What Would Jane Austen Do? (21 page)

   She quickly made sure all her clothing was in place and then stood, forcing Shermont to take a step back. She assumed a position between him and the door, flashing a smile at the butler and housekeeper.

   "Thank you for your concern," Eleanor said, making sure her tone was gracious. "I was a bit light-headed for a minute, but I'm fine. We will be rejoining the others now."

   "That will be all," Shermont added, and the servants bowed their way out of the room without any change of expression.

   The brief respite had brought Eleanor back to her senses. What was she thinking? Anyone could have interrupted them.

   "Eleanor?

   She turned to face him. "I'm afraid our time is up."

   "Can we meet later tonight?" he asked. "After everyone has gone to sleep? I will come to your room."

   "Yes. No. I mean, yes, we can meet, but you can't come to my room. I'm sharing a suite with Deirdre and Mina." If one night with him was all she was going to get, she would grab the chance. "We must be discreet. I'll come to you."

   He raised an eyebrow. "You never cease to surprise me… delightfully so."

   She ducked her head. "You make me want to be daring, wild, and wanton."

   "The next few hours without you in my arms are going to be hell, and I am not usually a patient man."

   She looked at him from underneath her lashes. "Maybe I'll make it worth your wait," she teased, stretching onto her toes to kiss him on the chin before dancing out of his reach. She picked up her hideous hat, discarded the ruined mask, and paused at the door. "Ready to return to reality?"

   If he had asked her that question, her answer would have been "no." She wasn't ready to go back to her world. Not yet. Please, not yet.

ELEANOR JERKED AWAKE WHEN HER HEAD FELL forward. Either that or the raging thunderstorm outside had woken her. The single candle had guttered out, and she couldn't see the clock on the mantle. How long had she slept? Would Shermont still be waiting? She stood, dumping the book in her lap onto the floor with a thump.

   Damn. She hoped the girls were sound sleepers, or that the noise would blend with the thunder. She picked up the book. Moving slowly, using the fairly frequent strikes of lightning to orient herself, she made her way to the door and across the sitting room. She put her ear to their bedroom door. Silence.

   She peeked in. Two lumps under the covers reassured her that the girls had not woken due to the noise. She eased the door closed.

   With a sigh of relief, she carefully made her way to the exit. She opened the door and saw a movement in the hallway, then pulled the door shut except for a tiny crack. Omigod. Was that Count Lazislov leaving Patience's room? Eleanor put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. She'd heard the Count and Countess had insisted on separate rooms, and now she knew why.

   Eleanor waited as she counted slowly to one hundred and then opened the door enough to make sure the hallway was empty. She slipped out and pulled it shut with a soft click. When she reached the stairway, she saw lights below and heard talk and laughter, though the sleeping footman at the front door seemed oblivious. The clock in the entrance said two-twenty-five. Could people still be awake? And partying?

   She started to head back to her room, and then, at the sound of uneven footsteps, turned and stopped.

   Shermont reeled out of the parlor door and stumbled on the first step. "Whoa." He shook a finger at the step. "If you must move, make it upward."

   "Wake Stevens and let him help you to your room," Digby called from the parlor.

   "Noooo. I'm never too drunk to put myself to bed." To the sound of laughter, on the third try he got his foot solidly on the step, grabbed the banister, and pulled himself up. After awkwardly negotiating half the steps, he ran nimbly up the rest.

   "I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind," he whispered to Eleanor.

   She shrank back a step. "Are you drunk?" she whispered.

   "That? Only an act to get out of playing cards. Everyone knows I never drink while I gamble." He took her arm and gently guided her down the hall in the opposite direction from her room.

   Eleanor dragged her feet. She was having second thoughts. This seemed so… so premeditated. And she was getting nervous. The first time with a man could go either way. What would he think of her naked? Should she get naked? What sort of lover would he be? What would he like? So many questions ran lickety-split through her brain. Then something totally off the track occurred to her. "How did you know I was at the top of the stairs?"

   "Ahh. I could say I sensed your presence."

   She rolled her eyes.

   "Or that I recognized your perfume?"

   "From that distance, I should hope not."

   "Or I could admit I coerced Alanbrooke into a chess game. I set up the board and positioned my chair so that I could see the stairway in the convex mirror located in the entrance hall."

   "A rather small, distorted image," she said. "What if it had been… the Countess Lazislov?"

   "Then I would have been surprised. She is down stairs playing cards."

   Normal conversation, even if it was in whispers, calmed her nerves a bit. "Why weren't you in the game? I'd heard…"

   "Ah. Don't believe everything you hear. Not only would I rather be with you, if I'd stayed, it would have broken several of my cardinal rules for gambling. Never gamble with anyone who wants to learn how to play. If you think there's a patsy at the table, it's probably you. And never gamble with a female—"

   "Don't tell me you're—"

   "I was about to say… never gamble with a female willing to bet her jewelry. Either she's cheating, or her jewels are paste."

   "So, which is it? Is the Countess cheating, or are her jewels fake?"

   He laughed. "Both. As Digby, Rockingham, and Parker will find out soon."

   "You didn't warn them?"

   "Not my place to save a grown man from his own foolishness, which rarely works even if you try. Some lessons must be learned the hard way." They reached the end of the hallway, his door the last one on the right. He reached for the knob and paused. "Someone has entered my room since last I left."

   "How can you tell?" she asked, her voice matching his barely-above-a-breath volume.

   "I always leave a thread or hair on the doorknob for just such an incident."

   Eleanor wasn't sure what to make of that. He hadn't seemed paranoid. "Your valet? One of the servants?"

   He shook his head. "Not only would they have no reason, they would have used the servant's entrance." Shermont crossed the hall, opened the mica filter on the wall sconce, and took out the lit candle. "Wait here."

   He opened the door and stepped inside.

   The door swung nearly closed, and she couldn't see anything. Eleanor got goose bumps. Were the ghosts in his room?

   She heard a scuffling sound. She was listening so hard she almost missed the sound of footsteps on the marble floor downstairs.

   "Good night, gentlemen," the countess trilled from the stairway. "Perhaps you can vin your money back tomorrow."

   Oh dear. Eleanor didn't want to get caught loitering outside Shermont's room. She slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

   The single candle was stuck in a holder on a small table and gave only a weak light. Flashes of lightning lit the windows and the anger on Shermont's face, giving him a sinister air as he strode toward her, hauling Mina forward by a grip on her upper arm.

   "Mina?"

   "I found her in my bed," Shermont said.

   "Mina! What are you doing here?" a voice from the other side of the room said. Deirdre stepped from behind the drapes.

   "Deirdre?" Eleanor cried.

   "What the bloody hell!" Shermont said. "Is someone going to drop from the ceiling next?"

   "What on earth are you two doing in Lord Shermont's room?"

   Deirdre's chin shot into the air and her mouth set in a stubborn line. Mina tried to mimic her sister, but Eleanor stood her ground, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

   Mina was the first to cave in and confess. "Teddy was so mad this afternoon. I figured he'd never take us to London and I'd never get married," she babbled. "I don't want to die an old maid. Shermont was so nice and said we'd be the hit of the Season, so I thought he wouldn't mind if I was discovered in his room and he had to marry me. Then he could take us to London."

   Eleanor turned to Deirdre.

   "My reasoning was much the same," the other girl mumbled.

   "That… that illogical, convoluted thinking cannot be called reasoning," he said.

   "If it had worked, it would have been brilliant," Mina said.

   "I would have refused to be coerced into marriage," he said.

   Deirdre seemed less concerned with Shermont than arguing with her sister. "As the oldest it's my place to take care of you. Why would—"

   "I can take care of myself. You—"

   "Girls!" Eleanor said, stepping between them. "You can settle this later. Right now, we need to get back to our rooms. Quietly." Thankfully, neither girl had thought to ask why Eleanor was there.

   She turned to Shermont. "I regret this disruption of your plans for the evening," she said, hoping the look in her eyes conveyed how disappointed she was.

   He nodded as if he understood and opened the door.

   She pushed both girls into the hall and followed them out. Footsteps alerted her to trouble coming. She turned to face Shermont, and the girls did the same. "Thank you, Lord Shermont, for that ah… scientific explanation of thunder and lightning," she said in a formal tone loud enough to carry down the hallway. "I'm sure we'll be able to sleep now. Come along, girls." She hooked one arm with each and marched them away.

   As they approached Teddy, backed by Rockingham, Parker, Whitby, and Alanbrooke, Eleanor acted surprised. "Seems everyone is having trouble sleeping with the terrible storm," she said without slowing her pace and towing the girls with her.

   She came face to face with Teddy. Dropping her voice, she said, "Friends should not let friends wander around drunk. Fortunately, we were awake when we heard someone fumbling with our door latch. Shermont is so drunk he had no idea where his room was. I find such drunkenness repulsive, don't you? Well, all's well that ends well. We must be going. Good night, gentlemen." Without giving him a chance to reply, she pulled the girls along, powering through the group of surprised men who stepped out of their way.

   Deirdre opened her mouth to say something, but Eleanor whispered, "Not until we're inside our room." She slammed the door open, pushed the girls into their suite, and then paused to smile and wave to the gentlemen who had turned to watch them, still stunned by the turn of events.

   She followed the girls into the bedroom they shared. Deirdre lit a candle, revealing two misshapen lumps on the bed. As each girl removed the pillows they had arranged to take their place, Eleanor put her hands on her hips.

   "I'm not going to say how stupid your actions were because I'm sure you know it. I hope both of you have learned a valuable lesson."

   "We have," Deirdre said.

   "We have," Mina echoed. "Do you think Teddy believed your playacting?"

   "I hope so," Eleanor said. "If not, then…" Omigod! Was this the basis for the duel? Had she stopped it? Only one way to know for sure. She spun toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Deirdre asked.

   Eleanor paused with her hand on the doorknob. "To make sure Teddy isn't going to do something stupid in response to hearing that Shermont tried to enter your rooms."

   "But he didn't. You made it up," Mina pointed out.

   "What do you mean something stupid? Oh dear! He wouldn't challenge Shermont, would he?" Deirdre asked.

   "Challenge? Do you mean, a duel? Like to the death?" Mina covered her mouth with her hands.

   Deirdre shook her head. "Teddy was miffed about the sword fight in the play—I mean Shermont showing him up and all, but still he wouldn't…"

   "I hope not, but I want to make sure."

   "We'll go with you," Deirdre said.

   "No, you won't," Eleanor said. "You two stay here, and until morning do not set foot outside this room for any reason. I think you've stirred up enough trouble for one night."

   After securing their promise to stay put, Eleanor went to Shermont's door. She tapped lightly.

   While she waited for a response, she turned to look up and down the hall. Suddenly the door opened behind her, and Shermont pulled her backwards into his room. He shut the door and turned the key in the lock before spinning around and gathering her into his embrace.

   "I was afraid you wouldn't return," he said. He found her lips with a hungry kiss that ravaged her mouth.