Beneath the Mask

by Margaret McGaffey Fisk

  The sound choked off as a squeak when a hand appeared from the darkness, clamping down on her arm.

  Before Daphne could react, she was pulled against a hard chest. Terror filled her, blocking out all senses as her mind demanded that she run or fight or do something but her body stayed limp. “Don’t hurt me,” she whimpered, wondering how long before more dancers spilled out and scared off her assailant.

  “Don’t tempt me,” a gruff but familiar voice ground out beside her ear. “Any punishment I could concoct would be a mere shadow of what you truly deserve.”

  “Jasper?” The name slipped from her mouth, her body’s relaxation suddenly making sense. She swiveled in his arms, wanting to share the experience with one she knew appreciated her skill. “Didn’t it go splendidly tonight? It felt almost as if I soared a foot off the stage and angels guided every moment.”

  He pulled her down the alleyway toward the street beyond, his grip rough. “More like devils. Have you no pride? Have you no care for what your family would suffer should more than just I discover what you do with your time? Did you whip off your mask and display your features to the crowd, offering me that final humiliation? Do you consider me so little?”

  Daphne jerked out of his hold, ignoring the ache where his fingers had bit deep, all fellow feeling vanishing under his accusations. Rounding on him, she slammed both hands against his chest hard enough to make him back up a step. “Humiliation? You have the gall to speak to me of humiliation when you branded me like a common harlot before my family and the assembled ton.” She smacked his chest again, her words drying up with the heat of her anger.

  Jasper grabbed her hands, pinning them to him as he stared at her, anger heaving his chest under her palms. He shifted so only one hand held both of hers, and before she realized what he’d intended, he’d pulled her toward him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders to hold her tight.

  “You think I held you thus out of an attempt to injure?” he asked, his tone incredulous. “You think I could fake how my body comes alive to your slightest touch?”

  She gazed up into his passion-dark eyes and struggled to swallow against a suddenly dry throat. “You had just discovered my secret,” she murmured, trying to explain but finding her thoughts disordered both by memories of the previous night and by sensations flooding her now.

  He laughed, a sharp bark of sound, and thrust the hand no longer needed to confine her wrists through her hair, his broad palm stretching back far enough to tilt her head a little further. “You have much to learn about men, my dear heart. You’d answered all my prayers. I’d thought to give up my honor or my heart then found both held in your keeping.”

  As if driven by forces he could no longer combat, he bent toward her, his lips capturing hers with dizzying passion.

  Daphne swayed under the onslaught, her body sagging against his supporting arm as weakness invaded her limbs and stars danced behind her eyelids.

  Then he dragged his lips from hers, his frown visible in the vague moonlight. “And yet, for all that you give, you take away,” he growled, his hand in her hair tightening into a fist and pulling against the strands. “If you think to continue such activities now, when I’ve claimed you as my own, you’re gravely mistaken. I’ll not tolerate such foolishness. You’ll find yourself sequestered as tight as any nun if you try to make the fool of me.”

  Daphne stiffened at his tone, remembering her first reaction to his demands and how he’d seemed like nothing more than a condemning bore. She went to push him away, but glanced up at the last moment and felt her resistance melt. His face held not condemnation, but rather a jealous passion that brought a slow smile to her lips for all it worked against her.

  Reaching up to brush his cheek, she let her smile broaden. “My fierce protector. You need not worry for my own virtue or your reputation. Had you but stayed for the whole, as you obviously did not, you’d know your worries hold no ground. I never meant to continue my performances. This was to say goodbye to that life.”

  Confusion filled his expression, then the anger subsided and something deeper took its place. “I swear I’ll let you have this part in some fashion. I won’t ask you to lock yourself away. I swear this.”

  Daphne only smiled, unsure what he meant but loving that he thought to try. He had understood her passion after all, but had yet to realize he now drew her with the same strength.

  As if he’d read her thoughts, Jasper pulled her against him even more and gave her a long, deep kiss that she thought would never end. Passion rode over her, leaving Daphne ragged and a puddle of desire in his arms. She’d felt nothing like it before, only adding to her growing happiness. She’d have him for her own until the grains of time washed away from their shore, time enough to explore every new emotion he provoked.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Daphne stepped down from Jasper’s carriage before the coachman could open the door for her, turning back to smile at the man who could melt her bones and still seemed to see her as a person rather than a fancy decoration for his arm. “You’re sure your friend will figure out that you went ahead?” she asked, a twinge of guilt at having taken him away pricking her conscience.

  Jasper smiled, his expression so relaxed and open that she wondered how she’d ever thought him a bore. “Aubrey’s a big boy, Daphne.” The way he said her name sent shivers down her back. “Better he take a hire coach than you anyway.”

  She frowned, unsure about his comment. “I’ve been taking them by myself for longer than you’ve known I exist,” Daphne said, trying to keep anger from her voice.

  He jumped down beside the carriage and pulled her close. “Now don’t frown at me, darling. I shudder to think of the risks you’ve taken.”

  Giving up the effort to control her temper, Daphne shoved against his chest. “And now you’re here to protect me? Keep me locked away to shelter me from danger?”

  Jasper stepped back to look at her, a frown pulling at his face as well. “You really think I’d want that? I finally have someone who makes my heart pound and can carry a conversation. You think I’m going to cage you?” He shook his head. “Maybe once I wanted to when I feared you would run from me, but not now. I’ll happily show you anything you desire. Then maybe you’ll understand my fears. It’s not whether you are capable, dear, but rather knowing what the others around you are capable of. You could have been taken for ransom or sold for worse. I shudder to think of all the things that could have happened. But by the grace of God, they did not. And now you have me.”

  At first, she tried to rebel against his words, but then memory of the moment he caught her in the alleyway returned with startling clarity. She wasn’t as innocent of the ways of the lowlifes around Monsieur Henre’s theater as Jasper thought. Her former teacher gave her warnings often enough.

  Unwilling to give in entirely, Daphne only smiled. “And now I have you,” she whispered, promising nothing about his desire to escort her everywhere, but affirming the most important part of all.

  Whether he understood her message or was just relieved the conversation had ended without another fight, Jasper returned her smile. He reached out and jerked her close so quickly, she let out a surprised gasp.

  “Unhand her,” a sharp voice demanded.

  Daphne gasped again, huddling closer to Jasper as she raised her head to peep over his shoulder. She blinked twice before she accepted what she saw approaching rather than the thief she’d expected. After pushing free, she put her hands on her hips and stamped one foot. “Willem, I don’t need another protector. Jasper’s not harming me one whit.”

  Willem shook his head, only half lowering the whip he held in his hand. “Lady Daphne, I agreed to help you dance. This isn’t in the bargain. I thought you held yourself as better than the likes of him.”

  Restraining Jasper with a hand on his arm, Daphne sighed, recognizing the betrayal in the coachman’s voice better for understanding its cause. “It’s not what you think, Willem. Look on the carriage and you
’ll see it is no hackney. This is Lord Pendleton. The man I’m to marry.”

  Willem stared at her without comprehension for a long while before taking a menacing step toward Jasper, who stood a good half foot taller and was much broader in the shoulders. “And what’s he going to do now?” the younger man growled. “Now that he knows and all, he’ll just make trouble.”

  Daphne stepped between them, covering her worry with a gentle smile. “He won’t make trouble. Not for me or for you.” She nudged Jasper, who nodded slowly. “See, you have nothing to worry about.”

  Willem moved closer and caught her arm with one hand. “Well enough, but we should be getting back. Your lady mother will be none too pleased to find you gone, after all. The later you wait, the harder to explain.”

  Catching the hand that Jasper put out to remove the inappropriate touch, she shook Willem’s hold off. “I’m returning with Jasper, Willem. You’ll just have to say truthfully that I didn’t require your services on the return.”

  He leaned close. “My lady, he’s only trying to get from you what he should wait for until the wedding night. He has no more wish to be seen with the upstairs maid you resemble than you’d choose the coachman.”

  Daphne pressed a hand to his chest, sympathetic to the bitter twist in his tone. “I’d have no concern at all in spending time with a good friend,” she said, emphasizing her point with a light tap on his coat. “But I can’t chance Mother or Father seeing me like this.” She pulled at the skirt she’d chosen, this night’s clothing much too worn to pass her mother’s inspection. “That’s why we came back here—other than to tell you, of course—to change my clothing. I do appreciate your care, Willem, but you have no say in this.”

  He stared at her for a long moment before shifting to give Jasper a pointed look. “As you wish, my lady. The gentleman and I will wait here until you’re ready.”

  Daphne smothered a smile, slipping past him with her satchel. The sooner she got changed, the faster they’d get her home and the greater chance of escaping detection.

  “YOU TRULY INSPIRE LOYALTY, DON’T you?”

  Daphne blushed in response to Jasper’s question, settling onto the opposite bench. Her proper dress crinkled as she tried to tuck it out of the way, giving her an excuse not to answer while she considered what best to say. Finally, she glanced up. “He’s been a friend since childhood. I’m sorry if his attitude offended you.”

  Jasper laughed, rocking forward with the carriage motion until she could feel the rush of air from his breath. “And I’d guess this is not the first trial you’ve put him through either. I see we’re soon to have much in common.”

  She didn’t know how to respond and so sank into silence, letting the exhaustion from her eventful night wash over her.

  The carriage jerked to a halt and Jasper caught her as she surged forward. Daphne savored the touch. How wonderful to know he’d be there to catch her for the rest of her life. To catch if she fell, not restrain.

  “Your parents may have heard the carriage, my dear. We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

  As his murmured words brushed against her ear, Daphne realized she lay half over him, hugging tight to his chest, and had made no protest. She pulled back, feeling the heat of a blush coloring her cheeks. “True enough,” she whispered back, trying to regain control of tangled emotions when all she really wanted was to cling to his warmth and feel the pressure of his lips against hers.

  Instead, the door swung open and the coachman lowered the step for her. Daphne sighed inwardly, grabbed her satchel, and stepped from the carriage, allowing the coachman to assist her balance. Jasper descended behind her, tucking her hand under his arm before they mounted the steps.

  At the door, Daphne paused, suddenly wondering how it would look to her parents for them to arrive together. Had Willem been right after all?

  Before she could resolve her doubts, Jasper pushed the door open, not ringing the bell or waiting for the butler. Daphne had no choice but to follow him in.

  The door closed behind them with a loud thump, the sound ominous. Proving her instincts true, her father stomped out of the front parlor, her mother right behind. He waved a piece of paper and Daphne had to fight the urge to cower behind Jasper, having forgotten in her joy how her father would have seen the announcement as well.

  Instead, she stood tall, ready to face the consequences.

  “Do you have any idea what I have in my hand, young lady?” Lord Scarborough fumed. He never gave her a chance to answer before he continued. “It’s a leaflet handed to me in White’s.”

  Gut churning, Daphne tried to make out the lettering even as it jerked around her, but she could guess its meaning from her father’s expression.

  “I-I—” she stammered.

  Jasper stepped forward, snatching the paper from Lord Scarborough with a quick movement. “A dancer performing? Is that what you were supposed to be attending?” he asked Daphne, turned so only she could see the mischief in his eyes.

  So cued, she struggled to come up with a response, but could think of nothing.

  Jasper looked first at her father then her mother, shaking his head. “I must apologize, Lord and Lady Scarborough, for absconding with your daughter in this way. It’s only that we had such a close moment the previous night and I could not wait any longer to see her again. I never expected to find my fiancée so enticing.”

  Only when she saw the shocked expressions on her parents’ faces did she remember to school her own into an easily found guilty expression.

  “You-you spent the evening together?” her father asked, his tone unsure.

  “Yes, my lord, we did. There are parts of Vauxhall gardens that can only be appreciated under the glow cast by lanterns. I hope my actions didn’t cause undue concern. Daphne resisted at first, claiming another engagement but,”—he smiled a beguiling smile—“I convinced her I would waste away if kept any longer from her sunlight.”

  If the blush that rose to Daphne’s cheek had more to do with the lies they told than wandering in a garden under fairy lights, her parents wouldn’t be able to tell.

  Lady Scarborough tried for a reproving look, but a smile teased the corners of her mouth. “I cannot say I approve of such behavior, young man,” she said to Jasper. “It will do no one any good if you destroy her reputation.”

  Jasper hung his head, mostly to hide the dimple Daphne could see peeking out on his cheek. “You’re right, of course. I’d thought since I was her fiancé, no harm would come of it, but it was not responsible. I apologize again for the worry I’ve caused you. If any question her presence, I will be sure to respond appropriately.”

  Lord Scarborough cleared his throat loudly then clapped Jasper on the shoulder. “Now, now, no harm done. We should have known better than to expect you could resist the beauty of our daughter. Come, join me in my study for a nightcap.”

  Daphne couldn’t believe she’d survived the confrontation and with so little admonishment. She almost missed Jasper’s demur in her shock.

  Then he turned to face her, sweeping one of her hands up in his own to lay a decorous kiss on the back of it. “And you should go and take to your room so you’ll be well-rested for our curricle ride tomorrow,” he said as she stared up at him, dazed. “If that’s all right with you, Lord Scarborough?”

  “Hmm. A ride should be well done. Show all of London how well the two of you suit.” Her father smiled broadly at both of them.

  “Run along now, dear,” her mother said, waving Daphne toward the stair.

  Daphne obeyed by instinct, only turning to say goodbye when her foot lifted onto the first step.

  Jasper smiled back at her, his expression making her heart pound once again. Tomorrow could not come soon enough.

  “AND THEN AUBREY GRABBED THE reins and hauled back…” Jasper clucked under his breath as he encouraged the horses into a faster pace once they passed the carriage that had half-blocked the way. After these many weeks, and as many curricle rides, he k
new Daphne preferred speed over the meandering pace a chaperone would have required. He glanced at the woman he planned to wed, grateful for her father’s indulgence, but mostly for her presence in his life.

  Instead of watching him intently as she had been, her gaze stretched the length of the road as if caught by the horizon. He shifted the reins to one hand, frowning when he saw how her fingers tensed in her lap, creasing the material of her skirt. Leaning toward her, he placed his free hand over her fingers, squeezing gently.

  She jerked as he surprised her out of deep thoughts.

  “What is troubling you?” he asked with little hope of a true answer. He’d come to know her moods, if not the cause for them. Even as she seemed to return his regard, he often felt a tinge of sadness within her when she would stare off into the air, distracted.

  “Nothing really,” Daphne answered, her mouth stretching in an obviously forced smile. “I just have a lot on my mind from helping Mother with the wedding and everything. What were you saying about Aubrey?”

  Jasper shrugged, not sure if she had been listening after all or only made a good guess. He didn’t want to force her to confide in him, but still, he wanted to make her happy.

  His mind only half on the tale, another of the escapades she seemed to enjoy so much, Jasper probed the problem, contemplating how he could make this transition better for her.

  Her laugh when he finished off the story pulled his focus back, and he reached out a hand to brush a wind-tossed curl behind her ear. She turned into his touch, leaning her cheek against his palm and closing her eyes for a long moment.

  Jasper gazed down at her. Whatever troubled her, she told him in words and motions that he held as important a spot in her life as she’d taken over in his own. No matter what it took, he’d find a way to free her of the cobwebs that threatened her happiness.