Page 113 of Ravished

Lady Hardcastle studied her closely. "You are in love with him, are you not?"

Harriet wrinkled her nose. "Is it so obvious?"

"Heavens, yes. I realized it the moment I met you. I imagine everyone else sees it just as clearly."

"Oh, dear," Harriet muttered. "I do try to conceal it. I would not want to embarrass Gideon in public. Thetonmocks any hint of such emotion between man and wife. Very unfashionable."

Lady Hardcastle rose to her feet as if she were made of feathers and leaned down to give Harriet a quick hug. "I do not think you could ever embarrass my son. You believed in him when he thought no one else did. He will never forget that."

"He is very loyal, in his way," Harriet agreed warmly. "Quite dependable, actually. My father would have liked him very much."

Lady Hardcastle went to the door and paused briefly. "People called my son a beast after what happened six years ago. His size and his terrible scar caused the name to stick and in some ways I fear he did his best to live up to the label. But your faith and trust in him have changed him. For that you have my heartfelt thanks."

Lady Hardcastle floated out of the room and closed the door very softly behind her.

"It can certainly pay to have a notorious reputation," Adelaide proclaimed on the night of the St. Justin soiree. "Just look at this crowd. Harriet, my dear, you have definitely arrived as a successful hostess. Congratulations."

"Yes, indeed, Harriet." Effie gazed around in satisfaction. The St. Justin townhouse was full to overflowing. "A terrific crush. It will be in all the papers in the morning."

Felicity smiled at her sister. "I think we can safely say that you have acquired whatever social polish you needed to avoid embarrassing St. Justin in public. No one can say he has not married a suitable hostess."

Harriet made a face. "I do not want any of you to think I did this on my own. The truth is Lady Hardcastle organized the entire thing. I am just exceedingly grateful that everyone who was invited accepted the invitation."

"And a few more besides," Felicity observed. "No one could resist. You and St. Justin have taken thetonby storm. He is viewed as a long-suffering romantic hero and you are the lady who loved him in spite of his murky past. It is a tale straight out of a gothic novel."

"I do not know about a gothic romance," Effie said, "but there is no denying the two of you are definitely in fashion at the moment. It was the perfect time to give a soiree such as this."

"That is what Lady Hardcastle said," Harriet said. "Personally, I shall be glad when it is all over."

Two very familiar, very handsome young men appeared and started toward Felicity and her relatives.

Harriet leaned toward Felicity. "Here come the Adonis Twins."

Felicity smiled her charming smile. "They are an attractive pair, are they not? It worries me that they do everything together, however. One wonders how far they take it."

Effie frowned severely. "Felicity, really."

Harriet stifled a giggle as the two young men approached. She waited until everyone had exchanged greetings and then she slipped away, knowing she would not be missed. The Adonis Twins had eyes only for Felicity, and Harriet had more interesting things to pursue.

Gideon and his parents were on the far side of the packed drawing room. They were talking to a couple. Harriet did not recognize them. Probably more of Lord and Lady Hardcastle's many friends.

The room had grown very warm. Harriet fanned herself rapidly for a moment before deciding to step out into the garden for a breath of fresh air. Several people nodded to her in a friendly fashion as she made her way toward the door.

A few minutes later she found herself out in the hall. Owl was supervising the vast array of footmen who were scurrying about with trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres. He gave Harriet a gloomy nod.

"Is all going well, Owl?" Harriet inquired.

"We are in command of the situation at the moment, madam. But the crowd is larger than expected. One can only hope we will not run out of champagne."

"Dear me." Harriet was alarmed. "Is there a possibility of that?"

"There is always a possibility of disaster at this sort of affair, madam," Owl said. "I shall do my best to avoid it, of course."

"Of course."

Harriet started down the hall toward the back door, but changed her mind when she suddenly realized that one of her garters seemed loose. She decided to go upstairs to the privacy of her own bedchamber to retie it.

At the top of the stairs she turned left and went down the hall. There was no doubt about it. The garter was definitely coming undone. Her stocking was starting to slip. Thank heavens she had noticed the problem in time. It would have been extremely mortifying to have one's stocking fall to one's ankle in the middle of one's first soiree.

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