His Favorite Mistress (15 page)

Her lips tightened. Just for an instant, he thought she was going to refuse him, but then she smiled and inclined her head. “Thank you, Wyvern. I would be delighted.”

“Julianna,” he said, “I trust you will forgive the two of us for abandoning you?”

She waved a casual hand toward the dance floor. “Of course, go on and enjoy yourselves. It will give me an opportunity to find out where Rafe has gone. I suspect he is either playing cards or talking politics. Bonaparte is the most likely topic of conversation now that the little tyrant has escaped Elba and started the war raging again on the Continent. Have fun and I shall see you both in a bit.”

With a parting smile, she walked away, leaving him and Gabriella alone—if one could view standing in a crowded ballroom as being alone. Yet oddly enough, that is how the moment felt, especially when she raised her gaze to his. The extraordinary depth and color of her eyes sent a rush of hot and cold over his skin, his pulse giving a hard kick as an unbidden fist of arousal once again lodged where it had no place being.

Tearing away his gaze, he held out his arm. “Shall we?” He waited while she laid a small palm against his black coat sleeve, then led her forward.

“So how are you finding the Season? Is it everything you had hoped?” he inquired as they took their places among the other couples assembling for the set.

She arched a brow. “Since I harbored no particular expectations from the outset, I must say it is everything I could have dreamt and more. I am continually amazed, much like a sparrow who finds herself thrust into a cage full of canaries.”

He flashed her an amused smile. “You are hardly a sparrow.”

“Well, don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I feel like one masquerading in her fine new feathers. The Pendragons may have provided me with an array of gorgeous silks and satins, but I still remember when I had nothing but plain, serviceable cotton to wear.”

“Silk or cotton, you look equally beautiful in either.”

A warm gleam came into Gabriella’s gaze and she opened her mouth to reply. But the moment she did, the music began and seconds later, the dance.

Due to the required movements, she found him moving away from her as often as he came near, her hands clasped inside his own for a few brief moments before he released her and stepped away. The experience was as frustrating as it was satisfying, a kind of sanctioned public titillation. At least that is how it seemed to her as she danced with the duke. Although she had to admit she had never felt this way with any of her previous dance partners.

“You owe me a ride, you know,” she said when their hands were joined again. “Considering how you had to hurry home that last day in the country.”

His brow shot skyward. “I had business, if you will recall.”

The dance forced them apart. Gabriella bided her time until they came together again. “It’s all done now, I assume?” she commented in a lilting voice.

His eyes twinkled. “For the moment, though one never knows when it will once more rear its head.”

“An ugly head, too, I would imagine,” she quipped.

A laugh escaped him. “At times, though not all business is bad. On occasion it can be quite pleasurable.”

“Many things can be pleasurable. Riding, for instance. I packed my blue habit, by the way. Though since arriving in Town, I’ve added a very smart lavender one to my wardrobe as well. Lord Carlow and Mr. Hughes both informed me the shade complements my eyes.”

Wyvern’s hand tightened around hers before he had to step away. She hid a smile, her heart thudding beneath her breast as she forced herself to continue dancing. From the opposite side of the line of dancers, she could feel his gaze, her skin tingling with awareness.

“So you’ve gone riding already, have you?” he demanded in a deep rumbling tone when the dance again brought them near.

“Just once. I have yet to christen my blue gown, though. You could help me break it in. Otherwise you never know who might be willing to do the deed.”

His hand squeezed hers again, a heated flash darkening his eyes. “Be careful in choosing your admirers. Some of them may seem harmless but possess a set of hidden motivations underneath their exteriors.”

“What of you, Your Grace? What hidden motivations do you have? Since a less harmless man I have never met.”

A slow smile curved his mouth, the music and the dance coming to an end. Yet he didn’t immediately release her, his gaze locked upon her own. “You are right. I am far from harmless and you would do well to remember that. Don’t play with tigers unless you’re prepared to get scratched.”

A shiver ran over her skin. “I’ll do my best to take care. Though to my way of thinking, tigers are nothing more than great, big cats in wont of a bit of taming.”

Another laugh rumbled from his throat before he offered her his arm. “Is that so? Come, minx. Let us find Rafe and Julianna.”

“As you will, Your Grace,” she demurred before laying her palm on his sleeve.

Chapter Eight

T
HREE DAYS LATER,
Tony called at the Pendragon townhouse. As Gabriella had so aptly pointed out, doing otherwise would be rude. Rafe and Julianna were his friends, after all, and if he ceased visiting them in their home, they would surely begin to wonder why. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was paying a specific call on Gabriella—since he most assuredly was not—but rather on the family as a whole. That’s why he’d chosen late morning, the hour being too advanced for breakfast but too early for a regular social call.

Word had it the house filled with gentlemen in the afternoons, a collection of them gathering like a pack of hounds—all come to pant after Gabriella. The idea alone was enough to keep him away at that particular hour, since despite his promise to look after her, he had no intention of subjecting himself to such an appalling display. Julianna, he felt confident, was more than capable of acting as chaperone inside her own home. He certainly didn’t need to add his efforts. Anyway, if he took to dropping by while Gabriella’s coterie of suitors was present, Society might get the mistaken impression that he was one of them!

As he strode up the stone entrance steps, the door swung open, held wide by the Pendragons’ butler.

“Hello, Martin,” he greeted as he walked inside. “How are you this morning?”

“Very well, Your Grace. Thank you for inquiring. And yourself?”

Tony doffed his hat. “Excellent, all in all. Is Rafe available? In his office, I presume?”

“No, Your Grace, he left some time ago for a meeting at the Exchange. Bond merchants, I believe I heard him say.”

“Ah. What of her ladyship, then? Is she receiving?”

“I am sorry, but her ladyship is out as well, along with Miss St. George and Lady Vessey. A breakfast party, was my understanding.”

“Oh. Well, it would appear I have chosen a poor time to drop by.” Placing his hat back onto his head, he reached into his coat’s breast pocket for the small silver case that contained his calling cards. “Pray inform the family of my visit,” he said, withdrawing a single white rectangle with his name engraved in black.

Martin had just taken possession of the card when a lilting laugh tinkled in the air beyond the open door. Tony turned at the familiar sound.

“You were right, my lord,” declared Gabriella from outside. “Your carriage is exceptionally well sprung.”

“You must allow me to take you out again, Miss St. George,” came a deep male reply. “There is nothing better than an excursion around Mayfair on a sunny spring afternoon.”

“Doubtless, you are right,” she agreed as one of the footmen rushed to assist her from the vehicle. But the tall gentleman with her jumped down and brushed aside the servant’s efforts, taking her by the waist to lower her to the ground.

A heavy scowl creased Tony’s forehead. Without his full awareness, he strode outside to stand on the top step.

Apparently sensing his movement, Gabriella turned and met his gaze, her eyes widening ever so faintly. “Your Grace, what are you doing here?”

“I might ask the same thing of you, Miss St. George. Where is Lady Pendragon? And Lady Vessey, for that matter, since I understand you three ladies ventured out together this morning.”

“We did. But as you can see by the state of my dress, I had a bit of a mishap and decided that it was best to come home. Lord Carlow was kind enough to offer me escort rather than making Julianna and Lily leave and miss the rest of the garden party.”

At her explanation, he raked his eyes over her white gown, only then noticing the large peach-colored stain splashed across the bodice and skirt. “What in the world happened? You look as if you were drenched with something.”

“Indeed. A pitcher of orange juice and I had an unfortunate encounter. As you can observe, I lost.”

One side of his mouth quirked upward. “That must have been unpleasant.”

“And sticky.” She tossed him a smile before turning to address the gentleman at her side. “My gratitude for your kindness, my lord. You are most gallant to have seen me home.”

A wide smile split Lord Carlow’s roguish countenance. “It was no trouble at all, my dear Miss St. George. Allow me to stay while you refresh your attire so that I might return you to the festivities.”

“You are most solicitous,” she said, “but I fear by the time my maid and I manage to repair all this damage, the party will long since have ended. Pray do not let me keep you any later. I have no wish to be the cause of you missing the entire event.”

“Yes, Carlow,” Tony called. “Let Miss St. George come inside and change out of her soiled garments. Otherwise, who knows what sort of pests she may start to attract.”

Carlow shot him a hard look, as if he knew to what kind of
pest
Tony was referring. “The lady and I have matters well in hand, Wyvern. You know, Your Grace, you never did say what you are doing here.”

Tony gave a casual shrug. “As a friend of the family, I am often here, and I am welcome whenever I choose. I can assure you, the lady’s uncle wouldn’t like you ignoring her wishes, nor having you keep her standing out here in the street.”

The other man scowled, shooting him a narrow-eyed stare.

Tony raised a brow and stared back.

After a long moment, Carlow turned and took Gabriella’s hand, making her a practiced bow. “Miss St. George, are you certain you wouldn’t like me to remain? I shall not mind in the slightest.”

“I know, and I truly do thank you for your generosity, but I feel I have burdened you too much already.”

“It is no burden at all. Assisting you this morning has been my profound pleasure. And if I have not told you before, may I say what a vision you are. Your radiance and loveliness shine through like the sun. Your every word and movement a dream. Each minute in your company no less than a true delight.”

Tony held back a snort.
Who does Carlow think he is? Byron?

To his disgust, however, he saw that Gabriella didn’t seem to mind the other man’s effusive compliments. Instead, she gave another lilting laugh and showered Carlow with a smile. “You humble me, my lord. Now, I really should be going inside. Else I actually do start drawing bees or flies.”

“Such creatures would only wing near so they might have a chance to bask in your honeyed sweetness.”

She laughed once more. “Until we meet again.”

“Until then,” he said. “I shall be counting the moments.”

Counting the moments indeed!
Tony scoffed.
What a load of insipid twaddle!

Folding his arms across his chest, he watched while Carlow made her another farewell, then sprang into his curricle. Tipping his hat to them both, Gabriella’s admirer drove away.

Standing aside, Tony allowed her to precede him through the entrance. “What a fribble!” he muttered as Martin closed the door at their backs.

“Oh, do you think so?” she ventured as she strolled across the large entryway toward the staircase. “I find him rather charming.”

“You call that charming, do you? He’s full of so much treacle, I’m surprised you don’t need a visit to the tooth drawer to pull out the cavity-laden teeth he’s surely left behind.”

Pausing, she ran her tongue over her teeth as if she were checking them. “All fine. Nary a caries.”

“Very amusing.”

On a grin, she started up the stairs.

After a brief hesitation, he followed. “Seriously, Gabriella,” he said the moment they reached the landing. “You should be cautious about associating with the man. Despite the flowery drivel he spouts, Carlow has a decided reputation and not always to the good, especially when it comes to the ladies.”

“Some might say the same of you, Wyvern, though not the flowery drivel part, I admit. Should I avoid your company, then, as well?”

“This isn’t about me,” he said with a glower. “Frankly, I cannot fathom why Julianna and Lily allowed you out alone with him. I should have thought they would take more care of your safety and reputation.”

Her shoulders straightened. “I believe my reputation is capable of surviving an innocent morning ride in an open carriage with a gentleman of good character. As for my safety, I made it home in excellent health, as you can clearly see.”