by Carrie Brock
His face brightened immediately, just as she had known it would. “That's my girl.”
Nicki glanced at the dark silhouettes of trees on either side of them and the moonlight flitting through the branches, as nebulous as the fairies of her favorite childhood tales. She would honor her promise to her father and not plan any more daring escapades.
Still—there were a great many natural occurrences that could interfere in a courtship. It was her duty to see to it that as many as humanly possible took place. She had avoided marriage for four years, struggling against her father's many attempts to get her engaged. She had made a vow long ago. A vow she could not break.
Then with the delivery of two notes, a man had successfully entrapped her into a second engagement. Disastrous!
Yet if there was one thing Nicki had learned in her twenty-two years on this earth, it was how to make use of a disaster.
She shivered, recalling those silver eyes. Nicki feared she just may have met her match in the Earl of Diamond.
Chapter 2
. . .
“What is he like, Nicki? Is he horribly old?” Mina, wearing a gown of rich magenta that set off her black hair and fair skin to perfection, paused next to Nicki's canopied bed. With exquisite grace, she straightened the corner of the rose coverlet before she crossed the room to sit on the delicate stool in front of the dressing table.
Nicki thrust her hands into the sleeves of her ice blue day gown while their maid, chubby red-headed Lucy, valiantly maneuvered the cloth to keep the seams from splitting.
“He did not seem so very old, but it was somewhat dark.”
“Heavens, Nicki! You could have been ravished! If Papa had not arrived when he did . . . ”
Nicki snapped her brows together in the manner her stepmother deplored. “Papa says he is an earl. Men of high birth do not go about ravishing young ladies . . . do they?”
Mina's perfect oval face took on a concerned expression. “But you were wearing Shelby's trousers of all things! And you did climb in his bedroom window in the middle of the night. Perhaps he thought you meant to involve him in a romantic tryst.”
“That is utter nonsense! He is the one who sent the note.”
Nicki waited for her sister to vacate the stool before she dropped onto the velvet cushion. “Can you believe it, Mina? He has taken Rosewood away from Teddy—and over a game of cards, of all things! Teddy must be devastated!”
Concern fled Mina's expression to be replaced by disdain. “It was gambling that caused Teddy and his father to leave England one step ahead of their creditors. I'm truly amazed they kept Rosewood as long as they did.”
“That is extremely ungenerous of you.”
Lucy picked up a shiny gold brush and began to drag it through Nicki's tangled hair while Mina fussed with several bottles and jars situated in a jumble atop the dressing table.
Nicki watched her sister absently. “Teddy was brokenhearted when he and his father left for America. He swore to me he would return one day. This Earl of Diamond must have tricked him, as he tricked Papa and me.”
Mina unstopped a bottle, dabbed the lid against her throat. She rolled her eyes heavenward. “Teddy was always a spineless boy who assisted you in all sorts of pranks, and then stood silently by while you took the blame and the punishment.”
Nicki shook her head in denial. The movement jerked a strand of her hair temporarily from Lucy's fingers. Mina simply did not understand. No one did.
“I was not nearly so clever as he, and so I was caught.”
“Devious, you mean. He never once stepped forward to protect you. Heaven knows you've never been able to maintain a straight face in a lie, and you were just too honorable to try to protect yourself. Teddy knew that and he took advantage.”
The words hit too close to the mark, but what Mina did not know was that it had been Nicki's choice to protect Teddy. For reasons no one else knew, she had dared not allow Teddy to get into trouble. He was her best friend—her only friend—and she would have sacrificed much more than punishment to keep him safe. That was the way of their friendship.
She sighed. “Discussing Teddy and the past does not help me out of the situation I have gotten myself in.”
At the sight of her own reflection above Nicki's in the dressing table mirror, Mina reached up to smooth her gleaming black tresses. Nicki smiled. Not one hair appeared out of place.
Mina's sapphire blue eyes, a trait strong in the Langleys, met Nicki's gaze in the glass. “You went there to seek Teddy's help in freeing you from your betrothal to Melton. The mission was a success. You're freed from your engagement.”
Nicki made a face at her sister. “How insightful of you, Mina. You forget that I am now saddled with a different intended. My situation has not changed in the least.”
“The Earl of Diamond. A romantic title. You shall be the Countess of Diamond. Besides, you did say the gentleman is not old. Is he handsome at all?”
A vision came to Nicki of finely honed features set in uncompromising lines, eyes of the palest grey, wide shoulders and a stomach that resembled Emma's washboard, breeches that clung to the prominent muscles of his thighs like a second skin . . .
“Good heavens, it is hot in here!” Nicki grabbed up a feather and beadwork fan and wielded it with a vengeance. “Is he handsome? I suppose so, in a ruthless sort of way. But he seemed entirely too used to ordering people about, and I do not intend to be one of those people!”
Mina touched a pale hand to her throat, her eyes wide. “Did you say ruthless? I overheard Papa and Angelica arguing this morning. She said that since Dylan left England in disgrace, he's turned into a colonial barbarian and would use his new skills to enact his final blow. What do you suppose she meant?”
Lucy turned Nicki's face toward the window to better accomplish her purposes in hair design. Nicki strained to meet her sister's gaze. “The earl and Papa do not like each other, but as for the earl being a barbarian, he did not behave like one. It was Papa who shouted and waved his pistol about. Do you think the earl might have a change of heart after sleeping on the matter? Papa and I could not have presented a flattering impression.”
Nearby, the decorative brass door handle rattled loudly, then the door burst open. Lucy shrieked and pins scattered. A boy with a head of riotous black curls stumbled into the room, all the while retaining a firm grasp on the doorknob.
The Langley blue eyes shone from a face much like Mina's. “He's here, Nick! He looks like Satan hisself dressed all in black, and his eyes are freezin’ everyone!”
“Shelby Langley!” Nicki pressed her hand to her chest, as though the gesture could slow her racing heart. “You must apologize at once for frightening the life out of us!”
Her brother shuffled his feet, tracing the pattern of a pink rose on the carpet with the toe of his shoe. “I didn't mean to scare you, Nick, but I was in a hurry, understand.”
“Of course, Shelby, now you may tell us who is below stairs.” Nicki's mouth twitched, but her voice sounded sufficiently firm to her own ears.
“Your intended, the Earl of Diamond. He looked straight through Simms. The old vulture actually stammered! Never saw Simms flustered. Thought the man was made of stone.”
Nicki's stomach fluttered as though a dozen butterflies had taken flight inside of it. She took a deep breath and forced the feeling away. “I have never seen Simms flustered, Shelby. I hope you did not come screaming from the hall like a banshee.”
“The earl never saw me.” Shelby rolled his eyes. “He was too busy scarin' the . . . starch out of the servants.”
“Thank you for informing us of the earl's arrival, Shelby. I am certain he will first speak with Papa. I will await summons.”
Her brother dashed from the room. Moments later his excited voice floated back to them as he found another audience. Clenching and unclenching her hands in her lap, Nicki realized her fingers had turned to ice. She twisted around to look up at her sister.
Their gazes locked.
Mina shrugged. With a smile Nicki jumped to her feet. Together they raced to the door and into the hall. Their slippered feet made no sound on the thick floral carpet as they sped down the long corridor to the landing.
Nicki halted at the end of the hallway where the gallery overlooked the foyer below, then crouched down to peer through the intricately carved posts of the banister. Mina's hand pressed into her shoulder as she leaned over Nicki to gain a better view.
Scanning the hall below, Nicki thought for a moment that Shelby had played her false. Then she saw the earl.
He faced the opposite wall of the gallery intent on studying the painting that hung there. Nicki caught her breath. He seemed so at ease, as though he had stood in this particular foyer a thousand times.
Nicki leaned forward to gain a better viewpoint. He was incredibly tall, just as she remembered from last night. But in clothing, he appeared much larger. She blushed at the thought.
A charcoal jacket encased his broad shoulders and the muscles of his strong thighs flexed beneath black breeches. Her heart picked up several paces as she recalled the portion of his anatomy now hidden by the back of his coat.
Knee-high Wellingtons hugged his calves; the glossy leather reflected the shimmer of light from the small chandelier overhead. This man resembled none of the local boys Nicki knew. Though the earl dressed no more extravagantly, the differences remained. Perhaps it was the proud set of his chin, or the confidence in his stride. The Earl of Diamond was a stallion amidst the neighborhood cart ponies.
Nicki noted the way the ends of his black hair curled slightly over his collar to touch his shoulders. Savage, certainly, but in a refined way. The simple act of looking at him caused a breathless sort of anticipation to curl in her stomach. Who was this man, and why had he endeavored to become engaged to her?
The earl turned and Nicki jerked back, slamming into Mina's legs. With a gasp, Mina grabbed for Nicki to right herself. The reverse momentum sent Nicki stumbling backward.
With desperation born of sheer panic, Nicki tried to hang on to her sister. Her fingers slipped from Mina's forearms and Nicki flew back several feet to land in a heap of muslin and petticoats on the hardwood floor. Slowly, she sat up, aware of a distinct discomfort in the vicinity of her tailbone. She was greeted by Mina's horrified stare.
Weakness washed over Nicki. Merciful heaven, she had fallen into the gallery. Hoping against hope, Nicki glanced to her right through the newel posts. Perhaps the incident had gone unnoticed.
“Good morning, Lady Nicole.”
Her heart lurched in her chest and heat flamed up her throat and into her cheeks. She got to her feet with as much grace as she could muster and moved to rest her palms on the rail. “My lord. Lovely morning, is it not?” Her voice came out stilted and unnatural.
The corner of the earl's mouth twitched slightly. “There is a bite in the air, but not overly unpleasant. I hope you did not injure yourself?”
Nicki ignored the muffled squeak Mina uttered at his words and shook her head. “It was nothing, a snag in the carpeting. It catches me frequently.”
He nodded, maintaining a serious mien, as though her explanation were entirely plausible. “I see. I have an aversion to snags myself. Always trips one up when one least expects it.”
She took a deep breath and clenched the railing. “Have you come to speak with my father?”
Lord Diamond clasped his hands behind his back and Nicki noted the sudden tautness of his finely sculpted jawline. “I have.”
She nibbled at her lower lip before rushing ahead. “He can be quite excitable, but means well. Last night . . . ”
“You are breathtaking this morning.”
The words, softly spoken, sent Nicki's thoughts fluttering. She reached up to touch her hair and remembered that Lucy had only styled one side before Nicki rushed from her bedchamber to spy on the earl.
“Thank . . . you,” she said hesitantly, certain her cheeks must be as red as wine by now. She turned slightly so that the earl could view only her finished side. “I fear that a misunderstanding has . . . ”
“I am enjoying this conversation, but perhaps you could come down into the hall? Looking up at you like this pains my neck.”
“Oh.” Frantic, Nicki glanced at Mina then back down at Lord Diamond. She could not go downstairs looking like this. The man had called her breathtaking but he would certainly expire for lack of air if he obtained a closer view of her odd taste in coiffures.
“Nicki, could you come here, please,” called Mina from farther down the hall.
“Coming!” Nicki responded immediately, then offered the earl an apologetic smile. “If you will please excuse me, my lord? It appears I am needed elsewhere.” She had not meant to sound quite so cheerful.
His silver eyes sparkled. “So it seems. Good day, my lady.”
With a brief curtsy, Nicki lifted her chin and walked at a sedate pace from the gallery. She held herself in check until she had left the earl's sight, then bolted down the corridor past the faces of Langley ancestors who frowned from dark canvases.
Mina ushered Nicki through the doorway leading back into her room, then closed the door and collapsed against it.
Heart pounding, Nicki faced her sister. “How positively awful!”
Lucy glanced up from her position on the floor, pins protruding from her clenched lips. She shook her head in exasperation and returned to scouring the patterned carpet for the remainder of the lost hairpins.
“I'm so sorry, Nicki.” Mina slipped down the smooth painted wood, as though her legs would no longer support her.
Feeling as though she had entered a frightening new world, Nicki moved to sit next to her sister. She tucked her ankles beneath the hem of her dress. “He must think I spend more time on the floor than on my feet.”
“I thought him quite understanding,” Mina offered.
“He seems more frightening today. Did you notice he would not let me discuss the events of last night?” She twisted her hands together in her lap. “What am I to do, Mina?”
With a slight smile, Mina covered Nicki's cold fingers. “Papa will take care of everything. Don't worry, sister. He would never marry you to a monster.”
She wanted to believe Mina's words, but Nicki could not shake the feeling of hanging suspended by a velvet ribbon over a vast precipice—a ribbon held by the Earl of Diamond.
“I am not so certain of that. At this point, Papa might wed me to the devil himself just to be free of me.”
. . .
Blake watched until the charming, disheveled Nicole slipped away. He realized with amusement, and a small degree of pleasure, that she had been spying on him.
His humor dissipated as he dropped his gaze to the pristine white tile gleaming beneath his boots. It was time—time to face Jonathon Langley.
He turned to examine a painting gracing the wall to his left. A watercolor of a summer garden. The soft hues darkened and disappeared as Blake slipped inside the dim room of his mind that housed his memories.
He had been hardly more than a boy. Young, headstrong, naive. Billington would have gladly murdered him then, but had instead chosen humiliation. Blake vowed this time would be different. This time he would hold all the cards.
Blake moved away from the painting to survey the other framed pieces of art gracing the floral-patterned papered walls. His gaze flickered over his reflection in a mirror across the hall, then paused on a vase of hothouse flowers.
In more ways than one, Billington would find him much changed. Blake had grown from the boy into the exact image of his father, Barrett Dylan, dead these past two months. The same hardness shaped his mouth, the same coldness infused his grey eyes. Diamond eyes—a trait that had remained strong in the Dylans throughout the centuries.
Over time, Blake had learned what a powerful weapon his gaze could be. It was just one of the weapons he planned to employ against Billington.
Muffled voices could be heard from down the hall. Blake turned and w
atched the butler approach. The man walked silently on the tips of his highly polished shoes, as though tacks hurt his heels.
“His Grace will see you in his study.”
Blake set his jaw. The time had come.
“If your lordship will follow me.”
The butler spun abruptly and glided away in the direction from which he had just come. Blake's riding boots impacted against the tile with crisp clicks, but the slim man before him moved without a sound.
After passing several closed doors, the butler paused next to an open doorway, turned and bowed stiffly. “The Earl of Diamond, Your Grace.”
Jonathon Langley met Blake at the entrance to the room. “Diamond.” He held out his hand to Blake. “Thank you, Simms, that'll be all.”
Blake took the other man's hand in a firm grip.
A man's handshake revealed a great deal, and Billington's felt hot and moist. Blake glanced to his right, but the butler had disappeared. The duke ushered him into the room and closed the door.
Blake paused next to an authentic-looking suit of armor to orient himself with his new surroundings. He had passed from the subdued elegance of the hall into what resembled a crowded attic. As his eyes adjusted to the low lighting, his hearing sharpened until he heard the crackle of a fire. Wind whistled through a window not seated properly.
The duke slapped his hands together, then rubbed them vigorously. “This way.”
Blake followed Billington across a carpet that appeared to writhe beneath his feet in swirls of black, brown, maroon, and blue. The duke skillfully avoided a stool shaped like a mushroom, and a half dozen bronze serpents littering the floor in no logical pattern.
Billington moved behind an immense desk of scarred English oak situated before an arched window. With a sigh, he took a seat and motioned Blake to an armchair on the opposite side of the desk. Blake carefully dodged a table nearby that leaned precariously on three legs and sat in a high-backed chair. The cushion had little padding and left much to be desired in the way of comfort. Blake also noted he faced the window, which on a brighter day would have been a distinct disadvantage.
