The Wicked Game (A Wicked Game Novel) (4 page)

“Angie, Angie, since when did you begin fawning over servants?” Mary teased as she came out of her hiding spot and approached her best friend.

“I wasn’t fawning… I just lost my breath for a moment,” Angela snapped back, a blush began to form on her cheeks.

“I’ll concede to that. But something must have taken an awful lot of air out of the room for you to have been acting
that
daft!” retorted Mary.

Angela could feel the blush spreading and by now she knew that her entire face was the color of a bright red cherry. “Okay, fine. Maybe I was fawning…just a bit. But why shouldn’t I be able to have a little fun with a man that I’ll never have to worry about being matched up with?”

Mary raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “From the looks of it, he was the one having the fun!”

“He wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh but he would!” Mary razzed. “And he did!”

Angela stood silently with her hands clasped, much the same way she had done in front of Andrew. She supposed Mary was right. He had gained the upper hand in the previous encounter but next time the tables would be turned! And then Angela began to wonder exactly what she meant by “next time.”

“Oh don’t fret, cousin. Who doesn’t like to flirt with a handsome man, servant or not? So long as that’s as far as it goes… most of the time.” Mary winked at her best friend and Angela laughed.

“Besides,” Mary continued, “I was lying. He is fairly attractive, in an unconventional way. I would have done the same thing if I had been in your situation.” She paused. “Just more effectively.”

Playfully, Angela reached out and hit her cousin on the shoulder and then they both headed back upstairs, arm in arm, to finish preparing for the dance.

***

Strangely, by the time he got up to his room, Andrew felt lightheaded from his encounter with the Baron’s daughter. During their conversation he had been able to keep his body calm but inside he had been just as jumpy as her. Controlling his body was a skill he had mastered long ago and he liked to think he was quite good at it. But tonight she had almost broken him and he had been in shock. This jumpy, nervous, and yes, beautiful woman had left him nearly speechless. No woman had ever left him speechless! No woman but her.

From the vantage point of his attic dwelling, Andrew could see the Bennett’s carriage stopped in front of the house. He still had to fix that table and he wanted to be certain that Miss Bennett had left the house before he went back to her room.

Andrew had been looking down at the carriage for over an hour while waiting for the women to leave for the dance.

And he was still waiting.

Heavens above! How long did it take women to get ready?

When he had seen Miss Bennett earlier she had been already dressed… at least the second time he had seen her anyway. From his observations, the only thing left for her to do was put on her shoes. And he could not fathom any way that could take longer than an hour.

Then again he had never worked in a home where a young woman lived. When he lived with the Dillards the only woman in the home had been Lady Dillard and after he left her, he had rejected regular society working odd jobs and living on the road. So Andrew had never been exposed to many women of his own age. Well, he was wrong. Of course he had been exposed to women before, more than he was proud of in fact. But those were a different type of women. What he had never been exposed to before was a gently bred woman. A woman of society and class. A woman of grace and intelligence. A woman like…

Miss Bennett.

The women were finally leaving the house.

“There she—they, are.” Andrew winced at his slip.

He watched out the window as one by one, the women delicately took the hand of the coachman and stepped up into the carriage. Miss Bennett was last to step inside. As she stepped up she slightly lifted her skirt and Andrew could see that she had in fact put on her shoes. And her gloves. How could he have forgotten that she had not been wearing those? A shiver went through his body at the memory and then something strange happened. As she stepped into the carriage, Miss Bennett turned her head and looked up towards the highest window of the house; the very one Andrew was standing in. He went stiff, just as he had done earlier as he stood outside her room. What was she looking at? She couldn’t be looking for him…could she? A soft smile spread across his lips.

Miss Bennett tore her eyes away, reluctantly it seemed, and entered the carriage.

Andrew turned around and began to glide down the stairs. He still had that table to fix. Now he was certain it would be best if he finished the task before Miss Bennett got home.

It was nearly 8 o’clock by the time they were all ready to leave for Lady Sutherland’s ball. Mary and Angela had been ready long ago but as always, their mothers daunted over every aspect of their daughter’s appearances as if tonight was the most important night they would ever have. Finally after their mothers had finished picking at them and gotten dressed themselves, Mary’s mother had returned to find that her daughter had stubbornly pulled a curl lose. After her mother berated her about finding a husband while Mary, per usual, ignored every chirp, it was time to go.

Angela tried to imagine what they all looked like from a distance, dressed in their best gowns, with shiny shoes and hair coifed into the latest fashions. Quite a spectacle she could only assume. At least she had finally remembered to put on her silky cream colored gloves.

Angela touched her hand where Andrew had kissed it and felt the warmth flash through her body again. What exactly was happening to her? Despite the chill of the night her body was strangely comfortable.

She watched as her mother, ever so daintily took the hand of the coachman and stepped up into the carriage. Getting into a carriage is never a simple task for a woman especially while in eveningwear, so Angela waited patiently at the end of the line as the coachman helped each of her preceding relatives up into their seat.

Her eyes wandered aimlessly and at last rested on the windows of the attic at the top of the house. Curse her body again; she was looking at the servants’ quarters.
Was he there right now?
She wondered. Supposing he was, what would he think of the scene she had been trying to imagine only moments before?

“Miss?” The coachman called Angela to attention and she accepted his hand as she stepped into the carriage.

He closed the door and Angela prepared herself for the three quarters hour ride. The party was in the heart of London and of course the Bennett’s had a house there, but her family much preferred the elegance and comfort of their home in the country, and thus, resided there nearly year round, resigned to endure the long ride into the city.

Angela’s mother, or Baroness Isabella as she called her to get a rise, wasted not a moment of the carriage ride to collaborate with her sister Lady Katherine about potential matches for their daughters. They would discuss potential partners for them, listing the pros and cons of each potential match. Occasionally they addressed the cousins but the lady’s rarely listened, and as always the mothers began to ignore them as well. That was all the better for Angela and Mary because they were not interested. Instead they always quietly discussed their own plans; giggling like children over who to tease and how. Tonight was no different.

Angela leaned into Mary and spoke quietly, “Do you think Viscount Whimbledon will be there tonight?”

Mary’s eyes widened and even in this relative darkness Angela could see them gleam at the thought. “Oh I do hope so; he does turn such a brilliant shade of purple when he’s angry.”

“Kind of like a plum would you say?

“Oh yes, a nice, ripe, fat plum.”

And so it went on this way for the next three quarters of an hour their emotions only amplifying with each passing minute.

***

The dance was much the same as any other Angela had ever been to. The large ballroom was packed to its capacity with the stuffiest of the upper crust of society, the men eyed the women as if they were hunting prey, and the refreshments and wine flowed freely. Angela gave one glance at her partner in crime and they quickly left their mothers behind as they exited to the comfort of the terrace.

Angela knew without doubt that
her men
would be in attendance. They were always at events before she was doing Lord knows what. Whether she saw them or not she knew they were there; they were always there, sifting out the bad seeds and looking for anyone who might possibly be good enough for their lady. No potential candidates had ever been found and that was more than fine with her.

What Angela had not expected this night was to encounter them so soon. They usually watched quietly from the corners, only interfering when necessary. But here they were in full view ready to greet their beloved.

“Well, well, well,” spurred Mary. “Tonight must be special indeed for your brood to come out from hiding so early.”

Angela laughed lightly but felt a sense of fear flush over her. Something was different about tonight and she was going to find out what it was.

“To be true good cousin,” began Arthur. “Every night spent with our lovely sister is special.”

Mary crossed her arms and stared at Arthur with intensity.

“Watch out, Arthur!” piped in Daniel. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how feisty that one is, have you?”

Mary turned her gaze to Daniel now and without warning she balled up her hand and hit him squarely in the shoulder.

“Oww!!”

Now Richard joined the conversation directing his speech at Daniel. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how feisty that one is!”

Mary clenched her fist and pulled her arm back about to strike Richard as well. But he was expecting her action. He caught her by the arm, spun her to his breast, and kissed her sloppily on the cheek. Mary slapped him across the face. She tried to hold a stern look but within seconds a smile was spreading and soon they were both laughing frantically.

“Pleasure to see you ladies,” Richard announced trying to smooth things over.

Daniel was still rubbing his arm. “Yes, pleasure.”

Having finally gotten her body under control, though still dubious about what was going on, Angela threw open her arms and embraced the men one by one. As she released her embrace from Arthur she stopped, still holding him, and pulled back as she gave him a curious look.

“Mary’s correct. You have made an early appearance tonight. Of course I know you are always watching.” She raised an eyebrow. “But you three don’t normally reveal yourselves until you have thwarted all of my possible suitors.”

Richard was the first to respond. “Well tonight is different.” He glanced at Mary. “
Special
as our dear cousin named it.”

Angela’s insides began to churn as she anticipated what might happen next. She didn’t know what it might be but she knew it couldn’t possibly be good news. The early appearance of
her men
had proved that. Her body had the sudden sensation of falling a great distance, like one of those dreams when you tumble off a cliff.

“Just spit the damn thing out!” Angela rarely used such language out loud, let alone in the presence of
her men
but all the clues told her that tonight was important and very well might change her life forever.

Arthur stared sternly at his sister, just as any loving brother would to a baby sister in this situation. He didn’t say anything. He knew that her feelings were justified. “Father is in the process of making a match for you.”

Angela’s jaw gaped.

“Or rather two matches…”

Her jaw gaped further. “What the hell do you mean
two
matches?”

Daniel winced at her language as well, but he too understood it. “What our brother means, is that father has decided that you are well old enough to be married. He’s tired of all the ‘games’ as he called it. And he’s tired of us chasing everyone away.”

“Brother you wound me!” Arthur clutched his heart in an act of humor but no one laughed. “I prefer to say that we’re saving our dear sister from a life of misery!”

“And us from losing her.” Richard’s voice spoke for everyone and then no one spoke at all.

After a second Daniel took this moment to continue. “Whatever the case, he’s ready for you to find a husband. He’s picked two men that he finds suitable and if he has his way, which as we all know he normally does, you will be engaged to one of them by the end of the week.”

Angela clenched her jaw together tightly and squeezed Mary’s shoulder to keep balanced. Mary reached up to grab her cousin’s hand, squeezing it back for reassurance.

This time it was Richard who answered. “Joshua Duncan, his grace the Duke of Corning and the Earl of Bankston, Alexander Langdon.”

All feeling drained from Angela’s body. “What?” Angela cried. “There have been plenty of other suitable bachelors before! I suppose Lord Bankston is not a horrible choice but the Duke of Corning? Why?”

Arthur took a deep breath before responding, “Because as hard as it is for any of us to admit… maybe it’s just time.” He reached out and took a hold of her hands. “Angela, my Angel, it’s just time for us to all grow up.”

Daniel reached out and tenderly took hold of her by the arms. “Are you interested in either of these men? If you had to marry one of them, which one would make you most happy?”

Angela was close to tears now but all she really wanted to do was to find her father and give him a piece of her mind. “I prefer neither. I will marry neither.”

“Sweetness, we have cheated the inevitable already. More than once. It is time.”

She pushed Daniel away and then pushed her voice out. “But you are supposed to protect me…”

Daniel looked into the eyes of his sister and softly rubbed a tear off of her left cheek. “We have done what we can but in the end it is up to father.”

And Angela exploded.

“You have not done what you can! You have not or this would not be happening. I tell you! I swear… I swear it! You will see me dead before I marry either of those men!”