by Lauren Smith
“I do so love that gown,” Rowena sighed.
Milly checked her figure in the full mirror by the dresser. It was a wonderful gown of sapphire blue silk with gold and black netting of lace over the bodice. The netting split apart down the front of her dress below her waist to allow the sapphire paneling to show through as she walked. The train was a little long, but the slight bustle at the back displayed her figure to its best advantage.
Constance shared a little smile with Milly as they both caught Rowena smoothing a hand over her hair before she faced them.
“How do I look?” She performed a little pirouette, her eyes shining with excitement and youth.
“You look splendid, as always.” Milly clasped her little sister’s hands, glad that with her sister she could be herself, if only a few minutes longer.
“Shall we go down to dinner?” she asked.
“Yes.” Rowena raised her chin, a self-confidant smile replacing the girlish eagerness as though she’d become a different woman in an instant.
They departed her room, which lay in the east wing of Hampton House, where most of the guests were staying for the dinner party. A group of gentlemen and a few ladies were waiting at the bottom of the grand staircase for the other guests to come down. All eyes turned to Milly and Rowena as they came into view. Milly paused, letting Rowena have her moment to collect the admiration of the room.
Enjoy it, little sister. Someday you will have to choose your path—wife or spinster. Until she did, Rowena could enjoy her first dinner party. Milly glanced at the faces below and froze. There was one man down there she had no intention of interacting with unless forced. He hadn’t been on the formal guest list but had to have been a last-minute addition. His presence wouldn’t have stopped her from coming, but lord she so hated to be around men like him…After the last house party at Hampton House, she’d been determined to avoid him if possible.
Mr. Owen Hadley was a fortune hunter. A man like that was dangerous. They cared little or not at all for the women they seduced in an attempt to find suitable heiresses. She stared hard at the man’s face for a moment longer, wishing she could will him to disappear. But he stayed right where he was, his presence mocking her for her inability to make him vanish.
His scandalous reputation preceded him, and he left a trail of broken hearts and unmarried ladies who lacked the wealth it was rumored he was seeking behind him. She’d heard far too much about Hadley’s history with women. How he’d worked his way into many beds, but the widowed ladies knew better than to marry him. A rich widow had the world at her fingertips, and very rarely did those ladies remarry, because it meant turning over their freedom and money to their new husbands. Milly had to applaud those widows for turning the fortune hunter away. Mr. Hadley was a temptation to sin for any woman.
Even Milly had to admit that as he stood there in his evening suit, dark hair long enough to look a tad too roguish to be fashionable, and that grin that melted a woman’s resistance, he looked good. He was tall, too tall, but perfect for her, not that she liked that—she didn’t, of course. She preferred to be an equal height to men, and given that she possessed a little more height than many young ladies, most men of her acquaintance weren’t taller than her. Hadley, however, was too tall, almost a head above Milly. It made her feel…vulnerable.
Hadley laughed at something the Earl of Hampton said and then glanced up the stairs. His eyes flicked over her briefly, a hint of a frown touching his sensual lips; then his focus turned to Rowena and damn him, the man’s hazel eyes lit up with a piercing fire.
Milly’s stomach clenched and she froze on the stairs, one gloved hand clasped to her breast.
Rowena. Not her sweet Rowena. The man could seduce any lady, but not her little sister. Rowena needed a good match. Scandal would ruin her beyond redemption and she would be forced out of polite society.
I will have to distract him, even if it will be most distasteful.
Squaring her shoulders, Milly walked down the last two steps and greeted her hosts. The Dowager Countess of Hampton; her soon-to-be-husband, Mr. Leighton; and his daughter, Ivy, along with Leo Graham, the Earl of Hampton.
“You look splendid,” Ivy said as she took Milly’s arm.
Milly never failed to be surprised at Ivy Leighton’s friendliness. The young woman was half Gypsy by her father, and her mother had been a lady’s maid. It was in every instinct Milly possessed to treat Ivy coolly given her status as nouveau riche, which happened to be below Milly’s own long-generation titled lineage. The first time they’d been introduced, Milly had certainly acted unpleasant. She regretted that. Immensely. Her frustration with Leo’s intent to propose to her had put a damper on her mood. Milly had been so focused on convincing the earl that she wasn’t a good match for him that she’d acted rather callously and arrogantly with regard to everyone around her. Ivy had been a victim of her behavior, and in the last few weeks Milly had made every effort to be deserving of the friendship that Ivy offered.
Ivy had been persistent, and Milly had found herself unable to dislike the young woman once they’d spent a few afternoon teas together discussing literature and politics. They had much in common in their views with regard to women and the rights they unfairly lacked in society.
Milly tilted her head close to Ivy to whisper, “What is Mr. Hadley doing here? As I understood it, he and Lord Hampton had a falling out at the last house party.” It had been quite a scandal. Mr. Hadley had left during the middle of a shooting party with a black eye and a sour temper.
Milly allowed Ivy to guide her away from the other guests into an alcove where they could have a small amount of privacy. Ivy’s bright caramel eyes darkened a little.
“I’m not sure, but Leo insists they are still friends and that Mr. Hadley no longer has intentions of trying to steal me from Leo.”
Milly huffed in reply. “Of course he doesn’t, because he’s eyeing my sister like a fine glass of sherry he wants to taste.” She glowered at the accused seducer, hoping that he could feel the sting of her gaze. He turned and raised one brow in challenge at her from across the room.
“Milly,” Ivy gasped, but it soon turned to a giggle as she followed Milly’s fixed attention.
“He does look a little too interested. It’s a good thing the seating arrangement at dinner keeps him away from Rowena.”
Milly touched her throat as she readjusted the diamond necklace that lay against her collarbone. “Who’s the unfortunate party guest that must endure his conversation?”
Ivy shot her a sideways glance. “Why you, Milly dear.”
For a moment, Milly simply couldn’t process what her friend had just told her. She’d been resolved to distract him from Rowena but that didn’t include seating next to the odious man at dinner.
“Absolutely no—” Milly was silenced as the butler announced dinner was prepared. “Ivy, I’m not sitting next to that man,” she hissed in her friend’s ear.
Ivy merely laughed. “Someone has to and who better than you? I think you’re a perfect match in ill tempers.” The teasing comment made Milly frown deeply. Even though she’d been seemingly ill-tempered on purpose, it wasn’t who she really was. Deep down, she was a woman who wanted love and laughter in her life. But a man like Hadley would never see the real her, nor would a man like him want a real partner in life. He only wanted a wife for money. He embodied everything she hated.
Chapter 2
The ladies went from the drawing room to the lavish dining room first. Milly blanched as she went to her seat. A footman stepped out of the shadows, pulled her chair back, and seated her. She felt like a man doomed to die by hanging, waiting on the scaffold for the quick drop and the final stop. She had to deal with Mr. Hadley. There was something unsettling about being too close to him, the scent of sandalwood and pine that she caught as she stood only a few feet away from him, and the way his lips curved up in a wry smile as she came closer. It made her knees buckle and her pulse pound. Nothing about Mr. Hadley ma
de her feel stable and in control.
Still, it was better that she do it than Rowena. Her younger sister might fall for the dark-haired seducer with his devilish smiles and hearty laughter. Yes, it was a good thing Rowena was seated closer to the quiet and handsome Scottish Earl of Forres. He was a much safer dinner companion than a fortune hunter like Hadley.
“Miss Pepperwirth,” Mr. Hadley greeted coldly as he took a seat beside her once all the ladies and remaining gentlemen had taken their seats.
“Good evening, Mr. Hadley,” she replied just as coolly. By the end of the third course, they’d likely frost their end of the table over with their chilled politeness.
“Are you enjoying the weather?” His question surprised her, and she answered before thinking through her response.
“The weather? It is October, Mr. Hadley, a lovely autumnal month. Of course I enjoy it.” She hadn’t meant to say that, hadn’t meant to reveal anything about herself that she enjoyed. It made her likeable, and that meant suitors would notice her. She couldn’t allow that.
“You enjoy October, then? What about it do you like?” He dipped his spoon into his bowl of cream of watercress soup and then after tasting it, angled his body toward her. It was inappropriate to do so, but no one else seemed to notice his position or his focus on her.
His eyes met hers and she saw a challenging gleam in his gaze underlaid with other more confusing emotions…heat, but not anger. She met him stare for stare despite the fact that his gaze made her feel as naked as though she wore nothing more than a corset and chemise.
A sudden flush heated Milly’s body from the tips of her toes to her cheeks. How could a simple move, his body turned toward her in a close setting, make her react so…strongly?
Like a fever. The thought only just penetrated the haze that lingered at the edge of her mind and body. She brought herself out of it with a little shake of her head.
“I’m sorry, what did you ask me?” For the life of her she couldn’t remember his question.
“October, what do you like about it?” He was blatantly ignoring the woman on his right and a few people across the table were noticing.
Milly swallowed hard and reached for her water goblet. Her tongue felt a little thick and her throat dry. Hadley’s intense focus on her was unsettling.
“I…uh…enjoy the changing of the colors of the leaves, the way the crisp breeze has a slight bite to it.”
Oh dear, I’m rambling. She hastily took a few sips of her watercress soup, not daring to look in Hadley’s direction. When he said nothing, she finally was forced to look his way. Those eyes, the ones that promised danger and seduction, were entirely fixed on her. How could he make her feel so naked and excited? As though she had no secrets from him and with that glint of arrogance she saw, he knew exactly what she was thinking. She stared back at him, her heart thumping hard enough that she wondered if her ribs would be bruised on the morrow.
“And you, Mr. Hadley. What do you like about October?”
He chuckled. “I don’t like the month. Not at all. I prefer June or July. The heat, you know, I like that much better. The feel of the sun warming my bare skin…a man can grow addicted to the feel of that pleasurable burning, perhaps even a woman can, too.”
The heat? He liked the heat? She very much doubted that he meant the heat of the sun. No, she sensed that the heat he referred to was something else entirely, something she wasn’t supposed to know about, being a virgin, and yet she did. She only knew enough to know it was bad to think of words like heat and pleasurable burning in such a scandalous fashion. There was something about the way he said the words and how his eyes darkened as he looked at her that made it feel so wrong. So wrong in a delicious way like eating the last bit of dessert when she’d already had too much.
“You don’t like the heat?” Owen finally broke his stare and turned to face his bowl of soup again.
With his concentration on her disrupted, Milly’s strength returned. “No. I most certainly do not.”
With a practiced ease, Mr. Hadley tossed one shoulder in a casual shrug and replied,
“Pity, it might have been fun for you and I to enjoy the summer heat together.” And then he didn’t converse with her for the remainder of the dinner.
For some reason, it made her angry, angry and a little hurt. Which made no sense, since she didn’t like him. Despised him, in fact. Then why did it sting? She shouldn’t want him to continue talking to her or discussing things that were likely far too scandalous for dinner, but there had been something to him when he spoke to her. She’d felt…alive even as they’d played whatever sort of game he’d started and she missed the feeling of excitement that came with verbally sparring with him, even for so short a time.
For the remainder of the meal, she partook minimally in the other conversations, still mulling over Owen’s words and what they really meant…and more importantly how his heated gaze had made her feel.
After dinner, Milly spent the remainder of the evening, while the men were unaware, speaking with Ivy about joining the local suffragettes for their meetings. If Milly was to remain unwed, she wanted to devote her life to her passion—the education of women—and Ivy had some wonderful ideas of how Milly could become involved. It left her feeling full of hope for the first time in years. She would have a purpose, one not buried by society’s expectations but rather one that would challenge her and give young girls a sense of a future that was bright and filled with chances they would never have dreamed of without proper education.
It was a long while later when the ladies were finally ready to go to bed. The gentlemen had gone to drink port in another part of the large manor house and the ladies of the party were thankfully in agreement that it was time to retire.
Milly joined Rowena as they ascended the main set of stairs and walked down the hall to their wing. Their rooms were opposite each other in the hall.
“Rowena, remember to lock your door after Constance sees to you,” she reminded her little sister.
“My door…why of course, but why would you tell me to?” Rowena entered her chamber, where Constance stood waiting. Pinching her earrings off and her delicate diamond bracelets, she handed them to their maid, who carried them over to a sateen jewelry box on the dresser.
“It’s Mr. Hadley. I don’t like the way he was looking at you tonight.” Milly leaned against one of the bedposts, gripping the wood between her gloved hands.
“How was he looking at me? What do you mean, Milly?” Her little sister’s eyes were wide and a little fearful.
“You’re too young to know what sort of man he is, but trust me when I say you don’t want to be someone he is interested in. Fortune hunters are heartless. They only care about the money they can get when they ruin you. I saw the way he was looking at you tonight. I believe he might try to seduce you. You could not survive the scandal if he did. You must take care not to be anywhere alone, especially with him. After dinner tonight, I was worried he might try to visit your rooms. It is the easiest way to compromise a woman.”
At this her sister froze, her gown half undone in the back. Constance even paused in the act of slipping buttons of their slits.
“He’ll try to compromise me?”
Milly sighed. Her sister was so innocent, like a sacrificial lamb.
“Yes. He’d compromise you. Come to your chambers in nothing but a dressing gown, climb into your bed, and arrange to be discovered with you.” Milly paused. She wasn’t all that sure of what followed except there might be a fair amount of kissing and something about a man lying atop a woman.
“Oh, Milly, you mean you think he’d…” Rowena made a funny little gesture with her hands by squishing them together almost as if she were in prayer.
Milly nodded. “He would force himself on you.”
Rowena gasped.
It was a fate worse than death in Milly’s eyes. Being compromised and then forced to marry the man who ruined you. Men who did that to women didn’t love them
, and a marriage without love was something she never wanted to contemplate.
“My lady.” Constance flashed Milly a panicked look because Rowena had turned a frightening ashen white. Milly grasped her sister by the shoulders, giving her a gentle shake.
“Rowena, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m sure Mr. Hadley wouldn’t hurt you. He seems only to break hearts, not other things. I do not believe he’d do any real harm, except to your reputation. But you must take care all the same. Lock your door.”
When her sister nodded, her eyes still as round as teacup saucers, Milly kissed her cheek and then left to cross the hall to her own room to prepare for bed. She unfastened her necklace and removed her earrings before she slid her black gloves off and laid them down over the back of a chair. She would have to wait for Constance to assist her, so she seated herself at the vanity table. What a night she’d had, suffering Mr. Hadley’s strange behavior at dinner. Had he meant to tease her the way a cat did a mouse? It seemed likely he’d only attempted conversation with her out of boredom.
A pity that, she thought. I would have loved to have a genuine conversation with anyone, even him. But all the things she longed to discuss, like politics or history, were not favorable topics for a lady to discuss. In France, she’d been able to speak so freely to men about her opinions. Back in England she’d been forced to accept the fact that the life she’d been living in France would likely never be possible here. Men still wished to go to separate rooms to smoke, leaving women to their idle gossip. She knew Ivy and Leo broke from tradition frequently and would sit and talk for hours about things that mattered.
I wish I could have that. The longing for it was so desperate that it left her feeling empty and cold because she feared she would never find a man who would wish to do that with her.
For a moment, she thought of Owen’s flashing dark eyes and the way he’d riled her temper up as they’d talked but how he’d also made her feel things she hadn’t ever felt before.
