Games of Desire for Lady Hellion: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel

by Olivia Bennet

  It was a sign that everything was going well—his love affair with this incredible creature he had met, and the plan with his brother.

  But eventually, I must choose one.

  Chapter 17

  “I simply cannot allow this to go on much longer, Diana,” Henry snapped.

  He paced in front of the unlit fire of his study, a scowl on his face and the fabric of his trousers snapping with each stride. The papers had been cleared from the floor and neatly put away—a sure sign that her father had something other than work on his mind.

  Diana stood just inside the door, hands clutched together in front of her and her face to the floor. She wore a simple muslin gown in puce, an ugly color certainly but a practical one she preferred for days she did not leave the house. Her father’s cheeks blazed and his jaw was set. She had rarely seen him in such a state, and never aimed at her.

  “I have given you ample time to find a suitor,” he said, not looking at her but sending every negative thought her way. “And yet you have done nothing but waste time and energy. Why can you not understand how important this is?”

  “I do understand, Father, I—”

  “You clearly do not, Diana, or you would have found yourself someone by now.” He stopped pacing and glared at her, his angry expression shocking her. He was not normally so bitter and enraged.

  “But Father—”

  “The most important things in my life are you and Celine.”

  “I know, and—”

  “And nothing. It is vital I find you a good match, someone who has the means to look after you. I will not see you living a sad and lonely life as I have.”

  “But a life without love—”

  “Enough!” he roared and she stepped backward. “Love has little to do with it. Love is a bonus, not a requirement. And your reticence in finding a suitor has left me with no choice.”

  “No choice?” she squeaked, dropping her hands and looking at him properly for the first time. “What do you mean?”

  “I warned you, Diana. I told you that if you did not suggest someone, I would find someone for you. I have arranged a meeting with some of my oldest friends and acquaintances. As you are unwilling to pick a suitor, you have left me with no choice. I will choose someone, instead.”

  Diana could do nothing but glare at her father, the seconds ticking by as she stood, aghast, unable to say anything. Eventually, he looked away, sagging with something she suspected was sadness but that she was too astounded to recognize. She knew he didn’t like to be so angry with her, but he felt he could do nothing else. As much as she hated it, she understood it.

  “I understand,” she said, so quietly she couldn’t be sure he heard her, and she left the room.

  Back in her chambers, she fell onto her bed and stared, unseeing, at the ceiling. It was so unfair. Just as she had managed to find someone, her father insisted on pushing through another suitor. He had waited so long. She couldn’t understand why he couldn’t wait just the little bit longer.

  The only way to make things right was to encourage Isaac to act sooner, assuming he wanted to act at all.

  But how?

  It had been over a week since she had last seen him, and she had heard nothing—neither from him nor of him. She had been certain of his feelings, but the longer she went without seeing him, the less confident she became—and she didn’t know when she might possibly see him again. She rubbed her hands over her face, groaning in annoyance, not sure what to do, but her concerns would have to wait. She and Celine would be attending yet another party.

  “Are you ready?” Celine asked, poking her head around the door. “Oh no, you are not even changed.”

  She stepped fully into the room and gave Diana a reprimanding look, as though telling off a child for their slowness.

  “I am sorry, Celine,” she said, a tiredness dragging her words down. She did not know if she had the energy to attend another party. “Will you help me?”

  “Whatever is the matter?” Celine asked, and then Diana saw her dawning realization. “You’ve had another discussion with Father.”

  “Yes,” Diana said sadly, her gaze unable to meet her sister’s. “But you are right, there is no time for it now.” She forced herself to smile, then stood from the bed.

  They were attending a charitable luncheon at Lord Percival’s estate, in aid of a London charity designed to help young ladies out of poverty. Despite her sadness and her desire not to see anyone, Diana thought it a worthy cause and one she wished to help. And she could not deny she was curious to see the famed Wensworth Hall and perhaps even talk to Lord Percival to ascertain his intentions.

  She stood and Celine untied the laces of her simple gown. She let it slip to the floor and stepped out of it, her stays still tight around her body.

  “Isn’t it exciting?” Celine squeaked as she pulled Diana’s bright-green dress from the hook and held it out to her. “I am sure Lord Percival invited us only because he and I have grown closer in recent weeks. And I am soon to see his house!”

  “Your house, if things go the way you hope,” Diana said with a wink. “And yes, I have no doubt that our invitation is thanks to your closeness.”

  “Heavens, I had not thought of that.” Celine blanched. “My home?”

  “It’s all right.” Diana laughed. “Everything will be fine. Believe me. I know little of the Earl, but from what I do know, you and he are made for one another, you go together so perfectly.”

  “Do you really think so?” Celine asked, an air of gossip around her. “I mean, he is rather handsome and—”

  “Celine!” Diana cried, stopping her sister from rushing into an urgent string of words. “You have found the one for you. Enjoy it.” She paused for a moment, then said, “Oh Celine, you never fail to cheer me. I will be terribly sad when we are both married and living on different estates.”

  She stepped into her clean gown and pulled it up over her shoulders, then turned for Celine to do up the buttons. It was an empire-line gown in emerald green, a carefree color that was sure to draw attention. It made her feel bold and confident, but it also made her feel free.

  As though I can do anything.

  “Nonsense,” Celine said, pushing a fabric-covered button through the hole. “You will be so in love that you will not have time to think of your little Sister hidden away in some other estate.”

  Diana snorted. “Not if Father has his way,” she said. “He has told me I have left it too long, and that it is now his time to choose someone.”

  “He is just saying that to scare you,” Celine said. She finished with the buttons and put her hands on Diana’s shoulders to turn her back around to face her. “You know he would do nothing to hurt you. He is simply trying to push you into action.”

  “Do you really think so?” Diana asked, her eyes filled with sadness.

  “Yes,” Celine said. “But perhaps you should tell him about you-know-who.”

  “No,” Diana said simply. “It’s too soon. I cannot make a fool of myself by assuming that—”

  “All right,” Celine said, holding her hands up in defeat. “But then perhaps you should talk further with the gentleman in question, to move things along? Assuming things are still going well, of course.”

  Diana smiled shyly. It was indeed going well.

  “Yes, he is wonderful. But I do not know when I will get to see him again. We have made no arrangements. That worries me.”

  “He is not attending today?”

  Diana shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him since Lady Emmeline’s coming out. I thought—”

  “I am sure everything will be all right,” Celine said. “He has a Dukedom to look after, he is probably simply busy. Now, let me fix your hair and we can leave.”

  “Thank you, my dear Celine. You cannot know how grateful I am that you are my Sister.”

  The dining room at Wensworth Hall was a grand place. The twenty-seat table stretched the length of the room and had been
laid with a delicate white tablecloth, so bright and clean. One wall was lined with windows large enough to bring the outside in, and making the room feel as free and full of summer as the gardens did.

  “It’s a true wonder,” Celine whispered as she walked in behind Diana. “I have heard rumors of Wensworth Hall, but this—”

  “Yes,” Diana said over her shoulder. “It’s quite something. Lord Percival obviously has excellent taste in décor.”

  “And the wealth to keep it up,” Celine said, raising her eyebrow.

  “Indeed,” Diana said. “Look, here is my seat.”

  Diana pointed to the name card on the table, her name written in neat, fine print. She would sit with her back to the window, and she was third in from the head. Celine, though, would sit directly next to Lord Percival, two seats down from Diana.

  “Heavens, Diana,” she said, widening her eyes at her sister in delight. “I am to sit right next to My Lord.”

  “A very special place, indeed,” Diana nodded. Her lips twisted into a knowing smile, her eyes twinkling with delight for her sister.

  The other end of the table was reserved for Lord Percival’s mother, Lady Patience, his father having died several years earlier. His mother was an eccentric sort who always wore bright colors and loose gowns that seemed to flow behind her. Her fingers were laden with too many jewels and the flesh on her face had turned soft like worn leather.

  She was a kindly lady, for the most part, but she knew what she liked and what she did not. She had become, in her twilight years, a demanding lady of exacting standards, and Lord Percival had taken after her in manner.

  Diana looked around the room, nodding to the guests she didn’t know while greeting others she had met before. At the far end of the table, Lady Patience was in deep conversation with someone, the two smiling at each other as old friends. He was somewhat younger than her, handsome with his chocolate-brown eyes. Diana glanced quickly at them then looked away, thinking nothing of it. But it was as she looked away that she realized she recognized him.

  She looked back and then looked quickly away again, catching her breath.

  Is it him?

  Yes, it was. It was Isaac. Diana tried to stop herself from breaking out into a childish grin and so she looked down at her place setting. She looked quickly to Celine, but she was too engrossed in her conversation with Lord Percival to notice anything. Diana refocused on calming her breathing, not daring to look back at Isaac.

  Not yet.

  If she looked at him, she might not be able to stop herself from calling out to him, to rushing over.

  Once everyone had taken their seats, the butler entered the room and stood just behind Lord Percival.

  “Dinner is served,” he called, and a stream of maids came in carrying dishes for the twenty people at the table.

  It was poached fish to start and Diana’s mouth watered as it was placed in front of her. It flaked perfectly as she stuck her fork into it, steam rising from inside and the thick sauce running down it.

  “This is delightful, don’t you think?”

  The gentleman who sat next to her was a tall man, and by the wrinkles that clung to his face, he was advanced in years. He seemed friendly enough, though, and Diana smiled sweetly at him.

  “It is indeed,” she said, but she didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, she couldn’t stop her eyes from finding Isaac again, a quick glance and then quickly away again.

  “Have you been to many of these events?” the man asked, and Diana turned to him, surprised he had spoken. She had quite forgotten about his existence in her pooling thoughts of Isaac.

  “No, actually,” she said. “This is my first time at Wensworth Hall.”

  “How lucky you are to experience it for the first time. It truly is a magnificent estate, don’t you agree? I love it here. It is always quite the outing when Lord Percival has a do.”

  “Certainly,” Diana said. “It is like nowhere I have seen before. So modern and clean. It must take a hundred servants to maintain just this wing alone.”

  “Indeed,” he replied, laughing at the thought. “That’s Lord Percival’s influence. When his father died, he completely updated the place. You should have seen it before.” He spoke out of the corner of his mouth, conveying a secret. “It was positively drab.”

  “I cannot imagine that,” Diana said. “Not of such a beautiful place.”

  “Believe me,” he said, and winked at her.

  She smiled weakly. He was a sweet old man, but not the one she wished to talk to. She glanced back over at Isaac to find him looking at her, an unabashed stare with a delighted smile. She blushed and pressed her lips together in a suppressed grin, but she did not look away, and she was glad she did not because a few seconds later, she saw him mouth the words: I’ve missed you.

  Chapter 18

  “Good afternoon.”

  Diana froze at the sound of the silky voice behind her. She had been waiting so long for him to appear, nervously jumping from conversation to conversation in the hopes of finding Isaac, and now he had found her. She beamed when she saw him, glass of wine in hand. He grinned at her and she could see in that look that he was as happy to see her as she was to see him.

  “Good afternoon,” she whispered then cleared her throat, wanting to meet his gaze but not wanting to look in his eye in case he saw all the yearning and desire in her.

  Lunch had been painfully long, dragged out further by her need to look at Isaac and her determination not too. She couldn’t stop herself though, and the two of them had spent most of the afternoon throwing each other sly glances and happy smiles until one or the other was pulled into conversation.

  The party had since moved to the drawing room—an equally extravagant room with beautifully upholstered furniture. The guests milled around, talking to those they didn’t have the opportunity to over dinner. It was a pleasant afternoon, and were she not quite so focused on Isaac, Diana would have said it was one of the best events she had attended all season.

  At least it makes a change from a ball.

  “I did not know you were attending,” Isaac said.

  “Nor I,” she said, then she blushed and widened her eyes at her own error. “I mean, I knew I was attending. I did not know you were attending.”

  “I understood,” Isaac said. He laughed gently, the sound filling Diana with joy. She breathed a little deeper, smiled a little wider.

  “Oh, I…all right.”

  They lapsed into silence, both avoiding eye contact after a dinner of not being able to look away, both suppressing grins. Diana felt awkward for reasons she couldn’t say, but it was an excited awkwardness, one she never wanted to lose. She searched for something to say, something intelligent or witty, but it felt as though her whole mind went blank whenever Isaac was around. All she could think of was him.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t written,” he said, and she waved her hand, shrugging as though she hadn’t noticed.

  “We are all busy people, Your Grace,” she said, using his title lest anyone overheard their conversation.

  “That much is true, but I am sorry I have not been in touch sooner, My Lady. I have been rather caught of late and I—”

  “Really,” she said, a little more forcefully than she intended, “it’s quite all right.”

  There was another silence then, a silence she wanted to fill with all her thoughts and feelings, but she kept them closely locked away, fearing that if she told him, he would think worse of her.

  Not yet, she told herself.

  “The food was delightful,” he said finally.

  “Yes, yes it was,” she said, altogether too quickly. Then she looked away, cursing herself for seemingly having entirely forgotten how to converse.

  You are a fool, Diana Allen.

  And then Isaac laughed and she looked at him, surprised. Of all he could have said or done, laughing at her seemed both out of character and unfair. What had she done to deserve it? She was just about to repr
imand him when he spoke, interrupting her.

  “Goodness, I’m sorry Diana, I am not laughing at you. But I just had the funniest thought.”

  “And what was that?” she asked, her tone harsh. He had made her feel small, someone to be mocked rather than loved and that irritated her beyond words.

  “This is the first time I have found you not hiding in the gardens. It is quite unusual to talk to you indoors.”