Searching Hearts Box Set: Books 1-5

by St. Clair, Ellie

  And still, he could not stop the memory of how she had felt in his arms from surfacing once more, his blood heating as she turned her head to glance at him.

  “Get a hold of yourself, Sebastian,” he muttered aloud, before striding in after them.

  The ballroom was crowded and the orchestra in full swing. He greeted Lady Whitethorn warmly, her wide smile telling him that everything was ready for him.

  “The orchestra knows to expect you,” she murmured, as he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “He is here, by the way.”

  “Good, good,” Sebastian replied, with a quick smile. “And thank you, Lady Whitethorn. This could not have happened without you.”

  The older lady’s smile faded slightly. “If it’s one thing I hate – and I know my husband would have agreed – it’s a gentleman who tries to ruin young ladies simply for his own good pleasure. When I heard my own niece suffered at his hands, I vowed to do all I could. You are doing all of us a favor, Lord Taylor. Thank you for asking me to support you in this.”

  Sebastian nodded, giving her hand a light squeeze before stepping away, grateful that Lady Whitethorn had been so open to the idea. Of course, it helped that he had aided in the return of some priceless jewels a little over a year ago, for she knew he was trustworthy.

  Walking along the balcony, Sebastian chose to remain where he was instead of descending into the ballroom. He saw Polly surrounded by a few ladies who appeared to all be talking at once, including her redheaded friend, Lady Caroline. At least not all had deserted her. Unfortunately, he also saw a great many people whispering behind their hands, pointing boldly in her direction. Rumors had not yet dissipated, it seemed, and yet she seemed determined to ignore them.

  A harsh laugh caught his attention, and his hands tightened on the rail as he saw none other than Lord Yardley standing in the corner, with two other gentlemen by his side. Another hurried over toward him, gesturing wildly. Sebastian watched as Yardley’s smile faded, his expression growing rather astonished. Sebastian would move at once if it seemed Yardley intended to make his way toward Polly but, much to his relief, Yardley shook his head and remained where he was. It was just as Sebastian had hoped. With the Duke standing right next to his daughter, Lord Yardley would not dare approach. After all, he was nothing but a coward.

  * * *

  The music continued for a good hour or so and, thankfully, Polly did not spend the entire evening standing alone. She danced three times and, at the end of each dance, was returned to her father. However, Sebastian could tell that she was struggling with Lord Yardley’s presence, as well as the fact that whispers were still following her wherever she went. There had been around eight dances thus far, and her rather empty dance card certainly signaled that society as a whole had their doubts about her.

  It did not matter. All would be revealed soon.

  He began to descend the stairs, turning to the side so that a woman coming up could move past him. He hardly looked at her, his eyes on the people in the ballroom below, but when he felt a hand on his sleeve he stopped.

  “Sebastian, is that you?”

  His head whipped around at the voice. It had been a long while now, and yet he could remember it rather well.

  “Patricia?”

  The years had been kind to the woman, who was still as beautiful as she had ever been. Her dark hair was artfully pulled back, her face carefully made up. He was surprised at the quality of her dress, knowing the man she had married was rather beneath her station.

  “How are you?” he asked, moving back up the stairs with her and out of the path of others.

  “Oh, I am rather well,” she said, looking up at him through her long eyelashes. She placed a hand on his sleeve and moved closer to him.

  “And your husband?” he asked, still in shock at seeing the woman who he once thought he had loved. He had heard she moved out to the country, away from London and all of society.

  “Oh, you have not heard?” she asked, waving a fan in front of her face. “My husband passed last year. Rather unfortunate, to be sure. I have since remarried.”

  He was taken aback by her words. He had thought her to be in love with her husband, yet she spoke of his death as if it was hardly an issue.

  “I am very sorry,” he said, softly.

  “Not at all,” she said with a shrug. “As it turned out, I was not as much in love with him as I thought.” She gave a bit of a laugh. “I thought it was so romantic, running off to Gretna Green to marry a man my parents disapproved of. And, it seemed they were right. I much preferred the comforts that could be provided by a man of means, and I learned my lesson. Marrying without a dowry was rather stupid. Not only could my husband not provide for me in life, but neither in death.”

  Sebastian could feel his mouth drop as he gaped at her, but he quickly collected himself.

  “And who have you now married?” he asked.

  “Lord Anderson.”

  Utter astonishment filled Sebastian. “Lord Anderson! He must be near sixty years old,” he said, shaking his head.

  “He is,” she said with a smug smile as she leaned into him. “Which is why, Lord Taylor, I have a proposition for you. I hear you are as of yet unmarried, and oh Sebastian, you are just as good looking as you ever were. Perhaps you still hold onto the penchant you once had for me? I might suggest that we continue our former attraction to one another, although in a slightly … different way this time.”

  His eyes widened at her words, and he stared at her somewhat disgusted. He had come to terms with the fact that she had left him for love. He thought he had understood it now that he knew what it truly meant to love someone. Now, with all that she had told him … he could hardly remember what it was about her that had initially attracted him.

  “I think not,” he said, backing away from her, shaking his head. “Pardon me, Patricia, but I must be…”

  “Oh, Sebastian,” she said, her lips forming a pout. “Do not be angry with me. I am sorry I left you the way I did, but I was simply a foolish girl. I know so much more now, and we could have such … fun together.”

  Sebastian was repulsed. She leaned farther into him, and as Sebastian looked around, he could see others staring. With his reputation already besmirched, it may be difficult to recover from this. Not that he was particularly concerned what others thought of him, but he didn’t want to make it worse for Polly. He tried to slowly inch away from her.

  “I say, Patricia—”

  “Lord Taylor!” he heard a familiar voice exclaim, and he tried not to groan. Why did Polly have to come upon him now? The gossips would love this particular scene. Thank heavens they were, at the very least, upstairs and out of sight of most.

  “Lady Polly,” he said with a nod, and Patricia finally backed away from him ever so slightly.

  “Lady Polly, this is Lady Anderson,” he said stiffly.

  Patricia looked Polly up and down, then turned back to Sebastian. “Why, Sebastian, she’s utterly divine. I can see why you are reluctant to accept my offer.”

  “Lord Taylor, I believe we have a dance awaiting us,” Polly said with a cheerful grin, and Sebastian thankfully nodded at her, before following her down the stairs.

  “That would be your Miss Gladstone, would it not?” Polly asked with an arched eyebrow, once she was in his arms on the dance floor.

  “It would,” he confirmed with a nod, unsure of what her reaction might be.

  “Greville told me as much when I asked,” she admitted. “You did not look particularly pleased to see her, and I was rather curious. Are you all right?”

  “Perfectly,” Sebastian responded, relief flooding through him that she seemed not to care about his run-in with the woman. “I can hardly believe I ever felt a thing for her. I was actually trying to be rid of her but she was ever so persistent.”

  “Well, then, Sebastian,” she said with a slight smile curving her lips, “I am pleased that, for once, I was able to be the one to rescue you.”


  He laughed at that, and enjoyed the dance with her.

  25

  Polly hadn’t known what to think when she saw Sebastian speaking so intimately with the beautiful woman at the top of the stairs. He was rather hidden from view of most in the ballroom, although, despite the many dances she had with other young gentlemen, her gaze had kept coming back to him, to where he had stood for most of the night upon the balcony, looking out over all below him.

  The woman made directly for him after spotting him, and Polly watched her with interest. When she saw the familiarity she had with Sebastian, Polly felt an anger begin to simmer in her belly, until she saw Sebastian continually try to back away from her.

  She found Violet, who was standing with her husband.

  “Who is that?” Polly hissed, her eyes showing Violet and Greville of whom she was speaking as she looked up the stairs.

  “I believe she is the wife of Lord Anderson,” said Violet, which made Polly start, and she heard Greville choke on his drink.

  “Lord Anderson?” Polly asked. “Is he not ancient?”

  Violet laughed. “He is decidedly older than her, that is certain. I believe she was a widow, and he a widower in need of a wife to look after his household. I am not sure that the marriage is much other than in name only, but I shouldn’t want to gossip. What is the matter, Joshua?”

  He cleared his throat, clearly finally recovered. “Lady Anderson has a bit of a … history with Taylor.”

  “A history?” Violet repeated.

  “Oh, dear,” said Polly, understanding. “She is Miss Gladstone.”

  Greville turned to look at her, surprise on his face. “You know of Miss Gladstone?”

  “I do. Sebastian — er, Lord Taylor — told me of her.”

  “Interesting,” Greville murmured. “Well, it looks as though Taylor is having a particularly difficult time extricating himself from her clutches. I tell you, as much as the entire situation was difficult for him, it was all for the better that he did not spend his life with the woman. I shall have to go save him, I suppose, for he is too polite to do much of a job of it himself.”

  He set down his drink on a nearby table and made to go up the stairs when Polly placed a hand on his arm.

  “No,” she said. “I will go.”

  Greville gave her a bit of a smile and a nod, and she ascended the staircase. It had been altogether marvelous seeing the look on the woman’s face as she led Sebastian away, and Polly was pleased to have been of some use after the many times it seemed Sebastian had come to her aid.

  As they danced, she saw how people looked at them with accusing eyes, hiding their words behind their fans, if they bothered to at all. She no longer cared, however. Soon enough, she was convinced, she and Sebastian would be married, and it wouldn’t matter what any of these people thought.

  She smiled up at Sebastian, content for the moment to be in his arms. As his hands seemed to pull her closer to him, she sighed to herself, so perplexed that a man as intelligent as he could not see that they were so well suited and would be deliriously happy together. Oh well, she thought. She would prove it to him, and all would be as it should.

  * * *

  As they waltzed, Sebastian continued to look around the room to see that all was in order. The four other gentlemen he had involved in his scheme were now standing together, so, when the dance came to a finish, he thanked Polly, walked her to father, and then made his way across the ballroom.

  As he meandered through the crowd, he heard the voices around him as many sets of eyes followed him. Heat climbed up his neck as he strode toward the orchestra. He knew what they were saying of him. Society was like a great beast that would never allow its prey to escape. It would chase it unrelentingly until it gave up, its fate sealed.

  But not this time. He was about to make everything right.

  “My lords and ladies,” he cried, the orchestra now quiet behind him. “Might I have your attention for a moment!”

  As a hush slowly grew across the room. A wave of nausea rolled over him, but he stood firm and tall, refusing to be intimidated. He dared not look at Polly, still standing with her father, for fear that he would betray his feelings to all and sundry.

  “I thank you,” he continued, once almost every eye had been turned toward him. “I have heard of late that there have been rumors surrounding many young women of the ton. I have been noted in them myself, it is true. These rumors are entirely unfounded, and I am here to tell you now that they are all entirely fictitious.”

  There came a few giggles, a few sniggers in response to his words, but Sebastian lifted his chin and stared at them all.

  “I shall prove this,” he said, as the laughter died away. “For I know with certainty that what has been claimed here all comes from the lying mouth of Lord Victor Yardley.”

  Sebastian held his breath, praying that Yardley’s ego would force him to defend himself. This had been the only part of his plan that he was not sure about, knowing that he required Lord Yardley to appear horrified when the rest of the ton learned of his actions.

  Silence crept over the ballroom. Sebastian said nothing, allowing his words to fall heavily on the crowd.

  “How dare you suggest such a thing!”

  Struggling not to sag with relief, Sebastian turned to see Yardley stride toward him, his face portraying how furious he was.

  “I do not spread malicious gossip, nor do I lie,” Lord Yardley declared, pulling off his glove. “I saw something I was not meant to, and now you are trying to blame me for your mistake!”

  “You are nothing more than a liar and a cheat,” Sebastian replied, loud enough for most of the guests to hear. “I was the one who had to pull you from a young lady because you were attempting to force yourself on her. Her strength was no match for yours, was it? And then you tried to blackmail her, to force her to keep silent in the knowledge that she would do so out of shame.” Even though he knew that most, if not all, of the guests would know of whom he was speaking, he did not want to mention Polly’s name, which might further any embarrassment she felt.

  An audible gasp rose from the crowd behind them. Yardley glanced behind him, appearing a little uneasy. Of course, while most of the ton knew that Lord Yardley was something of a rascal, he had kept his more malicious deeds fairly quiet, except to those he knew would see him as some kind of champion amongst men. Gentlemen did not always value ladies in the way they ought.

  “You are talking nonsense,” Lord Yardley declared, waving his glove in Sebastian’s direction. “I should call you out for blackening my name!”

  Sebastian grinned, chuckling aloud as the rest of the guests waited in breathless anticipation for what might occur next.

  “I was hoping that you would say that, Lord Yardley,” he said smiling broadly at the man. “For I have a few men here who would very much like to say the same to you.”

  He extended his arm and five different men stepped forward, making their way toward Sebastian and Lord Yardley. They stood by Sebastian and faced the crowd, as murmurs began to rise from the onlookers.

  “Lord Baxter, Lord Wiltshire, Lord Crawford, Lord Davis and His Grace, the Duke of Ware,” Sebastian finished, with a triumphant look in his eye. “I think they all wish to speak to you, Lord Yardley, regarding how your actions have affected their families.”

  Yardley’s mouth open and closed like a fish, his eyes wide as he began to back away.

  Sebastian smiled to himself as the five men began to walk after Lord Yardley who, now appearing quite frantic with fear, stumbled back and tried to make his way through the crowd – which did not particularly oblige him. There was no need to go into detail about what each gentleman’s daughter had suffered, their presence was enough to show the ton that Lord Yardley was a cruel and selfish man, a man who should not be allowed to walk freely amongst society.

  “I pray now that you will forget everything you have heard about myself and anyone else connected to Lord Yardley’s lies,” Sebastian f
inished, looking out at the crowd. “Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen. I do believe the next dance is a waltz.”

  He strode away from the orchestra who, after a moment, began to strike up the first few notes of the song. Finally, he could look at her, finally, he could take her in his arms and know that everything was quite all right.

  “Lady Polly,” he said, bowing in front of her. “Might I have the honor of this dance? I know it is our second together, but I feel we can brave the rumors, can we not?”

  Her eyes were damp as she looked up at him, her cheeks flushed but with a smile on her face.

  “Oh, Sebastian,” she whispered, as she took his hand, allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor. “I cannot believe you did that. How did you manage to find them?”

  He smiled down at her, his hand on her waist as they began to swing around the floor. “I have a few connections that are worth their salt,” he said, softly. “It took some convincing but Lord Yardley, I am quite sure, will no longer be a welcome part of society. You have nothing to worry about now, Polly. The ton will welcome you back with open arms.”

  “There are no other arms I would rather be in than yours,” she whispered, a single tear trickling down her cheek. “Thank you, Sebastian. I cannot tell you just how much this means to me.”

  “I would do anything for you, Polly,” Sebastian replied, knowing that their time together was coming to a close. “I am glad to have been able to restore your good name.”