When you least expect it...
Tatiana Ashurst has a secret—one that she cannot afford to be known to Georgian English society. But Kit Vallentyn discovers her hidden ability to wield infinitely powerful magic… and saves her from inadvertently revealing it to everyone. Tatiana knows it is impossible for her to marry him. But how can she help herself from becoming fascinated by this handsome man, who seems to extend a spell over her more powerful than any she can conjure?
Kit is out for a wife. His instinct, however, is to go through the mere motions of searching, just to please his ambitious father who wants a big dowry from the marriage. But the one woman who he can’t get out of his mind is the twin sister of the one his father wants him to marry—the one who is plain, penniless, ineligible… and enchanting in more ways than one.
For Kit and Tatiana to weather the storm of their desires, they have to peel away the layers of all of their secrets, to discover the simple truth of their love.
Storm On The Horizon
Meredith Bond
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to my two wonderful beta readers, Melissa Frank and Debbie Green who stepped up when I needed them with terrific thoughts and comments on my manuscript. Thank you ladies, you�re the best!
Copyright © 2013, Meredith Bond. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical—without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Published by Anessa Books, Bethesda, MD
Storm on the Horizon
Guilt poured from Trina’s eyes, along with her tears. She had paused, her hand on the railing, and was looking back at Tatiana.
“Where are you going? Shouldn’t be in your room getting dressed for the ball?” Tatiana asked in surprise.
“I’m going… I’m going downstairs. Or… out. Yes, out. I’ll be back.”
Trina was too far away for Tatiana to stop her flight. Tatiana hesitated, and then held out her hand, using her magic to put an invisible wall between Trina and her escape route.
“No, you are not going anywhere.”
“Let me go, Tatiana. I have to get out of here. I can’t do this. You know I can’t.”
Tatiana caught up to her twin. Smoothing the tension from her thin face with her thumb, while pushing through as much love and confidence as she could. “You can and you will.”
She took Trina’s overly warm hand and gently led her back to her room. Oh, how she hated being the enforcer here! But she had no choice. “I told you, I will be with you at both your presentation to the queen and at the ball afterward. You won’t be alone. I promise.”
Trina continued to look miserable; her brown eyes were dull with reluctance and dismay. It was all Tatiana could do to keep herself from folding her sister into her arms. She wanted to do so badly, but she knew that if she did, Trina would start to cry. Then her eyes would turn red and puffy, and she’d be in no state to go anywhere. She couldn’t do that to her beloved sister, so she just gave her hand a comforting squeeze as they walked back to Trina’s room.
She really did hate being in collusion with their parents against Trina. It had always been the two of them against everyone else. They’d always stood together, from the time they could both stand at all. But this time… this time, their parents were right. Tatiana hated that almost as much as she hated forcing her shy, unwilling sister to make her curtsey to society and to place herself in the market for a husband.
Trina started to shake her head, but Tatiana cut her off as she opened her mouth to protest. “You can do this, and you will. You’re stronger than this, Trina.”
“No. I’m not. I’m terrified. No one is even going to look at me at the ball. They never do.” The tears were coming back. Tatiana could feel the heat of her sister’s fear radiating off of her.
She had to do something. Something big. Something dramatic. And something fast. Their grandmother was going to be calling for them any moment. She pulled her sister to the standing mirror in the corner of her room. Firmly placing her in front of it, she said, “Look, Trina. Look at this gorgeous dress! How can you say that no one will look at you?”
Trina fluffed out the heavy silk overdress with no enthusiasm. “Well, at least I am stylish. I’m glad Grandmama allowed me the most recent fashion. I like it à l’Anglaise, without panniers. I don’t think I could have stood having a dress that extended further out than my arms.”
Tatiana laughed. “You are not only dressed in the first stare, you look beautiful!”
That comment made Trina’s face begin to crumple once again. “No. That I am not.”
“Oh, yes, you are,” Tatiana said. And that is when she had the idea! The brilliance of her inspiration made her almost laugh out aloud in delight, but she controlled herself. Instead, she narrowed her eyes a little and focused herself inward. She gathered her magical power into her core and allowed a slow smile to spread across her face.
In her mind’s eye, she saw her sister’s dull, brown hair shine with vibrancy. Her eyes lost their brown coloring and instead glowed a brilliant green. She made her lips and cheeks ever so slightly more plump, and filled out her bust-line, giving her a more womanly figure.
“Oh!” her sister gasped. She stared into the mirror, stunned at the woman she was seeing.
Tatiana then focused her attention on herself. She dulled her own rich, dark brown hair, and faded her sparkling black eyes to muddy brown. She thinned her face and lips, and made herself look nearly as angular as a scarecrow. Her perfectly-fitted, vibrant blue dress now hung limply on her frame.
“Oh, no! Tatiana, what are you doing?” Trina exclaimed, horrified.
“Much better,” Tatiana looked in the mirror and nodded approvingly.
“No! Tatiana, really!”
“Yes, really! It is important that you look your best,” Tatiana said, admiring her handiwork. “And just as important that I don’t. This way, no one will look twice at me, but focus all of their attention on you. Just as they should.”
“But your beauty…” Trina objected.
“Is inside, just as yours always is. Only now yours is showing outwardly for all of those superficial men to see—and mine is hidden away.” Tatiana nodded again. “This is the way it should be.”
Trina looked more closely at herself in the mirror. A small smile trembled on to her lips and tears shone in her eyes yet again. “You are too good to me,” she whispered.
“No. I love you. But if you cry, I’m going to be extremely annoyed. I don’t want to have to overlay even more magic on you to keep everyone from seeing red, puffy eyes and blotchy cheeks.”
A giggle burst out of Trina and she blinked away the tears. “No. I won’t do that to you. I promise.” She sighed and turned herself from side to side to admire her new splendor. “It is a shame, though.”
“What, that you have to marry? I’m sure you’ll find a wonderful man, Trina. You’ve got the entire season to do so.”
“Yes. But you won’t be here the entire season. And that’s not what I was referring to. It’s a shame that you won’t get to choose your own husband.”
Tatiana’s heart constricted at that thought. It was not only a shame, it was downright painful —and terrifying. She took a deep breath. “Yes, well. I have to pay for this gift that was given to me.”
“You pay for it every single day,” Trina agreed. “You pay for it in all the training you have to undergo, and now you’re going to have to pay for it by marrying onl
y God-knows who.”
“Whosoever Mama chooses.” Tatiana looked down at the floor, so that Trina couldn’t see the tears burning in her own eyes. She hated that she would have no choice in whom she married. But again, her parents were right. Her husband would hold too important a role to be chosen lightly. She honestly didn’t envy her parents the job of finding just the right man for the position.
Tatiana took a deep breath. She was the direct descendent of Morgan le Fey, she reminded herself. She had the strength and the power to do this. She lifted her chin and looked directly at her sister. “I will do my duty, and I do it willingly.”
“You’ve always taken your position seriously. You’ve always done just what you should…” Trina’s voice trailed off, as if she was about to say more.
Tatiana nodded a little hesitantly, not sure what her sister was implying.
Trina flashed her a sly smile. “So, why don’t you put your looks back the way they should be and have some fun? You’re only here for two weeks. What harm could come of it?”
Tatiana opened her mouth to reply, but Trina cut her off. “You deserve to have fun, too! Why can’t you forget your destiny—just for one night? Just throw caution to the wind and dance with any and every available gentleman—just for the one glorious night?”
The thought was more than appealing. It was downright tempting. But she couldn’t. Her mother had ingrained into her her position, her duty, and her heritage . It was a part of her. She couldn’t just set it aside.
But she also didn’t want to make her sister feel bad, so she smiled, even gave a little laugh. “I promise to do my best.”
“Good!”
“But I won’t put my looks back, because honestly, I don’t want to detract from your chances.”
“But…”
“No. That is the condition. I will dance with anyone and everyone who asks me, but you, my sweet sister, will be the gorgeous one tonight.”
Trina sighed, but nodded her acceptance of Tatiana’s conditions. She took another look at herself in the mirror, the slight smile growing on her face. “I am quite pretty, aren’t I?” Without her smile slipping even the smallest bit, she added, “Although, we won’t know if the men who ask me to dance aren’t merely interested in my money, once Grandmama lets it be known just how much Papa is giving me for my marriage portion.”
“We’ll jump that hurdle when we get to it,” Tatiana said, not admitting to her certainty that it would be precisely for her money that Trina would be sought after. If only she could have convinced their grandmother to keep that little tidbit of information to herself. But, no, Lady Ashurst wouldn’t hear of it. It was frustrating beyond belief.
Before those grim thoughts could get much further, there was a knock at the door. Even as it opened, Tatiana knew it was their grandmother, simply from the waft of strong perfume which always preceded the older lady wherever she went.
“Girls? Are you ready to go?” she asked.
“Yes, Grandmama,” Tatiana said, dutifully, turning toward her.
Her grandmother came further into the room. “Tatiana, what have you done to yourself? And Trina, my, my, don’t you look beautiful?”
Trina giggled. “It’s all Tatiana’s doing, Grandmama. She changed both of us ever so subtly. Now, I am pretty… and she is less so.”
“I see.” Lady Ashurst turned toward her youngest grandchild. “And why have you done this, Tatiana?”
“So that Trina gets all the attention and can find the husband she is looking for,” Tatiana said. “Honestly, Grandmama, I don’t need to worry about finding a husband, but Trina…”
“Does,” her sister finished for her.
Their grandmother smiled a little sadly and inclined her head as much as her very tall hairstyle would allow. “You are a very good sister, Tatiana. I believe, however, that you are not accounting for the avarice of the male population. ”
“Are you certain I cannot talk you out of disclosing that information, ma’am?” Tatiana asked.
Her grandmother shook her head. “It is already out there, my dear. There is no calling it back.”
“But how will we know if a gentleman is truly interested in Trina, or just her money?”
Lady Ashurst shrugged. “You won’t.”
“But…”
“Now, let us be off before we are too much later than we already are.”
That one,” Lord Durrington nodded his head in the direction of a pretty girl with bobbing golden ringlets. “She looks Vallen.”
Even as they watched, the girl tripped over the hem of her dress and was only saved from flying to the floor by her mother, who jerked her up with a fierce tug on her arm.
“Maybe not,” Kit replied.
“No, maybe not,” his father agreed, resignation filling his voice. “How about the redhead? Redheads are mostly Vallen, aren’t they?”
“I don’t know.” Kit’s eyes sought out the girl to whom his father was referring. He found her and winced. She was indeed a redhead—vibrantly so, with brilliant orange hair and a laugh so loud it carried clear across the ballroom.
“She could definitely be Vallen,” Lord Durrington said. “Why don’t you…”
“No. Too loud,” Kit objected before his father could even complete his sentence.
“Well, you’ve got to go after some of them, Kit. You can’t just reject every single one out of hand.” His father’s voice was beginning to get testy.
Kit sighed. He’d have to do something to appease him soon or else he’d never hear the end of it. They’d come here expressly to find a wife for him among the new debutants. Last year’s batch had been extremely disappointing; his father was becoming impatient. He wanted Kit to marry, and to marry well. Pressure from Kit’s grandfather wasn’t helping things any either. The old Lord Vallentyn wasn’t going to live forever, and although he had an heir in his own son, he was determined to ensure the continuation of the line through Kit. And his wife had to be Vallen.
But how could one tell if a girl was Vallen or not? It was nearly impossible.
“Charisma,” the old man had said when the question had been posed to him originally. “Either that or talent. Some sort of talent. Go to those…” he waved his hand aimlessly about, “… salons. See who is singing. Who is painting. Who is doing something bold and exciting. That is where you’ll find the Vallen.”
His father hated attending “those salons”, so instead they’d come to the first official ball of the season to see the debutants. Surely, among the finest of ton they could find some appropriate girls.
“What about her?” Lord Durrington nodded toward a new girl. She had not been there for long, but already she was surrounded by a swarm of young bucks.
“I can’t even see her.”
“Precisely! There’s got to be a real beauty with definite charisma to attract a crowd like that. She must be the daughter of someone important, as well.”
Kit scowled. “Well, which do you want—someone important or someone Vallen?”
“Both.”
Kit turned toward his father, raising his eyebrows.
“Oh, don’t give me that look,” his father said. “If a girl’s father is an earl or marquess, he’s most likely someone in Parliament and, even more importantly, he is wealthy. If he is all of those things, there’s a good chance that he’s a Vallen as well. You need to marry up, Christopher. You need a girl from a wealthy, important family.”
“It’s not good enough that you’re going to be a viscount when Grandfather dies? Not enough that you are already somebody in Parliament?”
His father scowled at that. “I’m not nearly as important as you could be if you marry well. And your grandfather isn’t ever going to die. At least not before me. I’ve got to see you well married. I know you—you’ll never do it on your own.”
“You’re not going to die any time soon. I’ve got plenty of time,” Kit argued.
“You need time to establish yourself with your in-laws, so
that when you inherit you’ll start out in a good position.”
Kit sighed. He’d given up trying to convince his father that he was not at all interested in becoming influential in Parliament. It was easier just to go along, rather than continuing to bang his head against the stone wall that was his father’s ambition.
“Look at that one there,” his father gestured to the last girl. She was still surrounded, although just at the moment they could see a glimpse of her between the men hovering about. “She’s probably the daughter of some marquess or even a duke. She’s pretty. Go and use your magic to charm her. You can easily make her forget about all of her other suitors. You’ll be married by the end of the season.”
“And what if she’s a harridan? What if she’s…?”
“Does it really matter? All you need to do is marry her, bed her once and be done with it. You don’t even need to speak with the chit except every now and again to get on good terms with her father. Look at her! I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anyone surrounded by so many idiots all at once. She must be using magic, a siren call to attract them all.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then I’m certainly not interested. You know my position on Vallen using their powers…”
“To get what they want. Yes. It is completely ridiculous. You have these powers for a reason, Christopher. There’s nothing wrong with using them.”
“We don’t have them in order to create an unfair advantage over those who don’t,” Kit argued.
“Well, she clearly does have power, so go use yours with her,” he nodded his head, once again, toward the young woman they could barely see.
Tatiana just could not get beyond the behavior of the men surrounding her sister. At first they had been polite, bowing and scraping to both of them. But now there were too many clambering around Trina. Tatiana was rudely shoved out of the way—one imbecile even going so far as to step on her toes. They looked like they hadn’t seen a pretty girl in years and were starving for good looks.
Storm On The Horizon, a paranormal Regency romance novella (Vallen) Page 1
