His Obsession (4 page)

Lady Faversham stood at the double doors near
the balcony and gingerly opened them a little to peer outside.
Spying Kate Overton and Richard Warwick standing close together on
the balcony, she gasped and wildly gestured to her husband.
Obligingly, the gentleman came nearer.

“What is it, Winny? You look like you’re
having an apoplexy,” Herbert noted.

“Another waltz. Quickly!” Lady Faversham
directed.

“What?” Herbert gasped. “We’ve already had
two.”

“Just do it, and hurry,” Lady Faversham
urged.

“All right. All right,” Herbert reluctantly
agreed and sauntered over to the conductor.

As the strains of a third waltz filled the
air, Richard smiled at Katherine Overton. She was certainly nothing
like her two sisters or most of the other females in attendance
that evening for that matter. She was an original, unique in every
sense of the word.

“You intrigue me, my lady,” Richard softly
noted.

“Thank you.”

“Why is it I’ve never seen you before? If we
had met at another party or a concert of some kind, I’m sure I
would have remembered it,” Richard mused aloud.

Kate knew why the Earl of Devonshire had
never noticed her. Like a chaperone or a governess, she wasn’t
meant to be seen. While her two sisters gushed and simpered with
their gentlemen at countless parties, Kate usually remained quietly
in the background.

“You’re very kind,” Kate told him. “But it is
beginning to rain. Shouldn’t we go back inside?”

“I find I am in the mood to endure a little
rain at the moment,” Richard murmured. “The room is a little warm
and I find I enjoy your company.”

Kate blushed at his praise.

“You flatter me, sir,” Kate objected.

“So I should.”

“I do thank you, my lord,” Kate protested.
“But I really should go back now.”

Kate turned toward the doors, but in two
strides, Richard caught her elbow, arresting her flight.

“Don’t go,” he pleaded. “Please?”

Kate glanced down at the place where Richard
held her. There was much strength in his large hand and elegant
fingers, yet his touch was surprisingly gentle.

“May I have this dance, my lady?” the earl
requested.

The earl towered over her, blotting out the
light glowing from the ballroom windows. Kate tried to control her
nervousness, but she found she was trembling all the same.

“I – I really don’t -” she stammered.

“Please?” Richard gently asked again.

The strains of a lovely waltz continued to
waft onto the balcony, filling the night with music. The tune was
one of Kate’s favorites, but they were so utterly alone. Surely,
dancing like this beneath the stars couldn’t be proper.

“Here?” Kate breathlessly asked, glancing
around the empty balcony.

“Here,” Richard confirmed.

Giving Kate no further opportunities to
object, Richard reached for her hand. His other arm encircled her
slender waist, settling at the small of her back so that he could
draw her closer. Kate could feel the warmth of his fingers burning
through her corset and chemise and the intensity of his embrace
startled her.

Kate’s other hand flew up to Richard’s chest,
stopping herself from moving any closer. The earl’s proximity
unsettled her and Kate felt as though a swarm of butterflies had
suddenly settled into her stomach.

A soft smile of understanding tugged at the
corner of Richard’s mouth as he gently caught Kate’s chin and
raised her face into the light. Kate was meant to bathe in
moonlight. The soft glow illuminated the delicate curves of her
cheeks and danced merrily in her eyes. Kate’s lips parted in soft
invitation and Richard was hard pressed not to kiss her right where
she stood.

Taking a more conservative approach, the earl
swept Kate into the waltz with the skill of a man with years of
experience. Kate hadn’t danced much since she was a young girl and
she was terribly rusty. Unfortunately, she stumbled once or twice.
She was absolutely mortified that the earl would find her lacking
in social graces.

Richard, however, was a strong partner and he
covered Kate’s missteps with an easy grace. The earl whirled Kate
around the full scope of the balcony until she began to relax a
little. It was an enchanted moment and Kate couldn’t help but
become caught up in it.

What girl didn’t dream of waltzing beneath
the stars with a handsome gentleman? It was almost as though all of
her foolish dreams had suddenly coalesced into this moment. All too
soon, the music ended. Reluctantly, Richard released Kate, lowering
his arms to his sides.

“Thank you for the dance, Lady Overton,”
Richard murmured, bowing at the waist.

“Of course. I – I must get back,” Kate noted,
stepping away from him.

“I trust I may see you again?”

“Perhaps,” Kate quickly replied. “Please,
excuse me.”

Richard frowned as Kate swiftly fled, all but
running back into the ballroom.

Once inside, Kate retreated to the relative
safety of the ladies’ retiring room. While dozens of other women
primped and preened before the large mirrors, Kate found a secluded
corner and sat down.

She was amazed at herself. By dancing with
the earl, she’d broken a few cardinal rules of etiquette to be
sure. She’d danced alone with an almost total stranger and nearly
compromised her reputation. There had been no other couple on the
balcony with them.

As if that weren’t enough of a
faux
pas
, when the earl had attempted to thank her for the dance
most prettily, she’d fled into the ballroom like a frightened
little deer! What must he think of her now?

Outside the ladies’ retiring room, Richard
Warwick stood like a glowering sentry. He was angry with himself.
Although he’d greatly enjoyed dancing with the lovely Lady Overton,
he’d apparently offended or frightened her in some way. Rightfully
so. Clearly, Richard knew better. If anyone had seen them waltzing
alone like that, she’d be compromised. Being an honorable man, of
course, Richard would have had no choice but to offer for her. It
had been a rare thing, but it was nevertheless an encounter which
he would repeat in a heartbeat. Kate Overton fascinated him.

Suddenly, a lady tapped his arm with her fan
and Richard grinned as Lady Faversham frowned up at him.

“Richard, you look positively frightful!”
Lady Faversham chided.

“My lady,” Richard replied, bowing low over
her gloved hand.

“My dear boy, whatever is the matter?”

“I fear I may have made an error in
judgment,” Richard gravely replied.

Lady Faversham cocked one brow in
surprise.

“Indeed? Dear me. That could be monumental,”
Lady Faversham quipped. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with the
lovely Lady Overton by any chance, would it?”

Richard scowled at her and Lady Faversham
laughed in delight.

“There’s no need to glower at me, sir,” Lady
Faversham admonished. “I saw the whole thing from the doorway. You
two make a lovely couple and if anyone begins to gossip about it,
I’ll put a stop to it immediately.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re coming hunting with Herbert tomorrow,
aren’t you?” Lady Faversham worried aloud.

“I am,” Richard confirmed with a grin.

“Oh, good,” Lady Faversham gushed. “Perhaps
you may have another opportunity to speak with Lady Overton
then.”

“Perhaps.”

“Now, go amuse yourself elsewhere, my lord,”
Lady Faversham directed. “I’ll see to the young lady.”

Reluctantly, Richard departed both the
hallway and the party itself. He’d had his fill of simpering young
ladies and their marriage-minded mothers. Besides, once he’d met
Katherine Overton, dancing with any of the other females had hardly
seemed worth the effort.

Lady Faversham entered the ladies’ retiring
room and glanced about her. She found Kate sitting in a corner,
fanning herself with a lacy fan.

“There you are, my dear,” Lady Faversham
declared.

Immediately, Kate rose, bowing slightly to
the older woman.

“Lady Faversham.”

“Do sit down,” Lady Faversham requested. “I
fear I’m getting much too old for this sort of thing. I am quite
fatigued.”

Gratefully, Lady Faversham accepted a glass
of water from one of the servants and eyed Kate up and down. The
young woman seemed a little flushed and nervous.

“I saw you dancing with the Earl of
Devonshire on the balcony,” Lady Faversham softly told her.

“My lady, I realize that we shouldn’t have
--”

“I saw the whole thing,” Lady Faversham
assured her.

“Oh, dear.”

“You have nothing to be worried about, Kate.
I trust I may call you that?” the older woman inquired.

“Of course.”

“You two make a lovely couple,” Lady
Faversham declared.

“Thank you,” Kate acknowledged, blushing a
little under her praise.

“The earl is considered quite a catch, you
know,” Lady Faversham prompted.

“No. I wasn’t aware,” Kate replied.

“Really? I assure you, it’s quite true. He’s
handsome and rich. Why, if I were only twenty years younger, I’d –
Well, let’s just say now that he’s met you, it will be very
interesting to see how he handles himself.”

Kate frowned at the older woman. “You think
he might call upon me?”

Lady Faversham nodded.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Several hours later, the Overton family
finally departed. Dorothea and Helen chattered almost non-stop as
the coach bumped and jolted over the uneven road, but Kate only
heard them from a distance. Her thoughts were far, far away upon a
tall, handsome gentleman who might very well fill her dreams.

The Favershams’ ball was a great success.
Many of those who’d attended were still talking about the event the
morning after, and the Favershams were delighted that they’d proven
to be such wonderful hosts.

Unfortunately, it was all Edgar Overton could
do to get his wife and older daughters out of bed before noon.
Although both he and Kate had been up for hours, the other ladies
seemed to be exhausted.

At last, they made an appearance, yawning
over their tea and blinking the sleep out of their eyes. Dorothea
and Helen did perk up a little, however, when Edgar mentioned that
the Earl of Devonshire and several other noblemen would be in
attendance at the hunt that afternoon. Both older girls were
apparently quite taken with the dashing nobleman.

Wisely, Kate held her counsel. There was no
need for her parents or sisters to know that she had danced with
the earl on a star swept balcony. Kate was certain that if she
revealed the truth, her sisters would be furious. They fought over
everything, hissing and spitting at each other like a couple of
cats. Kate had no interest in being caught in the cross fire.

Of course, Penelope would be delighted if she
saw Richard Warwick speaking with one of her daughters. The earl
was very wealthy, indeed. If Warwick cleared their debts and
presented her sisters with sizeable dowries, Dorothea or Helen
would no doubt be able to make a good marriage.

Inspired by the prospect of seeing the earl
again, Kate’s sisters dressed and hurried to board the carriage
that would take them to the afternoon’s festivities at the
Faversham estate. Helen seemed to be in a foul mood, however, and
Kate caught the heat of her sister’s glare across the coach.

“How can you simply sit there so calmly,
Kate?’ Helen complained. “I’m quite a bundle of nerves.”

“Me, too!” Dorothea agreed.

“Girls, girls!” their mother chided. “You
must strive to be the picture of poise and grace. Inside, you may
be trembling in your shoes, but you mustn’t show it.”

“Yes, mother,” they chorused.

Kate rolled her eyes and her father grinned
in amusement.

Kate stared at her sisters as their
conversation once more turned to fashion. The two of them preened
like a couple of silly school girls standing before a mirror. Helen
was dressed in a frothy sea foam green confection with more ruffles
around the hem of the dress than good sense. Indeed, it had been an
effort for Helen to squeeze her skirts through the narrow carriage
door and the ruffles mounded over her legs in an imposing mountain
of fabric.

Dorothea wore a gown of pale yellow silk, the
bodice of which was so sheer, one could almost see her chemise
beneath. Kate was amazed that their mother hadn’t forbid Dorothea
from wearing the dress entirely. Kate herself was scandalized just
looking at her sibling.

Turning her head away from the fashion drama
occurring inside the Overton coach, Kate cast her eyes toward the
landscape outside the window. The conversation dulled to a monotone
as Kate concentrated her thoughts on the afternoon to come.

Although Kate tried not to be excited about
seeing the Favershams and the Earl of Devonshire again, she
couldn’t help it. Winifred Faversham was very kind and Kate liked
her a lot. Her husband doted on the woman like a love sick school
boy and their affection for each other was quite endearing.

As for Richard Warwick, Kate decided it might
be best for both of them if she pretended to be indifferent.
Although a part of her quietly wondered whether the earl might
approve of her russet serge gown, the other half of her was
entirely too practical to encourage the man’s favor. The earl was a
rich and powerful man. What use could he possibly have for a poor
country mouse like her?

All too soon, the coach turned into the
Favershams’ drive. Lord Faversham stood in the middle of the crush
of people before his opulent home, orchestrating the afternoon’s
activities. Before their coach could roll to a complete stop, Edgar
Overton had bounded from the coach. Swiftly, he crossed to his host
and eagerly shook Lord Faversham’s hand.