Lady Fiasco, A Traditional Regency Romance (My Notorious Aunt) (28 page)

Fiona tapped a finger against her cheek, considering the choices
.
“I prefer the pearls. They don’t detract from the lace on your dress.”

“Hmm,
”
Emeline turned back to the mirror
.
“No
.
The diamonds are more impressive
.
I shall choose them.” Emeline’s abigail scurried up to fasten the diamonds in place.

“As you please, Em, but hurry
.
Mama
i
s asking for you
.
Your guests will be arriving soon
.
”

“Wait, Fiona. I have a request.” She addressed her sister while examining the effect of the layer of diamonds at her throat
.

“Yes?”

“I wish that you will remember this is
my
ball
.
I would not like you to draw attention to yourself or monopolize the guests
.
”

“I have no intention of doing any such thing. You know perfectly well that I don’t like to draw attention to myself
.
”

“What I mean is…” She toyed with the diamond necklace. “I don’t want you to monopolize a
certain
guest’s time. Lord Wesmont for example.”

Fiona
’
s mouth dropped open and then slammed shut. Years of slights and hundreds of petty remarks finally hit the mark. Fiona’s patience ran out. Her voice trembled with a decidedly sharp edge to it
.
“So, that’s what this is about
?
You’re carrying a torch for Lord Wesmont?”

At her stepsister’s arch silence Fiona bristled, “I must hasten to tell you
,
Em, his lordship is not a docile plaything you can lead around on a ribbon. It would be nigh impossible to
monopolize
him unless he allows it
.
Not only that, but I have it on good authority
,
that he has no intention of getting leg
-
shackled to you or anyone else
.
”

Fiona struggled to calm herself. She intentionally slowed down and moderated her tone.  “This is your ball Em, and you have your pick of any of the gentlemen. I’m certain you’ll have dozens of suitors. But should
Lord Wesmont choose to spend time with me
,
I
will not
prevent him
.
”

She turned on her heel and marched out of the room. At the door, she stopped and spun around. “And one more thing
.
” Fiona lifted her chin. “His tastes do not run to arrogant debutantes who look like overly decorated wedding cakes.” She silently thanked her aunt Honore for lending her exactly the right words as she walked away down the hall.

Emeline stamped her foot and turned back to the mirror. Fiona would pay for those insults. Fiona would not have Wesmont, not if Emeline could help it
.
She smoothed away the frown marring her brow and assured herself she was not overly decorated
.
Her fingers lightly caressed the diamond collar.

“Take the diamonds away,” she ordered her maid. “I will wear the pearls.”

* * *

No one was more astonished than Fiona, when later that evening Lady Alameda arrived at the ball and paraded down the receiving line as if she were the queen
.
Although the
décolletage
was a trifle daring, Honore wore a surprisingly respectable gown. Even so, Fiona wondered if the co
l
or of
t
he dress boded ill
. Was her aunt in mourning? Her gown
was so dark a purple it was nearly black
, and
stones of black onyx glittered at her throat
.
Her hair was a subdued shade of auburn
.
She looked magnificent, but somehow threatening
.
When she approached
,
Fiona was not sure what to expect. Would thunder and lightning suddenly shatter the ballroom?

“Fiona dear, we miss you. Alison Hall
i
s so very dreary without you.” Honore took Fiona’s hand and smiled genuinely. “Your cousin Marcus has taken himself off to Portugal
.
The house is a veritable tomb.
I
am bereft
.
You must come back immediately
.” She kissed Fiona’s cheek as if they were the dearest of friends.

 “
Look who I have brought with me. Here
i
s Lady Haversburg and Maria.” Honore leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially
.
“You may notice Maria has an escort, a physician. Lovely man, but I believe you may know Dr
.
Meredith.”

Lady Alameda winked mischievously at her niece before moving down the line to greet Lady Hawthorn.
“Do
close your mouth, Evelyn. That codfish look doesn’t become you.
Of course, I came.
I
was quite certain my lack of an invitation was merely an oversight on your part
.
You mustn’t fret yourself about it, dear
.
I forgive you. And see here, I’ve brought a few of my friends
.
”

Lady Hawthorn remained tongue tied, but she pulled her lips together and managed a curtsey. 

Honore moved on to Emeline and placed one finger under the debutante’s chin. “And what is this? Our pert little Emeline all grown up? You look
scrumptious
, my dear. Just like something out of the pastry shop window.” With a smug chuckle, Honore walked away.

Maria Haversburg greeted Fiona with her hand looped over Dr. Meredith’s sleeve. “I hope you don’t mind our coming to your sister’s ball? Lady Alameda insisted. She told us you were terribly sad, and that we must come and cheer you up
.
”

The absence of noxious gases coming from Maria’s mouth delighted Fiona and filled her with a sense of triumph. “I’m happy to see you
.
” However, at the doctor’s approach she caught her bottom lip and grimaced, remembering how she had lied to him
.

Maria nudged her
.
“It’s all right, Fiona. I’ve explained everything to him. He forgives us completely for our little deception
.
Mother sent for him herself, the day after she saw what he had done for me. She thinks he is a genius. Especially after she discovered he is to receive a knighthood. She’s in complete alt
.
Can’t wait to show him off to everyone
.
”

Dr
.
Meredith bowed his head. “A pl
e
asure to see you again
.
How is your arm?”

“Much improved, thank you.”

Maria puckered briefly with sympathy.
“
A riding accident. How dreadful for you. I was so relieved
when Dr. Meredith assured us you would make a full recovery
.”
She leaned in very close and confided, “
But now, I must ask a favor.
I never told Mama that you were the one that took me to his surgery. You see, she was so amazed that
I
had the backbone to take matters into my own hands that I
rose several notches in her esteem. You don’t mind keeping my secret, do you? It’s terribly jolly how it all worked out.”

Dr. Meredith nodded
.
“You might have told me the truth at the time, Miss Hawthorn. I would not have refused treatment
.
Indeed
,
after I laid eyes on Miss Haversburg I could not have refused her anything.”

Fiona beamed her approval
.

Maria giggled. “Isn’t he marvelous?” she asked without the least degree of self-consciousness. The twosome floated happily away. Fiona smiled after them, and turned to greet the next guest
.

An hour after the receiving line broke up, the third dance set formed
.
Fiona sat hidden behind a bank of hothouse flowers opening her fan and snapping it closed
.
Tyrell had not come
.
Her aunt played in the card room. Emeline stood amidst a circle of young men vying for her attention. Maria Haversburg and Dr. Meredith walked toward the balcony exchanging mooncalf gazes at one another. And Fiona sat alone.
Snap
. She shut her fan.

She took little solace in the fact that her
dreaded curse
had not injured anyone yet this evening. Even a mishap would be preferable to the emptiness gnawing at her. Why hadn’t he come? The desolation she felt was her own stupid fault
.
She’d allowed herself to hope. She whipped her fan open.

Hope was dangerous.

Snap
.

Hope could be painful
.

She shook opened the ruddy fan and spread it on her lap. She only wanted to see his face. That would be enough. Aspiring for more was pure foolishness, and she knew it
.
Yet, tonight she would be denied even a glimpse of him.
Snap
. Why hadn’t he come?

Fiona peeked around the bank of flowers to examine the doorway once more. This time she saw Tyrell framed in it
.
She blinked and opened her eyes wider, wondering if she was hallucinating. His name rang convincingly through the air as the butler announced him. Throughout the room, female faces turned to take stock of the eligible earl
.

He came
.

She could barely keep from cheering. But she was not the only one who rejoiced at his arrival
.
Fiona frowned. A roomful of matrons and their charges assessed him like a pack of hounds catching the scent of a fox.

Tyrell searched the bevy of females for one particular set of features that made his heart thunder in his chest. He sorted through countless feathers, fans, and fluttering eyelashes. After some diligence, he spotted a pair of sea nymph eyes peeking around a hedge of flowers. Ah, that was the face he looked for
.
Chuckling to himself, he tilted his head to mimic her odd pose.

Fiona quickly pulled back behind the flowers. Her heart jumped and flipped in her chest like a crazed rabbit.
I mustn’t wear my heart on my sleeve,
she cautioned herself
.
Too late. Her cheeks were hot. She pressed her hand over her unruly heart and tried to moderate her breathing. She put the useless fan to work fanning and concentrated on the view of the ballroom in front of her
.

The view did not help. Too many m
atchmaking mamas and their offspring were mentally penciling the hither
-
to inaccessible Lord Wesmont onto their lists
.
Skirts fluttered in his direction. They didn’t look
precisely
like flies heading for a carcass, thought Fiona. No, more like a flock of turtledoves cooing and mincing toward a morsel of bread, nudging each other out of the way, as they sashayed toward their quarry. Well, if it was a fight they wanted
,
it was a fight they would
get.

Snap
.

Fiona stood up, shook out her skirt, and lifted her chin into the air
.
She stepped forward
,
ready to march into the fray, but a hand clasped her forearm and restrained her. “So, you mean to come out of hiding, do you?”

“Aunt Honore, I thought you were in the card room.”

“I was
.
One can only fleece these bumpkins for so
long before one gets bored. Now, did I just hear Wesmont’s title called out?”

“Yes.” Fiona glowered at the fleet of white skirts setting sail in his direction
.

Honore laughed
.
“Let him come to you, my dear.”

Skeptical, Fiona said, “I’m not at all certain he will. He’d have to hurdle several dozen young ladies and their mothers.”

“Honestly, child
,
haven’t you learned anything from me?” Honore fluttered her fingers at the stampeding herd
. “For pity sake, these ladies are wasting their time, Wesmont is the independent sort. He won’t tolerate being run to ground. If they are able to get near him at all, he’ll brush them off like so much vermin. Restrain yourself. The man is obviously mad for you. He’ll come. In the meantime, shall we discuss more important matters?”

Fiona’s bottom lip fell victim between her teeth. At the moment there was nothing more important to her than Tyrell.

“I do wish you would stop mutilating your bottom lip every time something vexes you. A most annoying habit, my dear.”

Fiona released her lip and snapped open her fan.

“Much better.” Honore said, with a quirky half smile. “Now, let us discuss your return to Alison Hall. Tomorrow suits me admirably.”