” Hermione provided with a sour expression. “We’ve been wagering over his failure tonight. I say he will make a spectacle of himself within the first hour. Elizabeth says two, and Georgiana here is very kind. She believes he’ll last to midnight before he reveals his true nature.”

Jane turned on the women with a gasp. Standing together, their necks craned to see over the crowd, their faces filled with joy at the potential for someone else’s pain, they reminded her of a nest of vipers.

“What about it, Jane,” Georgiana said with a giggle. “Will you throw in a pound?”

“She might not have a pound, Georgie,” Hermione said, her cruel gaze falling on Jane.

“I have the money,” Jane said softly. “But I wouldn’t place a bet on his failure. In fact, I will bet you all
twenty
pounds that he succeeds beyond anyone’s wildest imaginings. I will wager thirty that Hermione here is leaning on his arm, trying to catch his eye before the Season is over.”

With that, she spun on her heel and left the gaping women behind. The moment her back was turned, she regretted her outburst. Making enemies was tantamount to spitting in the faces of Lady Bledsoe and Lady Ridgefield. But worse, it might cause talk about her relationship with Nicholas. Defending him so passionately was only bound to cause trouble.

Except that she couldn’t let their nastiness stand. Not after he had worked so hard and long. Not after they had both sacrificed so much for his success.

She stopped at the edge of the dance floor and watched Nicholas surreptitiously. He was gliding into the room with grace, but now she recognized his movements as the calculations they were. He had the same subtle stance that he did the night he sparred with Rage. Waiting for an attack, planning a counter to it. Only this time, they were not physical battles.

He looked impeccable. He was wearing the waistcoat she had once complimented when she saw his newly designed clothing. The one that brought out the startling contrast of his bright, intense eyes. His jacket fit perfectly across broad shoulders. She watched closely to see if he was feeling any remnants of the attack on him earlier in the week, but he didn’t so much as flinch as he stepped into the room and shook the hands of those around him.

And there were plenty of hands to shake. Jane smiled as man after man approached him, taking a moment to say their hellos. Nicholas’s expression was perfect. Cool, detached, but not unfriendly. A far cry from the growling, half-drunk barbarian she had first seen across a room just like this one.

Lady Bledsoe stepped up to her son with a smile and said something. He laughed in response, and Jane found herself smiling along with him. He almost looked like he was enjoying this, though she knew his true feelings on gatherings of this kind.

Then his mother motioned to someone behind her, and a small group of young women stepped forward. Jane’s heart sank as Nicholas kissed their hands and smiled as they were introduced. By the twittering giggles of the women and their blushes, it seemed that he would have no trouble in
that
realm, either.

Jane turned away, no longer as pleased by his triumphant return to Society as she had been. In fact, she felt…She wasn’t sure what it was. It wasn’t anger, and it wasn’t jealousy. Well, perhaps a small bit of jealousy, but that wasn’t the main thrust of the painful emotions that clouded her mind.

It was sadness.

She should have been happy for him. Their training had clearly been successful, at least at first blush. And she had no doubt Nicholas would continue to work toward respectability, if only to protect his brother’s reputation. But she wasn’t happy. For this night, this success he was finding here, it signaled the true end of the nights they had shared. The reality of the situation was becoming very clear to her. He would marry some woman just like those his mother had introduced him to a moment ago.

And Jane would become a footnote in his past. Another woman who had shared his bed for a brief night. At some point, he might not even recall her name.

She swallowed hard.

“I beg your pardon?”

With a start, Jane turned toward the male voice that had interrupted her reverie. A young man stood at her side, dark eyes friendly and open.

“I’m sorry, I suppose I was woolgathering,” Jane said, remembering her manners.

“You are Jane Fenton, are you not?” the gentleman said. When Jane nodded, he continued, “I have been looking for your chaperone to be properly introduced, but I cannot wait a moment longer. I am Bertram Eggertan. I wondered if you would be willing to dance the next with me?”