His Obsession (3 page)

“My – my dress, sir,” Kate explained. “You’re
sitting on it.”

For a moment, the gentleman’s chin lowered as
he observed her predicament.

“So I am,” he replied in amusement, his broad
mouth curving upward.

Amazingly, the oaf made no move to free her!
Instead, the boorish ruffian remained where he was, grinning all
the more.

Kate’s eyes flashed up angrily, but when her
gaze fastened on the gentleman’s face, Kate found she could not
turn away. The gentleman was very handsome, not pretty as a boy
might have been, but he had a most agreeable face. His features
were angular and his skin darkened by the sun. Was he a country
gentleman perhaps, Kate wondered?

A long Patrician nose split the man’s face,
giving him a proud, rakish air. Unfortunately, his nose seemed to
be slightly bent halfway down, as though it had once been broken.
His lips were broad, full and at the moment, turned upwards in a
sardonic grin. A pair of dark brown eyes stared down into hers,
drinking Kate in like fine wine. The effect was most
unsettling.

“Oh, good! I see you’ve met,” Lady Faversham
gushed, as she suddenly appeared before them.

Instantly, the gentleman rose to his feet and
politely bowed over the older woman’s gloved hand. Lady Faversham
playfully swatted the gentleman’s arm with her fan, but he didn’t
seem to be the least offended. In fact, there seemed to be a
certain amount of affection between them. The entire affair was
most curious.

“Richard, you are a rogue,” Lady Faversham
chided.

The gentleman grinned at the older woman as
he straightened. “Thank you for the compliment, my lady.”

“You’ve met Lady Overton, I take it?” Lady
Faversham asked.

“No. I haven’t had the pleasure,” Richard
admitted.

Once more those dark eyes came to rest on
Kate and she felt the heat of his stare. The man had a presence
about him, one that was both exciting and unsettling.

“Well, then let me introduce you. This is my
dear friend, Lady Katherine Overton. And this rascal, Kate, is
Richard Warwick, the Earl of Devonshire.”

Kate curtsied and Warwick bowed low to her.
Gently, he reached down and took Kate’s hand, assisting her to
rise.

“Lady Overton,” Richard murmured in a smooth
honeyed voice.

Goodness! The sound of his voice reverberated
across Kate’s chest like the rumble of a summer thunderstorm.

“My lord,” Kate replied, awkwardly
disengaging her fingers from his grasp.

“My dear, I haven’t seen you dancing,” Lady
Faversham worried.

Immediately, Kate flushed with
embarrassment.

“I – I, er -” Kate stammered.

“Perhaps Lady Overton doesn’t care for
dancing?” Richard kindly proposed.

“Yes,” Kate quickly replied, lying through
her teeth.

Actually, there was nothing Kate liked better
than dancing. Her tutors had always praised her for her graceful
movements. However, at the moment, being thrown into such close
proximity with the earl was very unnerving. She prayed that Lady
Faversham wouldn’t suggest that the earl take her out onto the
floor.

Suddenly, Dorothea swept up beside the earl
and slid her arm through his bent elbow.

“My lord, I believe you promised me this
set?” Dorothea reminded him.

Kate heaved a sigh of relief. Her older
sister’s arrival was most fortunate.

“So, I did,” Richard acknowledged. “If you’ll
excuse us, ladies?”

Richard and Dorothea glided off across the
floor as the orchestra struck up a quadrille. Dorothea scampered to
keep up with her tall escort, but from the way she simpered and
flirted outrageously, it was clear that she was far from being
exhausted.

“Richard is so light on his feet. Don’t you
think so, Lady Overton?” Lady Faversham softly noted with
approval.

Silently, Kate nodded.

“Why, if I were twenty years younger, I’d –
oh, never mind,” Lady Faversham giggled. “I’m afraid my courting
days are long, long past.”

Kate watched her sister dance with the
handsome earl and she had to admit, they did make a striking
couple. However, when the quadrille ended, Dorothea claimed Richard
Warwick for a second dance. Dorothea was making a cake of herself,
giggling and flirting outrageously with the nobleman. Somehow, the
earl managed to keep Dorothea at a proper distance and even
outwitted her when she pursued him for a third dance. To do so, of
course, would be highly improper and almost a declaration of
marriage. Richard Warwick was crafty. Kate would grant him
that.

Lady Faversham noted Kate’s agitation and
wisely distracted her by introducing her to some of her friends
whom she had not yet met. Indeed, once in the middle of the circle
of chattering women, there didn’t seem to be a polite way to exit,
so Kate remained where she was as the gossip continued.

“Is it true then?” Lady Simmons asked.

“I believe so,” Lady Faversham gravely
admitted, glancing across the dance floor. “Still, he is over
thirty and it’s high time he settled down and produced a suitable
heir.”

“I heard nothing about a betrothal,” Lady
Simmons noted with excitement.

“Not yet. If there had been any sort of
announcement, I’m sure we’d know about it,” Lady Faversham
explained. “He is quite a catch, after all.”

“Indeed. What woman wouldn’t marry a man like
that? He’s handsome, charming and well off, too. Who would think
about complaining for three hundred fifty thousand pounds a year?”
another woman gushed.

Kate glanced up as the Earl of Devonshire,
apparently the object of their conversation, waltzed past with
Helen in his arms. Kate had to admit that the older women were
right. The earl was a fine figure of a man. Clearly, a woman could
do worse when choosing a husband.

The earl’s dark head towered over those of
his fellows, his hair curling over his head in wild abandon. He had
the body of a military man. Broad shouldered and narrow hipped,
Richard cut quite a dashing figure as he waltzed by. His long legs
were encased in black superfine, which molded itself over his
well-muscled thighs. His arms were massive and his biceps a trifle
too muscular, somewhat ruining the elegant line of his coat.
Nevertheless, on Warwick, the style suited him.

Richard had large hands, too, with long,
slender fingers and well-manicured nails. Despite herself, Kate
could imagine what those hands might feel like gliding across her
bare skin. They would be warm and expressive, equally capable of
crushing a man’s skull, yet gentle enough to cradle an infant’s
head or the soft curve of a woman’s breast.

Kate blushed at the wayward train of her
thoughts. She hoped no one noticed her discomfiture. Unfortunately,
Warwick chose that moment to meet her eyes from across the room. He
slowed and finally stopped dancing, staring at Kate through the
swirling dancers. Kate felt the intensity of that stare and quickly
glanced away.

“If you’ll excuse me, Lady Faversham?” Kate
apologized.

“Are you all right, my dear?” Lady Faversham
asked in concern. “You seem a little flushed.”

“Yes, I – I am a trifle overheated.”

“Of course. Perhaps all of us should take a
turn out on the balcony?” Lady Faversham suggested.

“No! No. There’s really no need. I’d just
like to be alone for a while, if you don’t mind?” Kate
suggested.

The women around her gasped at Kate’s words,
clearly taking her suggestion as an insult. Lady Faversham,
however, seemed to understand completely.

“Of course, my dear,” Lady Faversham agreed.
“So many people in one room at once can make one a little
claustrophobic. There, there. Take a few moments for yourself on
the balcony then, but hurry back! I would so like to see you
dancing.”

“Yes, my lady,” Kate softly acknowledged and
hurried away.

Lord Charles Lawton watched Kate with
interest as she quickly departed the ballroom. From the moment he’d
seen her, Charles hadn’t been able to stop staring at her. Somehow,
Kate looked strangely familiar, although Charles thought that he
surely would remember where he met such a stunning looking
creature.

Lord Lawton was down on his luck at the
moment and he needed something or someone to brighten his evening.
Perhaps the strange lady might provide him with some amusement. He
was just stepping forward to pursue her when another gentleman
abruptly cut him off.

“Lawton,” Richard acknowledged with a nod.
“Excuse me. I didn’t see you standing there.”

“Yes, of course. I’m very pleased to see you
here, Richard,” Lawton politely replied. “I didn’t think you
participated in these affairs.”

“When the occasion calls for it, yes,”
Richard coolly added.

“Would you care to join me for a game of
cards in the blue room?” Charles inquired with interest.

Richard cocked one dark eyebrow as he eyed
the door on the opposite side of the ballroom. While the ladies
were gossiping and dancing, quite a few of the older gentlemen
played cards to pass the hours. The games were usually for small
stakes, however, Richard had heard of a few hands which had dealt
the loser a decisive financial blow. If memory served, Charles
Lawton was himself recovering from just such a high stakes card
game. Richard couldn’t see any reason why the man would want to
bankrupt himself with his compulsive behavior.

“Perhaps later, my lord,” Richard deferred.
“If you’ll excuse me?”

“Of course,” Lawton agreed, bowing slightly
from the waist.

Charles’ pale eyes tracked the tall earl as
he swiftly strode toward the balcony and disappeared outside.
Charles frowned. Apparently, he was not the only one who had
noticed the fair Lady Overton. No matter. Charles would bide his
time. After all, the handsome Earl of Devonshire couldn’t protect
her forever.

Kate had fled onto the dark balcony as though
the very hounds of Hell were nipping at her heels. She found a
shadowed corner of the balcony and leaned against the railing, out
of the light.

Closing her eyes, Kate drank in the quiet of
the night. The chirping of dozens of crickets set up a sweet melody
as a gentle breeze tugged at the skirt of her gown and rippled over
her burnished red curls.

Kate smiled and slowly opened her eyes. A
million stars filled the clear skies above her, twinkling like
diamonds in the black velvet sky. Suddenly, a shooting star arced
across the heavens, its tail briefly brilliant in the darkness.

“Oh!” Kate gasped.

The feminine cry brought Richard Warwick up
short. His dark eyes promptly located the petite figure standing
near the side of the balcony, her body cloaked in a dusty gray
shadow. Why, it was Lady Overton.

For the past half hour, Richard had danced
with the girl’s two sisters, much to his regret. The chits were
plainly husband hunting and both had apparently selected him as
their prospective spouse. Always polite to the weaker sex, Richard
had been hard pressed to maintain some semblance of conversation
with the empty-headed females. They gossiped incessantly about
everyone else in the ballroom and, although he didn’t say so, he
frequently found their words insulting and decidedly unwelcome.

On impulse, Richard reached for the doors
behind him and slowly closed them, leaving him quite alone with
Lady Overton. Softly, Richard approached the Overton’s youngest
daughter, his shoes hardly making a sound on the gray stones.

Kate Overton was a tiny little thing. The top
of her head would probably hit him at the shoulder. Still, what she
lacked in height, Kate Overton made up for in other areas. The
moonlight illuminated her lovely frame, outlining the generous
fullness of her breasts and slender waist. Richard’s eyes lit with
interest.

Richard allowed his gaze to drift lower and
grinned appreciatively. Lady Overton was a trifle broad beamed. Her
hips were well endowed, swelling the elegant lines of her silver
satin dress. Richard caught his breath as Kate Overton bent over
the railing to peer at something below, presenting him with an
enticing view of her slender back and derriere.

“I wasn’t aware ladies were taught about the
stars,” he softly noted.

Kate abruptly straightened, whirling in
fright. Her pale hand hovered over the base of her throat,
shielding her somewhat ineffectively from Richard’s penetrating
gaze. It was a purely feminine gesture, one which aroused all of
his protective instincts.

“I thought their education extended to
sewing, dancing and needlepoint,” Richard continued, slowly
advancing toward her.

“My father taught me well, sir,” Kate
replied, a little affronted by the man’s demeanor.

“I am sure that he did,” Richard confirmed.
“I meant no offense, Lady Overton. Let us just say that your
studies might be more extensive than the majority of your sex.”

Kate bristled at his comment and her eyes
flashed up at him.

“Just because I am a woman, my lord, doesn’t
mean that I lack intelligence,” Kate firmly countered.

“Indeed?” Richard asked in amusement.

“Of course. Any woman here has the same brain
as a man. If she chose to use it, she could easily stand her ground
with any of you,” Kate added.

Richard chuckled, but Kate frowned at him,
misunderstanding his levity.

“Forgive me, my lady, but on that, I must
disagree with you,” Richard gravely replied. “I have just spent the
past hour in the company of some of the finest ladies in the
district. And I swear to you that outside of gossiping about their
fellows and the latest fashions, there isn’t a shred of
intelligence in the lot!”

Kate tried to be angry with his statement,
but the insufferable man was right. So, she burst into
laughter.

Richard grinned. He liked the way Kate
laughed. She put her whole heart into it. Not tittering politely or
giggling, she laughed from her very soul. The sound pleased him
immensely.