The Countess Intrigue (10 page)

* * *

W
ith those words
Elizabeth was whisked from his side and Justice was left staring after her, surprised to be swept by a wave of jealousy as he wondered how much of a scandal it would cause if he cut in while his fiancé was dancing with another man.

“Do try not to make a cake of yourself, my dear.”

Justice turned to find the Countess of Yorkleigh at his side laughing up at him.

“I beg your pardon, my lady.” He made an effort to feign ignorance.

“Feeling jealous is perfectly normal and even acceptable. Embarrassing the poor young woman, even more than you already have, would not be. You have nothing to fear in that quarter, I am quite sure. It is merely a dance after all.”

Justice felt like growling at the woman at his side but managed to remain civilized. “That is not how it looks from this angle.”

“Then change your perspective, my lord,” her reply was beginning to sound caustic. “Go get yourself a glass of the tepid punch. Or go to the card room and see if any of your old cronies are present. I care not what you do, but do not even dare to cause that young woman a moment of discomfort this evening. If you have any hope of having a happy future, how you act in the next few days will have a great bearing on it. Tread carefully.”

The earl turned to regard the other woman with wary respect. “How have you become so wise, my lady?”

“I am a keen observer of people. And her dearest friend is a dear friend of mine, so in her stead I feel as though I must stand up for the darling Lady Elizabeth. In addition, our hostess this evening is my sister in law, and while she would probably love for there to be some sort of scandalous behaviour taking place at her ball, I aim to see her thwarted.”

Now Justice really was amused by Lady Yorkleigh’s attitude. “You are a genuine friend, my lady. Thank you for stepping in to save me from myself.” With those words he bowed to her and took her advice, going in search of a drink. He thought to return to the ballroom with a glass for Elizabeth but came across Lord Austen and was side tracked remembering what Elizabeth had told him about his plot with Sir Broderick.

“Good evening, my lord,” he began. “Are you here this evening dancing attendance upon your daughter?” He was relieved that he was safely publicly betrothed, as he did not want the weak willed nobleman aligned with his household. He could see the man’s eagerness to see him giving way to resignation as he remembered that the earl had just declared himself for Lady Elizabeth. It would have been amusing if it were not so very disturbing.

“My daughter is happily engaged in the dancing, my lord, but I shall tell her that you asked after her,” Lord Austen’s reply was almost smug, making the earl grit his teeth over the desire to give the man a well deserved set down. As Lady Yorkleigh had reminded him, anything he did over the next few days, and really now for the rest of his life, would reflect on Lady Elizabeth, but under the circumstances he really needed to protect her from anything the gossips might wish to throw at her.
Especially until I have her safely ensconced on my estate,
he thought with a hint of satisfaction at the thought of having her all to himself in his home. He felt a deep sense of contentment and optimism he hadn’t felt in several years.

With a jaunty grin, Justice tried not to look like a simpleton as he took his leave of Lord Austen and resumed his search for refreshments for himself and his lady.

J
ustice was returning
to the ballroom, two glasses of punch in his hand, when he felt the blood congealing in his veins. Lady Elizabeth was twirling about the dance floor in the arms of Lord Dunstan Crowley. A known associate of Sir Jason Broderick had his betrothed in his arms. Justice needed to exert his iron will to keep from throwing the glasses across the room and tearing his woman out of the bounder’s arms. He felt a hot rage suffuse him and he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself.

The snake must have felt the earl’s concentrated stare burning into him for at that moment he turned his head and met his eyes. The look in the other man’s eyes made Justice’s blood grow even colder if that were possible, but he felt calm reason pervade as his ironclad will took control. The earl felt the familiar mask of indifference settle over his features. He had hoped to be free of the need for this particular ability but he was grateful for it now that it had become necessary once more.

The earl was unsure what was written on his face but he took a level of satisfaction when he saw Lord Crowley pale slightly before he recovered and turned his attention back to the lovely lady in his arms. Justice didn’t think Elizabeth was aware of her danger, but as she drifted into the next turn of the dance her eyes met his and he knew she had noticed that something was awry. Her eyes held a wary expression, which was belied by the sociable smile stretching her mouth.

He sent her a wink meant to reassure her, but then he realized she did not know him well enough to be reassured of his abilities to protect her under any circumstances. It crossed his mind that the lovely lady probably thought she was going to look after herself. The thought was endearing and he felt his heart constrict that this fascinating woman was soon going to be his.

Justice made his way to where Lady Castleton was sitting with the other chaperones watching the dance floor and gossiping. He caught her attentive eye, and she quickly stood in answer to his silent summons.

“Is anything amiss, my lord?” she quietly queried, careful to maintain a look of unconcern and a low tone.

“I was just wondering how soon we would be leaving to look in on your other commitments for the evening.” Justice kept his reply mild.

“Since Elizabeth has already danced with three different gentlemen, including yourself, she has definitely been seen to be hale and hearty. I see no reason why we cannot leave any time now. We can quietly make our exit whenever you would like. Would you like to collect my husband or your betrothed? I will do the opposite.”

“Oh I would very much prefer to collect my lady, if it makes no difference to you. Thank you, my lady, I do appreciate your assistance in this.”

He could feel Lady Castleton’s searching gaze but he merely smiled, displaying a remarkable lack of concern. She accepted his silence, bobbed a curtsy, and went in search of her husband.

Justice wanted to march over to the conductor of the orchestra and demand that he end the song but he knew that, reasonably speaking, it must surely be over momentarily. Exercising patience, he strolled over to the edge of the dance floor as the last strains of the number were being played. He was rather amazed to discover that he still had the glasses of punch in his hand. He was undecided if that was a good thing or not. It certainly gave his hands something to do when all they really wanted was to wrap themselves around the neck of the other man and squeeze the life out of him for having the temerity to place his hands on Lady Elizabeth.

He watched as she dipped into a brief curtsy, inordinately gratified to see that it conveyed the minimum civility. Despite her apparent effort to dismiss him, Lord Crowley accompanied Elizabeth as she headed toward her fiancé. Justice could see discomfort lurking in her features despite her effort to appear composed.

“There you are, my dear. I thought you might like a drink after all that activity.”

“How very thoughtful of you, my lord, thank you.”

Justice hated the wary look in her eye. He wondered if she was nervous of him or of the other gentleman. Or perhaps she was worried about him causing a scene as he had yet to acknowledge the other man. The earl promptly rectified that possibility.

“Good evening, Crowley. Imagine my delight at finding you here.” His tone was as bland as he could make it, but Elizabeth could obviously hear the lack of sincerity behind it. She reached her hand up and placed it on his arm. Justice could feel it through the sleeve of his coat as though she had scorched him. He reached over and covered her hand with his own where it lay on his arm. Smiling down into her eyes in an effort to reassure her, he saw her eyes widen but was unsure if it was from attraction or reaction. His hand tightened on hers. The other man had bowed his head in acknowledgement of the earl’s words, but said nothing in reply.

“Thank you for the dance, my lord. I see my mother looks ready to depart so I must take my leave of you. I wish you a pleasant evening.”

She walked gracefully and quietly by his side until they were out of earshot of Crowley but before they had reached her mother. Justice was surprised when she pulled her hand out of the crook of his arm and hissed at him. “You have no cause to stand and glare at other gentlemen when I am on the dance floor with one of them. I was doing nothing untoward and I do not appreciate having you glower after me as though I am an unruly child. I am not yet your wife.”

“Were you enjoying yourself with Lord Crowley?” he asked, wondering what her motivation for her reaction was.

“That is not the point, my lord. Whether I enjoyed myself or not is neither here nor there. The point is that you were behaving like you were my nursemaid and I was misbehaving.”

“I swear to you, my dear lady, Elizabeth, that was the furthest thought from my mind. I was not in the least censorious of you dancing with another man. I may question your taste in your choice of dance partner, but I do not question your right to make that choice for yourself.”

“Then why were you glaring at me?”

“I was not glaring at you. My dour look was directed solely toward your partner, Lord Dunstan Crowley. I am quite certain you were not aware of this, but Lord Crowley is a particular friend of Sir Broderick and as such he is no friend of mine. I took exception to him holding my betrothed in his arms even for something so innocuous as a country dance. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, my dear lady,” he was about to continue with his apology and explanation, but Elizabeth interrupted him impulsively.

“No, no, my lord, it is I who owe you an apology. I should not have jumped to the conclusion that your glare was pointed at me. I did not feel comfortable with his lordship and I cannot explain to you why, it was just an instinctive feeling I had. He struck me as being a rather unsavoury fellow and I did not really wish to be dancing with him. But what could I do? No one was about when he asked me except the viscount and he isn’t anybody to me to be able to gainsay someone who has invited me to dance. Thank you for being so gracious as to explain yourself to me, my lord.”

Justice had to strain to hear all her words as she was blurting them out in a quick burst of low sound as they strolled ever closer to Lady Castleton who waited for them. Elizabeth drew a breath but then quickly asked him, “Are we really about to leave? I wasn’t certain when you were standing there, but I wanted to be rid of Lord Crowley and my mother does look rather purposeful at the moment.”

“Yes, your mother thought it best if we visit multiple venues this evening.”

“This is going to be a painful experience, isn’t it?”

Justice had to smile over her glum words. “Many young ladies would be delighted at the prospect.”

“You are no doubt quite correct my lord.” Elizabeth’s reply sounded like it was laced with disappointment. Justice reached for her hand once more.

“That was not a criticism directed at you, Elizabeth.” He sighed before continuing. “It is obvious we don’t know each other very well. I will try to be more direct with you. Come along, my dear. It is time for me to dance the waltz with you at another ball.”

Elizabeth looked at him quizzically, but he just tugged gently on her hand as he quickened their pace toward Elizabeth’s parents who were now both waiting for them.

“Shall we be off?” Elizabeth’s father asked; his jovial tone was a sharp contrast to the somber trio who accompanied him.

They made their way through the milling crowd acknowledging greetings briefly and made good their escape through a side door that Justice knew about. They would rather not cause a spectacle. It was best to just get on with their evening without offending their hostess.

* * *

T
he evening wasn’t even
that far advanced when they arrived at their second ball. At this rate, Elizabeth thought, they might actually get to the three her mother had planned and still make it home before dawn broke. She certainly hoped so as she was already longing for her bed. She had not slept well after the turmoil of the previous night and the results of the sleepless night were beginning to catch up with her.

She stifled a yawn, but the earl noticed anyway. Elizabeth knew she was blushing and that he saw it, even in the dim light of the carriage. His small wry smile would have been endearing if it were not at her expense, she thought with a quiet sigh.
Why does this all have to be so complicated?
Part of her longed to trust him. She could see how easy it would be to fall in love with him. If not for that pesky little problem of his dead first wife. Elizabeth tore her eyes away from gazing adoringly at his handsome face. He could be as much of a bounder as Broderick and his ilk. Elizabeth felt dread settling low in her belly. This was her future, and she could see no way of brightening it.

Resolving to focus on the positive, Elizabeth smiled as she remembered his calm explanation when she thought he had been frowning at her. She knew her father would never have been so reasonable if she had criticised him for something. She strongly doubted she would be able to reason her way around being married to a murderer, but if it turned out he hadn’t actually killed his first wife, perhaps he would turn out to be a decent husband after all.

As they pulled up to the designated address, Elizabeth could see that it was in the middle of a lovely terrace. She had not yet been to this house before and she was surprised that her mother had chosen it as one of their destinations for this particular evening. With a mental shrug she accepted the earl’s hand as he helped her out of the carriage.

Elizabeth admired the intricate design on the wrought iron archway they had to pass through to reach the front door. An attentive footman was there, waiting to hold the door for arriving and departing guests. Looking past the servant, she could see that this was going to be even more crowded than the first ball, as this house was a fair bit smaller. It looked as though there were only two rooms per floor so it was likely that both the drawing room and the music room of the town house would be used for the ball with the doors between the two rooms folded back to make one larger space. Beautifully dressed, fashionable people were standing on the stairs and spilling out of every one of the public spaces.

Gritting her teeth and planting a sociable smile to her face, Elizabeth followed her mother up the stairs to greet their hostess. Lady Farnsworth was a lovely lady and under other circumstances Elizabeth would be delighted to be at her entertainment.

“Thank you so much for coming,” Lady Farnsworth greeted them, her warm smile belying the fact that she had probably already said that about a hundred times that evening.

“Thank you for your kind invitation,” Elizabeth tried to infuse some sincerity into her voice as she gripped the other woman’s hand warmly.

“I hear congratulations are in order for the two of you,” Lady Farnsworth did not sound coy, for which Elizabeth was grateful. Her remark truly sounded sincere, as though she had not lent credence to whatever else the gossips had been saying.

“Thank you, my lady,” was all Elizabeth said in reply, dipping into a brief curtsy before she and her party moved on to the drawing room where a quadrille was currently being danced. The couples on the dance floor looked like they were having such a good time that Elizabeth could not help the smile that curved her lips.

“Would you care to join them?” As usual his deep voice next to her ear sent a shiver through her.

“Perhaps for the next one, my lord. I hate starting in the middle of the dance.”

“Very well, my dear lady.” She was growing to like how he called her that. Elizabeth kept her eyes directed toward the other guests in the room rather than looking at the tall, handsome man at her side. She dearly wished her friend Rose were present. It would have been a most welcome distraction.

With a start, it dawned on Elizabeth that if not for Rose she would not be in the predicament of being engaged to marry the notorious Earl of Heath. It was on the night of her abduction that she had spoken to the earl for the first time and he had become aware of her limited knowledge of Sir Broderick. The irony struck her and she was unsure if she wanted to laugh or cry over it. Instead she took his arm and followed him to the dance floor as the couples began forming for the next cotillion.