Ewan grunted. ‘Most of the men in this room would give their right arms to be in your position.’
‘Perhaps. Anyway, what brings you back to town?’
‘Decided to leave the brothers to play nice with each other. Refereeing their spats becomes tiresome. Besides, I am overdue for some recreation. All work and no play…’
‘Quite.’
The opening bars to the next dance struck up.
‘You’d best excuse me, Ross. I’m promised for this dance.’
‘Try not to trample on her toes,’ Ross replied, watching the big but surprisingly elegant man cut a swathe through the throng, turning heads as he went, and bow in front of the timid Miss Courtney. Ross chuckled, wondering if his charismatic friend had plans that didn’t depend upon livestock husbandry and crop rotation to refill his family coffers.
Anxious not to be cornered by anyone else, Ross skirted the side of the room until he came upon Sophia, still in conversation with her friend, Miss Beaumont.
‘Miss Kennard, Miss Beaumont,’ he said, bowing.
‘Your grace.’ Miss Beaumont curtsied. ‘We did not know we’d have the pleasure of seeing you here. If you were expected, you can be sure we would have heard about it. Presumably you didn’t respond to Lady Courtney’s invitation, which is most remiss of you since it deprived her of bragging rights.’
Ross allowed himself a wry smile. ‘I shall be sure to make my apology.’
‘And for my part, I shall make myself scarce.’ She flashed an impudent smile. ‘I fear my presence might become intrusive. Pray excuse me.’
She bobbed another curtsey, sent Sophia a significant look and was swallowed up by the crowd.
‘I thought you were not coming,’ Sophia said, clearly attempting not to sound judgemental.
‘I told you I would be here.’
‘Dukes are permitted to be fickle and allowances are always made for their idiosyncratic characters.’
‘Not this duke,’ he replied, smiling at her as he took her elbow and steered her into an ante-room, where they could just about hear themselves talk over the din of the ball—the music, the laughter, the sound of dozens of pairs of feet echoing off the wooden floor. He had noticed Emily glowering at them but ignored her. He would not be told whom he could associate with and if she went through with her threat and spread malicious gossip about Maria, Ross would make sure that she rued the day.
‘You are angry with me,’ he said, smiling at Sophia. ‘What have I done to offend you?’
‘I’m not angry. I was concerned that Emily might have poisoned your mind against me with exaggerated tales about my sister’s conduct.’ Sophia gave a careless little laugh that sounded contrived. ‘Well, probably not exaggerated, but she is incapable of plotting anyone’s murder, so…’
Ross touched her gloved hand. ‘I make my own mind up about people, and even if I required advice in that regard, Emily is the last person I would apply to or who could hope to alter my opinion. You have a selfish, self-serving sister and I am encumbered with a sister-in-law who mirrors those flaws.’
‘How reassuring.’
He touched her chin this time with the tip of his index finger, forcing her head backwards and smiling into her eyes. ‘So little self-esteem,’ he said softly.
‘Who was that gentleman I saw you speaking with?’ she asked, turning her head away and forcing him to drop his finger. ‘I didn’t recognise him but he seems to be making quite an impression.’
‘An old school friend, Ewan McIntyre. We were more or less inseparable as boys but lost touch when I went to America. His family have a large estate near Aberdeen and he’s been hiding himself away up there, so he tells me, setting it to rights. I’m surprised you don’t know him. He’s a lovable rogue who never takes life too seriously and is immensely popular with the ladies, being of a naturally gregarious disposition. However, he did say that he hasn’t been in town for a while, so perhaps your paths haven’t crossed.’
‘I have never heard of him but I expect Maria will know the name.’ She glanced around the room that had emptied out with the announcement that supper was served. ‘We ought not to be here alone. It will only add to the speculation and make the duchess angry.’
‘Emily can mind her own damned business.’ He smiled at her. ‘My apologies for the language.’
‘No apology necessary. She makes me want to curse as well.’
‘I raised the subject of Greenacre when I paid her a visit this afternoon, but she still claims not to know where he is. However, I set Tanner to watch her and shortly after I left her maid took herself off to the East End. Tanner lost her but we have narrowed down the streets where we think Greenacre must reside. Not that it helps much since the area is packed tight as you like with whole families squashed into one room.’
‘If the district is so poor, presumably Greenacre would stand out.’
Ross shrugged. ‘One would suppose so, but Tanner thinks he might have family members there who are shielding him, especially if he’s generous with the cash, which is in very short supply in that district.’
‘But if he is in hiding, then it follows that he must know something about Andrew’s death.’ Her lovely face came alight with hope. ‘That means…’
‘It means that your selfish sister had nothing to do with his murder,’ Ross replied. ‘Not that I ever seriously supposed that she did.’
‘Whereas I had started to harbour doubts, which is shameful.’
The sound of approaching footsteps and loud voices heralded the end of the supper interval and several people entered the room, sending them speculative glances.
‘Come,’ he said, offering his arm. ‘They are about to play a waltz and you have agreed to dance with me.’
She sent him an affronted look. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you are impossibly arrogant?’
‘More times than I care to remember, but I think it uncivil of them to point out my shortcomings, so I take no notice.’
‘How did you know?’ she asked, when his prediction proved correct and the opening stanza of a waltz filled the air.
He winked at her as he pulled her into his arms. ‘Perhaps I bribed the fiddle player,’ he suggested.
She laughed up at him as her feet followed effortlessly where his led, her attempts to appear affronted giving way to the pleasure she clearly took from dancing. ‘You are impossible,’ she said. ‘And the duchess is glaring at us. If looks could kill…’
‘You worry too much about what other people think of you.’
‘Of course I do. We cannot all be dukes, and male, and so full of ourselves that we don’t give two figs about our reputations.’
He swirled her into a turn, nodding to McIntyre whom they passed with Miss Courtney in his arms.
‘That is the second time they’ve danced. Waltzing with her is more or less a declaration of intent,’ Sophia said.
‘You see. You enjoy speculating as well. I’m told it’s a national sport.’
‘Not exactly speculating; merely stating a fact and putting into words what everyone else will be thinking. If I am right and if Mr McIntyre makes Miss Courtney happy, then I shall be delighted for her. The poor girl has been besieged all the evening simply because she has a substantial dowry. And yet she is shy and not in the least superior in any way. If your friend can bring her out of herself and make her laugh then she has my permission to like him as much as she pleases.’
‘You have a soft heart, Miss Kennard.’
‘Is it so wrong to want people to be happy? There are those in this room who would find fault with Miss Courtney’s clothing, her manners, her disposition; everything about her. They will label her as being aloof, whereas in fact she is simply painfully shy. And they will spread such rumours simply because she has money and they do not, which I think very narrowminded and unkind.’
‘Well said,’ he replied softly, holding her a little closer.
When the dance came to an end they were close to the French
doors. Without warning, he whisked her through them onto the terrace, where the falling snow rapidly cooled their overheated skin. She didn’t appear to feel the biting cold; nor did she raise any objections. Instead she smiled and tilted her head back so that the snow could land on her face.
‘I didn’t realise the snow had arrived. It hadn’t started when we left home, although I thought it soon would. I could smell it in the air.’
‘I thought you would enjoy it.’
Chapter Fifteen
Sophia was aware of Ross watching her, the suggestion of a smile playing about his lips, as he removed his coat and placed it around her bare shoulders. She wondered why he had brought her outside. He seemed like a man who never did anything without a reason, so there had to be more to it than anticipating her enjoyment of the elements. If they were seen here together then the gossips would have a field day and accuse her of being no better than her sister. Perhaps he didn’t realise that. Then again, perhaps he simply didn’t care. The normal rules of conduct didn’t apply to dukes. This one certainly did whatever he pleased with no thought for the consequences.
Sophia knew she was in danger of overthinking the situation and it was possible that he simply wanted her to enjoy watching the snow falling in fat flakes. If he considered her immature for taking pleasure from conditions that the majority would find inconvenient then she didn’t have the energy to care. She wouldn’t change her character simply to impress the Duke of Alton.
‘It’s magical,’ she said in an awed tone, ‘but it’s probably very selfish of me to make that admission. I ought to spare a thought for the poor souls who have no shelter and no way in which to keep themselves warm.’
‘You cannot right all the world’s wrongs, my love.’
His softly spoken words broke the spell. ‘I am not your love,’ she said impatiently, wondering now if bringing her outside was part of a master plan to… To what precisely? He had already kissed her once, and she hadn’t tried to stop him. She was mortified to recall the small gasp of protest that had escaped her when he broke that kiss before it had time to get interesting. Besides, the Duke of Alton didn’t need to seduce unmarried females. She had seen the way that several of the young married ones had followed his progress around the ballroom with giveaway hunger in their eyes. ‘What is it that you want from me?’ she asked, gazing over the snowy grounds, not daring to look at him.
‘I wish I knew.’ She could hear genuine perplexity in his tone. ‘You intrigue me,’ he added softly.
Sophia swallowed. That was the last admission she had expected him to make. ‘I do?’
‘Hmm.’
He stood behind her, his large body shielding her from the bitter cold, and slid his arms around her waist. She instinctively leaned back against his solid chest and inhaled his earthy aroma.
‘Tanner is out here somewhere. We think that Emily might slip away from the ball and meet with Greenacre. It would be the perfect cover.’ He nodded towards several other couples wandering about the terrace, beneath the protection of the overhanging balcony, taking no interest in anything except each other.
‘And he will follow Greenacre if that situation arises.’ Sophia was glad that he could keep his mind focused on their reason for being here. All she could think about was his intoxicating proximity and the way that the touch of his capable hands around her waist made her feel safe and protected in a manner that she had forgotten was possible. There again, perhaps she had never known such feelings, and had grown to be independent out of a sense of necessity. ‘Very astute of you, your grace.’
She could hear the edge to her own voice and knew that she sounded petulant. ‘I aim to please,’ he replied, his breath peppering the back of her neck, making her feel overheated despite the fact that the temperature had to be below freezing.
‘What then?’ she asked briskly, deciding that if finding his brother’s murderer remained his first priority then she could focus on it too.
‘Since Tanner knows which area Greenacre resides in, he will precede him and lie in wait. That way there will be less possibility of his being seen.’
‘Will he be safe?’
He chuckled, and she felt the sound rumble through this chest. ‘Don’t worry about Tanner. He can take care of himself.’
She shivered despite the protection of his coat. He walked backwards until they too were under cover of the overhanging balcony, pulling her with him.
‘I received a message from Maria just before we left home this evening,’ Sophia said breathlessly. ‘She wants me to call and see her tomorrow.’
‘Shall you go?’
Sophia sighed. ‘Oh yes, I will go. I could never deny Maria anything.’
‘Don’t let her bully you.’
‘Actually I won’t, not anymore. I saw her through your eyes yesterday and was ashamed of the view.’
He gently caressed her cheek. ‘You have done nothing to be ashamed about.’
‘But we are sisters. Perhaps my character is flawed too.’ Sophia felt an urgent desire to articulate her worries to a man whom she sensed would understand and not stand in judgement. ‘I have never been one for convention. Oh, I don’t mean that I am free with my favours in the same manner as Maria, but I do find all of this…’ She waved a hand in the direction of the ballroom. ‘All the rules and regulations and jostling for recognition and advancement…well, tiresome. I would much rather live in the country and do something worthwhile with my time. But then I think how lucky I actually am and feel ashamed of my discontent.’
‘You shouldn’t be. I understand better than you could possibly know. Andrew and I have always been very different characters, which is partly why I left England. I didn’t want people to assume that we were two of a kind. Besides, I had nothing to live on and would have been obliged to sit back, rather like my friend McIntyre, and watch my elder sibling frittering away his birthright. I wouldn’t have been able to keep quiet about his profligate ways, so we would have argued and become estranged. For me it was a case of finding gainful employment here in England or taking charge of my own destiny and chancing my luck in Carolina.’
‘I would have chosen the same option as you, if I were a man.’
He smiled at her and the expression in his eyes softened. ‘I am so very glad that you are not.’
The intensity of the compliment took Sophia’s breath away. ‘Well, Maria decided to take matters into her own hands in a rather extreme manner, I suppose. She had been feted and complimented her entire life and simply assumed that she would snare a rich and titled husband in her first season. When that didn’t happen, she began to feel desperate, even though she would never make that admission and…well, you know the rest. Anyway, I will go and see her. It’s possible that she might have thought of something that will help you. You can be sure that she will try and turn her situation to her advantage by making herself indispensable to you, just mark my words.’
Ross turned her to face him and placed a finger gently against her lips. She was acutely conscious of the feel of her body pressed against his. The silent awareness of shared sensibility spread between them as their gazes clashed and held. This was madness, she told herself, even though they were concealed from prying eyes. Despite the danger, she couldn’t bring herself to pull out of his arms and looked up at him with a combination of expectancy and desire reflected in her expression. Ross muttered something incomprehensible and slowly lowered his head to capture her lips in a drugging kiss.
This time, Sophia was determined that the kiss would not end prematurely. But it was she who broke it when she heard a rustle of clothing and opened her eyes in time to see a familiar figure draped in a cloak with a hood pulled over her head scampering across the snow-laden lawns, still wearing flimsy dance slippers. She looked neither to left nor right and so didn’t see Ross and Sophia locked in one another’s arms.
‘Emily!’ she said, indicating with her head.
Ross followed the direction of her gaze and sighed.
‘I hope Tanner has remained alert,’ he said, at which point Sophia knew that the spell, the indefinable something that drew them together, had been broken and his mind had once again turned to the question of his brother’s murder.
Ross sighed deeply as he released Sophia, cursing Emily’s untimely appearance but at the same time grateful for it. Sophia had somehow managed to slip beneath his guard yet again and make him neglect his priorities. His behaviour had confused and conflicted her, he sensed, which had not been his intention. Something stronger than his own will had caused him to put his own desires ahead of duty and responsibility, which simply wouldn’t do.
‘She didn’t see us, if that is what’s worrying you,’ Sophia said, her eyes sparkling with a combination of confusion and possibly disappointment too. There again perhaps, Ross decided, he was seeing what he wanted to see. He would very much like Sophia to be feeling as cheated as he himself did, which made no sense whatsoever. But his heart refused to absorb what his head was telling it, which was that any sort of relationship between himself and Sophia would be impossible if either one of their family members had colluded in Andrew’s demise.
‘For my part, I don’t care if the entire world saw us,’ he said, because at that moment it was true. ‘But I am sorry if I forgot myself and embarrassed you. I am not a beast, incapable of controlling my passion. Well, not ordinarily, but when I’m with you I seem to forget all about the rules of conduct. It’s most perplexing.’
‘I am not my sister,’ she replied, shrugging out of his coat and handing it back to him. ‘I am not trying to entice you into some sort of inappropriate arrangement, if that is what you suppose. Frankly, I wouldn’t know how to go about it.’
‘There, I have insulted you, since you clearly think that I was attempting to compromise you, when in fact I simply wanted you to enjoy the snow. You are not your sister and I am not my brother. We both have siblings whose behaviour is a source of embarrassment to us.’ He slid his arms into the sleeves of his coat. ‘Come, let’s go back inside.’
A Duke in Turmoil: Dangerous Dukes Vol 9 Page 19
